Over two hours. I want to take a moment of personal privilege. It is an article about hawaii and its history, some is good and some is not. The ninth district in virginia currently represent jennings was the only printing to vote so were kind of proud of that, its a little different than the rest of the state, sometimes good, sometimes bad but mostly good. Please take your seats. The subcommittee to order and i now recognize myself for five minutes for an Opening Statement. August 7 and eighth, a series of the out of maui and hawaii, including one that devastated the town of lahaina on the west coast of maui. When electric came in to dispute facts surrounding this event, one thing is important, its catastrophic to the state of hawaii and we must make every effort to be vigilant and prevent a similar disaster from striking again. Lahaina fire took at least 97 lives and burned thousands of acres cost billions and damage, destroyed landmarks. I am saddened to hear the stories of those who survived awaiting news of their loved ones who still remain unaccounted for. We are searching for housing and wrestling with how they will survive after fire consumed businesses and raised the tourism industry. Many continue to debate the circumstances contributed to the bars, its not too early to start examining what can be done better. For example, some wildfires multiplied over the years facility the spread. Experts who maintain when electric way too long to pursue important upgrades to modernize the electric grid. Others argued Maui Electric Company was particularly slow in placing outdated deteriorating holes supporting powerlines. There were decisionmakers are involved along the way and there is still much to sort out. The probe some of the concerns and in the attitude each requesting Additional Information and we thank our witnesses for responses to the request to look forward to responses today now like to take a moment to introduce our witnesses. We are joined today by president and chief executive officer of the hawaiian Electric Company to provide service for Hawaiian Electric corporations for 95 hawaiis residence did it in the summer. We will hear from mr. Mark, Energy Officer, office developing support and state Energy Policy goals and welcome junior, chairman of the commission and served as commissioners since 2019. The Commission Among other things really are Service Parameters and Public Utility Companies operating thursday. We will convene a second from our colleagues and her testimony. There are several investigations underway around the days which the fire spread and what has been done or not done in years prior. Congress has a responsibly to pursue the national Energy Policy which includes infrastructure prepared for events like wildfires and her again. Congress has a responsibly along with regulators and private sector partners. It is important we convene today ask the hard question. Given this infrastructure and its general jurisdiction over power utilities will focus on that aspect of the disaster, i hope weve learned it will inform efforts for the utility level to protect ratepayers and reduce the chances of losses of life and property for wildfires. That said, i will tell you we have another hearing going on downstairs so well see members moving in and out because members on the subcommittee. I think the witnesses for participating in this event and prevent similar disasters from unfolding in this manner going forward. I now recognize Ranking Member of the subcommittee for a five minute Opening Statement. Thank you, good morning, everyone. Seven weeks ago wildfires devastated the town of lahaina. This was a sudden horrific tragedy and on behalf of of the democratic side we send them to sincere condolences. One hundred people died and many more across their homes and businesses in the first on how quickly the fire spread in the chaos and confusion that resulted. Hawaiian neighbors and military service and coast guard, members raise to rescue people that day and work through, flames and pollution to save lives. They are heroes. More are on the ground dedicated recovery and relief. Understand that 27 partners including mimi, u. S. Army Small Business administration are helping the people get back on their feet. I appreciate the handson approach top of mind for congress at this moment of a threatened Government Shutdown must be to ensure recovery work continues uninterrupted for the people of maui. Hope we can learn more about the conditions that caused the fire and what else august can do for the island. There are things we do know, strong wind from nearby hurricane combined with Drought Conditions strength education led to advanced warnings. We know the fire started on the edge of town in lahaina on mauis west coast and grew out of control, ultimately devastated the town and claiming the lives of too many neighbors. Fire crews were dealing with another buyer miles away. We know people are still suffering from the losses of best friends and families, homes and firefighters are working to contain wildfires. What we do not know is what causes the fire and what more could have been done to prevent it from starting or spreading. Hawaii when electric this is a power line ignited an earlier fire in lahaina, the morning of august 8. The merry Fire Department said it extinguished the fire but then fire was reported again in the same location and it spread. National Weather Service began issuing alerts days before the fire began, important questions remain whether more could have been done to notify residents or deenergize powerlines sooner. There are critical questions about steps local officials spoken the five years wildfires maui in 2018. These are important questions already being investigated and while i strongly believe we have an important oversight role to play, i do think it would have been helpful to have the benefit of the on the ground finding from authorities for the attention of witnesses away from Recovery Efforts that appear before us. I appreciate your willingness to be here today and i hope we can learn more about this tragedy. They are delivered quickly and effectively. How electric and other infrastructures and rebuild in a more resilient way. Its only been seven weeks since the fire and emergency is not over. Investigators have time to do the work and present their findings. Until we get a clear picture, our primary focus must seem to be relief and Recovery Efforts for the people of maui and that includes keeping government open and ensuring federal resources are available. Thank you. Now recognize the chairwoman, chair of the full committee for her five minutes. We are examining tragic events that unfolded on the hawaiian island. August 7 and eighth, a series of fires broke out on the average including one that destroyed. Our deepest condolences of the people of maui as they face the daunting task of rebuilding their community, one loss of loved one, grapple with the memories of that terrifying day with the pain of seeing your home in your neighbors home destroyed within a matter of hours or minutes is gut wrenching. Ninetyseven lives lost to this disaster and we pray god provides strength and comfort to the loved ones. Many are missed. According to the university of hawaii disaster center, of his 2200 buildings were destroyed with about 86 of the buildings. We must do everything we can to minimize the chance such a destructive deadly disaster will occur again. Maui or anywhere else in the country. We failed to learn from this event, it very well could. Wildlife Management Organization reports each year the percentage of land burned by wildfire in maui is equal to or greater than any other in the nation and according to the author experts, the area burned across all four counties increased by three 100 in the last several decades. These are washingtonians are no stranger to disastrous consequences. Last month the rate and organ wildfire destroyed hundreds of homes and forced evacuations linked to two deaths. Hundreds are recovering from coping with the destruction. While its difficult to revisit occurred, we must examine any factors that could have caused or worsened the emergency and identify any necessary hazards allowed and pinpoint additional precautions that could have been taken. I understand debate about the factors beyond the cause spread continues but the Hawaiian Electric acknowledged Early Morning fire august 8 appears to have been caused by powerlines that fell high winds. What happened after that particularly concerning the fire lahaina and destroys lives, part of our job is to ensure every american has access to affordable and reliable energy, responsible including energy from safe and well maintained infrastructure. Theres a lot of emphasis on competing priorities when it comes to modernizing electric grid. We must make sure safety remains top already. A great not prepared for extreme weather or adequately maintain is not only unreliable but unacceptable safety hazard that could potentially cost billions and engager lives. We cannot prevent and control every hazard such as high winds that struck maui leading up to the fire. We must harness our great hazards and address wildfire such as vegetation, overgrowth and appropriate precautions for extreme weather. Traveling across the country to be here today in a difficult road ahead. I hope today we can learn how congress can be a Strong Partner for an address with safety investigations, we hope it provides clarity on how and why the disaster unfolded such as catastrophic and what steps can be taken. The Ranking Member of the full committee. