Hawaiian Electric stock plunges 40% after lawsuit alleges it failed to shut power off ahead of the Maui wildfires
Hawaiian Electric stock plunges 40% after lawsuit alleges it failed to shut power off ahead of the Maui wildfires
Hawaiian Electric’s stock tumbled to a 13-year low Monday morning, plummeting nearly 40% after a class action lawsuit filed over the weekend alleged that Maui’s devastating wildfires were caused by the utility’s energized power lines that were knocked down by strong winds.
Absolutely bizarre utility companies are for profit with shareholders.
We have been shown over and over that investors will take profits during good times, build no resilience to handle disasters, invest the bare minimum back into infrastructure and jobs, drain the companies until bankruptcy arrives and taxpayers are left with the bill.
This could work with proper regulation. But regulation can be corrupted. Money corrupts. This industry involves lots of money. And so here we are.
When Jeremy Corbyn proposed to buy back utility companies here shortly before the energy crisis, people looked at him like a lunatic.
Right? It’s not like consumers have an alternative to whoever their provider is.
No, it's just the corporate feudalism we live under. I guess that's pretty bizarre itself, though.
The suit alleges that Hawaiian Electric Industries “chose not to deenergize their power lines during the High Wind Watch and Red Flag Warning conditions for Maui before the Lahaina Fire started,” despite knowing the risks of sparking a fire in those conditions.
Is this a practised or regulated thing in the USA that power companies shut down regional electricity during strong winds? I have not read about something like that before, not in the EU, USA or other places.
PG&E, the power and gas company for much of California does this. As a for profit company, they outsourced maintenance of their infrastructure to save money. The infrastructure was old, not well maintained or managed and it sparked several large fires over the years. They’ve paid lots of money in restitutions because of this. Now they shut off the power so they can’t be blamed for starting giant fires again…
many other places bury their wires and or do proper maintenance