Public Utilities Commissions approves Hawaiian Electric’s five-year wildfire, overall grid resilience plan

Hawaiian Electric received a regulatory green light this week to move forward with its $190 million Climate Adaptation Transmission and Distribution Resilience Program application, reducing potential costs to customers by half.

At the heart of the plan was $95 million in funding granted by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which will be matched by $95 million from customers. As a result, typical residential customer bills should rise about $0.17 per month on Oahu, $0.47 on Hawaii Island, and $0.39 in Maui County. In return, they will get 2,100 poles servicing critical circuits replaced and strengthened.

All five island electric grids will be hardened against severe weather-related events fueled by climate change and against the rising threat of wildfires over the next five years. The pole replacement is but the first phase.

“As climate change progresses, the frequency and severity of severe weather events is likely to increase,” the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) said in its decision. “Given the critical services that rely on electric service to function and our state’s geographic isolation, it is imperative that our electric grid be able to withstand these growing challenges.”

Other measures to be taken will include system hardening and control measures, such as cameras, sensors and reclosers in areas with elevated wildfire risk; removal of hazardous trees in off-right-of-way areas; replacements of conductors; strengthening circuits for hospitals, public infrastructure and critical defense facilities; replacing poles with fire-resistant materials; undergrounding sections of specific distribution circuits; revamping existing system control centers, creating a backup control center on Oahu and relocating the Maui control center in particular to avoid flooding.

“We appreciate the PUC’s approval of our plan and we thank the U.S. Department of Energy and the Biden Administration for their funding support as we work with partners across the state to help Maui recover, to reduce the risk of wildfires and to make our system stronger,” said Colton Ching, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president of planning and technology.

The company noted that it is focusing its efforts on areas of the state at risk of wildfires.