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The wildfires in lahaina on august 8, i want to offer my deepest sympathy for the devastating energy. There are many Unanswered Questions about how the terrible tragedy happened, im not going to go through all the things mentioned in terms of what happened or what we know. I know First Responders try to contain able to evacuate tragically it is completely out of control. I want to say we cant underestimate the enormity of the disaster and destruction and the fact that so many died in so many are missing and they have not been identified and many residents are living in temporary shelters. Officials estimate over 2000 structures were damaged or destroyed it will be a long road to rebuild and Emergency Responders are working day and night to fight the ongoing fires on the island they many appear to have contributed to the catastrophic fires, extremely high winds pushing flames through dry education nestle device and prevent successful firefighting efforts. Evacuation due to downed trees and power lines on gridlock on the roads in and out of lahaina. Power outages for communication problem rated for the confusion. We do not know my emergency fire alarms were not activated to warn residents or what role the electric grid may have played that ultimately destroyed lahaina. In terms of government response, the acting government state of emergency the day the fire started in two days later the governor requested the declaration which was granted by the Biden Administration and 48 hours fema was on the ground something search and rescue. Several investigations getting to the bottom of this disaster. And i look forward to hearing from our witnesses but i am concerned this hearing is shifting attention in resources away from ongoing relief effort on maui and the official investigations that are still in the early stages. Congress should focus on ensuring the federal government can continue providing relief to the people of maui. That means funding the government and funding Femas Disaster Relief Fund which the president has asked it to do. That is something specific that we and only we cant and should do without delay. The reckless government showdown over shutdown i i should say h we know is imminent with slow maoris ability to rebuild and recover. And after all this disaster is that over. Thousands are displaced and in desperate need of housing. Firefighters are still working and utility crews are working to restore power and repair damaged infrastructure. Im hopeful investigations will provide answers so we can learn from this tragedy to ensure this does not happen again. Right now we must do all we can to support the residence of mowrer recover and rebuild. Shutdown is not the answer. Its hard for us here in the midst of this potential shutdown to be talking about how much we can do because we dont know if government is going to be able to do anything it by tomorrow night or saturday the government to shut down. That is certainly not easy for us to say to you were going to help when we dont even know if the governor is going to be open. I guess my main thing and a know it sounds political but i cant help it because if the government shuts down its a serious question about what were actually going to do. But any case we appreciate everybody being here. We are determined to do whatever we can to help. So thank you, mr. Chairman. [inaudible] i i thank the gentleman. Gentleman jill spac. The chair would like to rise all members written Opening Statements will be made part of the record. Please provide those to the clerk probably. I didnt think our witnesses for being here today and taken the time to testify before the subcommittee. You will have an opportunity given Opening Statement followed by a round of questions from our members. Our witness today are miss shelee kimura, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Electric. Mr. Mark glick, chief manager of the Hawaii State Energy office, and mr. Leodoloff asuncion, chair of the hawaii Public Utilities commission. We appreciate you all being here and and i look forward to hearing from you. You are aware the subcommittee is holding oversight hearing and when doing so with the practice of taking testimony under oath. Do any of you have an objection to taking testimony under oath or give your testimony under oath . Seeing no objection, well proceed. I would advise you you can be provided counsel biggie if you desire to be advised by counsel during testimony today . Are right. I dont see any asking for that so if you all would please stand and raise your right hand. [witnesses were sworn in] seen the witnesses all answered in the affirmative, you are now sworn. You may sit them. You are now sworn in and subject to the penalty under u. S. Code. With that will not recognize ms. Kimura for fiveminute Opening Statement. Thank you chair griffith. Pusher mic. Working . Maybe you can pull it closer to you. Is that better . Is a little better. What do our technician say . Are we okay . I think were good. Go ahead. Okay. Aloha and good morning. On august 8 in lahaina maui we saw human loss and devastation at the speed and scale that is difficult for our hearts and minds to process. I want to start by honoring those lost, those whose lives have been forever changed by this overwhelming and tragic event. Most of you know the word aloha. There is another word in hawaiian language. Loosely translated, this word means responsibility. But like aloha, they cannot be simply defined. It is a deep sense of responsibility that is both an obligation and a privilege. Its a responsibility that has been entrusted to you by your family, by your community, by the generations that came before you, and those that will follow you. It is ones responsibility within a bigger system or community to which one belongs. Its a privilege to have it within this interdependent system, and to one another. For generations past, present, and future Hawaiian Electrics is to hawaii. We are committed to be there for maui and lahaina for as long as it takes to recover, to rebuild, and help ensure a tragedy like this never happens again. In that spirit i hope all of us can see as our shared responsibility to honor people of lane as we do this work as part of a collective community. I hope we can start to find solutions that will help protect hawaii and the rest of the nation from increasing threats, of Natural Disasters like hurricanes and those that we rarely experienced including drought that can fuel catastrophic wildfires on tropical islands. Hawaii is most isolated population on earth. This new electrical connection to the cottonelle use or even between islands. This is one of the reasons hawaii has a heist electric rates in the nation. On an island we have to be our own safety net. We cant call in a neighboring state if we run short. Our isolation is also one of the drivers for our efforts to become energy independent, to get off expensive, volatile, imported fossil fuels. Its that only about the environment but about our economy and Energy Security. As utilities go we are small, about 470,000 customers on five islands. 70,000 on maui. The department of defense is our largest customer. Hawaii is home to the u. S. Into pacific command, and we are the only utility in the nation serving all components of one combatant command. I i became president and ceo of Hawaiian Electric in january of 2022. Every day i feel a tremendous kuleana responsibility to our customers, communities and employees. Since august 8 ive spent much of my time on maui. Ive seen the devastation firsthand. Our team, including our maui employees who have been personally impacted by this tragedy, has been working tirelessly to support our communities. We all want to learn what happened on august 8 so that it never happens again. On that day a fire at 6 30 a. M. , what i would refer to as the morning fire, appears to been calls by Hawaiian Electric power lines that fell in high winds. The maui county Fire Department probably responded to this fire. They reported that by 9 a. M. It was contained. After monitoring it for several hours, the Fire Department determined the fire had been extinguished. They left the scene in the early afternoon here at about 3 p. M. , a time when all of Hawaiian Electrics power lines in west maui had been deenergize for more than x hours, a second fire, the afternoon fire, begin in the same area. The cause of that afternoon fire that spread to lahaina has not been determined. We are working tirelessly to figure out what happened and where cooperating fully with federal and state investigators who have indicated it may take 12 to 18 months to conclude. I look, i look forward to fulfilling our shared and respective kuleana to honor the people of maui as we seek solution to protect hawaii and the rest of the nation from other deadly disasters. Mahalo. Thank you. Now recognize mr. Glick for his fiveminute Opening Statement. Chairwoman mcmorris rodgers, chairman duncan, chairman griffith, Ranking Member pallone, Ranking Member castor, members of the committee. My name is mark glick and a cheap Energy Officer of Hawaii State Energy office. As the m a response to the Committee Split up august 30 by office appreciates at the thorough exploration of the causes and effects of the tragic events, that occurred on august 8, 2023 and wish nations resolve to stand with the people of lahaina in their request to heal, grief and recover. I would like to highlight a few points for the committee. The driving forest for hawaiis aggressive pursuit of energy selfsufficiency is due to our deep concern over Oil Price Volatility which is extremely detrimental to our economy and our cost of living. Hawaiis oil has been and continues to be sourced primarily from africa, europe and asia and the running of oil price, prices to do russias invasion of ukraine had resulted in 40 higher diesel costs on the island of molokai in maui county which is only 18 of Renewable Energy. On the flipside the island of hawaii with 60 of energy only experience i increase increase in energy costs during the same time and has a lowest average electricity rates in the state. In other words, adopting renewables in hawaii is a a lowcost Energy Solution while achieving other policy objectives. Hawaiis new normal with wildfires long a real threat was first realized with hurricane lane in august of 2018 and the california wildfires. It step recognized hawaiis wet and dry periods are more pronounced and for the first time wildfire risk was rate equivalent to her again, tsunamis, floods and earthquake earthquakes. Since the deadly fire in lahaina the Energy Office has bridges been in discussions with the attorney general and of the parties and that investigations are ongoing