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Hawaiian Electric (NYSE:HE) CEO Shelee Kimura on Thursday defended the utility’s decision not to cut power to certain lines before high winds helped cause last month’s deadly wildfire that razed the town of Lahaina.
“Those decisions were made years before as part of… our protocols,” Kimura said during questioning at a hearing of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee.
“In 2019 our team started developing a wildfire mitigation plan and based on what they had learned of the plans in California including their preemptive shutoff program, they determined… that wasn’t the appropriate fit for Hawaii,” she told the lawmakers.
Kimura reiterated the company’s position that it is only responsible for trimming trees that are high enough to contact electric lines.
“Our vegetation management is around our lines,” the CEO said. “It is not a stated right to take care of the grass under our lines on private property.”
The factors that led to the fire are complex and involve several organizations, Kimura said.
