HONOLULU, August 18, 2026, 12:45 a.m. HST
- Outages fell 50.3% from Sunday evening, but 88,670 accounts remained offline.
- The remaining outages equal 18.7% of Hawaiian Electric’s customer base.
- No restoration-cost estimate has been disclosed.
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. NYSE:HE cut storm-related outages by half in less than a day. Yet about 88,670 customers remained without power Monday evening. That equals 18.7% of the utility’s 474,241 accounts.
The pace of restoration is the key investor signal. It may contain repair costs and lost operating efficiency. However, remote transmission damage could keep crews deployed for days or weeks.
The New York Stock Exchange cash session was closed at publication. Trading begins at 3:30 a.m. HST, or 9:30 a.m. EDT.
| Outage snapshot | Customers without power | Share of 474,241 accounts |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 7 p.m. HST | 178,400 | 37.6% |
| Monday, 7 a.m. HST | 117,300 | 24.7% |
| Monday, 6 p.m. HST | 88,670 | 18.7% |
| Peak-to-latest change | -89,730 | -18.9 percentage points |
Hawaiian Electric said crews found “significant damage” in remote areas. Helicopters inspected lines Monday, while crews repaired major transmission links. Roughly 100 mainland utility workers were expected Tuesday. Company update
Earlier Monday, the company reported 117,300 customers offline. Nearly 55,000 had regained service overnight. Tropical Storm Lala damaged infrastructure on Hawaii Island, Maui and Oahu.
The latest total shows meaningful progress. It also leaves an outage footprint larger than many mainland utilities face after severe weather. Hawaiian Electric serves isolated island grids, limiting outside support.
| Second-quarter measure | 2026 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $939.7 million | $746.4 million | +25.9% |
| Core net income | $22.5 million | $35.4 million | -36.4% |
| Core EPS | $0.13 | $0.20 | -35.0% |
| Utility core net income | $32.6 million | $42.5 million | -23.3% |
| Quarter-end consolidated liquidity | About $1.3 billion | Not stated | — |
The storm arrives after weaker underlying earnings. Second-quarter core net income fell 36.4% to $22.5 million. Higher operating and interest costs drove the decline, despite a 25.9% revenue increase.
That makes restoration spending more important. Management ended June with about $1.3 billion of consolidated liquidity. It also identified $190 million of climate-adaptation investments through 2035.
| Analyst or consensus | Recommendation | Price target | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferies | Underperform | $11.75 | July 6, 2026 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | $13.00 | June 25, 2026 |
| Three-analyst consensus | 0 Buy / 2 Hold / 1 Sell | $12.75 average | Latest available |
Analysts were cautious before Lala. Jefferies cut its target to $11.75 in July, citing revenue uncertainty. Barclays held an Equal Weight rating with a $13 target.
The balance sheet still carries wildfire obligations. HEI paid the first $479 million Maui settlement installment in April. Three equal annual installments remain unfunded, according to company filings.
Investors should watch three updates: customers restored, transmission lines returned to service, and any cost estimate. The first two measure execution. The third determines the earnings impact.
Risks: Repair costs may exceed early expectations. Access problems could slow restoration, while further storms may disrupt work. Regulatory recovery of extraordinary costs is not assured.
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