with respect to Hawaiian Electrics actions. Therefore it would be inappropriate for the Energy Office to comment on those issues at this time. We take at all hazards approach to resilience and Service Emergency support function number 12 within femas the Natural Disaster recovery framework. Our Broader Mission is to mitigate and respond to threats of Energy Resilience focusing on Energy Security plans and response efforts. In that role we previously flagged invasive grasses and vegetation on the island about and elsewhere and hawaii as resilience threats. But i should make it clear the Energy Offices that have any authority for oversight and enforcement of utilities or the private sector on energy matters. We have seen the evidence oe star that indicate Renewable Energy development has restricted available funds for Vegetation Management. I key Energy Office resilience efforts was participation in july of 2019 to november 2021 in the Resilience Working Group established as part of a white electrics integrated grid planning process with oversight by the hawaii pvc. The working group considered hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes can wildfires and physical and Cyber Attacks as the greatest threats to grid resilience. And recommend a set of resilience measures including those addressing Vegetation Management. Among those recommendations are plans for enhanced Vegetation Management, take a critical grid areas, continued to harden and reinforce an upgrade structure can continue planning for expanding water resistant underground cables, stumps priority circuits with enhanced restoration capabilities and greater hardening. Consider adopting advanced technologies and more distributed resource approach including microgrids for emergency and backup operations, and develop wildfire mitigation strategies for a worstcase wildfire event. A location to 60 miles south of lahaina. The working group emphasized that infrastructure owners and operators must Work Together in close partnerships to coordinate disaster planning and recovery with the shared responsibilities between the Power Companies, key customers and the government. Final consolidated integrated grid plan was submitted to the hawaii pc by Hawaiian Electric on may 12 of this year and is currently under review by the hawaii pvc. The Energy Office of the completing the obama Energy System and Critical Infrastructure vulnerability and resilience assessment of fema funded effort. This assessment and estates Critical Infrastructure risk covers electricity, liquid and gas Energy Infrastructure. Once completed the Energy Office plans to follow up pending fema approval with a second phase of analysis for hawaii, maui and hawaii counties. In conclusion, its clear and multipronged approach to prevent, mitigate and respond to wildfire threats is necessary involving both shortterm and longterm actions. The solutions require a shared commitment of private and Public Sector will and resources to adequately safeguard our essential Energy Infrastructure. In response efforts related to the mouth and Hawaii County welfare tragedy, hawaii expresses its sincere gratitude to the federal assistance we received thus far and we humbly request your future support and assistance as we recover and rebuild. Im happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank the juuling. Now recognize mr. Asuncion for his fiveminute Opening Statement. Thank the gentleman. Members of the subcommittee, on behalf of the hawaii Public Utilities commission, i wish to express our appreciation for the sincere outpouring of support for our communities in wake of this tragedy. We appreciate this committees focus on this issue and the opportunity to speak to you as addressing the increasing number and magnitude of Natural Disasters requires unprecedented levels of collaborative action. We are still grappling with the devastation of this tragedy, and our hearts remain with all of the victims and their loved ones. These communities have been irreversibly impacted and we intend to maintain our focus on supporting them as the months and years go by. In my statement, and you do have a copy of my written statement, the commission wishes to share with the subcommittee its perspective on the following three topics. First, the commissions role in jurisdiction to regulate hawaii electric utilities, particularly, particularly as it looks to Natural Disaster preparedness, safety, reliability and resilience. Second, the commissions priorities in responding to the august wildfires that include addressing immediate needs, preventing future catastrophic events, ensuring reliable, safe, clean and Affordable Energy services, and protecting ratepayers by utilizing investigative findings to guide potential restoration action. And third, the commissions activities to mitigate the risks of wildfires that may be caused by or, in fact, the electric grid. The commission and myself looks forward to answering any questions about these and other topics during this hearing as well as collaborating on an ongoing basis to ensure the events like the maui wildfires in other Natural Disasters never occur again. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank the gentleman for his Opening Statement and thank you all for your testimony. We will now move to the question and answer portion of the ring and i will begin the question and recognize myself for five minutes. So my Congressional District in southwest virginia is mountainous, rural, spread out and is actually my landmass larger than hawaii. So i can understand some of the problems and concerns that you all have. The picture i get is that there were lots of warning signs out there the wildfires were a prominent threat, particularly on that in the maui. So i guess, ms. Kimura come to you all gather information realtime on whether reports on planning related maintenance and Power Generation activities . Before storm like this, do you have plans in place to watch whats happening and whats going to occur next because we know the national Weather Service was telling folks a couple days in advance this is going to be a big one. Thank you for the question. So we do monitor. We were very aware of the red flag warning of the high winds. Forecasters were indicating that it would be 3545 mileperhour wind with gusts of 60 miles per hour. They later indicated as was happening that theyve been forecasted the parts of the state were experiencing much higher winds and gusts of about 80 miles per hour. When did you get that information . Where you are watching this yourselves . With somebody monitoring that on a minute by minute basis . Have our teams, not me personally, we have our teams that are getting the information from third parties. Its not our own team looking at it but theyre looking at third parties looking at that. Do you know when, when you learned that the winds were going to be higher than you originally anticipated . I dont have that information. Could you get that to the committee after the sink . Absolutely follow up with you. And use the reason i ask. We get snowstorms that you all dont get that win but we get snowstorms in her School Systems often we watch the Weather Forecast and even before the first leg drops if they see significant whether they shut the School Systems down. So my question is, what was the decisionmaking process in not the energizing assuring the power off in this area which already the cause of invasive plants, because of the wooden poles, because of the wires, the lines were not insulated already was at risk of these are all risks that window. People the decisionmaking process not to turn the power off on these lines during that critical time . So in 2019 our teams understanding what happened i appreciate the history forgot is on that morning what was your strategy and where the people who were awake all night monitoring the storm to see what we could do . Whats going on . Tell us any American People was going on that morning and why you didnt deenergize earlier. On trying to explain to you why we didforgot what happened that day back in august. Im trying to answer your question why we didnt deenergize. Those decisions were made years before as part of a plan. As part of our protocols. Help you understand what our protocols are in the current situation. So in 2019 our team started developing a wildfire mitigation plan. Based on what they had learned of the plants in california including their predictive shutout program, they determined that would be the ps ps. Ps ps. But that wasnt the appropriate fit for hawaii. Hawaii is their unique. And through that process thats the determination that was made. We had other protocols in place when theres high winds. So when youre asking why did we shut off the power, that is not our protocol to do that. Stop right there. Okay. Going forward are you reexamining that . Are you looking at doing that Public Safety power shuttle programs can really get that now . Are you reexamining your particles . Kassie didnt work. We are absolutely reexamining our protocols. I want to make it absolutely clear that the afternoon fire, the cause of the fire has not yet been determined. And let me, i heard you just what i just want to confirm, you never reenergize your power lines once you shut them down. Is that correct . Thats right. From a little before 7 a. M. Our lines were not reenergize. How long did it take for the energy to get out of those powerlines . Understand take some time what you push a button to turn it off. How long does it take before the lights are no longer a danger to the public or to firefighters, et cetera . I dont know that exact answer but speed is i apologize but by time is up as i have to yield even though im the subcommittee chair i had to follow the clock and i now yield back and recognize ms. Castor, Ranking Member for five minutes of questions. Thank you very much. I also want to focus on the conditions prior to the fiber i was in honolulu on august 8 at indopacific bandwidth the general on a bipartisan codel as were headed to the pacific rim. It was extraordinarily windy and 81 was commenting on it. They didnt have an understanding yet of the extent of the