HE and NEE to merge.

[punaticbychoice]

Just saw that Hawaiian Electric is planning to merge with NextEra Energy of Florida, parent company of Florida Power&Light.
Will spin off ASB. Deal valued at 4.3 billion plus 1.7 billion of HE debt.
Thoughts anyone?

[Anxious Messiah]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss?


_________________________________________
Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence.

[opihikao]

FYI - Pacific Business News Article for reference:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/...ml?ana=fbk

[punaticbychoice]

I just laugh that for something that will probably if it happens, have so much impact on us all, there is so little response.[]

[punafish]

I would respond, but have no idea what the ramifications are. If anyone else knows, please enlighten us.

[whalesong]

Rate hike to begin this month

by Andrew Walden

For over a year, Hawaiian Electric has been claiming that the "green infrastructure fee" now beginning to appear on electric bills statewide is not a rate hike because the new fee is counterbalanced by the removal of the former “public benefits fee.”

HawaiiFreePress.com has been alone in pointing out that the new green infrastructure fee will inevitably lead to higher electric bills as it is adjusted upwards to pay for defaults on subprime solar loans called "GEMS".

Now HECO has admitted that the truth is even worse than we projected. The Green Infrastructure Fee is already a rate hike which will take a bite out of solar customers, small and large businesses, non-profits, and government. The rate hike will be passed on to consumers.
http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesM...-Hike.aspx

More information on the Sale of HEL

NextEra Energy and Hawaiian Electric Industries to Combine

Transaction Terms

Subject to the terms and conditions of the merger agreement, upon completion of the transaction, HEI shareholders will receive an estimated total value of approximately $33.50 per share, representing an approximately 21 percent premium to HEI's trailing 20-day volume-weighted average price as of the close on Dec. 2, 2014. The total value will consist of:

0.2413 shares of NextEra Energy common stock for each HEI share they own, valued at $25.00 per HEI share, based on NextEra Energy's volume-weighted average stock price for the 20 trading days ended Dec. 2, 2014;
A one-time special cash dividend, to be paid by HEI, of $0.50 per HEI share for shareholders of record as of the date immediately prior to the closing of the transaction; and
Shares of ASB Hawaii, through the spinoff transaction, with a current estimated value of $8.00 per share based on consensus analyst estimates.
In addition, NextEra Energy will also assume approximately $1.60[2] per HEI share of tax liability for the spinoff of ASB Hawaii. This corporate-level tax liability results in additional value over time of up to $1.60 per share to new ASB Hawaii shareholders through an ASB tax basis step-up. With the exception of the one-time special cash dividend, the overall transaction, including the spinoff of ASB Hawaii, is expected to be tax-free to HEI shareholders.

The transaction expands NextEra Energy's regulated holdings and further balances its earnings mix, and is expected to be neutral to earnings per share for NextEra Energy shareholders in the first full year post-close and accretive thereafter. The transaction is expected to have no impact on NextEra Energy's quarterly dividend policy (the most recently declared quarterly dividend was $0.725 per NextEra Energy common share). Additionally, NextEra Energy remains committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet and will fund the transaction in a manner consistent with its current credit ratings.

Committed to Local Customers, Employees and the Communities We Serve

NextEra Energy and Hawaiian Electric are committed to ensuring that the combination delivers significant value to all Hawaiian Electric stakeholders. The merger approval application that NextEra Energy and Hawaiian Electric intend to file within the next 60 days with the Hawaii PUC will demonstrate that the combination will ensure customer interests are protected and that customers will receive measurable and significant value and savings. In addition, the jurisdiction of the Hawaii PUC over Hawaiian Electric will not be diminished as a result of the transaction. The companies look forward to demonstrating the benefits that this transaction will offer Hawaiian Electric's customers and Hawaii.

Upon completion of the transaction, together with FPL and NextEra Energy Resources, Hawaiian Electric will become a third principal business within the NextEra Energy family of companies. Hawaiian Electric will continue to operate under its current name and continue to be headquartered in Honolulu. Hawaiian Electric's utilities will continue to be locally managed from their existing operating locations. No involuntary reductions to Hawaiian Electric's workforce are expected as a result of the transaction for at least two years after close, and all of its union labor agreements will be honored.

