Hawaiian Electric Industries faces $3.9 billion in potential liabilities if it’s deemed negligent for its role in the Maui wildfires, investment research firm Capstone LLC said in a Friday note, Bloomberg News reported. The hefty potential legal liabilities and still-developing investigations into the deadly blazes add up to a growing risk that a Hawaiian Electric affiliate files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Capstone analysts said. The research firm included fatalities, missing people, damaged and destroyed structures in its estimate. The company’s stock rose on Friday after saying in a regulatory filing that its goal isn’t to restructure but to endure as a financially strong utility that Maui and the state needs. Nearly $4 billion in wildfire liabilities would dwarf Hawaiian Electric’s current market capitalization and exceed its existing debt load.