devastation in lahaina but officials have been warning about the likelihood of high winds and wildfire risk for a couple of days. So the information we have is that on august 6 the national Weather Service warned of high conditions due to severe drought and strong winds, and on august 7 the national Weather Service issued a a red flag warning indicating severe fire risks. You said they were aware of the warnings of national Weather Service, correct . Thats what. Saw want to dive in the protocols have been, what exactly with protocols on the books that insured when you receive these warnings that actuals going to be taken immediately . So the protocols on the books for many years was to disable the automatic setting on our system that automatically recloses a circuit if theres a fault. Meaning if theres a fault set on the line it will not reenergize. The breaker was open and it will not reenergize. How quickly after receipt the warning did you act to do that . I dont know the exact time. I believe the warning, and we can subject to check. I believe the warning happened overnight. And by the morning that those protocols were put into place. But we can get that for you, those mr. Asuncion, does peco have the authority to actively deenergize its lines to us on to weather conditions . Can you repeat that . To proactively deenergize the lines when they receive these warning . Yes, they do. Okay. When did peco, when did peco first become aware that one of its powerlines was down in lahaina . We had a number of powerlines coming down, and im trying to remember what the first one was sent and i cant recall right now. Theres a lot happening from august 7 to august 8. Mr. Asuncion, you know exactly when . When did you receive notice . I received notice of lines going down or basically in the afternoon of the eighth when kiko informed us that the active Incident Management Team heco. Last year heco submitted a plan to spin 189 million on great hardening to make its energy grid were resilient. Last month d. O. E. Announced 95 billion, usd weakness 95 million to lahaina come from the vipers infrastructure. Ms. Kimura, can you explain can describe the proposed great hardening plan and what steps youve undertaken to improve your line prior to the fire, and how you intend to use these federal investment . So the federal investment that we were informed of we dont yet have it. We are in discussions on when well get that are how we would get that. That is going to help fund our transmission and distribution resilience program. That is a Multiyear Program that we have in front of the Public Utilities commission. We had filed for approval for the program in june of 2022. And that program was the result of years of work, including a lot of work with stakeholders as well. And that Program Includes addressing critical transmission and distribution infrastructure. Okay. But you have not comes youve been working you said yourself youve been working on this for a number of years. You were not waiting for these federal dollars, hopefully. You had cut what work have been underway already to protect against wildfire risk . So we have been starting work, or weve been in process undoing work. A utility is always doing hardening work. The proposal was to increase and further the work that we are doing. The you had that plan in writing on what had been proposed specifically for maui and what work have been completed . We have the work in writing that had been proposed. We also have our wildfire mitigation plan, and we had began implementing that even before the approval of that plan. Thank you very much. I think the baby would like to see those documents, the plan that had been composed for years ahead of time, i and did exacy what work have been taken into dance prior to these devastating we would be happy to provide that to you. Thank you. I yield back. Thank you for agreeing to provide that information. I would recognize the chairwoman of the full committee ms. Mcmorris rodgers for five minutes of question. Esther glick, in your writn testimony you state your office actively develops policies to achieve Renewable Energy and Energy Resiliency with the legislature can Public Utilities commission, state agencies and other relative stakeholders. In filing submitted to the Hawaiian Public Utility Commission last year, Hawaiian Electric stated most storm damage tends to be due to trees that are outside of the rightofway. You totally best practices to identify and proactively remove these trees with removing paid for by the utility, a robust hazard tree program to greatly reduce the amount of damage that occurs during a major storm. Additionally, in response to the committee question about the Vegetation Management, Hawaiian Electric stated the vast bulk of invasive grasses on the island of maui are not of land owned or controlled by Hawaiian Electric. The utility added a limited in vegetation such as grasses present in easements and right of ways but not tall enough to contact the lines is not generally within a white electrics writes. A 2021 report of wildfire with prevention by the maui county cost of Government Commission concluded, above ground powerlines that fail short or are laying hen can cause fire emissions are could set a love for, particularly in wind or stormy conditions. This condition is a exacerbated by overgrown areas in the rightofway of these lines. The mr. Glick would you agree that preventing damage to powerlines by vegetation and preventing the spread of wildfires that could destroy electric infrastructure is a resilience issue . Yes. Certainly Vegetation Management is critical and can cause damage to powerlines. Thank you. Does your office point review potential policy changes that may be needed to address hazard trees to utilities, rights of way and flammable overgrown vegetation in the vicinity of electric infrastructure . We are certainly aware of great investments that Hawaiian Electric and other utility cooperative has made. In hawaii electrics case particularly on hawaii island, our beatriz are invasive trees that have caused great damage. Are policies, are looking to change will continue to look at ways to also work with the private landowners and to try to have more cooperative efforts. Because a lot of these, everything doesnt happen as you mentioned in the right of ways. Right. Thank you. Ms. Kimura, there are, for example, the overgrown shrubs or an abandoned abundance of dry grasses under Hawaiian Electric lines but not tall enough to contact the lines. You maintain that the company cannot do anything about them. Thats what it sounds like was decided and based on a Hawaiian Electrics response. I just wanted to give you a moment to elaborate on that. Thank you for the opportunity. So i easements and rights of way allow us to clear, so Vegetation Management is around our lines. It does not give us the right, its not a stated right to take care of the grass under our lines on private property. And so that is an issue that it think we all in our state need to be looking at. Now, given what happened on august 8, and i think we all agree that the critical issue for f1 to be looking at. Great. You think you understood Hawaiian Electric mitchard hazard tree removal in supplication before the Public Utilities commission for climate adaptation, transmission anticipation resilience program. I understand the application has not yet been approved, is that correct . Thats correct. Its a process. What does Hawaiian Electric do if its employees or contractors identify entry that appears to be at risk of contacting one of Hawaiian Electric lines should a fall whether due to Poor Condition or extreme weather . I would have to get back to you on exactly what happens. We recently had an issue where there was a tree as a result of the fires in Upcountry Maui that was at risk of falling. We had contractors out there and take down the line, but the Property Owner was also there. And indicating that history was at risk. Which is you to the policy before the fires, how utility would have responded . The reason why were going to get approval for hazard tree removal, as i understand it is because we are not at this point allowed to go ahead and do that as part of a larger program. Thank you. More questions to come work at this point though my time has expired. I yield back. Thank the gentlelady for yielded back. Now recognize ms. Schakowsky for her five minutes of questions. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I would want to thank the witnesses in the tragedy that you have faced and the Community Sentiments that must be so overwhelming. I want to say my condolences for the loss of life in the loss of history in such a beautiful community. One of the things that really shocked me was that there was some misinformation that was being spread at the time. I dont know if this actually became an issue. I did want to about it. I know that there were, that there were some social media generated by china and other malicious actors who are actually saying that it was caused by government space lasers, discouraging some people from dealing with fema, and that kind of misinformation, disinformation that was being circulated. How shameful is that . But i just wanted to ask any or all of you, it if this disinformation had any effect, if you had to do with that at the same time as trying to address the tragedy and the things that happened afterwards and all the work that you have to do in order to do the best for your communities. So if you have any comments on that, hopefully it was not a big effect. But let me hear from you. I mean, i can start. This is not an area of my expertise but have been on the grant in lahaina and ive been talking with people on the ground so it is very distracting and it creates the fight in the community, and any the gentlemans time has expired. Where people need to come together and support the community, it does create noise. That makes it much more difficult for that to happen. And just talking about it personally for our own company, i recall having conversations, we would gather every morning in maui in a big circle at 7 a. M. Before the cruise without fear and i remember having to tell