Hawaii
Hawaii Is Bailing Out Its Wildfire-Causing Energy Company
Last August, a deadly wildfire tore through Hawaii, erasing the town of Lahaina and killing over one hundred people. The state’s publicly traded utility corporation was found responsible; it is now facing a deluge of claims from residents seeking compensation for damages, as well as lawsuits from the insurance companies that have been paying out disaster claims.
Hawaii’s electricity is provided by a for-profit utility supplier that is granted monopoly power over energy distribution. In addition to its dominance of Hawaii’s power grid, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., (HEI) enjoys almost complete autonomy in the physical management of its power lines on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Only residents of the island of Kauaʻi maintain some semblance of control over their electricity, through a resident-owned energy cooperative. When massive winds from Hurricane Dora blew into Maui, HEI subsidiary Maui Electric Company (MECO) refused to respond to early calls to shut down the grid. This came even as fire-safety officials warned that a flash drought put most of the state in a Red Flag Warning, the highest possible fire alert issued by the National Weather Service.
More than thirty power lines went down as winds battered the island, but MECO remained silent — apparently refusing to cut power to downed lines that were sparking fires. In the fallout of the fires, it came to light that MECO had not properly insulated wires or maintained poles and surrounding vegetation. These are standard precautionary measures in most states, especially ones with significant wildfire and windstorm risk. Many lines were bare — i.e., lacking any insulation at all — a direct violation of state regulations dating back to 2002 that significantly increased the probability of ignition in surrounding vegetation.
Now, as HEI struggles to pay for damages, state regulators look set to bail out the negligent utility company.
Five months after the fire, legal fees, disaster relief bills, and settlements are piling up. A battery of personal claims against HEI prompted 142 insurance companies, including USAA, State Farm, Island Insurance, and Tradewind, to seek reimbursement for over $1 billion in claims they had paid to residents as of December 2023. The companies are following the lead of Maui County, which similarly filed suit against HEI on the grounds that the corporation’s negligence is to blame for property damage and loss of life. Recent analysis estimates HEI could be on the hook for over $4.9 billion when the ashes clear. The corporation itself was only insured up to $165 million, a drop in the bucket compared to what they owe in damages combined with what insurers are seeking in reimbursement.
This scheme by insurance companies puts them in league with individual residents and the county in civil suits against HEI. This is not uncommon in catastrophe underwriting, as insurance companies will leave no stone unturned in trying to mitigate losses from natural disasters.
To that end, insurers often use gray areas in coverage to deny consumers’ claims related to flood or hurricane damage. But as the $1 billion in insurance payouts suggest, the insurance companies don’t seem to be fighting consumers’ claims. When it’s evident that a battery of claims cannot be denied, will not be sufficiently covered by reinsurance (the insurance that insurance companies themselves take out to protect against significant losses), and cannot be stalled in court, industry-wise lawyers will go after the next best offering: in this case, the utility company left holding the bag.
Soon after the announcement that the company had failed to de-energize its grid, the corporation’s long- and short-term bond ratings were downgraded by two of the “Big Three” credit-rating agencies, with Fitch lowering HEI’s grade to B on Rating Watch Negative and S&P lowering it to B-. The third of the Big Three, Moody’s, put HEI “under review for downgrade.” This means that lending companies would charge extremely high rates on anything HEI borrowed to pay its bills, whether those bills be to the people of Hawaii, state conservation efforts, insurance lawsuits, an infrastructure overhaul, or disaster relief funds.
But HEI has an important friend ready to help: the state of Hawaii. On January 23, state legislators introduced measures drafted by HEI to safeguard the company from bankruptcy by allowing it to raise costs to residents and issue a new bond covering the costly bill for starting the wildfire. Essentially, the state plans on issuing a low-APR, no-limit credit card that HEI can use to pay its bills, with minimal risk to the long-term financial health of the corporation. The monopoly’s survival is crucial to the state of Hawaii, which would lose 95 percent of its electrical coverage should HEI go bankrupt and cease operations. It is also crucial to the company’s boardroom. Some supporters of the bailout say it is ultimately the best bet for residents of Hawaii, so long as the bonds are used to fund grid updates rather than lawsuits from insurance companies. The current deal would allow HEI to push the cost of the bonds — including interest — onto residents immediately; supporters argue that this would theoretically allow for avoidance of massive consumer rate hikes, which would inevitably follow in the long term should HEI be forced to borrow on the open market. Better to start paying a little bit extra over many years than a lot extra years down the road, when it comes time to pay back the high-rate bonds. But this crowd ignores the bigger picture — that the private debt of a for-profit company will be foisted on consumers regardless.
