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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

The businesses of HEI and its subsidiaries involve numerous risks which, if realized, could have a material and adverse effect on the Company’s financial statements. For additional information for certain risk factors enumerated below and other risks of the Company and its operations, see “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” above and HEI’s MD&A, HEI’s “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk,” the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, Hawaiian Electric’s MD&A and Hawaiian Electric’s “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”

Holding company and company-wide risks.

COVID-19—Our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations are being and could continue to be adversely impacted by the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.Due to the numerous country, state, city and local jurisdictions that have imposed “shelter-in-place” orders or other restrictions, including travel restrictions that directly impact the Hawaii economy, economic activity in the state has been adversely impacted. As a result of the swift economic contraction and reduction in tourism that has occurred in the state to date, the Utilities expect that demand for electricity will remain depressed and the provision for bad debt and write-offs at the Utilities will remain at an elevated level and impact liquidity as long as measures to contain the virus that severely restrict economic activity remain in place. In 2020, overall kWh sales have declined 7.1% as compared to 2019. While the Utilities expect to recover the difference between PUC approved target revenues and recorded adjusted revenues (regardless of the level of kWh sales) through the revenue balancing account under the decoupling mechanism based on estimated sales, starting on June 1st of the following year, the collection occurs on a lagged basis. If the difference to be collected, which needs to be financed in the interim, exceeds the Utilities’ current liquidity sources, there can be no assurance that the Utilities will be able to secure additional liquidity sources at a reasonable cost, or at all, or if the difference becomes so large that it would result in a significant increase in customer bills, whether the PUC will allow recovery of such difference through the revenue balancing account. In addition to lower and lagged collections, the COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in higher costs and expenses. While the Utilities have been granted deferral treatment of certain COVID-19 related costs, such as higher bad debt expense, non-collection of late payment fees, higher financing costs, sequestration costs for mission-critical employees and other costs and expenses,there can be no assurance that the PUC will grant recovery of such costs, and such costs could be material. Additionally, in light of the significant impact that economic conditions have had on residents and businesses in the state, a stipulated settlement between Hawaiian Electric and the Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, reflecting no base rate increase, was submitted in the Hawaiian Electric 2020 test year rate case, and approved by the PUC in October 2020. While the Utilities intend to offset the no base rate increase with corresponding cost decreases, such reduction of cost is not assured and, therefore, the inability to achieve targeted cost savings could adversely affect the Utilities’ results of operations in future periods.

ASB’s net interest income has also been adversely impacted by lower interest rates across the curve, which are influenced by economic conditions. Accordingly, an extended economic slowdown could have a significant continuing impact on its net interest income. In addition, an extended economic slowdown may also affect the ability of borrowers to make payments on their loans, which would have an adverse impact on ASB’s provision for credit losses.

While the Company believes that it has sufficient liquidity to operate through this crisis, there can be no assurance that sufficient liquidity will be available if the slowdown in economic activity continues for an extended period of time.

The Company is closely monitoring the situation and taking appropriate actions to operate its businesses and protect its workforce while serving customers and the community. The slowdown in economic activity to date has had a significant adverse effect on the Company’s financial performance. If the slowdown in economic activity continues for an extended period of time, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company. These effects could include, but are not limited to:

•Disruptions or restrictions on employees’ ability to work effectively due to illness, travel restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders or other limitations.

•The inability of customers, IPPs, contractors, suppliers, creditors and other business partners to fulfill their obligations. For example, several IPPs have declared force majeure as a protective measure, citing the pandemic, which could potentially result in significant project delays.

•Disruption and volatility in the global credit and financial markets, which may increase the cost of capital and could adversely impact access to capital for the Company and its customers and suppliers.

•Further deterioration in economic conditions, or an extension of slow economic activity, which negatively impacts the Company’s earnings and liquidity, could also result in an impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or long-lived assets.

•Actions taken or may be taken, or decisions made or may be made by the Company, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, may result in legal claims or litigation against the Company.

Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic and the significant uncertainty it creates, including the unknown severity and duration of the pandemic and the resulting impact it may have on Hawaii businesses and residents of the state, which could also be affected by the pace of distribution, administration, and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the proportion of the population vaccinated, the Company is unable to predict the full extent of the future impact on the Company’s businesses at this time, and those impacts could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position, and cash flows.

Holding Company Risk—HEI is a holding company that derives its income from its operating subsidiaries and depends on the ability of those subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to HEI and on its own ability to raise capital. HEI is a legal entity separate and distinct from its various subsidiaries. As a holding company with no significant operations of its own, HEI’s cash flows and consequent ability to service its obligations and pay dividends on its common stock is dependent upon its receipt of dividends or other distributions from its operating subsidiaries and its ability to issue common stock or other equity securities and to incur additional debt. The ability of HEI’s subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other distributions to HEI, in turn, is subject to the risks associated with their operations and to contractual and regulatory restrictions, including:

•the provisions of an HEI agreement with the PUC, which could limit the ability of HEI’s principal electric public utility subsidiary, Hawaiian Electric, to pay dividends to HEI in the event that the consolidated common stock equity of the Utilities falls below 35% of total capitalization of the electric utilities;

•the provisions of an HEI agreement entered into with federal bank regulators in connection with its acquisition of its bank subsidiary, ASB, which requires HEI to contribute additional capital to ASB (up to a maximum amount of additional capital of $28.3 million as of December 31, 2020 under the Regulatory Capital Maintenance/Dividend Agreement dated May 26, 1988, between HEI, HEIDI (HEI Diversified Inc.) and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation) upon request of the regulators in order to maintain ASB’s regulatory capital at the level required by regulation;

•the minimum capital and capital distribution regulations of the OCC that are applicable to ASB and capital regulations that become applicable to HEI and ASB Hawaii;

•the receipt of a letter from the FRB communicating the OCC’s and the FRB’s non-objection to the payment of any dividend ASB proposes to declare and pay to ASB Hawaii and HEI; and

•the provisions of preferred stock resolutions and debt instruments of HEI and its subsidiaries.

Credit and Capital Market Risk—The Company, and its credit rating, is subject to risks associated with the Hawaii economy (in the aggregate and on an individual island basis), volatile U.S. capital markets and changes in the interest rate and credit market environment that have or could result in higher retirement benefit plan funding requirements, declines in ASB’s interest rate margins and investment values, higher delinquencies and charge-offs in ASB’s loan portfolio and restrictions on the ability of HEI or its subsidiaries to borrow money or issue securities. The two largest components of Hawaii’s economy are tourism and the federal government (including the military). Because the core businesses of HEI’s subsidiaries are providing local public electric utility services (through Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries) and banking services (through ASB) in Hawaii, the Company’s operating results are significantly influenced by: Hawaii’s economy, which in turn is influenced by economic conditions in the mainland U.S. (particularly California) and Asia (particularly Japan) as a result of the impact of those conditions on tourism; by the impact of interest rates on the construction and real estate industries and by the impact of federal government spending in Hawaii, which can be affected by world conditions; and, from time to time, the expiration of federal government appropriations bills. In addition, the Hawaii economy could be directly or indirectly affected by implications and potential impacts of U.S. and foreign capital and credit market conditions and federal, state and international responses to those conditions and the potential impacts of global and local developments (including economic conditions and uncertainties; unrest, terrorist acts, wars, conflicts, political protests, deadly virus epidemic, pandemics, or other crisis; the effects of changes that have or may occur in U.S. policy, such as with respect to immigration and trade).

HEI’s and Hawaiian Electric’s securities ratings only reflect the view, at the time the ratings are issued, of the applicable rating agency. There is no assurance that any such credit rating will remain in effect for any given period of time or that such rating will not be lowered, suspended or withdrawn entirely by the applicable rating agency if, in such rating agency’s judgment, circumstances, such as current, past or future effects or events so warrant. Any such lowering, suspension or withdrawal of any rating may have an adverse effect on the availability of capital to the Company or the market price or marketability of HEI’s and/or Hawaiian Electric’s securities, which could increase the cost of capital of HEI and Hawaiian Electric, and such increased costs, including interest charges, under HEI’s and/or Hawaiian Electric’s debt securities and credit facilities, would result in reductions in HEI’s consolidated net income in future periods. Further, if HEI’s or Hawaiian Electric’s

commercial paper ratings were to be downgraded, HEI and Hawaiian Electric might not be able to sell commercial paper and might be required to draw on more expensive bank lines of credit or to defer capital or other expenditures. Neither HEI nor Hawaiian Electric management can predict future rating agency actions or their effects on the future cost of capital of HEI or Hawaiian Electric. Such ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell or hold any securities; such ratings may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the rating agencies; and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating.

Changes in the U.S. capital markets can also have significant effects on the Company. For example, pension funding requirements are affected by the market performance of the assets in the master pension trust maintained for pension plans, and by the discount rate used to estimate the service and interest cost components of net periodic pension cost and value obligations. The Utilities’ pension tracking mechanisms help moderate pension expense; however, a significant reduction in the discount rate or in the value of the Company’s defined benefit pension plan assets could result in a substantial increase in the gap between the projected benefit obligations under the plans and the value of plan assets, resulting in increases in funding requirements.

Because the earnings of ASB depend primarily on net interest income, interest rate risk is a significant risk of ASB’s operations. HEI and the Utilities are also exposed to interest rate risk primarily due to their periodic borrowing requirements, the discount rate used to determine pension funding requirements and the possible effect of interest rates on the electric utilities’ rates of return. Interest rates are sensitive to many factors, including general economic conditions and the policies of government and regulatory authorities. HEI cannot predict future changes in interest rates, nor be certain that interest rate risk management strategies it or its subsidiaries have implemented will be successful in managing interest rate risk.

