The final evidentiary hearing in the state regulatory review of the proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of Hawaii’s electric utilities will begin Monday.
The final evidentiary hearing in the state regulatory review of the proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of Hawaii’s electric utilities will begin Monday.
Scheduled for 12 days of testimony, the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission hearing will bring to an end the participatory process that began in January after Florida-based NextEra Energy Inc. announced its intention to merge with and assume control of the Big Island’s Hawaii Electric Light Co., as well as Maui Electric Co. and Hawaiian Electric Co. on Oahu.
When the hearing ends Dec. 16, members of the PUC board will deliberate and they estimate having a decision by June.
Since the initial filing of the PUC docket on Jan. 29, the utility companies, their consultants and the 25 remaining intervenors have submitted 1,249 documents totaling 71,144 pages. A round of public hearings, including one in Hilo on Sept. 29, collected testimony from ratepayers across the state as they weighed in on the acquisition, which has the potential to impact nearly every Hawaii resident’s pocketbook.
Hawaii residents have long paid the highest electric rates in the country, more than double those of Alaska, whose consumers pay the second-highest rates in the nation, according to the latest data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. So, any change which could affect electric rates is sure to be followed closely by the public.
That’s why Na Leo ‘O Hawaii on the Big Island and its partners at Akaku Maui Community Media and Olelo Community Media have decided to air all 84 estimated hours of the PUC hearing for its viewers, according to Jack Bates, Olelo’s senior marketing adviser.
“I think it’s the responsibility of community access, as well as a unique ability we have because we’re not commercial, so we can provide programming that is in the public interest that commercial television can’t provide,” he said Friday.
The Honolulu hearing will be from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on:
• Monday, Nov. 30-Thursday, Dec. 3
• Monday, Dec. 7-Friday, Dec. 11
• Monday, Dec. 14-Wednesday, Dec. 16
“If the PUC hearing is extended beyond those dates, Olelo is committed to continuing live coverage on one of its four stations,” reads a press release.
Each day of the hearing will air live on Na Leo ‘O Hawaii’s Channel 53 on Oceanic Time Warner and Hawaiian Telcom cable, and also will be available in live streaming on YouTube at www.youtube.com/olelocm and on its website at www.olelo.org/olelo49. The stream also can be found on www.naleo.tv.
The cablecasts will rerun each evening at 7 p.m. for people who were unable to watch them live, said Stacy Higa, general manager of Na Leo ‘O Hawaii.
Each cablecast also will be made available for on-demand viewing within 48 hours of its airing on the same websites.
For more information, visit www.olelo.org.