HECO / NextEra Merger: Defending Hawai‘i’s Solar Advances

The utility takeover would have been the biggest threat to Hawai‘i’s clean energy future. As rooftop solar opens the door to new clean energy markets and consumer choices, NextEra sought to take Hawaii back to the fossil-fueled monopoly of the past.

Clients

Attorneys

Isaac Moriwake

Regional Office / Program

Case Overview

A coalition of clean energy groups petitioned the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission to complete its ongoing work to plan Hawaiʻi’s energy future before considering the proposed acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Hawai’i’s main electric utility, by Florida-based NextEra Energy.

NextEra’s proposal to buy Hawaiian Electric for $4.3 billion was announced in early December 2014 and required various approvals, including by the Commission.

Two years later, after significant opposition from elected officials and the public, the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission rejected the takeover of Hawaiian Electric utilities by NextEra Energy. The utility takeover would have been the biggest business deal in Hawai‘i’s history — and the biggest threat to Hawai‘i’s clean energy future.

This victory is one of only a handful of rejections in the decades-long history of utility mergers, demonstrating Hawai‘i’s commitment to a clean energy transformation.

The coalition includes Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice, Blue Planet Foundation, Hawaiʻi PV Coalition, Hawaiʻi Solar Energy Association, and The Alliance for Solar Choice.

Solar panels on homes at Salt Lake in Oahu, Hawaiʻi.
Solar panels on homes at Salt Lake in Oahu, Hawaiʻi. (Matt Mallams for Earthjustice)

Case Updates

Solar panels on the rooftops of homes in the Salt Lake neighborhood of Oahu, Hawaii.
August 5, 2016 Article

Model For Monopoly Power Companies Needs to Change

The Public Utilities Commission rejected the NextEra-Hawaiian Electric takeover deal, but the real work to build a clean energy system by and for the people of Hawaii has just begun.

Earthjustice Managing Attorney Isaac Moriwake surveys rooftop solar
July 28, 2016 Article

Hawai‘i Rejects a Billion-Dollar Power Play

Hawai‘i’s Public Utilities Commission recently rejected the $4.3 billion sale of the state’s main utility company to out-of-state profiteers.

Powerlines and rooftop solar panels in Oahu, Hawaii.
July 15, 2016 Press Release

Hawaii Environmental, Consumer, Business Groups Applaud Rejection of NextEra Takeover

No appetite for NextEra’s outdated, dirty energy vision