Interest rate risk also represents a market risk factor affecting the fair value of ASB’s investment securities. Increases and decreases in prevailing interest rates generally translate into decreases and increases in the fair values of those instruments, respectively. Disruptions in the credit markets, a liquidity crisis in the banking industry or increased levels of residential mortgage delinquencies and defaults may result in decreases in the fair value of ASB’s investment securities and an impairment, requiring ASB to write down its investment securities. As of December 31, 2020, ASB’s investment in U.S. Treasury, federal agency obligations, and mortgage-backed securities have an implicit guarantee from the U.S. government.

Geographic Concentration Risk—The Company is subject to the risks associated with the geographic concentration of its businesses and current lack of interconnections that could result in service interruptions at the Utilities or higher default rates on loans held by ASB. The business of the Utilities is concentrated on the individual islands they serve in the State of Hawaii. Their operations are more vulnerable to service interruptions than are many U.S. mainland utilities because none of the systems of the Utilities are interconnected with the systems on the other islands they serve. Because of this lack of interconnections, it is necessary to maintain higher generation reserve margins than are typical for U.S. mainland utilities to help ensure reliable service. Service interruptions, including in particular extended interruptions that could result from a natural disaster or terrorist activity, could adversely impact the revenues and costs of some or all of the Utilities.

Substantially all of ASB’s consumer loan customers are Hawaii residents. A significant portion of the commercial loan customers are also located in Hawaii. While a majority of customers are on Oahu, ASB also has customers on the neighbor islands (whose economies have been weaker than Oahu’s economy during the last economic downturn). Substantially all of the real estate underlying ASB’s residential and commercial real estate loans are located in Hawaii. These assets may be subject to a greater risk of default than other comparable assets held by financial institutions with other geographic concentrations in the event of adverse economic, political or business developments or natural disasters affecting Hawaii and affect the ability of ASB’s customers to make payments of principal and interest on their loans.

Competitive and Technological Risk—Increasing competition and technological advances could cause HEI’s businesses to lose customers or render their operations obsolete. The banking industry in Hawaii, and certain aspects of the electric utility industry, are competitive. The success of HEI’s subsidiaries in meeting competition and responding to technological advances will continue to have a direct impact on HEI’s consolidated financial performance. For example:

•ASB, one of the largest financial institutions in the state, is in direct competition for deposits and loans not only with two larger institutions that have substantial capital, technology and marketing resources, but also with smaller Hawaii institutions and other U.S. institutions, including credit unions, mutual funds, mortgage brokers, finance companies and investment banking firms. Larger financial institutions may have greater access to capital at lower costs, which could impair ASB’s ability to compete effectively. New or significant advances in technology (e.g., significant advances in internet or mobile banking) could render the operations of ASB less competitive or obsolete.

•The Utilities face competition from IPPs; customer self-generation, with or without cogeneration; customer energy storage; and the potential formation of community-based, cooperative ownership or municipality structures for electrical service on all islands it serves. With the exception of certain identified projects, the Utilities are required to use competitive bidding to acquire a future generation resource unless the PUC finds competitive bidding to be

unsuitable. The PUC sets policies for distributed generation interconnection agreements and standby rates. The results of competitive bidding, competition from IPPs, customer self-generation, and potential cooperative ownership or municipality structures for electric utility service, and the rate at which technological developments facilitating nonutility generation of electricity, combined heat and power technology, off-grid microgrids, and customer energy storage may render the operations of the Utilities less competitive or outdated and adversely affect the Utilities and the results of their operations.

Cybersecurity Risk—The Company may be subject to information technology and operational system failures, network disruptions, cyber attacks and breaches in data security that could adversely affect its businesses and reputation. The Company and its subsidiaries rely on information technology systems, some of which are managed or hosted by third party service providers, to manage its business data, communications, and other business processes. Such information technology systems may be vulnerable to cyberattacks or other security incidents, which could result in unauthorized access to confidential data or disruptions to operations. In addition, there is increasing cybersecurity risk associated with the broad adoption of a remote working environment as a result of the pandemic. If the Company is unable to prevent or adequately respond to and resolve an incident, it may have a material impact on the Company’s operations or business reputation.

Utilities. The Utilities rely on evolving and increasingly complex operational and information systems, networks and other technologies, which are interconnected with the systems and network infrastructure owned by third parties to support a variety of business processes and activities, including procurement and supply chain, invoicing and collection of payments, customer relationship management, human resource management, the acquisition, generation and delivery of electrical service to customers, and to process financial information and results of operations for internal reporting purposes and to comply with regulatory financial reporting and legal and tax requirements. The Utilities use their systems and infrastructure to create, collect, store, and process sensitive information, including personal information regarding customers, employees and their dependents, retirees, and other individuals. Despite the Utilities security measures, all of their systems are vulnerable to disability, failures or unauthorized access caused by natural disasters, cybersecurity incidents, security breaches, user error, unintentional defects created by system changes, military or terrorist actions, power or communication failures or similar events. Any such failure could have a material adverse impact on the Utilities’ ability to process transactions and provide service, as well the Utilities’ financial condition and results of operations. Further, a data breach involving theft, improper disclosure, or other unauthorized access to or acquisition of confidential information could subject the Utilities to penalties for violation of applicable privacy laws, claims by third parties, and enforcement actions by government agencies. A data breach could also reduce the value of proprietary information, and harm the reputation of the Utilities.

As noted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the utility industry is continuing to experience an increase in the frequency and sophistication of cybersecurity incidents. The Utilities’ systems have been, and will likely continue to be, a target of attacks. Further, the Utilities’ operational networks may be subject to new cybersecurity risks due to modernizing and interconnecting existing infrastructure with new technologies and control systems, including those owned by third parties. Although the Utilities have not experienced a material cybersecurity breach to date, such incidents may occur and may have a material adverse effect on the Utilities and the Company in the future. In order to address cybersecurity risks to their information systems, the Utilities maintain security measures designed to protect their information technology systems, network infrastructure and other assets. The Utilities actively monitor developments in the area of cybersecurity and are involved in various related government and industry groups, and brief the Company’s Board quarterly on relevant cybersecurity issues. Although the Utilities continue to make investments in their cybersecurity program, including personnel, technologies, cyber insurance and training of Utilities personnel, there can be no assurance that these systems or their expected functionality will be implemented, maintained, or expanded effectively; nor can security measures completely eliminate the possibility of a cybersecurity breach. The Utility maintains cyber liability insurance that covers certain damages caused by cyber incidents. However, there is no guarantee that adequate insurance will continue to be available at rates the Utility believes are reasonable or that the costs of responding to and recovering from a cyber incident will be covered by insurance or recoverable in rates. If the Utilities’ cybersecurity measures were to be breached, the Utilities could suffer financial loss, business disruptions, liability to customers, regulatory intervention or damage to their reputation.

Due to the size, scope and complexity of the Utilities’ business, the development and maintenance of information technology systems to process and track information is critical and challenging. The Utilities often rely on third-party vendors to host, maintain, modify, and update its systems and these third-party vendors could cease to exist, fail to establish adequate processes to protect the Utilities systems and information, experience supply chain compromises or other internal or external security incidents. In addition, the Utilities are pursuing complex business transformation initiatives, which include the implementation of new systems and the upgrade or replacement of existing systems. Significant system changes increase the risk of system interruptions. Although the Utilities maintain change control processes to mitigate this risk, system interruptions may occur. Further, delay or failure to complete the integration of information systems and processes may result in delays in regulatory cost recovery, or the failure to realize the benefits anticipated to be derived from these initiatives.

The Utilities have disaster recovery plans in place to protect their businesses from information technology service interruptions. The disaster recovery plans, however, may not be successful in preventing the loss of customer data, service interruptions and disruptions to operations or damage to important facilities. If any of these systems fail to operate properly or becomes disabled and the Utilities’ disaster recovery plans do not effectively resolve the issues in a timely manner, the Utilities could suffer financial loss, business disruptions, liability to customers, regulatory intervention or damage to their reputations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Utilities’ and the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

ASB. ASB is highly dependent on its ability to process, on a daily basis, a large number of transactions and relies heavily on communication and information systems, including those of third-party vendors and other service providers. Communication and information system failures can result from a variety of risks including, but not limited to, events that are wholly or partially out of ASB’s control, such as communication line integrity, weather, terrorist acts, natural disasters, accidental disasters, unauthorized breaches of security systems, energy delivery systems, cyberattacks and other events.

ASB is under continuous threat of loss due to cyberattacks, especially as ASB continues to expand customer capabilities to utilize the Internet and other remote channels to transact business. Two of the most significant cyberattack risks that ASB faces are e-fraud and loss of sensitive customer data. Loss from e-fraud occurs when cybercriminals extract funds directly from customers’ or ASB’s accounts using fraudulent schemes that may include Internet-based funds transfers. ASB has been subject to e-fraud incidents historically. Loss of sensitive customer data are attempts to steal sensitive customer data, such as account numbers and social security numbers, through unauthorized access to computer systems, including computer hacking. Such attacks are less frequent, but could present significant reputational, legal and regulatory costs if successful. Intrusion detection and prevention systems, anti-virus software, firewalls and other general information technology controls have been put in place to detect and prevent cyberattacks or information system breaches. A disaster recovery plan has been developed in the event of a natural disaster, security breach, military or terrorist action, power or communication failure or similar event. The disaster recovery plan, however, may not be successful in preventing the loss of customer data, service interruptions, disruptions to operations or damage to important facilities. Although ASB devotes significant resources to maintain and regularly upgrade its systems and processes that are designed to protect the security of ASB’s computer systems, software, networks and other technology assets and the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information belonging to ASB and its customers, there can be no assurance that such failures, interruptions or security breaches will not occur or, if they do occur, that they will be adequately corrected by ASB or its vendors.

