(Bloomberg) -- Hawaiian Electric warned customers on the western side of Maui that it may need to cut power due to the potential risk of wildfires.
The utility said it was monitoring the weather after earlier saying it planned to switch off electricity due to the threat from high winds and dry conditions, according to a statement on Wednesday. The announcement comes after the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for leeward areas of all islands for Hawaii.
Hawaiian Electric is among a growing number of power providers that will intentionally shut off power to limit the danger of electrical sparks during gusty winds and low humidity levels. Last year’s deadly wildfire that razed the town of Lahaina on Maui was caused when Hawaiian Electric re-energized downed electrical lines in dry brush, a recent investigative report found.
Hawaiian Electric, which hasn’t admitted liability for the Maui fire, has agreed to pay about $2 billion of a $4 billion settlement with victims of the disaster.
In California, meanwhile, the state’s utilities said that they may need to cut power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses starting Thursday due to critical fire weather.
(Updates with status of power cuts in the first and second paragraphs.)
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