UPDATE 2-Hawaiian Electric names Paul Ito as CFO
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Sept 18 (Reuters) - Parent company Hawaiian Electric Industries on Monday named Paul Ito as the CFO of utility Hawaiian Electric, following the retirement of Tayne Sekimura.
Sekimura's retirement was announced internally early this year, the company said, but the plans were upended after deadly wildfires in Maui last month killed at least 115 people.
Utility Hawaiian Electric is facing lawsuits and proposed class actions filed by Maui residents and the county, and has been sued by its investors, all largely claiming that the utility was responsible as a result of negligent mismanagement of its electrical equipment.
However, the utility had said that its power lines were de-energized after an initial fire likely caused by its lines was contained adding that they were shut off for at least six hours before a second fire.
Toward the end of August, the U.S. Department of Energy said it would provide $95 million to the utility through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to strengthen power grids.
The utility's CEO Shelee Kimura is due to testify on Sept. 28 at a hearing investigating the causes of the wildfire.
Ito was named as the finance chief of Hawaiian Electric Industries earlier this year, and will be stepping down to become the CFO of the utility Hawaiian Electric. Scott DeGhetto will be replacing Ito on an interim basis until 2024-end. (Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Shounak Dasgupta)