Whether in the short or long term, consumers are being made liable for the fire, the immediate costs, and the ensuing market fallout. Even if a resident receives an insurance payout, the insurance company is passing the ball to HEI, which is passing it to the state, which is ultimately turning it back over to the resident.
HEI vice president of corporate communications James Kelly claims that the utility doesn’t intend to use the bond proceeds to cover legal claims. But the state is not imposing any safeguards to ensure this, and there are no mechanisms to enforce transparency. In fact, legislators seem to have the opposite in mind — litigation and settlement costs are explicitly covered by the bonds.
An important question for Kelly, then, is how the utility does intend to process over $4.9 billion in legal claims if its current equity and insurance backing is so insufficient as to require a generous bailout by Hawaii residents. Why else would HEI directly include litigation and settlement contingencies in the legislative measure the company itself drafted, if not to use the bonds to cover those costs?
Pacific Gas and Electric Company — California’s energy utility — went through its own equity crisis following the 2018 Camp Fire. That fire resulted in at least eighty-five deaths and was found to be the result of similarly mismanaged power lines. A recent decision by the California judiciary hopes to save their for-profit energy corporation from the same type of bankruptcy facing HEI with big rate hikes, brought about by an $11 billion insurance settlement. Both disasters might have been avoided with state-run utilities or publicly held energy cooperatives, which would be democratically accountable to residents. Had there been public, democratic oversight in place of a concern with profit maximization, HEI might have taken measures that prevented the wildfires from starting in the first place — like implementing the 2002 infrastructure regulation. Hawaii could take notes from the publicly owned New York Power Authority (NYPA), for instance. NYPA is the lowest-cost energy provider in New York State, which is theoretically bound by regulations set by the state comptroller.
Instead, Hawaiian consumers are not only bearing the burden of loss of life, land, and property caused by corporate negligence — they’re being forced to pick up the bill for the corporation’s negligence too. Here, utility deregulation has taken to such an extreme that the company at fault is allowed to build its own legislative life raft. This state of affairs is par for the course with private utilities: Hawaii needs HEI as the owner and operator of the vast majority of the state’s electrical grid. Yet the utility needs the state of Hawaii to help it avoid being eaten by the bigger fish it exposes itself to as a profit-generating corporation. Until utilities are publicly controlled, corporate boardrooms will dictate who ultimately pays utilities’ financial burden.
I live in New York City. My 30-year-old son, Alec, lives across the country in Southern California. When I visit, I respect that he has his own busy, adult life. While I’d like nothing more than to spend every minute with him, I’m proud of his independence and try not to monopolize his time.
Alec has a roommate and no space for an overnight guest. When I’m on his home turf, I stay in a hotel or with a friend.
When he comes to NYC for the holidays, his schedule is packed. Plus, with the entire family under one roof, it can be tough to carve out one-on-one time.
I don’t feel shut out of Alec’s life, but I do miss spending quality time with him, so I floated the idea of a mother-son vacation.
He set a few ground rules before we started planning
Alec was vocal that for our getaway to work, we’d need to approach it as equals. This may sound deceptively simple, but it took lots of self-control on my part.
Little kids and I pair like milk and cookies. I did my graduate studies in early childhood education and taught preschool for years. Parenting young kids is never easy, but it felt instinctive. It grew harder as my children grew older.
Alec is my firstborn, and my parental grip was tightest around him. When he was a teenager, he told me I didn’t understand that teens needed autonomy. At the time, he was correct, but over the years, I’ve worked hard to pacify my bossy instincts.
This time, I would welcome his voice in planning our vacation.
Alec brought up another rule: that part of being equal should include sharing expenses. I gifted Alec his airline ticket using miles, and we split additional expenses.
Choosing a destination
Alec had four days off work over Memorial Day Weekend. I advocated for a location that wasn’t too hot, as I had suffered a bout of heatstroke in Greece last summer. A yoga class nearby would be a bonus.
Alec made a case for Hawaii. He’d never been, but its laidback reputation appealed to him. He said he wanted to destress at a resort and eat poke every day.
Hawaii is special to me. I first visited when I was a kid, spending a summer at my aunt and uncle’s home in Waianae on Oahu. The idea of sharing Hawaii with Alec was exciting.
