Scrutiny of the Maui wildfires continues, with the spotlight on Hawaiian Electric and its role in the tragedy that has caused at least 115 deaths.
The Associated Press analyzed videos and images and confirmed that the utility’s wires were uninsulated and bare, making it easier for them to spark on contact. When left exposed to the weather and the foliage, the live wires are ripe to spark fires when hitting the ground.
The threat only heightened because many of the 60,000 wooden poles were built to “an obsolete 1960s standards” and they were nearing the end of their lifespan and coming up below a 2002 national standard that requires the electrical grid to withstand 105 miles per hour winds.
Warning signs were evident in 2019 when officials expressed concerns over a “serious public hazard” if the poles failed.
The AP quoted experts who said fully insulated cables would likely not have sparked and started the fires.
Hawaiian Electric has touted the upgrades it’s made to the power grid over the years, but those claims aren’t garnering much support in the wake of the tragedy.
“Even tourists that drive around the island are like ‘What is that?’ They’re leaning quite significantly because the winds over time literally just pushed them over,” says a former member of the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. “That obviously is not going to withstand 60, 70, mile per hour winds. So, the infrastructure was just not strong enough for this kind of windstorm. … The infrastructure itself is just compromised.”
Dave Lubach is executive editor of the facilities market.
