House panel questions actions of HECO, PUC

WASHINGTON >> Hawaiian Electric’s top executive would not commit to Congress that the company would publicize the findings of an internal investigation into the utility’s role in the Aug. 8. Lahaina fire that killed at least 97 people and left 7,500 homeless.

Testifying under oath Thursday before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Shelee Kimura, president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric, told Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., that the 132-year-old utility has a team investigating exactly what happened with the utility poles and power lines that went down amid high winds brought on by Hurricane Dora.

“Are you willing to commit to make those results public when the investigation is completed?” asked Pallone, ranking member of the oldest continuous standing committee in the House of Representatives.

“I think it’s too early to speculate on exactly what comes out of this and what form it comes out, but we are committed to sharing what’s critical with the public on this,” replied Kimura, who noted that HECO is cooperating with all state and federal investigations into the disaster.

“Is there any reason why you wouldn’t make it public?” pressed Pallone. “I mean, you seem to be hesitating a little bit.”

“I think it’s just too early to speculate on what that is going to look like in the future,” Kimura said. “We’re very focused on finding out what happened there to make sure that it never happens again.”

Kimura declined to take questions from reporters following Thursday’s hearing.

Jim Kelly, HECO vice president of government and community relations and corporate communications, told reporters that the findings of HECO’s internal investigation might feed into investigations by the Maui Fire Department and U.S. Department of Justice into the cause and origin of the deadly blaze and could be used by the state Department of the Attorney General in its investigation.

HECO, which is facing numerous lawsuits in connection with the Aug. 8 wildfire, has admitted that downed lines ignited the initial blaze that broke out that morning. But Kimura wrote in a letter to the congressional committee that MFD contained the fire and that the lines had been deenergized for more than six hours before it flared up and ripped though the historic town and surrounding neighborhoods, causing an estimated $5.5 billion in damage.

HECO refers to the 3 p.m. fire as the “Afternoon Fire,” making it clear the utility believes it was separate from the morning blaze and maintains that the cause and origin of the afternoon fire have yet to be determined.

Hawaii Public Utilities Commission Chair Leodoloff Asuncion Jr. and Mark Glick, the state’s chief energy officer, also were questioned by committee members during the hearing, titled “Investigating the Role of Electric Infrastructure in the Catastrophic Maui Fire.”

U.S. Reps. Jill Tokuda and Ed Case are not members of the committee, but did address their colleagues. Tokuda, whose congres­sional district includes Maui, shared the story of a woman who asked her to help find her husband. The woman showed Tokuda a picture of his burned truck and asked her why the back door was open, whether he escaped and where he could be.

“I could not answer her questions that day. All I could do was hold her hand, put my arms around her and comfort her. In the weeks that followed, I looked for her husband’s name on every list that came out. First it was on the list of the missing, then a few weeks ago identified among the dead,” Tokuda said. “I share this with you because there are many questions about this tragedy that must be answered. People want answers. People want accountability.”

Tokuda said Congress needs to come together and focus on how to keep federal assistance coming to Maui in the face of a potential federal government shutdown.

“We are two days away from a shutdown. Our people have gone through enough. The wheels of government must keep turning to provide support and resources so they focus on recovery and rebuilding,” she told the committee.

Kimura promised lawmakers she would provide information about exactly when electricity stopped surging through downed power lines in Lahaina.

Kelly said the decision to trigger a procedure designed to make sure that damaged power lines were not reenergized was made at 6 a.m. Aug. 7, when HECO officials became aware of the high winds from Hurricane Dora passing to the south of the state.

Kimura told the committee that HECO does not have the legal authority nor is it responsible for clearing dry brush or other vegetation on private property beneath power transmission lines unless the organic matter grows high enough to affect the lines.

She said 50% of Hawaii’s power lines are underground.

Kimura and Asuncion both said there are plans to place electrical infrastructure underground during the rebuilding of Lahaina but cautioned it would be very expensive. Asuncion said the effect on ratepayers could make putting the lines underground cost-prohibitive.

“I get that. But sometimes the cost of doing nothing gets to be prohibitive, too,” retorted U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas.

