E&C Leaders Seek Further Information in Investigation of Maui Wildfires

Letter

Dr. Ms. Kimura,
We appreciate your testimony before the Committee on Energy and Commerce at our
September 28, 2023, hearing titled, “Investigating the Role of Electric Infrastructure in the
Catastrophic Maui Wildfires” and for your cooperation in supplying additional information in
response to our October 13, 2023, additional questions for the hearing record (QFRs).
We continue to keep the people of Maui in our thoughts as recovery efforts continue.

As we continue our investigation, questions persist both about the events on the days the
wildfires occurred (August 7 and 8, 2023) and about Hawaiian Electric Company and its
subsidiaries’ (collectively, HECO) “Wildfire Mitigation Plan” (WMP). For example, in HECO’s
October 27, 2023, response to the Committee’s QFRs, you described the weather updates that
HECO received on the dates of the wildfires. However, you also stated that HECO “did not
learn until after the windstorm had passed that the winds had been higher than forecast.”

Additionally, we continue to have questions about the WMP and the timeline of its
creation and development. HECO stated that it began developing the WMP in 2019 and finalized
it in 2023.4 However, the Hawaii Public Utility Commission revealed it had not seen the
document prior to the fires and only learned of its existence when HECO referenced it in HECO’s September 19, 2023, response to the Committee’s August 30, 2023, letter requesting more information about HECO’s wildfire mitigation measures.

As fires involving electrical equipment continue to threaten lives, property, and energy
reliability, the Committee has a responsibility to understand how these disasters unfold and how
they can be prevented, so we can utilize this knowledge and findings in developing and
overseeing the implementation of our national energy infrastructure policies. Accordingly, we
respectfully request that you provide the answers to the following question by April 3, 2024:

1. In your response to QFRs from Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chair
Griffith, you stated that HECO, “did not learn until after the windstorm had passed
that winds had been higher than forecast.” Chair Griffith also asked, “Does Hawaiian
Electric monitor weather conditions on a real-time basis?” You stated that Hawaiian Electric “periodically throughout the day receives weather forecasts and updates fromthird parties,” but that HECO “has been installing weather stations” and “is in the
process of developing procedures to incorporate the real-time data from those weather
stations into its operations.” This response indicates that HECO was not receiving
updates on weather conditions on a real-time basis at the time of the wildfires. Is the
Committee’s interpretation of your answer correct? If not, please clarify.

2. In these QFRs, Chair Griffith asked if HECO made any changes to the Wildfire
Mitigation Plan between January 2023 and October 2, 2023.10 You responded,
“Between January and August 8, the WMP was used to inform and align internal
work plans and programs in various divisions of the company, including the Climate
Adaptation Transmission and Distribution Resilience Program Resilience Program.
No changes were made to the WMP document during that time period.” Your
response did not address the full time frame in question. Were any changes made to
the WMP between August 8, 2023, and October 2, 2023? If so, please detail them and
indicate the date on which each change was made.

3. In your response to Chair Griffith’s QFRs, you stated that HECO engaged TLH
Project Management “to support development of the WMP.”12 Please provide the
following:

a. Any and all documents reflecting services provided by TLH Project
Management, including, but not limited to, memoranda and reports prepared
by TLH Project Management in connection with the WMP.

b. Any and all communications with TLH Project Management regarding the
WMP.

We look forward to your responses. If you have any questions about these requests or
need additional information, please contact Committee Majority staff at (202) 225-3641.
Sincerely,

Source