If any of these systems fail to operate properly or become disabled even for a brief period of time, ASB could suffer financial loss, business disruptions, liability to customers, regulatory intervention or damage to its reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on ASB’s and the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

Uninsured Losses—HEI’s businesses could suffer losses that are uninsured due to a lack of affordable insurance coverage, unavailability of insurance coverage or limitations on the insurance coverage the Company does have. In the ordinary course of business, HEI and its subsidiaries purchase insurance coverages (e.g., property and liability coverages) to protect against loss of, or damage to, their properties and against claims made by third parties and employees for property damage or personal injuries. However, the protection provided by such insurance is limited in significant respects and, in some instances, there is no coverage. Some of the insurance coverages have substantial deductibles or has limits on the maximum amounts that may be recovered. In common with other companies in its line of business, the Utilities’ overhead and underground transmission and distribution systems (with the exception of substation buildings and contents), which have a replacement value roughly estimated at $8 billion, are largely not insured against loss or damage because the amount of transmission and distribution system insurance capacity is limited and the premiums are cost prohibitive. Similarly, the Utilities have no business interruption insurance as the premiums for such insurance would be cost prohibitive, particularly since the Utilities are not interconnected to other systems. If a hurricane or other uninsured catastrophic natural disaster were to occur, and if the PUC did not allow the affected Utilities to recover from ratepayers restoration costs and revenues lost from business interruption, the lost revenues and repair expenses could result in a significant decrease in HEI’s consolidated net income or in significant net losses for the affected periods.

ASB generally does not obtain credit enhancements, such as mortgagor bankruptcy insurance, but does require standard hazard and hurricane insurance and may require flood insurance for certain properties. ASB is subject to the risks of borrower defaults and bankruptcies, special hazard losses not covered by the required insurance and the insurance company’s inability to pay claims on existing policies.

Environmental Regulation—Increased federal and state environmental regulation will require an increasing commitment of resources and funds and could result in construction delays or penalties and fines for non-compliance. HEI and its subsidiaries are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to air quality, water quality, hazardous substances, waste management, natural resources and health and safety, which regulate, among other matters, the operation of existing facilities, the construction and operation of new facilities and the proper cleanup and disposal of hazardous

and toxic wastes and substances. These laws and regulations could result in increased capital, operating, and other costs. HEI or its subsidiaries are currently involved in investigatory or remedial actions at current, former or third-party sites and there is no assurance that the Company will not incur material costs relating to these sites. In addition, compliance with these legal requirements requires the Utilities to commit significant resources and funds toward, among other things, environmental monitoring, installation of pollution control equipment and payment of emission fees. These laws and regulations, among other things, require that certain environmental permits be obtained in order to construct or operate certain facilities, and obtaining such permits can entail significant expense and cause substantial construction delays. Also, these laws and regulations may be amended from time to time, including amendments that increase the burden and cost of compliance. For example, emission and/or discharge limits may be tightened, more extensive permitting requirements may be imposed and additional substances may become regulated. In addition, significant regulatory uncertainty exists regarding the impact of federal or state greenhouse gas emission limits and reductions.

If HEI or its subsidiaries fail to comply with environmental laws and regulations, even if caused by factors beyond their control, that failure may result in civil or criminal penalties and fines or the cessation of operations that could have a material adverse on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.

Electric utility risks.

The following risks are generally specific to Hawaiian Electric, but could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Regulatory Risk—Actions of the PUC are outside the control of the Utilities and could result in inadequate or untimely rate increases, in rate reductions or refunds or in unanticipated delays, expenses or writedowns in connection with the construction of new projects. The rates the Utilities are allowed to charge for their services and the timeliness of permitted rate increases are among the most important items influencing the Utilities’ results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. The PUC has broad discretion over the rates that the Utilities charge their customers. On December 23, 2020, as part of the D&O establishing a new PBR Framework, there will be a five-year Multi-year Rate Period (MRP) during which there will be no general rate cases. In the fourth year of the MRP, the PUC will comprehensively review the PBR Framework to determine if any modifications or revisions are appropriate.

Any adverse decision by the PUC concerning the level or method of determining electric utility rates at the end of the multi-year rate period including the items and amounts that may be included in rate base, the returns on equity or rate base found to be reasonable, the potential consequences of exceeding or not meeting such returns, the denial of exception project recovery applications during the multi-year rate period, adverse impact of adjustments made to the PBR Framework, decisions on recovery of exogenous items, under the PBR Framework, or any prolonged delay in rendering a decision in a rate or other proceeding could have a material adverse effect on Hawaiian Electric’s consolidated results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

To improve the timing and certainty of the recovery of their costs, the Utilities have proposed and/or received approval of various cost recovery mechanisms, including an ECRC (changed from ECAC in 2019, now also includes a PUC-ordered risk-sharing split between ratepayers and the Utilities for fossil fuel price variations from baseline prices, with a current annual aggregate exposure cap of +/- $3.7 million), a PPAC, and pension and OPEB tracking mechanisms, as well as a decoupling mechanism, an exceptional project recovery mechanism (EPRM), formerly major project interim recovery (MPIR) adjustment mechanism, and a Renewable Energy Infrastructure Program (REIP) surcharge. A change in, or the elimination of, any of these cost recovery mechanisms, could have a material adverse effect on the Utilities. See “Regulatory mechanisms” in Electric Utility’s Business.

Under the new PBR Framework, the Utilities’ the annual revenue adjustment (ARA) includes a customer dividend consisting of a negative adjustment of 0.22% compounded annually and a flow through of the “pre-PBR” savings commitment from the management audit recommendations developed in the 2020 test year rate case. Not achieving the cost savings commitment could have a material adverse effect on the Utilities. Under the new PBR Framework, the existing PIMs continue, and the PUC established new PIMs. Not meeting the PIMs that have penalties for not achieving performance incentive goals could have a material adverse effect on the Utilities.

Based on the current operations of the Utilities and regulatory framework, including the impact of the newly approved PBR Framework, the Utilities continue to follow regulatory accounting under Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 980. Continued accounting in this manner requires that certain criteria relating to the recoverability of such costs through rates be met, including achieved financial results that support the recovery of costs. If events or circumstances should change, such that the criteria are no longer satisfied, the Utilities expect that their regulatory assets (amounting to $767 million as of December 31, 2020), net of regulatory liabilities (amounting to $960 million as of December 31, 2020), would be charged to the

statement of income in the period of discontinuance. See “Performance-based regulation framework” in Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Utilities could be required to refund to their customers, with interest, revenues that have been or may be received under interim rate orders in their rate case proceedings and other proceedings, if and to the extent they exceed the amounts allowed in final orders.

Many public utility projects require PUC approval and various permits (e.g., environmental and land use permits) from other governmental agencies. Difficulties in obtaining, or the inability to obtain, the necessary approvals or permits, or any adverse decision or policy made or adopted, or any prolonged delay in rendering a decision, by an agency with respect to such approvals and permits, can result in significantly increased project costs or even cancellation of projects. In the event a project does not proceed, or if the PUC disallows cost recovery for all or part of a project, or if project costs exceed caps imposed by the PUC in its approval of the project, project costs may need to be written off in amounts that could result in significant reductions in Hawaiian Electric’s consolidated net income.

Weather Conditions Risk—Electric utility operations are significantly influenced by weather conditions. The Utilities’ results of operations can be affected by the weather and natural disasters. Weather conditions, particularly temperature and humidity, directly influence the demand for electricity. In addition, severe weather and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, lava flows and lightning storms, some of which may become more severe or frequent as a result of global climate changes, can cause outages and property damage and require the Utilities to incur significant additional expenses that may not be recoverable.

Climate Change Risk—Electric utility operations may be significantly influenced by climate change. While the timing, extent and ultimate effects of climate change cannot be determined with any certainty, climate change is predicted to result in sea level rise, which could potentially impact coastal and other low-lying areas (where much of the Utilities’ electric infrastructure is sited), and could cause erosion of beaches, saltwater intrusion into aquifers and surface ecosystems, higher water tables and increased flooding and storm damage due to heavy rainfall. The effects of climate change on the weather (for example, floods, hurricanes, heat waves or drought conditions, the latter of which could increase wildfire risk), sea levels, and water availability and quality, all have the potential to materially adversely affect the results of operations, financial condition and liquidity of the Utilities. For example, severe weather and its related impacts could cause significant harm to the Utilities’ physical facilities.

Third Party Performance Risk—Electric utility operations depend heavily on third-party suppliers of fuel and purchased power. The Utilities rely on fuel suppliers and shippers, and IPPs to deliver fuel and power, respectively, in accordance with contractual agreements. Approximately 69% of the net energy generated or purchased by the Utilities in 2020 was generated from the burning of fossil fuel oil, and purchases of power by the Utilities provided about 46% of their total net energy generated and purchased for the same period. Failure or delay by fuel suppliers and shippers to provide fuel pursuant to existing contracts, or failure by a major IPP to deliver the firm capacity anticipated in its PPA, could disrupt the ability of the Utilities to deliver electricity and require the Utilities to incur additional expenses to meet the needs of their customers that may not be recoverable. In addition, as the IPP contracts near the end of their terms, there may be less economic incentive for the IPPs to make investments in their units to ensure the availability of their units. Also, as these contractual agreements end, the Utilities may not be able to purchase fuel and power on terms equivalent to the current contractual agreements.

