NE Washington News

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is diligently pursuing further information regarding the investigation of the Maui wildfires that occurred in August 2023. In a recent communication to Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura, Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith, and Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Chair Jeff Duncan have sought clarification on testimony and documents provided to the Committee.

Chair Rodgers, Chair Griffith, and Chair Duncan stated, “We appreciate your testimony before the Committee on Energy and Commerce at our September 28, 2023, hearing titled, 'Investigating the Role of Electric Infrastructure in the Catastrophic Maui Wildfires' and for your cooperation in supplying additional information in response to our October 13, 2023, additional questions for the hearing record (QFRs). We continue to keep the people of Maui in our thoughts as recovery efforts continue.”

The Chairs highlighted lingering questions surrounding the events of August 7 and 8, 2023, the Hawaiian Electric Company's 'Wildfire Mitigation Plan' (WMP), and the timeline of its creation and development. They emphasized the importance of understanding the unfolding of such disasters to prevent future occurrences and enhance national energy infrastructure policies.

The Committee has set a deadline for a response to their additional inquiries by April 3, 2024. The investigation timeline includes key dates such as the initiation of the investigation on August 30, 2023, an oversight hearing announcement on September 14, 2023, a hearing on September 28, 2023, and follow-up actions on October 18, 2023.

For further details, the full letter to Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura can be accessed on the Committee's official website.

Contact information for the Committee:

Main: (202) 225-3641

Press: (202) 226-4972