PSPS 101: Everything you need to know

Do you know what a PSPS is? You may have heard the term on your social media feeds, on the radio, or at your dinner table. A Public Safety Power Shutoff, or PSPS, is a process that is part of Hawaiian Electric’s enhanced Wildfire Safety Strategy. Summer is dry season, and with a “Super El Niño” hurricane season also predicted for 2026, it is important to know the basics of this program for the safety of you and your ohana. As a digital communications and social media specialist, I sometimes see a bit of misinformation online. So, to give you the quick and simple facts you need to know, here is the PSPS breakdown.

What is a PSPS?

PSPS is an acronym for “Public Safety Power Shutoff.” It refers to when Hawaiian Electric proactively shuts off power in a high-risk area to help prevent wildfires and keep communities safe during extreme weather conditions as a last line of defense.

How a PSPS can keep us safe:

Strong winds can damage or blow debris into power lines and impact electrical infrastructure, which could cause equipment to spark. In low humidity, or drought conditions, this can lead to heightened wildfire risk. Dry vegetation is highly flammable, and if it catches fire, the spread will be accelerated by high winds, posing a threat to the surrounding communities. Deactivating our power lines during these extreme weather conditions can help reduce the risk of wildfire.

The weather conditions for initiating a PSPS:

No single factor drives PSPS. A COMBINATION of weather conditions is carefully reviewed to determine if power should be shut off for safety. These are the three primary criteria for declaring a PSPS:

• Persistent drought conditions and dry vegetation
• Wind gusts 45 mph and higher
• Relative humidity below 45%

Who can be impacted by a PSPS?

Only certain high wildfire risk areas are subject to a possible PSPS when the above conditions occur. To see if your neighborhood may be impacted, visit: hawaiianelectric.com/PSPSMaps.

How PSPS decisions are made:

Shutting off power is not a decision we take lightly. In fact, it is our last resort to protect the community, because not having electricity is extremely disruptive. There are multiple factors being assessed, and many people working together, to determine the need for a PSPS.

Here’s the rundown of who and what helps make decisions about PSPS at our company:

• Our PSPS Task Force gathers around the clock to assess threat levels and make minute-to-minute decisions about whether to de-energize lines.
• Our in-house meteorologist forecasts weather conditions and monitors wind and humidity levels in high-risk wildfire areas.
• We use weather data and forecasts from the National Weather Service, including Red Flag Warnings, to inform decisions.
• We have boots on the ground. At times, employees across our service territories are deployed to high-risk areas as “spotters,” looking for any signs of danger.
• We have weather stations and AlertWEST cameras installed on our infrastructure, allowing us to track conditions near our equipment in real time, and detect ignitions early.
• We collaborate with state and county agencies across the islands we serve to coordinate response efforts. Additionally, we collaborate with stakeholders and other utilities across the world to improve our Wildfire Safety Strategy and PSPS program.

Stages of PSPS and what to expect:

PSPS Watch: 24–48 hours before a possible PSPS.

• Prepare for the possibility of an extended outage by checking your emergency supplies, including food, water, and batteries, charging phones, and if you need electrically powered life sustaining medical equipment, be sure to have a plan.

PSPS Warning: Imminent — 4 hours before a possible PSPS.

• We’ll do our best to provide advance notice, but if conditions are suddenly hazardous, we may have to shut off your power with little or no notice.

PSPS Outage: Power is shut off in high wildfire risk areas for safety

• Refer to our social media accounts or news outlets and the radio for updates.

Restoration: This can take hours to days depending on the location/damage.

• Once the weather subsides, crews will need to patrol and inspect the area for any downed or damaged power lines and other hazardous conditions. These inspections are done manually, which can take some time. Once it is safe, and repairs are complete, power will be restored.

Let’s clarify the confusion: What is NOT a PSPS?

• Shutting off power due to a structural/equipment fire at the request of the fire department is NOT a PSPS.
• Sometimes we may turn off power in an area due to other severe weather conditions, like flooding with the recent Kona Low storm, for the safety of our crews, emergency responders, and the community. This is NOT a PSPS since it is not a proactive shutoff related to reducing wildfire risk.

We have seen catastrophic flooding across our islands this year, and during these types of events, power may be shut off in the affected areas for safety. Water is a conductor of electricity and can damage the electrical equipment, which is a risk to the community and first responders. Surrounding customers may not be affected by flooding but may still experience the outage because they share the same electrical circuit as the affected customers.

• Scheduled outages due to utility work and planned infrastructure upgrades are NOT PSPS.
• Outages due to motor vehicle accidents, damaged equipment, fallen trees, or other causes not related to proactively turning off power for wildfire prevention are NOT PSPS.
• Load shedding or “rolling outages” initiated to prevent an island-wide outage due to generation shortfalls are NOT PSPS.

I know this is still a lot of information, but hopefully you learned a little more about our PSPS program and we cleared up some confusion. Power outages are disruptive and affect our everyday lives, but the safety of our customers and communities comes first. Make sure you are prepared for hurricane season and the hot summer months!

All the resources you need:

• See if you live in a PSPS area by viewing our PSPS Maps
• Sign up for PSPS/emergency outage notifications
• If you or someone in your family uses a life-support device, or relies on medication that requires refrigeration, sign up for the Medical Needs Communications Form
• Tips to prepare for a PSPS
• PSPS resources for visitors
• United Way Resources for Access and Functional Needs (AFN) communities: Call 211 for help, or text your zip code to 898–211
• Follow our social media for updates: Facebook, Instagram, and X(@HwnElectric, @HIElectricLight, @MauiElectric).

Learn more about our PSPS program at hawaiianelectric.com/PSPS or call the Hawaiian Electric PSPS hotline at 1–844–438–8666 toll-free and be sure stay safe this summer!