Last August, a deadly wildfire tore through Hawaii, erasing the town of Lahaina and killing over one hundred people. The state’s publicly traded utility corporation was found responsible; it is now facing a deluge of claims from residents seeking compensation for damages, as well as lawsuits from the insurance companies that have been paying out disaster claims.

Hawaii’s electricity is provided by a for-profit utility supplier that is granted monopoly power over energy distribution. In addition to its dominance of Hawaii’s power grid, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., (HEI) enjoys almost complete autonomy in the physical management of its power lines on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Only residents of the island of Kauaʻi maintain some semblance of control over their electricity, through a resident-owned energy cooperative.

When massive winds from Hurricane Dora blew into Maui, HEI subsidiary Maui Electric Company (MECO) refused to respond to early calls to shut down the grid. This came even as fire-safety officials warned that a flash drought put most of the state in a Red Flag Warning, the highest possible fire alert issued by the National Weather Service.