In Bloomberg, Ari Natter and David R. Baker report that following mounting pressure on Hawaiian Electric Co., announced in a letter from the Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee, to release further information and documentation related to the Lahaina wildfire have caused a drop in parent company Hawaiian Electric Industries’ share value. A notable excerpt reads:
- In a letter to CEO Shelee Kimura, leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee said they have additional questions about the company’s wildfire mitigation plan and that “questions persist” about the timeline of events during the August wildfire.
- The letter, made public Friday, asked the company to provide documents and communications related to the utility’s work with TLH Project Management, a consultant Hawaiian Electric hired in 2019 to help develop its wildfire mitigation plan. The committee also asked whether the utility was receiving real-time updates on weather conditions — particularly wind — at the time of the fire.
- “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,” the committee’s letter to Kimura said.
- Shares of parent Hawaiian Electric Industries slumped as much as 4.9 percent in New York trading Friday.
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