The state has let Hawaiian Electric Industries effectively take over the islands’ energy resources for its own commercial gain, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday.

The public is paying the highest electric rates in the nation in part because the Public Utilities Commission is granting too many waivers from the competitive bidding process, the lawsuit says.

Honolulu attorney John Carroll filed the lawsuit against the state over breach of public trust in its failure to address the state’s energy crisis to the satisfaction of its residents.

Read the complaint here.

Hawaiian Electric Company offices in downtown Honolulu. (Nathan Eagle/Honolulu Civil Beat)