PUC holds public meeting on Kauai Island Utility Cooperative wildfire mitigation plan

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission on Kauai held a public meeting to take community comment on Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s wildfire mitigation plan, filed in docket number 2020Five-two55, the commission said.

Brett Rockwell, a representative of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC), provided a roughly 20-minute overview of KIUC’s plan, describing the plan’s objectives, risk drivers, key mitigation “pillars” and projected costs. Michael Angelo, executive director of the Hawaii Division of Consumer Advocacy in the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, told the meeting the consumer advocate will independently review KIUC’s filings and conduct discovery before making recommendations to the commission.

The plan’s stated objectives, Rockwell said, are to “reduce risk for our members” and “create increased reliability,” and to prevent, mitigate, respond to, assist and recover from wildfires while complying with law and reducing liability. Rockwell summarized the commission’s evaluation framework: whether the plan meets technical-feasibility and effectiveness criteria, uses resources efficiently, demonstrates continued progress, includes forward-looking improvements and clearly defined performance metrics, and otherwise serves the public interest.

Rockwell described specific risk drivers and operational triggers the plan addresses. He summarized the National Weather Service criteria used for “red flag” fire weather as “wind speeds greater than 20 miles an hour, relative humidity less than 45%, and a KBDI index… of 600 or more,” and noted the NWS determinations are based on conditions at Honolulu Airport and issued statewide. He said most red-flag coverage on Kauai historically falls on the island’s south and southwest zones and that KIUC is concentrating mitigation efforts there.

KIUC listed six pillars of the plan: design and construction, inspections and maintenance, vegetation management, operational practices, situational/conditional awareness, and response and recovery. Rockwell described changes to construction and equipment that KIUC is pursuing, including increased use of covered (jacketed) service wire in vegetated areas, installation of reclosers to sectionalize circuits, “tree wire” with an external jacket to reduce faults from foliage contact, and industry “fire-safe” fuses and arrestors designed to contain expulsion of material when faults occur.

On inspections, Rockwell said KIUC uses drone contractors with high-resolution cameras, infrared sensing and lidar to identify hot spots and measure vegetation encroachment in three dimensions. On vegetation management, he said KIUC has doubled its budget in the last year and a half, added a second vegetation crew and targets roughly 10 feet of clearance around primary lines. Rockwell cautioned homeowners about planting near lines and pad-mounted transformers.

KIUC staff described operational measures including a 24/7 control room with SCADA monitoring, owned and operated weather stations across the island to trigger alerts, standard operating procedures for red-flag periods, and coordination with Kauai Emergency Management Agency and Kauai Fire Department. Rockwell said KIUC will use targeted messaging and its Everbridge system to notify members if de-energization is needed for safety, and that maintaining up-to-date contact information improves targeting.

On costs, Rockwell said the plan includes a multi-year implementation budget in which pole replacements comprise the largest line items; the presentation table showed figures “in thousands” and he said viewers should “add three more zeros” to the table values. He said later-year work will shift toward replacing fuses and arrestors because KIUC has “thousands of those around the island.” Rockwell also noted KIUC is a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative and said the company is mindful of the cost to ratepayers.

Michael Angelo summarized the consumer advocate’s role: to “represent the interests of consumers in regulated public utility and transportation matters” and to independently review KIUC’s plan, conduct data requests and discovery, and later submit analysis and recommendations to the commission regarding the plan’s sufficiency. Angelo encouraged members of the public to file comments in the docket to assist the office’s evaluation and provided contact information for the Consumer Advocate’s office.

Chair Leo Asuncion of the Public Utilities Commission opened and closed the meeting and noted the session was not required by law but was held to afford the public an opportunity to learn about the plan and comment. No formal votes or regulatory decisions were taken at the meeting; the commission and the consumer advocate will continue their review and the process will conclude with a written decision from the commission. Members of the public were instructed they may file written comments in the commission’s electronic docket (CDMS) or by mail and were asked to reference docket number 2020Five-two55.

A single member of the public, identified on the sign-in sheet as Angie Paddle, was present and the chair called for public comments; no substantive oral testimony was recorded in the transcript extract provided. The meeting was livestreamed on the PUC YouTube channel, and copies of KIUC’s full wildfire mitigation plan and related filings are available in the commission’s CDMS e-services and on KIUC’s website (kiuc.coop/wildfire).