Capacity Risk—The capacity provided by the Utilities’ generating resources and third-party purchased power may not be sufficient to meet customers’ energy requirements. The Utilities rely upon their generating resources and purchased power from third parties to meet their customers’ energy requirements. The Utilities update their generation capacity evaluation each year to determine the Utilities’ ability to meet reasonably expected demands for service and provide reasonable reserves for emergencies. These evaluations are impacted by a variety of factors, including customer energy demand, energy conservation and efficiency initiatives, economic conditions, and weather patterns. If the capacity provided by the Utilities’ generating resources and third-party purchased power is not adequate relative to customer demand, the Utilities may have to contract to buy more power from third parties, invest in additional generating facilities over the long-term, or extend the operating life of existing utility units. Any failure to meet customer energy requirements could negatively impact the satisfaction of the Utilities’ customers, which could have an adverse impact on the Utilities’ business and results of operations.

Stakeholder Activism Risk—Electric utility and third-party purchased power projects may be significantly impacted by stakeholder activism. The potential impact of stakeholder activism could increase total utility project costs, and delay the permitting, construction and overall timing or preclude the completion of third-party or utility projects that are required to meet electricity demand, resilience and reliability objectives, and RPS goals. If a utility project cannot be completed, the project costs may need to be written off in amounts that could result in significant reductions in Hawaiian Electric’s consolidated net income.

Operational Risk—Electric utility generating facilities are subject to operational risks that could result in unscheduled plant outages, unanticipated and/or increased operation and maintenance expenses and increased power purchase costs. Operation of electric generating facilities involves certain risks which can adversely affect energy output and efficiency levels. Included among these risks are facility shutdowns or power interruptions due to insufficient generation or a breakdown or failure of equipment or processes. In addition, operations could be negatively impacted by interruptions in fuel supply, inability to negotiate satisfactory collective bargaining agreements when existing agreements expire or other labor disputes, inability to comply with regulatory or permit requirements, disruptions in delivery of electricity, operator error and catastrophic events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, fires, explosions, lava flows, floods or other similar occurrences affecting the Utilities’ generating facilities or transmission and distribution systems.

Legislative Risk—The Utilities may be adversely affected by new legislation or administrative actions. Congress, the Hawaii legislature and governmental agencies periodically consider legislation and other initiatives that could have uncertain or negative effects on the Utilities and their customers. Congress, the Hawaii legislature and governmental agencies have adopted, or are considering adopting, a number of measures that will significantly affect the Utilities, as described below.

Renewable Portfolio Standards law. In 2015, Hawaii’s RPS law was amended to require electric utilities to meet an RPS of 15%, 30%, 40%, 70% and 100% by December 31, 2015, 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2045 respectively. Energy savings resulting from energy efficiency programs do not count toward the RPS after 2014. The Utilities are committed to achieving these goals and met the 2015 and 2020 RPS; however, due to the exclusion of energy savings in calculating RPS after 2014 and risks such as potential delays in IPPs being able to deliver contracted renewable energy, it is possible the Utilities may not attain the required renewable percentages in the future, and management cannot predict the future consequences of failure to do so (including potential penalties to be assessed by the PUC). On December 19, 2008, the PUC approved a penalty of $20 for every MWh that an electric utility is deficient under Hawaii’s RPS law. The PUC noted, however, that this penalty may be reduced, in the PUC’s discretion, due to events or circumstances that are outside an electric utility’s reasonable control, to the extent the event or circumstance could not be reasonably foreseen and ameliorated, as described in the RPS law and in an RPS framework adopted by the PUC. In addition, the PUC ordered that the Utilities will be prohibited from recovering any RPS penalty costs through rates.

Renewable energy. In 2007, a measure was passed by the Hawaii legislature stating that the PUC may consider the need for increased renewable energy in rendering decisions on utility matters. Due to this measure, it is possible that, if energy from a renewable source is more expensive than energy from fossil fuel, the PUC may still approve the purchase of energy from the renewable source, resulting in higher costs.

Global climate change and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. National and international concern about climate change and the contribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (including carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels) to climate change have led to federal legislative and regulatory proposals and action by the state of Hawaii to reduce GHG emissions.

In July 2007, the State Legislature passed Act 234, which requires a statewide reduction of GHG emissions by January 1, 2020 to levels at or below the statewide GHG emission levels in 1990. On June 20, 2014, the Governor signed the final rules required to implement Act 234 and these rules went into effect on June 30, 2014. In general, Act 234 and the GHG rule require affected sources that have the potential to emit GHGs in excess of established thresholds to reduce their GHG emissions by 16% below 2010 emission levels by 2020. In accordance with State requirements, the Utilities submitted an Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) to the DOH on June 30, 2015, with the most recent revision filed on June 9, 2020, to reflect the partnership established between the Utilities and several IPPs. In this plan, the partnership has committed to a 16% reduction in GHG emissions in accordance with the rule. The DOH issued the air permits incorporating the ERP including provisions to address the period of unavailability of the PGV facility on Hawaii Island. It is expected that with the advent of additional renewable projects and the application to the PUC with respect to the expansion of the PPA for the PGV project, the goals should be attainable.

Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Section 269-6(b) requires that “in making determinations of the reasonableness of the costs of utility system capital improvements and operations, the PUC shall explicitly consider, quantitatively or qualitatively, the effect of the State’s reliance on fossil fuels on price volatility, export of funds for fuel imports, fuel supply reliability risk, and greenhouse gas emissions.” Based on HRS Section 269-6(b) and recent case law discussing the scope of this section, the Utilities are performing GHG analyses to quantitatively or qualitatively describe the GHG emissions of proposed projects that are submitted to the PUC for approval.

In June 2018, House Bill 2182 was signed into law as Act 15 and took effect on July 1, 2018. Among its provisions, Act 15 aligned the State’s clean energy and carbon sequestration efforts with climate initiative goals and established a statewide carbon neutral goal by 2045. Under this Act, efforts would be made to “sequester more atmospheric carbon and greenhouse gases than emitted within the State as quickly as practicable, but no later than 2045.” The Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and

Adaptation Commission, administratively placed under the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, was charged with endeavoring to achieve the target, and giving consideration to the impact of its plans, decisions and strategies on the State’s ability to attain the goal. The general functions, duties and powers of the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission are set forth in HRS Section 225P-3. To achieve its mandates, the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission may recommend plans, decisions and strategies that could have an impact on various entities including the Utilities.

The Utilities have taken, and continue to identify opportunities to take, direct action to reduce GHG emissions from their operations, including, but not limited to, supporting demand-side management programs that foster energy efficiency, using renewable resources for energy production and purchasing power from IPPs generated by renewable resources, and burning renewable biodiesel at selected Hawaiian Electric and Maui Electric generating units.

The foregoing legislation or legislation that now is, or may in the future be, proposed present risks and uncertainties for the Utilities.

Renewable Transition Risk—The Utilities may be subject to increased operational challenges and their results of operations, financial condition and liquidity may be adversely impacted in meeting the commitments and objectives of clean energy initiatives and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). The far-reaching nature of the Utilities’ renewable energy commitments and the RPS goals present risks to the Company. Among such risks are: (1) the dependence on third-party suppliers of renewable purchased energy, which if the Utilities are unsuccessful in negotiating purchased power agreements with such IPPs or if a major IPP fails to deliver the anticipated capacity and/or energy in its purchased power agreement, could impact the Utilities’ achievement of their commitments to RPS goals and/or the Utilities’ ability to deliver reliable service; (2) delays in acquiring or unavailability of non-fossil fuel supplies for renewable generation; (3) the impact of intermittent power to the electrical grid and reliability of service if appropriate supporting infrastructure is not installed or does not operate effectively; (4) the likelihood that the Utilities may need to make substantial investments in related infrastructure, which could result in increased borrowings and, therefore, materially impact the financial condition and liquidity of the Utilities; (5) the imputed debt related to the pending renewable power purchase agreements under the stage 1 and stage 2 RFPs could result in a credit rating downgrade for the Utilities and the Company; and (6) the commitment to support a variety of initiatives, which, if approved by the PUC, may have a material impact on the results of operations and financial condition of the Utilities depending on their design and implementation. These initiatives include, but are not limited to, programs to enable more customer-sited generation. The implementation of these or other programs may adversely impact the results of operations, financial condition and liquidity of the Utilities.

Bank risks.

The following risks are generally specific to ASB, but could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Interest Rate Risk—Fluctuations in interest rates could result in lower net interest income, impair ASB’s ability to originate new loans or impair the ability of ASB’s adjustable-rate borrowers to make increased payments or cause such borrowers to repay their adjustable-rate loans. Interest rate risk is a significant risk of ASB’s operations. ASB’s net interest income consists primarily of interest income received on fixed-rate and adjustable-rate loans, mortgage-backed securities and investments, less interest expense consisting primarily of interest paid on deposits and other borrowings. Interest rate risk arises when earning assets mature or when their interest rates change in a time frame different from that of the costing liabilities. Changes in market interest rates, including changes in the relationship between short-term and long-term market interest rates (e.g., a flat or an inverted yield curve) or between different interest rate indices, and the duration and severity of the changes in market interest rates can impact ASB’s net interest margin. See “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.”

Although ASB pursues an asset-liability management strategy designed to mitigate its risk from changes in market interest rates, unfavorable movements in interest rates could result in lower net interest income. Residential 1-4 family fixed-rate mortgage loans comprised about 37% of ASB’s loan portfolio as of December 31, 2020 and do not re-price with movements in interest rates. ASB continues to face a challenging interest rate environment. Increases in market interest rates could have an adverse impact on ASB’s cost of funds. Higher market interest rates could lead to higher interest rates paid on deposits and other borrowings. Significant increases in market interest rates, or the perception that an increase may occur, could adversely affect ASB’s ability to originate new loans and grow. An increase in market interest rates, especially a sudden increase, could also adversely affect the ability of ASB’s adjustable-rate borrowers to meet their higher payment obligations. If this occurred, it could cause an increase in nonperforming assets and charge-offs. Conversely, a decrease in interest rates or a mismatching of maturities of interest sensitive financial instruments could result in an acceleration in the prepayment of loans and mortgage-backed securities and impact ASB’s ability to reinvest its liquidity in similar yielding assets.

