Hawaiian Electric begins installation of weather station network in high-risk areas to strengthen wildfire response

Hawaiian Electric is installing a network of weather stations in wildfire-prone areas in an effort to provide key information about wind, temperature and humidity to help the company better predict and respond to fire weather conditions.

The project includes the installation of 52 weather stations on four islands. The weather stations, mounted on Hawaiian Electric utility poles, will provide meteorological data that will help the company to decide whether to activate and deactivate a public safety power shutoff, or PSPS. Under the PSPS program launched July 1, Hawaiian Electric may preemptively shut off power in areas that are at high risk of wildfires during periods of forecast high winds and dry conditions.

The $1.7 million project is one of nearly two dozen near-term safety measures Hawaiian Electric is implementing to reduce the potential for wildfires associated with company infrastructure in areas identified as posing a higher risk. Approximately 50% of the project costs will be covered by federal funds allocated under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) estimated at $95 million in grant funding covering various costs related to Hawaiian Electric’s resiliency and wildfire mitigation work.

“These weather stations will play a critical role as we continue to take action to address the growing risk of wildfires,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president and chief operations officer. “The detailed information they provide will allow us to take preventative action more quickly to protect public safety.”

The company has already completed the installation of weather stations at 31 high priority locations in the first phase of the project. Another 21 more are scheduled for installation by the end of July. When completed, there will be a total of 52 weather stations: 23 on Maui, 15 on Hawai’i Island,12 on Oʻahu and two on Moloka‘i. 

Hawaiian Electric contracted with California based Western Weather Group for the weather station equipment and support services. The weather stations are solar powered and record temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction. Western Weather Group is the leading provider of PSPS weather services in the electric utility industry helping utilities across the US with addressing wildfire risk.

Hawaiian Electric is also sharing weather station data with the National Weather Service (NWS), academic institutions, and other weather forecasting services to help improve the overall state’s ability accurately forecast potential fire weather conditions.

The weather stations are just one component of Hawaiian Electric’s multi-pronged Wildfire Safety Strategy. The company has already implemented several changes in high-risk areas, including launching the PSPS program July 1, installation of AI-enhanced high resolution wildfire detection cameras, the deployment of spotters in risk areas, and the implementation of fast-trip settings to automatically shut off power on a circuit in a risk area when a disturbance is detected on the circuit.