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The local electric utility is always an appealing target for politicians, especially in an election year. Rep. Chris Lee’s June 16 commentary about Hawaiian Electric Company is so full of misinformation, it really requires a longer response, but here are some key points.

He says, “Most people don’t know that since NextEra arrived it has contractually controlled HECO’s actions, exercising power over final decisions.”

Most people don’t know it because it’s not true.

In each situation described by Rep. Lee, the record is absolutely clear that Hawaiian Electric made decisions to protect our customers, based on sound business and technical reasons, not based on direction by NextEra Energy.

Some examples:

• He’s wrong to say rooftop solar approvals “unilaterally ceased” after NextEra proposed the merger. We continuously review and approve rooftop solar applications and green lighted more than 77,000 systems, including 26,000 in the 18 months since NextEra proposed the merger.
• He’s wrong to say we “appeared to reverse” ourselves on a geothermal project on Hawaii Island and somehow “pushed” out the developer. Not true. We sought out the project and were disappointed when the developer withdrew for its own business reasons.
• He’s wrong to say we’ve “reversed course” on our commitment to renewable energy projects. Just two weeks ago, we asked regulators to allow us to seek proposals for more renewables on Oahu. In West Oahu, construction of the Eurus solar farm is underway, and new solar projects are in development on Maui, as well.

When Rep. Lee opines on Hawaii Electric Light’s decision to cancel a contract for the Hu Honua biomass project, his assumptions and speculation are easily refuted by the public record.

The developers’ construction issues and other problems are well documented. They didn’t do what they promised and, with regret, we ended the contract. It wasn’t sudden and it was no surprise. It was our decision, not NextEra’s.

He is flat wrong to say Hawaii Electric Light “resisted” attempts to restore the existing contract. In fact, we continue to talk to the developers to see if a project that benefits our customers can be revived.

Given the drop in oil prices and our outlook for the generation resource mix on Hawaii Island, we’re trying to get a new agreement that will not raise current rates for our customers and will provide long term benefits.

Rep. Lee chooses to ignore the fact that the state consumer advocate – the office charged with representing the public interest – has already weighed in on the Hu Honua situation.

In a Feb. 23, 2016 filing, the consumer advocate said Hawaii Electric Light was “reasonable” in canceling the contract and, “If Hu Honua’s biomass project is to be salvaged, it must be at pricing terms that will result in a net benefit and bill decrease for Hawaii Electric Light customers.”

That’s precisely our position.

One last point: Rep. Lee says he knows people at our company and that they wouldn’t act against the best interests of Hawaii. We’re glad he thinks that way. So he should know that we were the ones who made these decisions to put customers first.