Hawaiian Electric agrees to pay about half of $4 billion Maui wildfire settlement

By Surbhi Misra and Mrinalika Roy

(Reuters) -Hawaiian's largest utility said on Friday it had agreed to pay roughly half of a more than $4 billion legal settlement that will compensate victims of last year's deadly Maui wildfires.

Blazes tore through Maui on Aug. 8 2023, killing over 100 people, destroying the historic coastal town of Lahaina and causing damage estimated at $5 billion.

The lawsuits brought on behalf of thousands of home and business owners claimed that Hawaiian Electric failed to shut off power lines despite warnings that high winds might blow them down and spark wildfires.

The settlement calls for the the utility and its parent Hawaiian Electric Industries to pay $1.99 billion which includes $75 million already contributed to the One Ohana Initiative - a fund that provides financial support to those who lost loved ones and suffered serious injuries.

The utility and other defendants did not admit to any legal liability as part of the settlement terms which were agreed upon after four months of mediation.

Hawaiian Electric has previously argued that its power lines were responsible for the earlier of two fires in Lahaina, but the lines were shut off after that and the town was gutted by a different fire which started later in the afternoon and could not be contained by the county's fire department.

"Achieving this resolution will allow all parties to move forward without the added challenges and divisiveness of the litigation process," the utility's chief executive, Shelee Kimura, said in the statement.

The settlement would also "bring greater certainty for the company, enabling it to begin to reestablish...financial stability," the statement said.

The proposed payments are expected to begin from mid-2025 after judicial review and approval, it added.

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Edwina Gibbs)