LIBOR Sunset Transition Risk—Changes in the method for determining London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and the potential replacement of LIBOR may affect our loan portfolio and interest income on loans.On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced that it intends to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee composed of large U.S. financial institutions, announced replacement of U.S. dollar LIBOR with a new index calculated by short-term repurchase agreements, backed by U.S. Treasury securities called the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). The potential effect of the elimination of LIBOR on ASB’s LIBOR-indexed loan portfolio and interest income on loans cannot yet be determined.

Credit Risk—ASB’s allowance for credit losses may not cover actual loan losses.ASB’s allowance for credit losses is ASB’s estimate of lifetime expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit and is based on a continuing assessment of:

•existing risks in the loan portfolio;

•historical loss experience with ASB’s loans;

•changes in collateral value;

•current conditions (for example, economic conditions, real estate market conditions and interest rate environment) and;

•reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount.

If ASB’s actual loan losses exceed its allowance for credit losses, it may incur losses, its financial condition may be materially and adversely affected, and additional capital may be required to enhance its capital position. In addition, various regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, regularly review the adequacy of ASB’s allowance. These agencies may require ASB to establish additional allowances based on their judgment of the information available at the time of their examinations. No assurance can be given that ASB will not sustain loan losses in excess of present or future levels of its allowance for credit losses.

Operational Risk—ASB’s operations are affected by factors that are beyond its control, that could result in lower revenues, higher expenses or decreased demand for its products and services. ASB’s results of operations depend primarily on the income generated by the supply of, and demand for, its products and services, which primarily consist of loans and deposit services. ASB’s revenues and expenses may be adversely affected by various factors, including:

•local, regional, national and other economic and political conditions that could result in declines in employment and real estate values, which in turn could adversely affect the ability of borrowers to make loan payments and the ability of ASB to recover the full amounts owing to it under defaulted loans;

•the ability of borrowers to obtain insurance and the ability of ASB to place insurance where borrowers fail to do so, particularly in the event of catastrophic damage to collateral securing loans made by ASB;

•faster than expected loan prepayments that can cause an acceleration of the amortization of premiums on loans and investments and the impairment of mortgage servicing assets of ASB;

•changes in ASB’s loan portfolio credit profiles and asset quality, which may increase or decrease the required level of allowance for credit losses;

•technological disruptions affecting ASB’s operations or financial or operational difficulties experienced by any outside vendor on whom ASB relies to provide key components of its business operations, such as business processing, network access or internet connections;

•events of default and foreclosure of loans whereby ASB becomes the owner of mortgage properties that presents environmental risk or potential clean up liability;

•the impact of legislative and regulatory changes, including changes affecting capital requirements, increasing oversight of and reporting by banks, or affecting the lending programs or other business activities of ASB;

•additional legislative changes regulating the assessment of overdraft, interchange and credit card fees, which can have a negative impact on noninterest income;

•public opinion about ASB and financial institutions in general, which, if negative, could impact the public’s trust and confidence in ASB and adversely affect ASB’s ability to attract and retain customers and expose ASB to adverse legal and regulatory consequences;

•increases in operating costs (including employee compensation expense and benefits and regulatory compliance costs), inflation and other factors, that exceed increases in ASB’s net interest, fee and other income; and

•the ability of ASB to maintain or increase the level of deposits, ASB’s lowest costing funds.

Banking Regulatory Risk—Banking and related regulations could result in significant restrictions being imposed on ASB’s business or in a requirement that HEI divest ASB. ASB is subject to examination and comprehensive regulation by the Department of Treasury, the OCC and the FDIC, and is subject to reserve requirements established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In addition, the FRB is responsible for regulating ASB’s holding companies, HEI and ASB Hawaii. The regulatory authorities have extensive discretion in connection with their supervisory and enforcement activities and

examination policies to address not only ASB’s compliance with applicable banking laws and regulations, but also capital adequacy, asset quality, management ability and performance, earnings, liquidity and various other factors.

Under certain circumstances, including any determination that ASB’s relationship with HEI results in an unsafe and unsound banking practice, these regulatory authorities have the authority to restrict the ability of ASB to transfer assets and to make distributions to its shareholders (including payment of dividends to HEI), or they could seek to require HEI to sever its relationship with or divest its ownership of ASB. Payment by ASB of dividends to HEI may also be restricted by the OCC and FRB under its prompt corrective action regulations or its capital distribution regulations if ASB’s capital position deteriorates. In order to maintain its status as a QTL, ASB is required to maintain at least 65% of its assets in “qualified thrift investments.” Institutions that fail to maintain QTL status are subject to various penalties, including limitations on their activities. In ASB’s case, the activities of HEI and HEI’s other subsidiaries would also be subject to restrictions, and a failure or inability to comply with those restrictions could effectively result in the required divestiture of ASB. Federal legislation has also been proposed in the past that could operate to eliminate the thrift charter or the grandfathered status of HEI as a unitary thrift holding company, which in turn would result in a required divestiture of ASB. In the event of a required divestiture, federal law substantially limits the types of entities that could potentially acquire ASB.

Legislative Risk—Legislative and regulatory initiatives could have an adverse effect on ASB’s business. From time to time, new legislative and other regulatory initiatives are enacted, which could have an adverse effect on ASB’s business. For example, the Dodd-Frank Act, which became law in July 2010, has had a substantial impact on the financial services industry. Failure to comply with laws, regulations or policies could result in sanctions by regulatory agencies, civil money penalties and/or reputation damage, which could have a material adverse effect on ASB’s business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Product Concentration Risk—A large percentage of ASB’s loans and securities are collateralized by real estate, and adverse changes in the real estate market and/or general economic or other conditions may result in loan losses and adversely affect the Company’s profitability. As of December 31, 2020 approximately 79% of ASB’s loan portfolio was comprised of loans primarily collateralized by real estate, most of which was concentrated in the State of Hawaii. During 2020, ASB’s home equity lines of credit (HELOC) and residential 1-4 family portfolios decreased by 12% and 2%, respectively, and now comprise 73% of total real estate loans. ASB’s financial results may be adversely affected by changes in prevailing economic conditions, either nationally or in the state of Hawaii, including decreases in real estate values, adverse employment conditions, the monetary and fiscal policies of the federal and state government and other significant external events. Adverse changes in the economy may have a negative effect on the ability of borrowers to make timely repayments of their loans. A deterioration of the economic environment in Hawaii, including a material decline in the real estate market, further declines in home resales, a material external shock, or any environmental clean-up obligation, may also significantly impair the value of ASB’s collateral and ASB’s ability to sell the collateral upon foreclosure. In the event of a default, amounts received upon sale of the collateral may be insufficient to recover outstanding principal and interest. In addition, if poor economic conditions result in decreased demand for real estate loans, ASB’s profits may decrease if its alternative investments earn less income than real estate loans.

Commercial and Consumer Lending Risk—Expanding commercial, commercial real estate and consumer lending activities may result in higher costs and greater credit risk than residential lending activities due to the unique characteristics of these markets. ASB had been pursuing a strategy that included expanding its commercial, commercial real estate and consumer lines of business. Commercial and commercial real estate loans have a higher risk profile than residential loans. Though both commercial and commercial real estate loans have shorter terms and earn higher spreads than residential mortgage loans, these loan types generally entail higher underwriting and other service costs and present greater credit risks than traditional residential mortgages. Commercial loans are secured by the assets of the business and, upon default, any collateral repossessed may not be sufficient to repay the outstanding loan balance. In addition, loan collections are dependent on the borrower’s continuing financial stability and, thus, are more likely to be affected by current economic conditions and adverse business developments. Commercial real estate properties tend to be unique and are more difficult to value than residential real estate properties. Commercial real estate loans may not be fully amortizing, meaning that they have a significant principal balance or “balloon” payment due at maturity. In addition, commercial real estate properties, particularly industrial and warehouse properties, are generally subject to relatively greater environmental risks than noncommercial properties and to the corresponding burdens and costs of compliance with environmental laws and regulations. Also, there may be costs and delays involved in enforcing rights of a property owner against tenants in default under terms of leases with respect to commercial properties. For example, a tenant may seek protection under bankruptcy laws, which could result in termination of the tenant’s lease.

ASB also has a national syndicated lending portfolio where ASB is a participant in credit facilities agented by established and reputable national lenders. Management selectively chooses each deal based on conservative credit criteria to ensure a high-quality, well diversified portfolio. In the event the borrower encounters financial difficulties and ASB is unable to sell its participation interest in the loan in the secondary market, ASB is typically reliant on the originating lender for managing any loan workout or foreclosure proceedings that may become necessary. Accordingly, ASB has less control over such proceedings

than loans it originates and may be required to accommodate the interests of other participating lenders in resolving delinquencies or defaults on participated loans, which could result in outcomes that are not fully consistent with ASB’s preferred strategies. In addition, a significant proportion of ASB’s syndicated loans are originated in states other than Hawaii and are subject to the local regional and regulatory risks specific to those states.

Similar to the national syndicated lending portfolio, ASB does not service commercial loans in which it has participation interests rather than being the lead or agent lender and is subject to the policies and practices of the agent lender, who is the loan servicer, in resolving delinquencies or defaults on participated loans.

The consumer loan portfolio primarily consists of personal unsecured loans with risk-based pricing. Repayment is based on the borrower’s financial stability as these loans have no collateral and there is less assurance that ASB will be able to collect all payments due under these loans or have sufficient collateral to cover all outstanding loan balances.

General Risk Factors.

