I'm fairly sure he's doing it out of respect.
But also he may have done it to avoid the usual whingers going "Oh but it's not the REAL ELO", just like Queen "isn't Queen without Freddie Mercury" and "no Bill Ward = no Black Sabbath", people would slate the band for arbitrary reasons rather than judging based on the quality of their live shows and music.
Personally, I'm delighted I managed to score a ticket to see ELO next year, never thought I'd get the chance.