NextEra Energy has been recognized for an unprecedented eighth consecutive year as No. 1 on the utility industry list of Fortune's "Most Admired Companies" and enjoys a longstanding reputation as a strong corporate citizen throughout the communities in which it operates. Consistent with that, NextEra Energy expects to maintain HEI's overall current level of corporate giving in HEI's communities. NextEra Energy also plans to establish a local Hawaiian Electric advisory board, whose purpose will be to provide input on matters of local and community interest. The advisory board will include six to 12 members, all of whom will have substantial ties to the Hawaii community.
More details on the sale here:
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/...04485.html

[oink]

Oh great! When I move there I'll be able to get the same crappy service I get now. Don't be expecting any infrastructure upgrade.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[steve1]

Whenever I see questionable big money business deals, I use Google search for probable wrongdoings. So when I was bugged by Nan Inc's road project and the lack of accountability by the State Highway apologists I Googled "nan inc" and bribery, and I also Googled "Nan inc" and deaths to check their safety records. Guess what? they pay off politicians and and regulators and some of their employees die on the job. (I was appaled by the numbers of workers who wander around in the lanes of traffic looking at their cell phones.)

Back to NextEra Energy and the HEI deal. At first I thought: well if NextEra (who bills themself as a solar and wind energy company) can buy the utility with the highest rates in the USA, maybe they can make solar and windpower affordable. Then I Googled "NextEra Energy of Florida problems" and the first link:
http://greencorruption.blogspot.com/2012...power.html
provided some interesting insight, like:
"NextEra Energy Inc. has two primary subsidiaries:

Florida Power & Light is the third largest electricity producer in the US (about which a September 2009 report states: “it's a political dynamo, making millions in political contributions and lobbying assiduously to achieve its goals”).
NextEra Energy Resources is the largest generator of energy from sun and wind resources in North America. The company also has the third largest fleet (8) of nuclear powered electricity generating plants in the United States.

Money

With its wealth and widespread influence, the DOE gave this huge energy conglomerate nearly $2 billion of taxpayer money, which includes the two risky projects listed below, plus hundreds of millions more in various stimulus grants."
(from the above link)

So again, it looks like this company pays off politicians and regulators to get their way (dare I say bribery?), and if they are heavily invested in Nucular Energy, well they have a huge ocean with lots of cooling potential for nucular wastewater.

Amytine 2 large companies merge or get bought out somebody has to pay for it. Either the workers (in lost jobs) or the customers in higher costs. The only people who will benefit from this deal are the CEOs and their cronies, the stockholders, the politicians and regulators who get paid off, and the subcontractors who take away the jobs of the workers who get laid off.
Steve, (awaiting hot lava)

[whalesong]

I support green energy advancement, but, what we need to think about is what is their real motive here in Hawaii.
Let's hope for the best, but, we need to ask question and keep Nuclear Energy out of Hawaii.

We need to ensure that we don't become like Florida, where it is Illegal To Live OFF GRID.

What does their history in Florida tell us?.

Here's one woman story:
It's is illegal to live off grid in Florida.
Robin Speronis lives off the grid in Florida, completely independent of the city’s water and electric system. A few weeks ago, officials ruled her off-grid home illegal. Officials cited the International Property Maintenance Code, which mandates that homes be connected to an electricity grid and a running water source.

That’s like saying our dependency on corporations isn’t even a choice. The choice to live without most utilities has been ongoing for Robin, the self-sufficient woman has lived for more than a year and a half using solar energy, a propane camping stove and rain water.

In the end, she was found not guilty of not having a proper sewer or electrical system; but was guilty of not being hooked up to an approved water supply. In essence yes. To live off the grid means to not have to hook up to any corporate or municipal utilities. If a municipality makes it illegal to disconnect from any given utility, they are in essence making off grid living illegal.

Speronis is still being hassled by the municipality of Cape Coral for not having a connection to city water, nor proper sewage. That. regardless of the fact the city capped her sewers themselves.
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014...city-grid/

So, we might ask ourselves, will we face the same fate here in Puna?
Here's what I found on the company. As well as a list of bankrupt Solar Companies, funded by taxpayers money.


At NextEra Energy, we’re investing
billions of dollars annually in clean and
renewable energy for our communities
and for the next generation.
Here's what they want us to believe.

Fact Sheet

NextEra Energy, Inc. is a leading clean energy company.

Our 2013 revenues totaled approximately $15.1 billion.
We operate approximately 42,500 megawatts of generating capacity.
We have approximately 13,900 employees in 26 states and Canada.
We have two principal subsidiaries.

Florida Power & Light Company, the largest rate-regulated electric utility in Florida, serves approximately 4.7 million customer accounts in the state and has the third-largest number of customers in the United States.
NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, together with its affiliated entities, is the largest generator in North America of renewable energy from the wind and sun.
NextEra Energy is one of the largest operators of commercial nuclear power units in the United States.

We have eight nuclear units at five plant sites located in Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin.
These facilities have the capacity to generate more than 6,000 megawatts of emissions-free electricity, enough to supply the needs of more than 5 million households.
NextEra Energy has one of the nation’s cleanest generation fleets.