ESG Risk—Increased scrutiny and changing stakeholder expectations with respect to our environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs may result in increased costs and expenses and may expose us to new or incremental risks. Companies across all industries, including our businesses, face increasing stakeholder scrutiny related to ESG practices. These stakeholders include investors, customers, consumers, employees, lenders and other stakeholders, and in recent years, certain stakeholders have placed increasing importance on the impact and social cost of their investments. This increased focus and activism related to ESG may hinder the cost of, or access to, capital or financing as these investors or lenders may elect to increase their required returns on capital offered to the company, reallocate capital or not commit capital as a result of their assessment of a company’s ESG profile. Additionally, if we fail to adapt, or perceived to have failed in addressing investor, lender, and other stakeholder ESG expectations or standards, which continue to evolve, or if we fail to fully and accurately report our progress on ESG initiatives, we may suffer reputational damage and our business or financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Human Capital Risk—HEI’s businesses may be unable to attract, hire, engage and retain a highly skilled and diverse workforce, including senior management, which could affect the Company’s execution of its growth strategy and profitability and adversely affect its future performance. The skill and experience of the Company’s employees, particularly with respect to the senior management team, are vital to the Company’s success. The management teams of HEI’s businesses have significant industry experience and would be difficult to replace. Failure to attract, hire, develop, motivate, and retain highly qualified and diverse employee talent, to develop and implement an adequate succession plan for the senior management team, or to maintain a successful work culture that fosters collaboration, innovation, and communications could disrupt the Company’s operations and adversely affect its businesses and its future success.

Pension Liability Risk—HEI and Hawaiian Electric and their subsidiaries may incur higher retirement benefits expenses and have and will likely continue to recognize substantial liabilities for retirement benefits. Retirement benefits expenses and cash funding requirements could increase in future years depending on numerous factors, including, but not limited to, the performance of the U.S. equity markets, trends in interest rates and health care costs, plan amendments, mortality improvements, new laws relating to pension funding and changes in accounting principles. For the Utilities, however, retirement benefits expenses, as adjusted by the pension and postretirement benefits other than pensions (OPEB) tracking mechanisms, have been an allowable expense for rate-making purposes.

Tax Legislation Risk—Adverse tax rulings or developments or changes in tax legislation could result in significant increases in tax payments and/or expense.Governmental taxing authorities could challenge a tax return position taken by HEI or its subsidiaries and, if the taxing authorities prevail, HEI’s consolidated tax payments and/or expense, including applicable penalties and interest, could increase significantly. Additionally, changes in tax legislation or IRS interpretations could increase the Company’s tax burden and adversely affect the Company's financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

Litigation Risk—The Company could be subject to the risk of uninsured losses in excess of its accruals for litigation matters. HEI and its subsidiaries are involved in routine litigation in the ordinary course of their businesses, most of which is covered by insurance (subject to policy limits and deductibles). However, other litigation may arise that is not routine or involves claims that may not be covered by insurance. Because of the uncertainties associated with litigation, there is a risk that litigation against HEI or its subsidiaries, even if vigorously defended, could result in costs of defense and judgment or settlement amounts not covered by insurance and in excess of reserves established in HEI’s consolidated financial statements.

Changes in Accounting Estimates Risk—Changes in accounting principles and estimates could affect the reported amounts of the Company’s assets and liabilities or revenues and expenses. HEI’s consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. Changes in accounting principles (including the possible adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards or new U.S. accounting standards), or changes in the Company’s application of existing accounting principles, could materially affect the financial statement presentation of HEI’s or the

Utilities’ consolidated results of operations and/or financial condition. Further, in preparing the consolidated financial statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change include the amounts reported for electric utility revenues; allowance for credit losses; income taxes; investment securities, property, plant and equipment; regulatory assets and liabilities; derivatives; goodwill; pension and other postretirement benefit obligations; and contingencies and litigation.

Changes in accounting principles can also impact HEI’s consolidated financial statements. For example, if management determines that a PPA requires the consolidation of the IPP in the financial statements, the consolidation could have a material effect on Hawaiian Electric’s and HEI’s consolidated financial statements, including the recognition of a significant amount of assets and liabilities and, if such a consolidated IPP were operating at a loss and had insufficient equity, the potential recognition of such losses.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

HEI: None.

Hawaiian Electric: Not applicable.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

HEI and Hawaiian Electric: See the “Properties” sections under “HEI,” “Electric utility” and “Bank” in Item 1. Business above.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

HEI and Hawaiian Electric: HEI and Hawaiian Electric (including their direct and indirect subsidiaries) may be involved in ordinary routine PUC proceedings, environmental proceedings and/or litigation incidental to their respective businesses. See the descriptions of legal proceedings (including judicial proceedings and proceedings before the PUC and environmental and other administrative agencies) in “Item 1. Business,” in HEI’s MD&A and in the Notes 3 and 4 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. The outcomes of litigation and administrative proceedings are necessarily uncertain and there is a risk that the outcome of such matters could have a material adverse effect on the financial position, results of operations or liquidity of HEI or one or more of its subsidiaries for a particular period in the future.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

HEI and Hawaiian Electric: Not applicable.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS (HEI)

The executive officers of HEI are listed below. Messrs. Seu and Wacker are officers of HEI subsidiaries rather than of HEI, but are deemed to be executive officers of HEI under SEC Rule 3b-7 promulgated under the 1934 Exchange Act. HEI executive officers serve from the date of their initial appointment and are reappointed annually by the HEI Board (or annually by the applicable HEI subsidiary board), and thereafter are appointed for one-year terms or until their successors have been duly appointed and qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal. HEI executive officers may also hold offices with HEI subsidiaries and affiliates in addition to their current positions listed below.

Family relationships; executive arrangements

There are no family relationships between any HEI executive officer and any other HEI executive officer or any HEI director or director nominee. There are no arrangements or understandings between any HEI executive officer and any other person pursuant to which such executive officer was selected.

PART II

HEI:

Certain of the information required by this item is disclosed in Note 14, “Regulatory restrictions on net assets” and Note 17, “Quarterly information (unaudited)” of the Consolidated Financial Statements and “Item 6. Selected Financial Data” and “Equity compensation plan information” under “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” of this Form 10-K.

HEI’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “HE.” The total number of holders of record of HEI common stock (i.e., registered holders) as of February 12, 2021, was 5,410. On February 9, 2021, the HEI Board of Directors approved a 1 cent increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.33 per share to $0.34 per share, starting with the dividend in the first quarter of 2021. HEI currently expects to maintain the dividend at its present level; however, the HEI Board of Directors evaluates the dividend quarterly and considers many factors in the evaluation including, but not limited to, the Company’s results of operations, the long-term prospects for the Company, and the current and expected future economic conditions.

Purchases of HEI common shares were made during the fourth quarter to satisfy the requirements of certain plans as follows:

ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

NA Not applicable.

* Trades (total number of shares purchased) are reflected in the month in which the order is placed.

** The purchases were made to satisfy the requirements of the DRIP, the Hawaiian Electric Industries Retirement Savings Plan (HEIRSP), and the ASB 401(k) Plan for shares purchased for cash or by the reinvestment of dividends by participants under those plans and none of the purchases were made under publicly announced repurchase plans or programs. Average prices per share are calculated exclusive of any commissions payable to the brokers making the purchases for the DRIP, the HEIRSP and the ASB 401(k) Plan. Of the “Total number of shares purchased,” 194,841 of the 230,658 shares were purchased for the DRIP; 28,315 of the 230,658 shares were purchased for the HEIRSP; and the remaining of the 7,502 shares were purchased for the ASB 401(k) Plan. The repurchased shares were issued for the accounts of the participants under registration statements registering the shares issued under these plans.

Hawaiian Electric:

Since a corporate restructuring on July 1, 1983, all the common stock of Hawaiian Electric has been held solely by its parent, HEI, and is not publicly traded. Accordingly, information required with respect to “Market information” and “holders” is not applicable to Hawaiian Electric.

The dividends declared and paid on Hawaiian Electric’s common stock for the quarters of 2020 and 2019 were as follows:

(in thousands)

Also, see “Liquidity and capital resources” in HEI’s MD&A.

See the discussion of regulatory and other restrictions on dividends or other distributions in Note 14 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

HEI:

Selected Financial Data

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. and Subsidiaries

(dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

Results of operations

Return on average common equity 8.6 % 9.8 % 9.5 % 7.9 % 12.4 %

Financial position *

Common stock

* At December 31.

** Calculated using December 31 market price per common share divided by basic earnings per common share.

*** At December 31. Represents registered shareholders plus participants in the HEI Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan (DRIP) who are not registered shareholders. As of February 12, 2021, HEI had 5,410 registered shareholders (i.e., holders of record of HEI common stock), 21,650 DRIP participants and total shareholders of 24,122.

2019 results include $10.8 million of gains ($7.9 million after-tax at ASB’s statutory tax rate of 26.8%) on sales of real estate associated with ASB’s transition to its new campus. The gains were partially offset by $3.2 million ($2.4 million after-tax at ASB’s statutory tax rate of 26.8%) of exit costs associated with the move to the new campus. 2018, 2019 and 2020 results include the impact of the lower federal corporate tax rate as a result of the Tax Act. 2018 also reflects certain tax return adjustments relating to the benefit associated with additional tax deductions taken in the Company’s 2017 tax returns in conjunction with the rate differential provided in the Tax Act. The lower tax rate in 2018, 2019 and 2020 was partially offset by other Tax Act changes, relating to the non-deductibility of excess executive compensation and various fringe benefit costs. 2017 results include a $14 million adjustment, primarily to reduce deferred tax net asset balances (not accounted for under Utility regulatory ratemaking) to reflect the lower rates enacted by the Tax Act and $20 million ($11 million, net of tax impacts) lower in RAM revenues than prior year due to the expiration of the 2013 settlement agreement that allowed the accrual of RAM revenues on January 1 (vs. June 1) for 2016 at Hawaiian Electric. Results for 2016 include Merger- and Spin-Off-related income/(expenses), net of tax impacts, of $60 million.

