(Bloomberg) -- Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. rose the most in 10 months after a local news outlet reported that a settlement resolving all claims and lawsuits over the Maui wildfires was advancing through the Maui County Council.
Hawaiian Electric jumped as much as 24% in early trading on Wednesday. Shares were up 17.7% to $10.09 at 11:00 a.m. in New York.
A council committee held a hearing Tuesday to consider the settlement and didn’t reveal an amount to resolve claims against the county and other co-defendants, according to the report by KHON2 news in Honolulu. Wind-driven wildfires destroyed the historic town of Lahaina on August 8, 2023, killing 102 people and causing an estimated $6 billion in economic damages.
Hawaiian Electric faces dozens of lawsuits by fire victims’ families accusing it of negligence because the utility didn’t turn off power lines despite forecasts of wildfire risk. Maui County also sued the utility, claiming it failed to properly prepare equipment for the threat of wildfires. Hawaiian Electric alleged in a counter-suit that the county was to blame.
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