HECO CEO: ‘There are choices that need to be made’

The risks of cutting power to people who rely on specialized medical equipment and affecting the supply of water available to firefighters were factors in Maui Electric Co.’s decision not to de-energize power lines in West Maui as high winds threatened to topple utility poles and, later, as those same winds fanned the flames that reduced Lahaina town to ash, according to Hawaiian Electric Co. CEO Shelee Kimura.

What You Need To Know

- Kimura noted that Hawaii does not have a Public Safety Power Shutoff program, like those in California and other states, through which utilities may shut off power when there is an elevated threat of electrical infrastructure causing or exacerbating fires

- Over the weekend, a class-action suit was filed on behalf of West Maui homeowners whose properties were lost during the fires

- The suit alleges that HECO was aware of the risk its infrastructure posed under the high-wind conditions but did not act appropriately to prevent its power lines from causing or contributing to the deadly fires

Kimura said HECO executives have not had the time or opportunity to reevaluate the decision, given the immediate concerns the utility has had to address

Fielding questions from reporters during a news briefing hosted by Gov. Josh Green on Monday, Kimura noted that Hawaii does not have a Public Safety Power Shutoff program, like those in California and other states, through which utilities may shut off power when there is an elevated threat of electrical infrastructure causing or exacerbating fires.

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