New specifics about how Maui’s electrical grid sparked the fire and efforts to control vegetation that became fuel beneath utility poles and lines did not emerge Thursday amidst a barrage of questions from lawmakers from an array of angles.

No comprehensive timeline of the events of Aug. 8 has been released by Maui County officials, and details of how HECO’s Maui Electric Co. reacted to red-flag wind warnings were not revealed. It was also left unclear what, if anything, the PUC can do to punish the utility when it fails to respond to reports of excessive vegetation.

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., asked Asuncion whether people on Maui reported excessive vegetation around utility poles and power lines. Palmer said he owns timberland in Alabama with power lines that run through it and that he routinely monitors the growth of grasses and other organic material that could start a wildfire.

“Is that something that people were not aware of as a potential problem for wildfire?” he asked.

Asuncion explained that any reports to HECO or the PUC of potential kindling growing around power transmission lines and utility poles would need to be handled by HECO.

“But if they don’t act on it, are there any penalties? Are there any enforcement actions that can be taken by the commission if the power company doesn’t do due diligence, that I think every power company should do, to make sure that they mitigate any risk for wildfire or harm to the public in any other way?” Palmer pushed.

“Certainly, we do have processes in place,” Asuncion said. “We could call the utility before us to explain their actions.”

“Yeah, but are there any penalties?” Palmer again asked.

“Excuse me?” Asuncion replied.

“Are there any penalties? Are there fines? Is there any way to exercise enforcement if the power company is not complying with the requirements?” Palmer pressed.

“We would have to figure out any penalty or any actions that the utility needs to make through our process,” Asuncion responded.

“You say you have to figure it out? That leads me to believe that you don’t have those in place now,” Palmer said.

“No, we do have those in place, but we have to follow our process in order to get to that level,” said Asuncion, who explained in general terms that multiple enforcement options are available to the PUC.

Palmer did not accept that answer.

“Mr. Chairman, I’m not satisfied with the answers. I would like the witness to provide to the committee, in detail, the enforcement measures the commission can impose on a utility that doesn’t comply with the regulations,” he said.

Asuncion agreed to provide the committee with the information.

Lahaina fire survivors and family members of the dead attended the hearing and submitted written testimony but were not invited to talk to lawmakers Thursday.

Kathleen Hennricks wrote that her family spent 10 days after the fire searching for her 57-year-old sister, Rebecca Ann Rans, only to learn she died in the arms of her longtime partner, Doug Gleoge, just a few blocks from their home while trying to escape the fast-moving flames.

“The biggest tragedy is that my sister’s death and the losses to our family were completely preventable,” Hennricks wrote. “My sister’s death was unnecessary, but please do not let it be meaningless. Steps must be taken now to prevent yet another fire on Maui.”

The FBI agents who informed her of Rans’ death said the only items that remained of her sister were a Hawaiian bracelet engraved with “Kuuipo,” which means “sweetheart” in Hawaiian, and a burned slipper.

Gleoge’s son and daughter, Jon Gleoge and Andrea Wheeler, also submitted testimony, saying details of the couple’s attempt to flee the fire “remain shrouded in uncertainty.”

“Perhaps the most excruciating aspect of this ordeal has been the condition of our dad’s remains,” the pair wrote. “The fire’s ferocity left his body unrecognizable, rendering viewing impossible. The weight of this reality is one that we both continue to grapple with daily.”

In an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser from her office in the Longworth House Office Building, Tokuda said she was pleased with Thursday’s “robust discussion.” Committee members’ questions were genuine and came from a place of concern, she said.

“My hope is that they did take away … the urgency with which we need to act,” Tokuda said. “Anything that could potentially slow down resources or aid, decisions, support to Maui and our state as a whole would be absolutely devastating. It would be re-victimizing people all over again.”

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a statement that oversight hearings are key to helping Hawaii better understand what went wrong and how to stop a similar tragedy from happening again. Thursday’s hearing provided “some details on how HECO responded to the fires” and how the company and state plan on preventing similar disasters in the future, he said.

“The investigations in Congress and in Hawaii are ongoing, and we will continue to monitor any new developments closely. Maui needs our continued support on a bipartisan basis, and that remains my primary focus,” Schatz said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.