Hawaiian Electric:

Selected Financial Data

Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and Subsidiaries

(in thousands)

Results of operations

Financial position *

Current portion of long-term debt $ — $ 95,953 $ — $ 49,963 $ —

Capital structure ratios (%)

* At December 31.

HEI owns all of Hawaiian Electric’s common stock. Therefore, per share data is not meaningful.

2018, 2019 and 2020 results include the impact of the lower federal corporate tax rate as a result of the Tax Act, the benefits of which were returned to customers through a reduction in revenue requirements. 2018 also reflects certain tax return adjustments relating to the benefit associated with additional tax deductions taken in the Company’s 2017 tax returns in conjunction with the rate differential provided in the Tax Act. The lower tax rate in 2018, 2019 and 2020 was partially offset by other Tax Act changes, relating to the non-deductibility of excess executive compensation and various fringe benefit costs. 2017 results include $20 million ($11 million, net of tax impacts) lower in RAM revenues than prior year due to: 1) the expiration of the 2013 settlement agreement that allowed the accrual of RAM revenues on January 1 (vs. June 1) for 2016 at Hawaiian Electric, and 2) a $9 million adjustment, primarily to reduce deferred tax net asset balances (not accounted for under regulatory ratemaking) to reflect the lower rates enacted by Tax Act.

See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” above, the “electric utility” sections and all information related to, or including, Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries in HEI’s MD&A and “Commitments and contingencies” in Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for discussions of certain contingencies that could adversely affect future results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

HEI and Hawaiian Electric (in the case of Hawaiian Electric, only the information related to Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries):

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the related Notes that appear in Item 8 of this report. For information on factors that may cause HEI’s and Hawaiian Electric’s actual future results to differ from those currently contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statements, see “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” at the front of this report and “Risk Factors” in Item 1A. The general discussion of HEI’s consolidated results should be read in conjunction with the Electric utility and Bank segment discussions that follow.

HEI Consolidated

Executive overview and strategy. HEI is a holding company with operations primarily focused on Hawaii’s electric utility and banking sectors. In 2017, HEI formed Pacific Current to make investments in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure projects. HEI has three reportable segments—Electric utility, Bank, and Other.

Electric utility. Hawaiian Electric, Hawaii Electric Light and Maui Electric (Utilities) are regulated operating electric public utilities engaged in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity on the islands of Oahu; Hawaii; and Maui, Lanai and Molokai, respectively.

Bank. ASB is a full-service community bank serving both consumer and commercial customers in the State of Hawaii and has 42 branches on the islands of Oahu (29), Maui (6), Hawaii (4), Kauai (2), and Molokai (1).

Other. The Other segment comprises the results of Pacific Current, which invests in non-regulated clean energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii to help reach the state’s sustainability goals, and HEI’s corporate-level operating, general and administrative expenses.

A major focus of HEI’s financial strategy is to grow core earnings/profitability at the Utilities, Bank and Pacific Current in a controlled risk manner and improve operating, capital and tax efficiencies in order to support its dividend and deliver shareholder value. Together, HEI’s unique combination of power, sustainable investments, and financial services companies provides the Company with a strong balance sheet and the financial resources to invest in the strategic growth of its subsidiaries, while providing an attractive dividend for investors.

Recent developments—COVID-19. The Company’s Incident Management Team, composed of senior executives across the Company, continues to monitor and manage issues related to COVID-19’s impact on the Company and the community. Regular updates are provided to the boards of directors of the Company and its subsidiaries to discuss key focus areas, including employee and customer safety, operations, liquidity, cybersecurity, and internal controls over financial reporting. The Company’s top priority remains unchanged, which is to ensure the safety and well-being of our customers, our employees, their families and the community, while at the same time continuing to deliver essential electric and banking services. To protect its employees and customers and minimize community spread of the coronavirus, the Company’s moratorium on non-essential business travel and a mandatory work-from-home policy for all personnel that can perform their work remotely remains in effect to ensure social distancing. Such work-from-home mandates have not impaired the Company’s ability to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting and related disclosures. For personnel that cannot perform their work remotely, the Company has taken steps to protect these employees, including implementing practices related to employee and facilities hygiene, in order to ensure the reliability and resilience of its operations.

The Company has extended various programs to support its customers and the community during this difficult and challenging time. For example, Hawaiian Electric has suspended, through March 31, 2021, customer disconnections for nonpayment and is working closely with impacted customers on payment plans. At ASB, borrowers that are experiencing financial hardship may be eligible to receive a loan forbearance, deferment or extension. Additionally, late fee waivers were granted for up to three months and ATM fees were waived through July 1, 2020. ASB has also secured loans totaling more than $370 million for affected businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Through the PPP, which was established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and implemented by the United States Small Business Association, ASB has helped approximately 4,100 small businesses, which support roughly 40,000 jobs that contribute to economic activity in Hawaii. See “Recent Developments—COVID-19” in the Bank section below.

In light of the ongoing global COVID-19 vaccination effort, the Company expects that the Hawaii economy will continue to improve in 2021. The improvement in economic conditions is expected to result in an increase in kWh sales in 2021 at the Utility, compared to 2020, which would not affect Utility revenues due to decoupling, but may lower the price per kWh paid by customers, and improved credit quality of the loan portfolio at the Bank. However, the extent and pace of any economic recovery is dependent on a number of factors, including the real-world efficacy and availability of vaccines, as well as the pace and the proportion of the population that is vaccinated. For further discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our

subsidiaries see “Recent Developments—COVID-19” in the Electric Utility and Bank sections below. There has been no material impact on the “Other” segment and Pacific Current as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary businesses of Pacific Current are supported by PPAs that provide for contractual cash flows with credit-worthy counterparties.

For a discussion regarding the impact of the economic conditions caused by the pandemic on the Company’s liquidity and capital resources, see discussion under “Financial Condition–Liquidity and capital resources,” contained in each of the “HEI Consolidated,” “Electric utility” and “Bank” sections of this MD&A.

Environmental, Social & Governance. At HEI, environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and sustainability have long been fundamental values embedded within all aspects of the Company’s activities. With all of its operations in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Company’s long-term health, and ability to deliver sustainable value for all stakeholders—including shareholders—is inextricably linked to the well-being of its employees, communities, economy, and environment. That is why the Company sees its mission of being a catalyst for a better Hawaii as advancing the Company’s long-term financial sustainability. The Company has focused on ensuring ESG considerations are appropriately integrated into its governance structures, strategies and risk management. This includes:

•Integration of Board oversight of important ESG matters into its existing governance structures and processes. This includes full Board review of ESG-related strategies, Audit & Risk Committee oversight of ESG risks, Compensation Committee responsibility for ESG-related compensation matters and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee responsibility for human capital management and for ensuring an appropriate board governance framework is in place with respect to ESG.

•Robust ESG expertise among board members, including directors with direct experience in renewable energy, climate change policy and strategy, environmental management and sustainable investing.

•Expanded ESG goals as part of HEI and utility executive incentive compensation.

•ESG considerations explicitly woven into strategic planning efforts and enterprise risk management processes.

The Company is committed to transparency and providing information to allow customers, community leaders, investors and other stakeholders understand how the Company’s strategies and operations advance ESG objectives and contribute to long-term value creation.

The Company issued its first ESG report in September 2020. This report encompasses ESG policies, principles and results reported during 2019 across the Company’s two primary operating subsidiaries, Hawaiian Electric and ASB. This report is aligned with Sustainability Accounting Standards Board guidance—using the electric utilities standard for Hawaiian Electric, and the commercial banks, commercial finance, and mortgage finance standards for ASB. In future reports, the Company intends to incorporate disclosures relating to climate change based on recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. The Company’s ESG report can be found at www.hei.com/esg.

HEI consolidated results of operations.

(dollars in millions, except per share amounts) 2020 % change 2019 % change 2018

Net income (loss) by segment:

Dividend payout ratio 73 % 64 % 67 %

In 2020, net income for HEI common stock decreased (9)% to $198 million ($1.81 diluted earnings per share), compared to $218 million ($1.99 diluted earnings per share) in 2019, due to $(31) million lower net income at ASB and $(1) million higher net loss at the “other” segment, partially offset by $13 million higher net income at the Utilities. The decrease in ASB’s 2020 net income compared to 2019 was primarily due to COVID-19’s impact on the local and national economy, which resulted in higher provision for credit losses and lower net interest income due to a lower yield curve. Additionally, 2020 results were lower than 2019 since 2019 benefited from a gain on sale of properties exited in connection with ASB’s move to its new campus. The increase in the Utilities’ 2020 net income compared to 2019 was principally due to higher RAM and higher MPIR

revenues, lower O&M expenses, and lower interest expenses, partially offset by higher depreciation and lower allowance for funds used during construction (AFUDC). See “Electric utility,” “Bank,” and “HEI Consolidated—Other segment” sections below for additional information on year-to-year fluctuations.

The Company’s effective tax rate (combined federal and state income tax rates) was lower at 17% in 2020, compared to 19% in 2019, primarily due to higher amortization in 2020 of the Utilities’ regulatory liability related to certain excess deferred income taxes resulting from the Tax Act’s decrease in the federal income tax rate and an increase in excess tax benefits related to vesting of share-based awards.

For a discussion of 2018 results, please refer to the “HEI consolidated results of operations” section in Item 7, “Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—HEI Consolidated,” in the Company’s 2019 Form 10-K.

