Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 58 minutes ago
Last month, it looked like the only thing standing in the way of Hawaiian Electric Co.’s proposed $1.15 billion upgrade to its Waiau power plant was the amount the utility would be allowed to charge customers to build it.
Then came a highly unusual public comment, filed last week by a shadowy group, with an alarming and seemingly overlooked fact: The Waiau power plant sits in a newly designated flood zone.
That wasn’t the case when HECO announced plans for the Pearl City project in December 2023. But in July 2024, FEMA announced new preliminary maps putting the site in a 100-year flood zone. The new zones go into effect in two months.
Read the story: civilbeat.org/2026/04/heco-may-be-screwed-1-billion-power-project-is-in-a-flood-zone
Last month, it looked like the only thing standing in the way of Hawaiian Electric Co.’s proposed $1.15 billion upgrade to its Waiau power plant was the amount the utility would be allowed to charge customers to build it.
Then came a highly unusual public comment, filed last week by a shadowy group, with an alarming and seemingly overlooked fact: The Waiau power plant sits in a newly designated flood zone.
That wasn’t the case when HECO announced plans for the Pearl City project in December 2023. But in July 2024, FEMA announced new preliminary maps putting the site in a 100-year flood zone. The new zones go into effect in two months.
Read the story: civilbeat.org/2026/04/heco-may-be-screwed-1-billion-power-project-is-in-a-flood-zone