them, stay focused on your work, be safe, dont let all of that noise and social media distract you involve the you, because we work to do and we need to stay focused on serving our community. And im sure thats the kind of conversations others that are helping the community needed to have as well. Anybody else . The other thing i wanted to mention, so all of the investigation is not complete. What kind of impact does it have on your testimony today . What are we waiting for . What might you find out that its not yet been revealed because there is not yet a complete investigation . Can answer that about its difficult to speculate on what might be found are what might not be found if this is a very complex situation as you been here for many of the members here. I ive talked about in my openig statement being a part of the system and a community. There is a system here that was in play for all of these conditions to happen all at one time that resulted in the devastation in lahaina. And theres a lot to unpack their, very complex for man, many different organizations are involved, and many conditions are involved. And all that needs to be taken into account. Those are all critically important to understand and how all of that works together as an entity independent system for us to pick up the right solutions for hawaii as well. How soon do you think youre going to get the final information from which you can plan ahead on the changes that need to be made . The attorney general who think one of the investigations, hawaii state attorney general, and the atf for supporting the maui county Fire Department and the county of maui. I understand there boasting it will take 12 to 18 months. So were still in the very early stages. We expect our strategic many months as well. Thank you. My time has expired. I yield back. Now recognize dr. Burgess the texas 45 minutes of questioning. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding fishing today. It is important appreciate eyewitnesses being here. Is there ever an option to bury these delivery lines . Are the always going to be above ground, or is it just to cost prohibitive to bury the lines . And yeah, from all of you actually. The standard on maui is for lines to be overhead. A customer can opt to have it under grounded. They have to pay for the underground thing. It is very expensive. So some customers opt to do that and they pay for that. About 2 of the lines on maui are under grounded. 50 . In comparison as understand it california is about 33 underground. So you have more underground delivery . Yes. Obviously some of the Research Conducted be replaced as you rebuild. Again i would just ask is underground in a consideration during the rebuild . As ive talked to some Committee Members in lahaina, they would like to have the lines under grounded, understandably. These are conversations that were going to have to continue have an solutions were going to have to figure out. Underground in in general is about five times more expensive, and on a small island like maui with only 70,000 customers, that can get very expensive in a place with have the highest, we have highest rates in the nation. We are already facing an economy where many of our people who lived in hawaii for a long time can no longer afford to live in hawaii. So those of the kinds of considerations we have women make these kinds of decisions and the kinds of conversations when you have as a community to make sure that were doing the right thing and the best thing for that community. Thank you for the answer. Mr. Asuncion, in your statement you said the commission of which are chairs going to take a proactive approach to ensure that Hawaiian Electric mitigates its risks. I would like you to elaborate on that a little bit and then just add, is underground of utility one of those measures . Yeah, like ms. Kimura, we look at all aspects of whether or not it goes underground. Like she said there is that option, right, if the customer does want to have it underground can certainly will put underground. We do. Like a lot of our newer communities across the state, right, we havent underground versus overhead. It does come at some costs, right, to the ratepayer, to the company. Basically to all of us in the state of hawaii. Though i, you know, one of our things is really looking at the cost, but i will say as the urban planner and knowing the conditions on the ground, especially in hawaii, if you hit the water table pretty quickly. So of those are other considerations, more technical inches rations that we need to look at. There is a cost to maintaining those lines underground. So all of that is wrapped up in how we look at the work that Hawaiian Electric will do or even our cooperative on the island of hawaii, right . Its all the same considerations, right . At the end of the day of impacting the ratepayers greatly just for the island, right . What, you know, we dont have like subsidizing another island grid towards one. At the end the day but sometimes the cost of doing nothing turns out to be prohibited also. Let me ask you because does the age of the line make a difference . I dont know the term for it but the amount of the coefficient of sag in the line. Does it increase as the line ages . I wouldnt be able to tell you that. Not the technical person. But the comment was made in some of your testimony that some of this intersection is getting pretty old, fair to say . Yes. So the brittleness of the line, the likelihood that it might break, again whatever term im not aware of, the sag coefficient is going to increase. Where vegetation may not oppose the problem when the line was installed, now may because the actual physical configuration of the light is different. Is that a fair concern . Its fair. You know, i think, you knew, some of those lines to being on the age, they had a different type of standard or code at the time. Our rules our perspective, right . So if theyre going to be doing maintenance, if Hawaiian Electric with the cooperative is going to be doing maintenance on the lines, installing new lines, its getting up to that particular code at that time, right . So if the coefficient if you want to call it, of sag is different today, right, we would expect our utilities to build to the current standard. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield back. Now recognize the right member of the full committee mr. Alone from new jersey for his fiveminute. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I guess i will reiterate again that i appreciate the witnesses being here and helping us understand what we can do in congress to help with this catastrophe. But i cannot think that you might be better off being at home and we be better off if we could figure out how to avoid the shutdown. So again appealed to my colleagues on the other side to work with us to prevent the shutdown. But in the case, ms. Kimura, i know there are many details still to be uncovered by like to ask you about the electrification of hco powerline to understand heco took responsibility brushfire that took up before 7 a. M. On august 8 near lahaina luna road. Is that correct . When you explain what led heco to this conclusion . So we have a team doing an investigation, and many have also seen a video that a resident had taken in that area of, and high winds, our lines fell to the ground and it appears that a a fire was spad in that area. So its im sorry. No, no. I wish is going explain that it started on on a grassy area n the sidewalk and a road, and then it, will we think is a traveled up to the adjacent field that was behind one of the homes. As we understand, it turned into about threeacre fire and the Fire Department was able to contain and then extinguish it. So its clear then that you lines were energized the 47 a. M. On august 8 and the fire was eventually contained by the maui Fire Department and monitored for hours until early that afternoon. But then around 3 p. M. , heco employees reported a fire in the same area as the earlier fire. This is the place it then grew out of control and eventually destroyed lahaina, is that i could . Thats right. By that time at 3 p. M. Ill lines had been out for over six hours. Okay. Because they were already the energized at that time. Yes. Can you explain what exactly come when exactly heco shut the power off to its lines that they . When did that happen . Suggests before 7 a. M. , none of our lines in the west maui area serving customers were energized. And how can you confirm that the lines were not energized at that time . This is based on a lot of our system data, are smart meters and discussions with our employees. And so thats part of information that we look at this from all angles because its such a critical fact. And so we make sure that we look at that very closely and we are making our information availabl available. I mean, its still important for the fire investigators to determine the role of these powerlines. Have you agree to cooperate with all the investigations into this matter . Absolutely. We havent fully cooperating and making our Information Available to the. And is heco still conducting an neutral investigation into the overall events of that day . Yes. Were still early in our investigation. When do you expect of results from your internal investigation . Do you commit to make those public when you have the results . I dont have an exact time went on how long it will take but respectable take many months to get done. Im sure there will be more to talk at once we know what the results of those are you willing to yemen to make the results public once investigation is completed . I think its too early to speculate on exactly what comes out of this and what form it comes out, but we are committed to sharing whats critical with the public on this. Is any reason why you wouldnt make it public . I mean, you seem to be hesitating a little bit. I think its just too early to speculate on what that is going to look like in the future. We ive refocus and find out what happened there to make sure that it never happens again. All right. Im just going to just go to conclude, mr. Chairman, we pledge to be a part of the people of maui as he recover and rebuild, do whatever we can to help on both sides of the aisle. