Experts say that Hawaiian Electric's strategy to reduce wildfire hazards has significant deficiencies.
After the Maui wildfires in 2023, the Public Utilities Commission mandated that HECO create an official wildfire mitigation plan and submit it for review. HECO filed that plan with the PUC in January 2025.
The state Division of Consumer Advocacy protects ratepayer interests in public utility matters. The office hired the outside consulting firm Jensen Hughes to assess HECO's strategy.
Jensen Hughes, which has developed and audited wildfire protection plans for numerous state and local governments, found that while HECO's plan technically met the minimum requirements set out by the PUC, key elements were underdeveloped and below industry standards.
"The plan does not currently meet a sufficient level of safety standard due to several critical deficiencies," Jensen Hughes stated in its findings.
HECO's wildfire risk maps and modeling of wildfire hazards were determined to be in need of immediate improvement.
In every other regard, HECO's plan was considered sufficient, but still needing improvement in some areas.
"While Hawaiian Electric’s [Wildfire Safety Strategy] demonstrates a growing commitment to wildfire risk reduction, it does not yet meet minimum thresholds for safety, technical rigor, or balanced performance across safety, reliability, affordability, and equity objectives," Jensen Hughes stated in its report.
In light of Jensen Hughes' findings, the Division of Consumer Advocacy is recommending that the Public Utilities Commission move the review process forward on the condition that HECO provide a timeline for how it will address issues in its wildfire plan.
Michael Angelo heads the Division of Consumer Advocacy. He called HECO's wildfire safety strategy "a work in progress."
“We certainly didn't expect right out of the gate that it was going to be best in class,” he said. “Our expectation is that they'll continue to work toward that.”
Concerns over the burden on customers
As part of its wildfire mitigation strategy, Hawaiian Electric has adopted a Public Safety Power Shutoff program. That means the utility may preemptively cut the power in certain hours during hazardous wildfire conditions.
Jensen Hughes stated that HECO's wildfire plan does not evaluate the burden that such power outages place on customers.
"It's really important, because electricity is such a fundamental need of people on a day-to-day basis," Angelo said.
Customers who rely on electricity to power medical devices may face particular challenges.
HECO currently has an opt-in model for alerts about public safety power shut-offs, including for medically vulnerable customers.
In the case of a power shut-off, the utility advises that medically vulnerable customers leave affected areas.
Jensen Hughes' report critiqued this approach, pointing out that some customers with disabilities may be unable to leave an affected area independently.
The firm advised that HECO work with community partners to communicate and prepare vulnerable customers for power shutoffs. It also noted that some utility companies in the country provide transportation to care facilities or portable batteries to power medical equipment during shut-offs.
Next steps
The Public Utilities Commission will decide whether to approve, accept with conditions, or reject HECO's plan.
In a statement to HPR, HECO said it appreciated the Division of Consumer Advocacy's input in the process.
"We believe we fulfilled all the requirements set forth by the PUC and that the [Division of Consumer Advocacy] has identified additional capabilities that we generally agree with and are part of our plans for continuous improvement of our Wildfire Safety Strategy," HECO stated.
Consumer Advocate Angelo said that the utility has taken important steps to mitigate wildfire hazards.
"It just needs to keep going in that direction," he said.
The Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative has also submitted a wildfire mitigation plan to the PUC.
The Division of Consumer Advocacy has enlisted Jensen Hughes to evaluate KIUC's plan as well. Those findings are expected at the end of October.
Read the Division of Consumer Advocacy’s statement of position and Jensen Hughes’ full report on Hawaiian Electric’s Wildfire Safety Strategy.
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