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NextEra is no savior

NextEra is no savior

Do we need a bigger for-profit monopoly to run a public utility than we already have? Many are calling for local control and ownership of our power generation and distribution system — a real public utility!

Iolani Palace had electricity before the White House, so that infers that improvements to the grid and the way electricity is generated and distributed in Hawaii can be done without a big mainland corporation.

NextEra’s “hit and run” tactic of taking over the power grid failed, so now their strategy is one of isolation and strangulation. This is accomplished by isolating various segments of society and playing them against one another.

In this instance, they convinced the electrical union to go to what some call the dark side. With so much resistance to the merger, why did the Public Utilities Commission let the CEOs of HEI and NextEra get away without testifying?

If they want to drill a geothermal well close to your property, you would be hard pressed to stop them, thanks to Hawaii State Act 97, written by and for the geothermal industry, and they could even frack it if they wanted. It’s not as clean and green as you’ve been led to believe.

NextEra wants a submarine cable, so another island can power Oahu. Who wants to be their sacrificial battery pack? A subsidiary of NextEra makes these, and has done some in the Florida Keys for short distances, but it’s much deeper and farther between islands here. Can you say energy loss? Sure you can!

Would this merger (ever notice how merger and murder sound so much alike?) goes through, will it lower our bills? They didn’t come here to save us; they came here to make a fortune off of us.

Dave Kisor

Pahoa

Be grateful

It’s never to late to be in gratitude. I’ve come to realize the intense, endless work county offices, doctors, teachers, social workers, counselors and volunteers, just to name a few, do on our behalf.

When you apply for human services to kokua the changes in your life, it’s not just paperwork on their end. It’s what they do between phone calls and endless following up on both sides of the fence.

I want to sincerely thank each one of you for your kokua on our behalf. Of course, it’s your job, but it’s the fact that your sincerity and aloha is what we all benefit from, and we should take a second to think about it and be grateful.

Lynise Tarring

Hilo