Hawaiian Electric Industries

[[Image:HECO West Oahu.jpg|thumb|260px|

HECO power plant at Kahe Point in West Oahu]]

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI) is the largest supplier of electricity in the U.S. state of Hawaii, supplying power to 95% of Hawaii's population through its electric utilities: Hawaiian Electric Company serving Oahu, Hawai'i Electric Light Company serving The Big Island, and Maui Electric Company serving Maui, Lanai and Molakai.

Hawaiian Electric Company (abbreviated HECO and pronounced HEE-coh), Hilo Electric Light Company (later renamed Hawai'i Electric Light Company, abbreviated HELCO and pronounced HEL-coh), and Maui Electric Company (abbreviated MECO and pronounced MEE-coh) employ more than 2,000 people. Approximately 20,000 Hawaii residents are shareholders of HECO’s parent company, Hawaiian Electric Industries.[2] The company is headquartered in Honolulu.

The island of Kauai is the only Hawaiian island not supplied by HEI. Instead, the consumer-owned Kauai Island Utility Cooperative manages that island's electricity.

History

Hawaiian Electric Company incorporated on October 13, 1891.[3]

War and statehood

During World War II, HECO power plants linked to US military bases, generating more than one million kilowatt hours of electricity each day. (= > 42 MW average power).

Hawaii became a US state in 1959, and by then Oahu was entirely electrified. HECO opened a 116 MW plant in downtown Honolulu in 1954. The state's first reheat steam turbine generator went on line at Kahe on the west coast of Oahu. Today, Kahe is the state's largest plant with a total generating capacity of 650 MW.

Island expansion

HECO purchased Maui Electric Company in 1968. In 1970, HECO acquired the Hawaii Island's Hilo Electric Light Company. In 1988 MECO acquired the Lāna‘i City power plant on the island of Lānaʻi, and in 1989, Molokai Electric Company on the island of Molokaʻi. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (HEI) was created as a holding company for these various utilities in 1983.[5] In 2013, HECO began working with Siemens to develop a self-healing grid in eastern Oʻahu and Waikīkī to ensure a reliable electrical supply.[6]

On December 4, 2014, NextEra Energy tendered an offer to purchase HEI for $4.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ). The sale required approval by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.[7] On July 18, 2016, it was announced that the merger was cancelled after the Public Utilities Commission disapproved the deal.[8] The merger included plans to convert HEI's oil-fired generating plants to run on natural gas, which were to use liquified natural gas imported from a British Columbia plant of FortisBC. The upgrades were cancelled as they were dependent upon approval of the merger.[9]

On December 24, 2019, HECO announced that it would begin operating under a single name with its subsidiaries MECO and HELCO—Hawaiian Electric.[10]

Maui wildfires

On August 8, 2023, brush fires ignited on various parts of Maui. Fires in Lahaina and Upcountry caused widespread damage to populated areas, and the Lahaina fire was responsible for at least 102 deaths and an estimated $5.5 billion in damage. Power lines owned by Hawaiian Electric were blown down and over 12,000 people on Maui were left without power. Investigations are currently underway to officially determine what caused the fire, and they are currently are looking into whether downed power lines and decisions by Hawaiian Electric were the cause of the deadly wildfires. Hawaii was experiencing high winds and was under a red flag warning when the wildfires broke out, which Hurricane Dora passing to the south may have contributed to.[11]

After the catastrophic and deadly wildfires, Hawaiian Electric's stock severely plummeted approximately 40%, its lowest since 2010, after it was facing a class action lawsuit that alleged that Maui’s devastating wildfires were caused by the utility’s energized power lines that were knocked down by strong winds, and that it chose not to shut off its power lines ahead of the Maui wildfires, despite knowing the safety risks of sparking a fire in those kind of conditions. It also stated that Hawaiian Electric still refused to shut down power lines despite it knowing that some of its power lines were knocked out by the heavy, high speed winds.[12] On August 23, it was reported that Hawaiian Electric had no procedure in place for turning off the grid — a common practice in other fire-prone states.[13]

type	Public
traded as	nyse: HE Russell 2000 component S&P 600 component
founded	October 13, 1891
hq location	Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
revenue	US$3.742 billion‡R1R‡
revenue year	2022
operating income	US$381 million‡R1R‡
income year	2022
net income	US$241 million‡R1R‡
net income year	2022
assets	US$9.546 billion‡R1R‡
assets year	2022
equity	US$468.885 million‡R1R‡
equity year	2022
num employees	2,511 full-time‡R1R‡
num employees year	2022
subsid	Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. Hawai'i Electric Light Company, Inc. Maui Electric Company, Limited Pacific Current LLC
website	https://hei.com https://hawaiianelectric.com

Hawaiian Electric Industries

History

War and statehood

Island expansion

Maui wildfires

Generation

Oahu

Maui/Lanai/Molokai

Hawaii

Electric vehicles

Plans

See also

External links

References