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you here the Ranking Member yields back and and l back it has myself for five minutes for questions. Im going to talk about, to ms. Kimura, to ms. Kimura, i would ask these questions and its about remote, how we monitor remote. I from kentucky. We have a lot of rural areas as with powerlines. Interested moving forward. Just established, i believe ms. Kimura, that Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries have electric come have equipment running through remote territory, is that correct. With im sorry could you you had equipment running through remote territory pgh yes. Id like to monitor that in the grid for potential problems. New sources have reported on monday august 7 at 10 47 p. M. Security camera at the mouth Bird ConservationCenter Cottage bright flash in the woods and one person at the location stated the power than without. And the surrounding forest was on fire shortly after that. Whats a wine electric aware of an incident involving its powerlines at that time . I do not know what was known right at that moment. We wouldve had a fault indicated but i can tell you exactly what our personal new right in that moment. Did the personnel know of it from some kind of internal system, or did you learn when the news report came out . I would need to get back to you to let you know exactly what they would know in that moment. Because several news sources have reported that data shows a number of line faults in your electric grid on august 7 an Early Morning of august the eighth. The Washington Post a line faults its indication of powerline that is concomitant with another object or was knocked down. As a wine electric employee any kind of sensors or technologies to detect or display these faults . Sorry, can you say the last part of your does Hawaiian Electric employee any kind of sensors of technology to detect or display these faults . We do have technologies to do that but were also investing in additional technologies to have the situation awareness of whats happening on our systems and more control and awareness for our systems. Okay. So were any of these faults that you say you do have come i know youre looking at adding additional but you do have fault detectors as you said. Were any of these working on maui on those dates . And did the alert the company that it could be an issue with some of its lines . And if anyone respond to go check out the problem . I can, for that, i can tell you that for, in general, we had many indications of faults and we had employees going out to look at these faults. For that particular one i cant get specifically what is happening in that moment. Okay. So also in Hawaiian Electrics response to the committees august 30, 2023 letter, Hawaiian Electric stated it had purchased five video cameras for maui in 2023. And they are slated to be installed this year. Where does maui electric plan to place them . You dont have to provide specific sites. I would like to know what your priorities are in placing the cameras you purchased. Yeah, i understand we just got those cameras this week, and we intend to place at least some of them in west maui. I can assure you of that. Did you purchase the cameras because of the fire what did you do it prior . I understand the scammers were already ordered prior to the fire. They just came in right after, unfortunately. That concludes my question so i would yield and bus anyone need anytime . Yes, recognize the chair of the committee, subcommittee. Thank you, mr. Chair. I will yield, to actually. We are just speculating on answers to me and answers to mss left with was that you were monitoring the weather situations in advance, but then the protocols were not triggered until in the morning that the people who were monitoring the weather conditions not have the authority to trigger the particles earlier than in the morning of the fire . May have the protocols to do that. They have the authority to trigger the protocols. Yeah, the protocol allows them the authority to do that. And do you know why they didnt trigger it when the storm was building up overnight, why he didnt trigger it sooner than the next morning . I need to get back to you on the tongue. I was indicating to the im not really sure about the exact timing of when they found out about the red flag warning and when the protocol was started. And so let me get back to you on that. I appreciate that. We would like an answer to that but the question still remains, you knew the red flag warnings were likely to be coming but you didnt did have the protocols automatically ready to go to my time is up five to yield back but thats the question i think the committee is going to want an answer to some point. The protocols are ready to go, just to be clear. The protocols were in place and ready to go and have the authority to institute it at their discretion by assessing the situation and understanding what the Weather Report is. I yield back. I yield back in the chair recognizes mr. Peters from california for five minutes or thank you, mr. Chairman part of what you think all the witnesses for being here today under these are difficult circumstances. Our area in san diego is not with devastating effects of wildfires and yet my sympathies for whats happened to your community. We know what it takes revealed at appreciate your dieter at home and it will be a long and difficult process. Due to the increase in devastating impacts of Climate Change, disaster Recovery Efforts in general are going to need to incorporate strategies for resilience against future threats. These efforts require ra largescale evaluation of existing grade infrastructure. Specific identifying opportunities to reduce emissions such as the underground powerlines for instance, but the Risk Assessment has to go beyond the threat of a Mission Region should shirt committees has sufficient evacuation routes, Defensible Space rent structures is prioritized and enforced. The wildfire crisis will require a conference of response whatever it is faced. Mr. Glick into september 19 letter to the committee you make in the advanced assistance to. 0 project. One of the listed goals is to provide hawaii a specific, why specific remote for Hazard Mitigation and strategy implementation. What are some of the unique challenges facing grid infrastructure on maui . So some of the unique challenges really have to do with a coordinated approach being able to address problems in the infrastructure. Thats at, gender, whether home rule state, as a home rule state, we have county government sort of control property taxes, for example. In the counties have jurisdiction on some of the initial Emergency Management as well. And so part of it is ways to better coordinate when infrastructure is compromised. Whats the role of the state Energy Office in strengthening the grid . Are you making in this investments to address any challenges your identified especially challenges that are unique to y . We provide recommendations through these working groups and through of the forms that we participate in. And also participated in regulatory proceedings, and is recommendations, we pursue vigorously through the process, and then we follow up afterwards with the commission and, and we also work with stakeholders in the state to be able to get further have you made any specific recommendations about the grid . English appreciate the role of the Infrastructure Investment and relation to fires and resiliency and sorry this came as you for preparing a deal so i wish you the very best and i yield back. Gentlemen yield back in the gentle lady from florida, five minutes for questioning. Thank you for hosting this hearing today and they get to our witnesses for appearing before the committee on this important topic. As we know cut barbara horrific lost and it was a tragedy for everyone impacted our heart rate and everyone who has experienced loss so its my hope we not only get the answers, much needed answers to so many people we can identify ways to avoid another tragedy. We have seen news reports alleging hawaiian work has not maintained so i like to give an opportunity to respond specifically in response to an electric stating inspection programs on maui to mitigate my risk include test and treat, that is the inspection of the polls and you further explain this part of the room you are looking for indicators of strength, treatment for termite and etc. From florida, i know what humidity educate and wind and salt can do to environment and asset so i understand it is more challenging but in the report you stated you performed tests and treatment programs on approximately 29000 of the 31000 would polls in maui county since 2013. Why were there 2000 goals not subjected to the same testing . If i could take a moment, i want to clarify an earlier thing i was talking about in terms of timing of the red flags morning and when we instituted protocols. I was able to double check so the red flag warning on august second in the morning 7 00 a. M. Instituted our protocols so i wanted to make that clarification the day before this happened so the polls you are right, 29 out of 31000 over the last ten years, the last 2000, my understanding is we had to those and we have looked at a wall street journal article that talked about this in effect to take the opportunity. You could submit that for the record for the purposes of time, i want to understand if the polls that were not tested and treated, the 2000 plus polls, if they were not part of the program, or any of the polls the ones located in areas struck by the fire . I dont know the answer to that right now. As we indicated, theres a lot happening right now and we are still in response mode and havent been able to look at those things. Its something we will look at. I can tell you near the bar we goals and we know it was inspected in 2022 patient. I appreciate it and my district to the curriculum so i understand recovery comes first but certainly in the future it would be helpful to understand if the polls were in the area of the initial start and subsequent spread but also what we for