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Energy secretary talks electric grid improvements, federal fund

ennifer Granholm visits Lahaina after destructive wildfires

By Melissa Tanji 5 min read

WAILUKU -- The U.S. Secretary of Energy said she would like to see "undergrounding" of electric lines, weeks after Hawaiian Electric received a $95 million federal grant to improve its grid and equipment in the wake of devastating wildfires on Maui.

"There has to be some strategy about key power lines and I think this is part of what this $95 million, is which ones are key," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said.

However, Granholm, who visited Maui on Monday, acknowledged that putting lines underground is "enormously expensive," and also discussed other improvements that could be made to Maui's electrical system.

Granholm visited the fire-stricken town of Lahaina on Monday and met with survivors along with government officials, including some from FEMA and Gov. Josh Green.

She pledged federal support to help with Maui's recovery.

"The bottom line is the Biden administration is serious about making sure we are here to help," she said.

Hawaiian Electric said last month that falling power lines appear to have caused the early morning fire on Aug. 8 in Lahaina but said the power had been off for more than six hours by the time the second fire flared up and destroyed much of the town.

But Maui County and multiple residents have filed separate lawsuits alleging that HECO's downed lines and failure to shut off the power caused the fire that destroyed more than 2,000 structures and left at least 115 dead.

After visiting West Maui on Monday afternoon, Granholm held a short news conference with Green at the Governor's Liaison Office in Wailuku to discuss federal assistance as well as offer suggestions on how to improve the electrical system.

"As we walked through the neighborhoods of Lahaina, all of these poles are wooden poles--it's not good. You got to have steel reinforced poles if you are having above-ground wires," Granholm said. "You got to make sure your substation is not in the middle of the community, which is what Lahaina has. It should be moved back."

Granholm also said there should be microgrids put in place.

According to the Department of Energy, microgrids can strengthen grid resilience and help mitigate grid disturbances. They can operate while the main grid is down and function as a grid resource for faster system response and recovery.

Green said the federal funding will be critical for Maui's damaged system.

"We are grateful for the $95 million, I'm not going to lie," Green said. "That is really helpful because our grid is wounded. Our concerns remain about fires and how we deal with gale-force winds on top of dry climate, on top of so many challenges."

When asked about Granholm's comments about reinforcing above-ground wooden poles and relocating substations, HECO said in a statement Tuesday, "It would be difficult for Hawaiian Electric to address Secretary Granholm's comments without hearing or seeing them directly."

HECO then reiterated what it said in a news release in late August that the funding would pay for half of the company's proposed $190 million Climate Adaptation Transmission and Distribution Resilience program, which needs to be approved by the Public Utilities Commission before Hawaiian Electric can spend the funds.

Maui-specific projects under the program include replacing poles and conductors on two high-priority transmission lines, and relocating and elevating the Maui control center in Kahului to avoid potential flooding.

HECO plans to harden the Ma'alaea-Kuihelani and Kuihelani-Kanaha lines. This critical transmission path connects the island's largest power plant (Ma'alaea Power Plant), to Central Maui, the utility said Tuesday.

Hawaiian Electric applied for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act grid resilience funding in April, which was supported by both regulators and the state Consumer Advocate, the utility has said.

Officials from HECO did not meet with Granholm during her visit, the company said.

At the news conference, Granholm and Green also pointed to the need for renewable energy that could lessen people's dependency on fuel-generated electric power and help the environment.

Granholm referenced President Joe Biden's recent trip to the G20 summit in New Delhi, where he and other leaders agreed to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.

She said more clean energy can help the economy by creating jobs and reduce energy expenses for individual households.

Pointing to recent disasters elsewhere, Green said everyone needs to come together and deal with climate change.

"Our planet is in trouble. You see fires right now in Canada, in Greece, in the western United States and the catastrophic fire in Hawaii. This is not a coincidence," he said. "I know that some people like to minimize the effects of climate change as part of this discussion. But we only had six fire emergencies in Hawaii between 1953 and 2003, and then we had six in the first 15 days of August. I mean, this happening, we are in the middle of it right now."

* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

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