From a practical point of view, Hawaii made sense. There are numerous nonstop flights from LAX, Alec’s home airport. I was going to be in Denver for work, so I was already heading in a westerly direction.
Courtesy of Allison Tibaldi
Each of the Hawaiian Islands has its own flavor. We had lots of options and weren’t quite sure how to narrow them down.
Alec is a fan of the television cooking show “Top Chef.” During his online research, he learned that former contestant Sheldon Simeon was scheduled to be the visiting chef at the Ritz-Carlton O’ahu, Turtle Bay on the island’s North Shore on the Saturday night of our trip.
The Hawaiian-born chef would be preparing a multi-course dinner using island-grown ingredients. I’m all about exploring local culture through food, so it seemed like a jackpot for both of us.
After we booked the dinner, we figured it made sense to stay at the Ritz-Carlton.
Balancing time together and separately was key
Another boundary we set for our vacation was balancing time together with time apart.
Each morning, Alec surfed, and I swam laps in the pool. I signed up for a lei-making workshop while he attended a tennis clinic.
In a perfect world, we would have reserved individual rooms; however, we shared a room for economic reasons.
We were still able to maintain boundaries and give each other privacy as our room had a comfortable ocean-view patio, perfect for reading and relaxing.
Meaningful conversations are what stand out
Time together sparked the meaningful conversations and connection I had longed for.
On May 24, I mentioned that it was my beloved dad’s heavenly birthday. Alec shared tender memories of his grandpa and told me that my dad had been a father figure for him, too, teaching him lessons that continue to impact his life. It made me teary.
We also had an intelligent discussion on income inequality. Alec overheard a group of vacationing doctors and a group of vacationing teachers chatting in the Jacuzzi. He said the doctors worked very long hours without complaint, while the teachers complained nonstop about their overwhelming workload. This led to a conversation between Alec and me about teachers being underpaid and undervalued.
As a former teacher, I found that my son’s thinking about socio-economic issues that hit so close to home really resonated with me.
Our mother-son vacation brought us closer
Our mother-son vacation was a success. Alec ate plenty of poke. I got to practice yoga. Together, we swam in the Pacific, walked trails surrounded by gardenias, and enjoyed a delectable Hawaiian dinner.
As much as I loved our activities, it’s the memories of our personal and poignant conversations that are etched in my heart.
I can’t wait to travel with Alec again.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A state senator is challenging the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ (DLNR) decision to extend the deadline for the Puuhonua O Waianae (POW) encampment at Waianae Boat Harbor.
It comes as state and community leaders continue efforts to relocate residents to a permanent site.
The deadline was originally set for the end of June and has been pushed to Oct. 16.
State Sen. Samantha DeCorte said the extension marks the third delay in the relocation process since the original notice to vacate was issued last year. The initial deadline was Nov. 27, 2025, followed by extensions to April 30 and June 25 before the most recent extension.
DeCorte criticized the repeated delays during a press conference on Saturday.
“We are calling on DLNR Acting Chair Ryan Kanakaole, members of Puuhonua O Waianae, and the governor’s office to do what they said they would do. Complete the transition, honor the commitment, and bring this process to a close. After 20 years, another extension is not the solution,” DeCorte said.
She added concerns remain around public safety near the harbor, including reports of vandalism involving fishing equipment and conditions she says affect families and students traveling through the area.
“Fishermen have dealt with vandalism (and) theft of their equipment. Public safety concerns have persisted, and kids have to walk past unsafe conditions just to get to school.”
DLNR said the extension is intended to provide additional time for the relocation of the POW community to a nearly 20-acre site in Waianae Valley, while construction continues at the mauka housing development.
Kanakaole said in an email sent to DeCorte Friday that POW requested a deadline extension to vacate by the end of November, and the department, along with the governor’s office, reached an agreement on the October move-out deadline.
“DLNR, POW, and the Governor’s Office worked through what remains to be completed and established a reasonable timeline tied to actual relocation, cleanup, and closure activities and to provide for the most orderly and voluntary transition, which will ultimately lead to a solution that will last,” Kanakaole’s email said in part.
He added that more than 100 people remain at the site and POW leaders said that number should substantially reduce over the next several weeks, “potentially by nearly half within the next month.”
Read Kanakaole’s full email to DeCorte here.
The agency said it is coordinating with community leaders to ensure residents can relocate safely and to support cleanup and transition efforts at the harbor.
The relocation site has been part of a long-term plan tied to the late community leader Twinkle Borge, who envisioned moving families from the harbor into permanent housing.
