Attention turned to the utility soon after the fires, partly because of videos and photos posted online by people in Maui that seemed to show power lines starting fires. In addition, data from Whisker Labs, a private company that monitors the electrical grid around the country looking for problems that might spark fires in homes, appears to identify serious faults on power lines in the area where the fires started.
Hawaiian Electric has declined to comment in detail about the fires. But the company’s chief executive, Shelee Kimura, said at a news conference on Monday that the company did not have a program that could shut off power pre-emptively to prevent wildfires. She said such a program would have required coordination with emergency workers. Power shut-offs would have made it impossible for people to use medical equipment, water pumps and other essential devices.
“In Lahaina, the electricity powers the pumps that provide the water — and so that was also a critical need during that time,” Ms. Kimura said.
Hawaiian Electric is not the first company to find itself in the spotlight after major wildfires. Aging utility equipment has often been blamed in recent years for igniting devastating fires when it comes in contact with dry vegetation, especially when strong winds are present.
California’s largest electric utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, has been in a similar position several times. State officials identified one of its power lines for setting off the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise. Liability from wildfires forced PG&E to seek bankruptcy protection; the company ultimately agreed to pay $13.5 billion to settle fire claims.
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