Hawaiian Electric Co.’s parent company has promised it will not raise rates for utility customers to pay $1.99 billion as part of a proposed global settlement of more than 600 lawsuits filed against the company for allegedly starting wildfires that killed 102 people and destroyed most of Lahaina just over a year ago.

“We do not intend to raise rates to pay for the settlement amounts,” Scott Seu, president and chief executive of Hawaiian Electric Industries, said during an earnings conference call on Friday.

Executives said the company will meet its obligation through a combination of “debt, common equity, equity-linked securities and other potential options.” And while the company provided no details about these strategies, Seu said, “We believe that we will be ultimately successful in meeting the needs.”

The assurances from HEI’s top executive come a week after the company announced it would partake in a proposed, $4 billion global settlement that also includes the state of Hawaii, Maui County, Kamehameha Schools, Spectrum Oceanic, Charter Communications, Cincinnati Bell, Hawaiian Telcom and several entities affiliated with West Maui Land Co. and Launiupoko Water Co. 

The nearly $2 billion from HEI and its Hawaiian Electric Co. subsidiary represents the largest contribution among the various defendants. Kamehameha Schools, the major landowner accused of allowing fires to spread by not cutting grass on its land, has announced it will pay $872.5 million from a trust established to benefit Native Hawaiian children. The state also will pay about $800 million, Gov. Josh Green indicated in a recent interview with KHON.

Maui County, which is accused of mismanaging the emergency response and allowing a morning fire to reignite into the deadly blaze, reportedly will be on the hook for $10 million, although county officials have declined to comment.

The settlement, which was crafted during four months of court-ordered mediation, represents an enormous potential victory for HEI and HECO.

“We feel that this settlement agreement represents significant progress,” Seu said in his conference call with Wall Street on Friday. “It’s a very large accomplishment as it brings certainty and creates a path forward for us.”

Still HEI faces questions so daunting that the company was compelled to announce that there was risk it couldn’t remain solvent if the right things don’t happen.

“We have identified conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, and it is possible that any plan developed to alleviate such doubt may be unsuccessful,” HEI reported. 

Perhaps most important, the settlement is not final. Insurers who already have paid billions of dollars in wildfire claims have not signed on to the settlement agreement and could effectively block the deal. Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Peter Cahill has scheduled a hearing on Maui on Tuesday to address whether the settlement can move ahead without the insurers aboard. 

But even if the settlement is made final, there’s the question of whether HEI will be able to raise enough money to cover the outstanding settlement payment, a liability the company pegs at $1.71 billion for accounting purposes.

“Management has not yet implemented a capital financing plan to address expected wildfire settlement payments,” the company reported on Friday. 

“There is no assurance that future financing will be available in sufficient amounts on a timely basis or on reasonable terms acceptable to us, if at all,” HEI added in its quarterly statement. “If we raise funds by issuing equity or equity-linked securities, our shareholders may experience dilution. While management believes the Company will be able to raise the necessary capital, there is no assurance that management’s plans will be successful.” 

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by a grant from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.