First congressional hearing on Maui wildfire to focus on island’s sole electric provider and grid

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press

Hawaii’s top public utility officials and the president of Hawaiian Electric are expected to testify in a congressional hearing about the role the electrical grid played in last month’s deadly Maui wildfire. Members of a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will ask Thursday about how the fire started, and whether the electrical grid in Lahaina was safe and properly maintained. It was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century and killed at least 97 people. It erupted on Aug. 8, when strong winds appeared to cause a Hawaiian Electric powerline to fall, igniting dry brush and grass near a large subdivision.