Hawaiian Electric narrows Phase 2 grid modernization plan, prioritizing wildfire-risk devices and control systems

Hawaiian Electric on Tuesday told the Public Utilities Commission during a technical conference that it will narrow the scope of its Grid Modernization Phase 2 program to prioritize field devices and control‑system upgrades in identified wildfire risk areas while continuing investments in cyber monitoring and private LTE communications.

Nathan Tadaro, who leads Hawaiian Electric's grid modernization program, said the company completed its Phase 1 smart‑meter rollout in September, with about 95 percent of customer accounts on advanced metering infrastructure, roughly 3.5 percent of customers having formally opted out and about 1.5 percent inaccessible to crews. Tadaro said the Phase 2 redesign responds to the company’s unsuccessful applications for Department of Energy grid resilience grants and to more precise wildfire‑risk mapping the utility has developed since its earlier filings.

The revised scope focuses on five component areas: an advanced distribution management system (ADMS), field devices (smart reclosers, motor‑operated switches and voltage regulators), SCADA expansion at selected distribution substations, private LTE (PLTE) expansion for resilient communications, and operational‑technology cyber monitoring. Tadaro said the company plans to file a supplemental Phase 2 application in the first quarter that reduces the earlier $215,000,000 estimate to a smaller package the company can justify without DOE grant funding.

Why it matters: Commission staff and the Consumer Advocate pressed Hawaiian Electric for details because the program affects public‑safety operations such as public safety power…