Hawaii’s top power utility accused of years of mismanagement before the deadly wildfires

"Hawaii’s biggest power utility faces growing scrutiny for the role it might have played in the deadliest wildfire in modern American history, including detailed allegations in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that it was negligent and knowingly failed to take proper action to prevent catastrophe.

The lawsuit, first obtained by NBC News, alleges that Hawaiian Electric helped set the stage for the monstrous wildfires last week. The plaintiffs accuse the utility company of years of inaction and negligence, and argue that it should have had plans in place to shut down power systems before fierce winds blew across Hawaii.

“Hawaiian Electric is not just responsible and they weren’t just negligent,” said Mikal Watts, a lead attorney on the case. “They were grossly negligent by making conscious decisions to delay grid modernization projects that would have prevented this very tragedy.”"