Maui Electric Forum on Local Energy Resilience, Nov. 29

As climate change impacts the islands – hear how local organizations are preparing our communities at the upcoming community forum, Energy Resilience on Maui, on Nov. 29. PC: Maui Electric Company.

As climate change impacts the islands with more severe and frequent storms, hear how local organizations are preparing our communities at the upcoming community forum, Energy Resilience on Maui, presented by Maui Electric Company in partnership with High Performance Energy Resilient Communities or HiPER COMM.

This free forum takes place on Thursday, Nov. 29 at the J. Walter Cameron Center Auditorium. Light refreshments will be served at 4:30 p.m. with discussion to follow from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“Recent storms here locally remind us of the serious impact climate change is making on our islands,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric. “For our company, our efforts to strengthen our electrical grids on Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i as well as expand our storm recovery planning for greater resilience go year round. Such planning includes encouraging more opportunities for all of us – partnering agencies, residents and businesses – to come together and talk about our community’s readiness to prepare for and respond to potential impacts on our islands.”

The forum will feature the following participants:

• Herman Andaya, administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, County of Maui
• Dr. Chip Fletcher, professor, Department of Earth Sciences, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and vice-chair of the Honolulu Climate Change Commission
• Fred Redell, energy commissioner, County of Maui
• Chris Reynolds, system operations director at Maui Electric
• Alex de Roode, founder and lead researcher, HiPER Comm
• Carlos Villacis, Ph.D., MPA, director of applied science, Pacific Disaster Center

“With so many moving parts and stakeholders involved in Maui’s island resiliency efforts, HiPER Comm seeks to serve as a convener and think tank for furthering Maui’s energy resilience,” said de Roode.

“One of the primary goals of HiPER Comm is to facilitate island resiliency becoming a core consideration in all decisions we make here for our community, not just as an afterthought or secondary consideration but rather as an integrated key driver for decision making.”