Community leaders with Puuhonua O Waianae said the process remains complex and cannot be completed immediately.
Kala Paishon, a community leader with the encampment, said some residents are still unable to move because housing units at the new site are not yet complete. He also said limited transportation and volunteer support make moving difficult for some families.
“We do have some people that volunteer their time to help our people move. We’re limited on our vehicles, but we do what we got to do to move the people up there,” Paishon said.
He added that many residents have deep ties to the harbor after years of living there.
“Some people have been here 10-plus years,” Paishon said. “This is the memory they have, and this is where they felt like home.”
Paishon also said crews are working to gradually transition residents while maintaining cleanup efforts at the site.
“We’re making sure everybody moves up there safely… at the same time, we’re still cleaning up our opala down here.”
DLNR said it continues to work with community leaders and the governor’s office to move the relocation process forward in the coming months.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Office of Hawaiian Affairs Responds to Senate Bill Involving Pōhakuloa – Big Island Video News
(BIVN) – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) says it is in alignment with provisions in the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act dealing with military-leased lands in Hawaiʻi, including the Pōhakuloa Training Area.
In a news release, OHA said it is encouraged by the bill’s “clear movement away from condemnation and toward negotiated solutions” for the approximately 19,700 acres of state lands at Pōhakuloa, and 450 acres at Kahuku. “The process outlined is consistent with OHA’s long-standing position opposing condemnation – whether forcible or ‘friendly’ – and insisting that lands held in public trust remain in the public trust and continue benefiting Native Hawaiians and future generations of Hawaiʻi’s people.”
The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee recently passed the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. The bill is expected to advance to the full United States Senate for consideration by the end of July 2026, OHA says.
In a June 12th news release, U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D, Hawaiʻi) said she voted against the NDAA. Hirono is a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Ranking Member of the Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee.
“I’m proud to have secured numerous provisions in the Senate’s FY27 NDAA that invest in military readiness, Hawaii, the Indo-Pacific Region, and our servicemembers and their families, while also holding the Army accountable on the military training land lease negotiations,” Hirono stated at the time. “However, I could not in good conscience vote to advance a bill that paves the way for an up to 40% increase in year-over-year Department of Defense spending, especially as this administration wages an illegal war in Iran with no plan or end in sight.”
Hirono said the bill “directs the Secretary of the Army to seek from the State of Hawaii, on terms acceptable to both the Army and the State, a renewal of expiring training land leases. As part of this, requires the Army to expeditiously resubmit their Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for the leased lands and address deficiencies identified by the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources.”
OHA noted Section 2864 of the NDAA also requires a report to Congress on the steps and proposals taken to advance lease renewals, within 60 days from the NDAA’s enactment.
“The Senate Armed Services Committee’s action reflects meaningful progress in acknowledging Hawaiʻi’s unique legal and cultural context,” stated OHA chair Kaialiʻi Kahele. “The removal of condemnation as an option and the requirement for renewed environmental review are consistent with what OHA has long advocated – that these lands must not be permanently alienated and that Hawaiʻi’s concerns must be fully addressed in good faith. Congress appears willing to respect Hawaiʻi’s laws and institutions. The opportunity before us now is to fully embrace the responsibilities and authorities those laws entrust to us. OHA will continue to ensure Native Hawaiian rights and public trust responsibilities remain central to any future decisions.”
OHA has been holding high-level meetings in Washington, D.C. concerning the military lease renewals.
OHA says it is also actively moving forward with a comprehensive Ka Paʻakai Analysis for Pōhakuloa Training Area. “The Board of Trustees has already approved a Permitted Interaction Group allocation of $60,000 to support this work, and OHA is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with DLNR to complete the work,” the Office stated. The analysis “will help create a more complete record of the cultural, historical, and community connections to these lands, providing decision makers with information necessary to evaluate potential impacts, identify appropriate protections, and fulfill their responsibilities under Hawaiʻi law.”
From the OHA news release:
OHA also notes that the NDAA contemplates the pursuit of future lease arrangements pursuant to Section 2667 of Title 10, United States Code. As discussions continue regarding potential lease terms, community benefit commitments, land-back and lease-back models, and other components of any future agreement, OHA believes those arrangements must remain consistent with Hawaiʻi’s environmental laws and public trust obligations. Any benefits derived from renewed use of these lands should reinforce the purposes of the public trust, protect traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices, honor the history and significance of these lands, and preserve the value they were intended to provide for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries and future generations of Hawaiʻi’s people.
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