TGI Staff Mayor Maryanne Kusaka doesn’t think the recently announced sale of Kaua’i Electric by Citizens Communications to the Kaua’i Island Utility Co-op for $215 million will benefit Kauaians. “I fail to see how this purchase price will result in
TGI Staff
Mayor Maryanne Kusaka doesn’t think the recently announced sale of
Kaua’i Electric by Citizens Communications to the Kaua’i Island
Utility Co-op for $215 million will benefit Kauaians.
“I fail to see how this purchase price will result in a cost savings
to the ratepayers,” Kusaka said.
To assess the sale’s impact, the public should attend a Kaua’i
County Council committee meeting next week for a presentation by the
county’s consultant, R.W. Beck, Kusaka said.
“The consultant will share details about their study of how the
purchase price will affect rates,” she said.
The consultant also will update the government officials on the
appraisal of the utility company.
The appraisal will “dictate to us our ultimate course of action,”
said Kusaka, whose administration has looked at acquiring Kaua’i
Electric.
The $215 million proposal requires state Public Utilities Commission
approval before it can be finalized.
During a conference call with analysts and others to discuss
Citizens’ second-quarter earnings, Rudy J. Graf, Citizens’ chief
executive officer, said the company plans to refile a Kaua’i Electric
transfer application this month.
The re-filing is the new application with the Utilities Commission
for approval of the sale of Kaua’i Electric to the co-op.
The state Utilities Commission rejected a proposal by the co-op last
year to buy Kaua’i Electric for $270 million amid questions about the
financial viability of the offer and objections from federal, state
and Kaua’i County agencies.
The announced sale came as a total surprise to Gregg Gardiner,
chairman of the co-op’s board of directors, who said Thursday that no
definitive agreement has been signed between the buyer and seller.
“We continue to work on behalf of the citizens on Kaua’i to make a
deal, but we’re not there yet,” Gardiner was quoted as saying.
Kusaka’s administrative assistant, Wallace Rezentes Sr. said he
found it puzzling that the sale “was a surprise” to the chairman of
the board of Kauai Island Utility Coop.
“I will believe the $215 million price when the board of KIUC makes
an announcement,” Rezentes said.
Kaua’i Electric customers pay some of the highest electricity rates
in the country.
Citizens Communications said it wants to sell all of its utility
businesses in favor of acquiring telecommunications lines on the
mainland.