NextEra Energy’s generation fleet has significantly lower rates of emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) than the average rates of the U.S. electric power industry, with more than 96 percent of its 2013 generation, measured by megawatt hours produced, coming from renewables, nuclear and natural gas-fired facilities.
NextEra Energy’s emissions rate for SO2, a principal cause of acid rain, was 0.06 pounds per megawatt hour in 2012, or 97 percent below the U.S. electric sector average. The company’s emissions rate for NOx, which is a principal cause of smog, was 0.19 pounds per megawatt hour in 2012, or 80 percent below the industry average. And NextEra Energy’s emissions rate for CO2, a principal cause of global climate change, was 553 pounds per megawatt hour in 2012, or 53 percent below the industry average.
NextEra Energy Resources is the leading renewable energy company in North America.

In 2013, the business reached wind production levels of nearly 30 million megawatt hours of generation, the highest level in the company's history. To date, NextEra Energy Resources has invested approximately $15.7 billion in its wind business.
NextEra Energy operates solar plants in areas such as California, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey and Ontario, Canada. In all, the business operates 900 megawatts of solar power, which is capable of meeting the energy needs of more than 575,000 homes at peak production.
Florida Power & Light, one of the largest U.S. electric utilities, provides its customers with affordable, reliable and clean energy solutions.

FPL’s typical bill is the lowest in Florida and, based on data available in July 2013, is about 25 percent below the national average.
A typical residential FPL customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month saved more than $320 in 2013 alone compared to the average price paid by Floridians served by other electric utilities. In total, over the past five years, a typical FPL customer saved an estimated $1,800 versus the Florida average and $1,500 compared to the average American electric customer.
During the five-year period ended Dec. 31, 2012, the company delivered the best service reliability among Florida investor-owned utilities.
FPL’s power is carried by way of more than 70,000 miles of power lines to approximately 4.7 million homes and businesses in about half the state of Florida.
FPL’s fossil fuel fleet set a new record for its fuel efficiency in 2013, bringing its systemwide heat rate down to 7,657 British thermal units (BTU) per kilowatt hour, which is 23 percent better than the average heat rate for the industry.
Since 2001, FPL’s heat rate has improved by 21 percent, resulting in more than $500 million in savings for customers in 2013 as a result of increased fuel efficiency.
Numerous major organizations have recognized NextEra Energy for our outstanding performance.

In 2014, NextEra Energy was named No. 1 in its industry sector for an unprecedented eighth straight year on Fortune magazine's listing of "Most Admired Companies." In that same Fortune survey, the company was named No. 1 in its sector in innovation, No. 1 in social responsibility and No. 1 in its sector for quality of products/services.
For the seventh year, NextEra Energy in 2014 has been named one of the “World's Most Ethical Companies” by the Ethisphere Institute. According to Ethisphere, this designation recognizes a company's "outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices, and corporate social responsibility." Of the 144 firms named to the World's Most Ethical Companies list this year, only four were from the electric utilities sector.
For an industry-record 10th consecutive year, FPL earned the ServiceOne Award, which is presented annually by PA Consulting Group. The honor is based on criteria that compare utilities across the United States and cover nearly all the areas typically found within utility customer service operations.
revision date: 6/5/2014
http://www.nexteraenergy.com/company/factsheet.shtml

Their PROFILE Page

http://www.nexteraenergy.com/pdf/profile.pdf

NextEra Energy Resources is a wholesale electricity supplier based in Juno Beach, Florida. It is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), a Fortune 200 company. Prior to 2009, NextEra Energy Resources (NER) was known as FPL Energy.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NextEra_Energy_Resources

The truth is that the problem is widespread. The government’s picking winners and losers in the energy market has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, and the rate of failure, cronyism, and corruption at the companies receiving the subsidies is substantial. The fact that some companies are not under financial duress does not make the policy a success. It simply means that our taxpayer dollars subsidized companies that would’ve found the financial support in the private market.

So far, 34 companies that were offered federal support from taxpayers are faltering — either having gone bankrupt or laying off workers or heading for bankruptcy. This list includes only those companies that received federal money from the Obama Administration’s Department of Energy and other agencies. The amount of money indicated does not reflect how much was actually received or spent but how much was offered. The amount also does not include other state, local, and federal tax credits and subsidies, which push the amount of money these companies have received from taxpayers even higher.

The complete list of faltering or bankrupt green-energy companies:
http://dailysignal.com/2012/10/18/presid...-failures/
Why are they investing in green-energy, but make sure they fail? $$$$ For Dirty Energy, IMHO.

My concern is that we keep Hawaii Nuclear FREE, and that Hawaii doesn't become like Florida. Where it is Illegal to Live Off Grid. We should continue to have that option, it should not be mandated to be connect to any corporate or municipal utilities.

[TomK]

I think you have to be very paranoid to think there's even the slightest chance a nuclear power plant will be built in Hawaii.