Final Participatory NextEra PUC Hearing Begins

On Monday, the State of Hawai’i Public Utilities Commission will get underway with the final component of the participatory progress involving the potential $4.3 billion Hawaiian Electric Company-NextEra Energy merger.

A 12-day evidentiary hearing will include testimony through three consecutive weeks, from Nov. 30 through Dec. 3; Dec. 7 through Dec. 11; and from Dec. 14 through Dec. 16.

NextEra first filed dockets with the PUC on Jan. 26. Since the submission, 1,270 documents have been submitted.  Those documents can be reviewed on the NextEra website.

A decision by the PUC Board on the fate of the merger will follow the participatory process and come by June 2016.

Public hearings were previously held around the state, spanning from September through October, and discussed the potential impact for residents through the involved utilities.

NextEra Energy’s intended merger would include the acquisition of Hawai’i Electric Light, Maui Electric Light Company, and Hawaiian Electric Light Company.

“Because of significant interest for people statewide, ‘Olelo has partnered with other community-access television stations to make the hearings available to a wider audience,” ‘Olelo officials said.

On the Big Island, ‘Olelo has partnered with Na Leo ‘O Hawai’i, the island’s public access channel, to provide live viewing of the hearings.

The estimated 84 full hours, which will take place in Honolulu, will be available to Big Island residents via the public access channel during the scheduled meeting times

“If the PUC hearing is extended beyond those dates, ‘Olelo is committed to continuing live coverage on one of its four stations,” according to ‘Olelo officials.

Following each hearing, the video will be viewable within 48 hours online at the ‘Olelo Youtube Channel.

A viewing will also take place on Maui through Akaku Maui Community Media.