Hawaiian Electric outlines wildfire safety strategy for Hawaii Island, emphasizes grid hardening and situational awareness

Hawaiian Electric staff presented an updated wildfire safety strategy to the Hawaii County Communications Reports and Council Oversight Committee on March 18, describing ongoing grid hardening, vegetation management, situational awareness and operational changes intended to lower wildfire risk across Hawaii Island.

The company said it has spent about $120 million on wildfire safety work and has reduced wildfire risk attributable to its infrastructure by around 60% to date, with a longer‑term target of roughly 80% reduction where feasible while balancing reliability and customer costs. The utility said it filed an enhanced wildfire safety strategy with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission in January built around four pillars: grid hardening, situational awareness, operational practices and stakeholder/community partnerships.

Grid hardening actions described by Hawaiian Electric included pole replacements (wood and alternate materials such as steel and composite), conductor upgrades (including replacement of older copper conductor with aluminum and…