Shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE: HE) plunged more than 41% at the time of writing on Monday after the Washington Post reported that the electric utility company did not deploy a “public power shutoff plan” even as weather forecasters had warned authorities that powerful wind gusts could trigger conditions causing wildfires across much of Maui and Hawaii. The wildfires in Maui have killed at least 93 people with many more missing.
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Even after the warning, Hawaiian Electric did not intentionally cut power to areas where big wind gusts could spark fires. The company provides electricity to 95% of the state’s residents.
Many U.S. states, including California, have increasingly adopted the strategy of cutting off power after it saw some of its deadliest wildfires in 2017 and 2018.
According to the Washington Post, Hawaiian Electric “was aware that a power shut-off was an effective strategy… but had not adopted it as part of its fire mitigation plans…nor, in the face of predicted dangerous winds, did it act on its own.”
Analysts are bearish about HE stock with a Moderate Sell rating based on two Holds and two Sells.