the future in terms of mitigating this issue with composite polls, concrete, steel, looking at a variety where there are areas especially prone to a weakened structure that would be helpful. Thirtynine seconds. The report you issued the county issued, 2021, july 2021, the wildlife wildfire also covering report is not binding, correct . I dont know, i think that was i am aware of the report. That was a report to the county of maui. Did anyone engage with maui county or cost of commission growing a report to identify awake right electric could address concerns laid out . Based on what i was told, we were not tasked with those recommendations. Those recommendations went to within the county of maui and we were not necessarily tasked with those recommendations. That said, with those recommendations the content, we were already doing that as part of our wildfire mitigation plan. I think its important to nail down what happens jurisdiction on those recommendations and takes response ability. I know you said you were incrementing a number of them and where the liability falls so i yield back, thank you will. Thank you for yelling back and i recognize the judgment from alabama for five minutes of questioning. I think the chairman and the witnesses for appearing. Its heartbreaking what happened to lahaina and i really hope to get things worked out for those people who have suffered so much. I look for to hearing from my colleagues from hawaii, i know this hangs heavy over them. I want to ask, after cases decided to perform vegetation treatment under a power line, how does the commission go about verifying that the work was performed . We would constantly follow up the utility through which have a variety of reporting semiannually or annually. We want to make sure how its impacting the rate there. The spending is a great place to take care of things and we see progress on whatever the program is versus not seeing progress. I understand you want to look out for the ratepayer but i have timberland and the power line go through it and the Power Company is diligent keeping education make sure theres not fuel under the wires that could be ignited will hold those which would not come over to commission. Commission know about it . Certainly the commission was told through the reporting we had. It is the responsibility of utility notices or other taken by the commissions company doesnt do Due Diligence that i think every, the risk wildfire or come to the public in any way . We do have processes in place that would. Or any are there will lines or any way to exercise enforcement Power Companies do not comply with the requirement . We would have to penalties were actions. You say you have to figure it out, that leads me to conclude you do not have that in place. We do have those in place, we have to follow the process get to that. If you find them complain, you find them is what actions you take . Theres a number of ways we make sure utility is accountable, held accountable and it includes everything from condition all the way up to penalty. Im not satisfied with the answers. I would like for the witnesses to provide to the committee in detail enforcement measures omission can impose on utility that doesnt comply with regulations. We can get that. As well as provide that to the committee, appreciate that. Five minutes of questioning. Thank you, mr. Chair. Thank you and the raking number four hosting this hearing which is critically important. Mo must be extremely difficult to be away from home while Recovery Efforts are still underway. I sincerely appreciate the witnesses here to help us to begin to understand this disaster and relief efforts. I do want to focus on the federal government to understand and where more could be done for Recovery Efforts. My understanding is august 8, Lieutenant Governor issued an emergency proclamation and activated the hawaiian and it became clear that the of august and will why governor is a major disaster declaration and President Biden immediately approved. August 18 President Biden and decorating making more Resources Available so can you describe federal involvement recovery in maui and what more might help support shortterm Recovery Efforts . Our teams are part of the maui Emergency Operations and and in the center they are working alongside coordinating resources of teaming fema and organizations so all of that is greatly appreciated and has made a Significant Impact on our states ability to work lahaina community. I cant speak to all data needed but as we move forward and we need to rebuild what has happened in maui, is going to take a lot to clear whats there and we appreciate the assistance provided in the effort. Make it safe to go back because theres a lot of hazards and all the things that will be quickly important as we its going to be and i am concerned about go maui and citizens of maui will sort the cost of the rebuild and that is the federal government could be very helpful. Is there additional steps you would like to see is longterm every effort . This is not my area of expertise so i cant tell of i apologize about the specific things. We know there are opportunities that we have a team of people looking not just our company but other organizations to ensure we look at opportunities to support the rebuild. Could you repeat that . Are there additional steps made to support longterm Recovery Efforts . We always appreciate help. This particular disaster throughout, we have always had a Good Relationship with the federal government and i like to that way but specific to hawaii, all of our state represented, where we get Additional Resources or assistance from federal government, we would certainly appreciate. I have other questions to get to thank you all and many of us are in recovery and willing to do everything we can to support that effort and most past requests includes 16 million for Disaster Relief funds supporting the efforts of maui and i look forward to hearing from my colleagues from hawaii. You all have my heartfelt condolences for what you and your community are experiencing and we are totally committed. Now recognize the committee of. I yield to you for five minutes of question. A lot of things we are talking about will you appreciate our conversation will. We will continue to do all we can and lift up. I want to submit Research Titles and wildfire prevention. I will take that of the meeting according to particles. Thank you for taking the time to be a. Its my understanding there were plans, wanted that project never come to fruition . This was many years ago. We have been looking on a puzzle for infrastructure to import in hawaii in the was part of a g we had to get to our goals lower costs to customers while we transition. When we were in the process closing those, the governor of the state of hawaii at the time indicated it was not appropriate for hawaii and focusing investment should be on at the time and i think it was one 100 focus should be on achieving the goals and putting it into. Your capacity comes from that. Youre as possible generation comes from an oil plant in your using biodiesel and they do have it dispensable to supplement renewables. How would you assess natural gas affect the availability of generation affordability overall level . That was done many years ago and i cant recall the impact. We determined at that time it could significant me reduce the cost we were able to implement that at that time. Sufficient time when we were proposing to when we achieve our goals we felt the investment was worth it to provide the longterm benefit. U. S. Produce natural gas. Do you think the impact will have on the cost of electricity and reliability of the electric grid will change Public Opinion from the facility . That is hard for me to say. It is very focused on achieving our current statute of one 100 renewables and as we implement Renewables Agenda here, we are achieving projects for example, the project that went into the ground last year was 9 cents a kilowatt hour and that was a third of the cost of wood would cost for the generation based on oil so we are continuing to pursue that route and pursuing generation which we believe is needed to fill the gaps of solar and wind and storage and other Renewable Resources implement the. Thats not in my prepared questions but with volcanic activity, is that something even look that . Yes, we have geothermal from the big oven of hawaii and that is important, a firm resource we believe is critical but also challenging to get that resource. Is up to investigate that more. Upstairs right now we are having a hearing about the challenges of reliability on the grid. There has to be a refocus for states and regulators and given the running to identify response and you have to go back and reexamine how policies guide Energy Resource to be one 100 renewable they have usually away from focusing on resilience. An example i gave you, the cost of also fuels, oil we have been talking about. The cost savings given the high rates we have hawaii, we can invest the current grade and that has been a strategy we have an employee over the last many years. I like to think our witnesses for being here today. Submit additional questions to the record and that would include all things we need to get back to on this. All the days of those questions. The. When we take a five minute recess . Why is First District and representative, who are now recognize evidence of statements. Will. Thank you for your concern and focus in this hearing. I will hear before you will today for the second congressional maui and one who, like so many around our country feel a personal sense of loss but most importantly, i appear before you as a colleague, to represent us why because we really dont think about this, districts dont matter will and we are part of hawaii and this was and is a tragedy for west maui, maui is deeply felt tragedy for all will all morning for maui. The days of this tragedy will be more personal detailed, what the situation is on the ground personal stories and the true situation and whether the path must be going forward. As you consider the testimony today, i like you with three spots. I agree congress involvement is