Hawaiian Electric begins install of weather stations in wildfire-prone areas statewide

Hawaiian Electric has begun installing a network of weather stations in wildfire-prone areas throughout the state to better predict and respond to fires.

The $1.7 million project will mount 52 weather stations on Hawaiian Electric utility poles on four islands: 23 on Maui, 15 on Hawai’i Island, 12 on O‘ahu and two on Moloka‘i. The weather stations will provide meteorological data, including wind, temperature and humidity, that will help the company to decide whether to activate and deactivate a public safety power shutoff, or PSPS.

Hawaiian Electric the PSPS program July 1, which may preemptively shut off power in areas that are at high risk of wildfires during periods of forecast high winds and dry conditions.

“These weather stations will play a critical role as we continue to take action to address the growing risk of wildfires,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president and chief operations officer. “The detailed information they provide will allow us to take preventative action more quickly to protect public safety.”

The company has already completed the installation of weather stations at 31 high-priority locations in the first phase of the project. Another 21 more are scheduled for installation by the end of July.

Hawaiian Electric contracted with California-based Western Weather Group for the weather station equipment and support services. The weather stations are solar-powered and record temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction. Western Weather Group is the leading provider of PSPS weather services in the electric utility industry helping utilities across the US with addressing wildfire risk.

Hawaiian Electric is also sharing weather station data with the National Weather Service, academic institutions, and other weather forecasting services to help improve the overall state’s ability to accurately forecast potential fire weather conditions.

Approximately 50% of the project costs will be covered by federal funds allocated under the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act estimated at $95 million in grant funding covering various costs related to Hawaiian Electric’s resiliency and wildfire mitigation work.