Hawaiian Electric reports progress in wildfire safety efforts

Since launching its expanded wildfire safety strategy one year ago, Hawaiian Electric reports making significant improvements to reduce wildfire risk from its equipment. Actions include a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) program, replacing and testing thousands of utility poles, upgrading miles of overhead power lines, clearing instrusive vegetation near electrical equipment, and installing weather stations and AI-assisted high definition video cameras, according to a company news release.

“There is no question that wildfires remain a persistent threat to our communities and we are taking that threat seriously. We continue to invest in new technology and upgrades to our infrastructure to make the grid more resilient, improve reliability and address growing risks from wildfires and other hazards,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president and chief operations officer.

The upgrades are part of Hawaiian Electricʻs multi-year grid resilience program to harden against wildfires, hurricanes, tsunami and flooding, and to adapt to impacts of climate change. 

Hawaiian Electric has been working with Filsinger Energy Partners, a nationally recognized independent energy advisory firm that specializes in wildfire mitigation strategies and risk modeling, since early 2024. Filsinger estimates that the various wildfire risk mitigation actions and programs implemented by Hawaiian Electric have reduced the risk of wildfire from the utility’s equipment by approximately 60%.

Hawaiian Electric reports it is spending about $120 million in 2024 to make wildfire safety improvements in four key areas:

Foundational Work:

• Developed wildfire risk maps based on the potential of ignition by utility equipment.
• Conducted inspections of circuits in high-risk areas to prioritize hardening work.
• Continued ongoing vegetation management efforts in areas adjacent to power lines on all islands, spending $100 million in the last four years.
• Installing 3,534 fire-safe fuses to reduce the risk of ignition.
• Installing 1,071 new lightning arrestors to further protect equipment from lightning strikes.

Operational Changes:

• Launched a Public Safety Power Shutoff program. Under this program, 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.
• Started deployment of spotters in risk areas during hazardous weather conditions.
• Set circuit breakers to automatically shut off power in risk areas when a disturbance is detected on a circuit.

Situational Awareness:

• Installed a network of 53 weather stations in wildfire-prone areas on four islands to provide key information about wind, temperature and humidity to help the company better predict and respond to fire weather conditions. The weather stations, mounted on utility poles, provide meteorological data that will help the company decide whether to activate and deactivate a PSPS.
• Started installation of a network of 78 artificial intelligence-assisted high-definition video cameras to help quickly detect wildfires.

Grid Hardening:

• Replaced and upgraded 2,202 utility poles.
• Replaced more than 16 miles of older overhead lines with new, more resilient lines.
• Installed 4,514 single-phase fault current indicators, which allow crews to more quickly locate disturbances on lines in high-risk areas.

In addition, Hawaiian Electric is working with community partners on wildfire safety projects, such as the construction of a firebreak at Leihōkū Elementary in Wai‘anae. The project was completed in August and included the removal of more than 1,000 feet of kiawe trees and grasses on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands property.

Hawaiian Electric continues to adapt its Wildfire Safety Strategy to address the elevated risks in Hawaiʻi. The company continues to seek grants and federal funding for safety and resilience programs and is developing a longer-term wildfire safety plan, which will be filed with the Public Utilities Commission in January 2025.