(Reuters) – Hawaiian Electric Industries is among the defendants who have agreed to pay $4 billion to settle lawsuits over the deadly Maui wildfires, the company said on Friday.
The utility operating on the island and its parent, Hawaiian Electric, are liable for $1.99 billion of the amount before tax, which includes $75 million previously contributed to the One Ohana Initiative.
Settlement payments will begin after judicial approval and are expected to be made from mid-2025, Hawaiian Electric said in a statement.
Hawaiian Electric and defendants including county officials faced lawsuits over the blazes that tore through Maui last year, killing at least 100 people, destroying thousands of properties and causing damage estimated at $5 billion.
The lawsuits claimed the utility failed to shut off power lines despite warnings that high winds might blow them down and spark wildfires.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Clarence Fernandez)