vertical. Focusing the attention and concern of congress on the disaster you highlight the critical needs here and you highlight making sure this doesnt happen in other communities throughout our country because each tragedy must offer lessons to be understood and learned to read otherwise and you will be repeatable lives lost in the community weve lost will be disrespected but as a tragedy and i will, they can offer for the rest of our country and the world so your focus is critical and questions have been relevant and critical and i thank you for that. A very sudden tragedy its important to understand the reality were. We have many that are so missing and it must continue we have a community of some 12,000 which is in hotel rooms and full locating into housing. We have a year plus removal project only just begun. We have businesses that are devastated and only now is in reality of whether and how to survive. Full investigations, independent investigations and we have a number of lawsuits filed and these are exercises in time will bring out the answers to the questions the committee has asked. Although this is where our efforts could remain for now all of which is the same while we in congress have a Critical Role not too early to ask these questions. We shall what we are doing today what is necessary to be done for maui so there will be for Congress Group more deeply into exactly what happened and learn the lessons of maui and some stability restored. We encourage you to visit maui to see italy over years of this tragedy. This is something we welcome the president and speaker and many of our colleagues. The Disaster Relief fund in Emergency Management which is dangerous now. His are two concrete areas we can help maui and all right now but my deepest appreciation for constructive efforts today for this hearing and we will work with you not only maui but the rest of our lessons are learned. Thank you again. Thank you. Ranking member and members of the subcommittee, the hollow for your outpouring commitment and thank you for allowing this opportunity to testify about the wildfires that have devastated our maui. I joined representative inviting you to experience what has happened but more importantly, is to rebuild and recover from the devastation. Like all of you, i want answers but is not ongoing when i dont ask questions will not have this happen . Could have been done differently is how do we make sure this never happens again saying . Now why . Hardest question. I have been asked many questions myself, when can i go home . Is the air safe to breathe . How will i pay my mortgage . Who can help me build my business . How can i tell my students and their friend isnt coming back ask one question is will the fire, a woman approached me and asked if i could help find her husband. Shelters and hospitals and dna samples, what should she do now . She showed me a picture of her husband burned out truck and asked me why it was open. Could he have escaped . Where is he . A few weeks ago, identified it. I share this with you because there are so many questions that must be answered. People want answers and accountability. It even happened to them. Far too many lives were lost in our tightknit community. Some still waiting anxiously of the loved ones and while they want a resolution, they fear that knock on the door its been almost two months, most have not seen the remains of the home and there back onto the property. The questions we need to be focused on his how do we keep help coming to maui . Here two days away from a shotgun in our people have gone through enough. The wheels of government must continue to turn and work to provide support and resources they desperately need to focus on recovery and rebuilding. Last week in the subcommittee hearing, one of our colleagues suggested the maui fires were a result of the pursuit of Renewable Energy and incinerated to the federal government should not support Recovery Efforts for disasters not only a lack of understanding, unique Energy Infrastructure but willingness to exploit our pain and tragedy for political gain. Ensuring access to services is a constant struggle. This exists in energy and communications and transportation is for infrastructure, Rural Communities for healthcare and Mental Health services and Emergency Services and more. Investments for the infrastructure jobs act and Inflation Reduction Act must be but a first step and we understand the urgent need to do more. The path will be long and difficult and will take years, if not generations to recover from this disaster. Homes, schools and businesses will be rebuilt. The scars of trauma on our people and families will take much longer hell. Local state and federal entities investigate the cause of the maui wildfires in Emergency Response across all levels of government must not get the Human Element of this tragedy. Behind the investigation and litigation emerged from the disaster as a Community Fighting everyday. There is no lahaina without the voice, vision of people. Like you and i, our people have questions, to. Well deserve answers. Right now the most important question must be, how do we continue to keep the help coming . Thank you for allowing me to testify before this committee. We will continue to call on support and commitment in the weeks, months and years to come. With all of you as part of our extended family, i hope our people can and will continue to stay maui strong. Thank you for your comments. Appreciate each of you being here. I know the subcommittee will try to find answers and will not forget the Human Factors as well. Thank you. I heard you loud and clear and on behalf of the democratic side, our sympathies are with you but can show the by acting, getting help getting answers, making sure recovery continues and the Disaster ReliefRecovery Fund is fully funded and taking Lessons Learned to help prevent this from ever happening anywhere else. I did want to offer, this is the one Year Anniversary of Hurricane Ian that hit southwest florida where 150 people died, over 50 drowned because of storm surge. They are still recovering as people in puerto rico, a couple of months ago hurricane e flooded out that have their belongings and pause on the street and what caught my attention this morning on the front page of my newspaper says fema has caused florida aid. As Ranking Member has said, we cannot afford this shut down. This story says destructive, longer term recovery projects without going into the shut down but what fema has had to do is disrupt longer term recovery products at florida, puerto rico and other communities illustrating how republican led standoff in congress can unleash hardship in american lives. Its impacting reconstruction of the grid in puerto rico says the department of economic powers in puerto rico to prevent interruption in federal Disaster ResponsePresident Joe Biden urged lawmakers to restock as part of a shortterm deal to improve 16 billion supplemental aid. The money is meant to augment total Recovery Efforts around the wildfires that sleep valleys. The aftermath of hurricane idalia so far congress has failed to act and republicans led by Speaker Mccarthy held up efforts to fund the government. This is crazy, its selfinflicted. Its not how the country is great as the United States of america should be acting. Its a gift to adversaries so i turned to my republik and colleagues because i heard your sincere sentiments you are here to help support the people of now in the most important thing to do since the investigations will be ongoing, the most important thing is to ensure people on the ground can continue to help. Rabbit and i talked yesterday, i would like to ask about whats going on. I would encourage everyone to talk about extensive recovery and missions on the ground. I mentioned beginning of the hearing on my way out, we were in honolulu on the way back. United states army gave a briefing of their recovery and these people are heroes. They said back from the National Security should to focus on recovery of their neighbors in maui. These are difficult assignments with difficult conditions so lets not throw a wrench into the recovery. Lets not aggravate and pile on the pain. This can be avoided and i encourage you all to take that to heart and put people over politics because right now people look at washington and see a political mess and it is time to think about the people across america. I think the gentle lady for comments. I welcome the democrats vote all we can get on republican led measures to keep the government open. We need to bring this to a conclusion but i asked unanimous consent to insert documents on the documents list and that will be the order. I just want to make a comment if thats all right. But i made a brief comment and then got a long felt response and i dont know this is the time we should be debating. I just wanted to say if i could, ill be a minute in the sense of comedy, not comedy but getting along, i will recognize the judgment to make a brief comment. They get. Im not going to repeat about the shutdown, thats not a good thing for what is happening hawaii in terms of recovery but i know the president of mentioned this idea of an ideological test for recovery. He said it was suggested and if you are looking to have one 100 renewable, this shouldnt be ones going to hawaii, we heard this on my case, the aftermath of sandy, there were those who were making outrageous comments about we shouldnt help the northeast. Ive been here long enough to know when theres Natural Disaster, we help everybody great is not democrat or republican, its not ideological and it shouldnt be. Im glad you mentioned that but i do think we all should say there should never be a litmus test and its important to say that as well. This test in this case seems to be likened to Climate Change. The bottom line is everything i see, this dry vegetation and it was a major factor so we cant not only have an ideological test but we need to recognize one of the causes here long term is Climate Change and that needs addressed as well. I thank you for your brief comment. Thank you. All that said, without objection, the subcommittee is adjourned. [inaudible]