Other segment. The “other” business segment (loss)/income includes results of the stand-alone corporate operations of HEI, ASB Hawaii, Inc. (ASB Hawaii), and Pacific Current, LLC.

(in millions) 2020 2019 Increase(decrease) Primary reason(s)

Revenue1 $ 1 $ — $ 1 Increase in other sales at Pacific Current subsidiaries.

Net loss $ (29) $ (28) $ (1)

1 Hamakua Energy’s sales to Hawaii Electric Light (a regulated affiliate) are eliminated in consolidation.

Economic conditions. The statistical data in this section is from public third-party sources that management believes to be reliable (e.g., Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), Honolulu Board of REALTORS® and national and local news media).

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the virus strain SARS-CoV-2, and the resulting disease COVID-19, to be a pandemic. In response, the Governor of the State of Hawaii issued a number of emergency and supplementary proclamations to limit the spread of the virus. Hawaii’s economy began to weaken in the latter part of March 2020, due to a forced statewide stay-at-home, work-from-home declaration that began on March 25, 2020. The restrictions shuttered many businesses, including hotels, restaurants, bars, and other gathering places, and led to an overwhelming surge in unemployment claims and impacted the tourism industry with a significant reduction to visitor arrivals.

The most recent interim forecast by UHERO, which was issued on December 11, 2020, forecasts full year 2020 real GDP contraction of 10.2%, decline in total visitor arrivals of 74.3%, increase in real personal income of 4.3%, and an unemployment rate of 12.7%. However, federal fiscal and monetary policy response is expected to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic.

The CARES Act was passed by Congress and signed into law on March 27, 2020. The economic relief package totals more than $2 trillion and provides direct economic support to businesses and individuals. On December 27, 2020, the President signed into law the $900 billion economic stimulus package that provides, among others, direct payments to qualifying individuals, extended unemployment benefits, and additional small business aid. Hawaii has received a significant amount of funds through these various federal assistance programs, including the CARES Act, that will help attenuate the impact to Hawaii’s economy.

In September 2020, the City and County of Honolulu announced a framework for reducing the spread of COVID-19 on Oahu, which tracks metrics that dictate the extent of restrictions on businesses and activities. There are four tiers with Tier 1 being the most restrictive. The minimum amount of time spent in each tier is four weeks. In order to move to the next higher tier, the last two weeks of a tier must meet the higher tier’s criteria. If a lower tier’s average daily case count is realized for two weeks in a row, the county will move back to the lower tier for a minimum of four weeks. On October 22, 2020, the county of Honolulu moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the timing and effectiveness of efforts to contain the spread of the virus while reopening the economy, the pace and the extent of the recovery cannot be predicted at this time.

See “Recent Developments—COVID-19” in the “Electric utility” and “Bank” sections below for further discussion of the economic impact caused by the pandemic.

Hawaii’s tourism industry, a significant driver of Hawaii’s economy, suffered dramatically with total visitors declining by nearly 74% to 2.7 million visitors in 2020 down from 10.4 million visitors in 2019, primarily due to travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective March 26, 2020, a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine was ordered for all travelers, both residents and visitors, to the islands including inter-island travelers. The mandatory quarantine for inter-island travel was lifted on June 16, 2020, but on August 20, 2020, a mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving on islands other than Oahu was reinstated. The mandatory quarantine for all travelers from outside the state was lifted, effective October 15, 2020, provided travelers test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of flight departure to the State and present valid documentation (additional restrictions may be required to travel to specific islands). In response to the rise in cases on the mainland during November, the island of Kauai temporarily opted out of the program on December 2, 2020. Following new guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the mandatory quarantine was reduced to 10 days on December 17, 2020.

Since October 15, 2020, after which the mandatory quarantine was no longer in effect if travelers tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of flight departure to the State, the daily passenger counts improved, averaging over 7,000 passengers per day in December 2020, compared to an average of below 2,000 passengers per day in September 2020, the last full month preceding the change in the mandatory quarantine requirement.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for a vaccine on December 11, 2020 and subsequently issued a second emergency use authorization for a second vaccine on December 18, 2020. The State began its vaccination efforts on December 15, 2020 and has gradually increased the distribution of vaccines to first responders, senior citizens, and front-line essential workers.

Due to the effects of the measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, initial unemployment claims filed with the State increased from 62,639 in 2019 to 438,709 during 2020. Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December 2020 was 9.3%, which was substantially higher compared to the December 2019 rate of 2.7%. The national unemployment rate in December 2020 was 6.7% compared to 3.6% in December 2019. Hawaii’s unemployment rate is expected to improve over time now that restrictions on travel have been reduced significantly and as the vaccine rollout accelerates.

Hawaii real estate activity through December 2020, as indicated by Oahu’s home resale market, resulted in an increase in the median sales price of 2.4% for condominiums and 5.2% for single family homes during the same period in 2019. The number of closed sales was down 13.0% for condominiums and up 2.3% for single family residential homes for full year 2020 compared to full year 2019.

Hawaii’s petroleum product prices reflect supply and demand in the Asia-Pacific region and the price of crude oil in international markets. The price of crude oil decreased dramatically since the first quarter of 2020 and has remained at levels lower than last year. Lower fuel prices will benefit customers in the form of lower bills given the high proportion of fuel cost in the cost per kWh, comprising approximately 20% of kWh cost on Oahu, but the benefit will be realized over time as existing inventory levels procured at higher cost are drawn down.

At its January 26-27, 2021 meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided to maintain the federal funds rate target range of 0%-0.25%. The FOMC plans to continue to maintain an accommodative stance of monetary policy to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the long run. The Federal Reserve stated that it will increase its holdings of Treasury securities by at least $80 billion per month and of agency mortgage‐backed securities by at least $40 billion per month until substantial further progress has been made toward the FOMC’s maximum employment and price stability goals. These asset purchases help foster smooth market functioning and accommodative financial conditions, thereby supporting the flow of credit to households and businesses.

The Company expects that if economic conditions worsen from current levels or remain depressed for an extended period of time, it could have a material unfavorable impact on the Company’s net revenues or income from continuing operations in 2021.

Liquidity and capital resources. As of December 31, 2020, HEI and Hawaiian Electric had approximately $65 million and nil of commercial paper outstanding, respectively, and Hawaiian Electric had $47 million of cash and cash equivalents.

As of December 31, 2020, there was no balance on HEI’s revolving credit facility and the available committed capacity under the revolving credit facility was $150 million (see Note 5 of the Consolidated Financial Statements). As of December 31, 2020, there was no balance on Hawaiian Electric’s revolving credit facilities and the available committed capacity under the revolving credit facilities was $275 million. As of December 31, 2020, ASB’s unused FHLB borrowing capacity was approximately $2.1 billion and had unpledged investment securities of $1.6 billion.

The Company expects that its liquidity will continue to be moderately impacted due to COVID-19. For the Utilities, the high level of unemployment in the state and the moratorium on customer disconnections (which moratorium is currently in place through March 31, 2021) are expected to result in higher accounts receivable balances, bad debt expense and write-offs. Additionally, lower kWh sales generally result in delayed timing of cash flows, resulting in higher working capital requirements (see “Recent Developments—COVID-19” in the Electric utility section below). At ASB, liquidity remains at satisfactory levels, with cash increasing year-over-year, largely due to U.S. economic stimulus programs implemented as a result of COVID-19 that led to an increase in customer deposits. ASB’s cash and cash equivalents was $293 million as of December 31, 2020, compared to $178 million as of December 31, 2019. ASB remains well above the “well capitalized” level, but there continues to be significant uncertainty regarding COVID-19’s impact on loan performance and the allowance for credit losses (see “Recent Developments — COVID-19” in the Bank section below).

To preserve and enhance the Company’s liquidity position and address higher working capital requirements, in light of the significant and ongoing uncertainty regarding the potential scale and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global, national and local economy, the Company completed a number of financing actions in 2020.

•On April 20, 2020, HEI borrowed $65 million under a 364-day term loan to refinance the outstanding amounts under its revolving credit facility, which increased the available committed borrowing capacity under its revolving credit facility.

•On April 20, 2020, the Utilities added an incremental $75 million in committed revolving credit capacity at Hawaiian Electric with a 364-day revolving credit facility. Additionally, $50 million of an existing 364-day term loan was refinanced with a new $50 million term loan maturing in April 2021 (see Note 5 of the Consolidated Financial Statements).

•On May 14, 2020, the Utilities closed on a $160 million private placement of taxable debt, the proceeds of which were used to finance capital expenditures, repay short-term debt used to finance or refinance capital expenditures, and reimburse funds for payment of capital expenditures.

•On October 29, 2020 the Utilities executed a $115 million private placement of taxable debt with a delayed draw feature. On January 14, 2021, the Utilities received proceeds from the private placement and used the funds to finance their capital expenditures and/or to reimburse funds used for the payment of capital expenditures.

•On September 11, 2020, HEI executed a $50 million private placement utilizing a delayed draw feature, which allowed HEI to draw the funds on December 29, 2020. The proceeds of the draw were used to repay $50 million of HEI’s $65 million 364-day term loan. The notes bear interest at 2.98% and mature on December 15, 2030.

•On November 17, 2020, HEI executed a $75 million private placement, utilizing a delayed draw feature with two tranches, to be used in part to refinance $50 million of long-term debt maturing in March 2021. The first tranche of $46 million was drawn on January 28, 2021 and was used to repay the remaining balance of $15 million on the $65 million 364-day term loan, with the remainder used to pay down commercial paper balances and prefund maturing debt. The second tranche of $29 million can be drawn at any time on or before April 16, 2021. The notes bear interest at a weighted average rate of 3.04% and mature on April 17, 2028 ($24 million) and January 28, 2031 ($51 million).

As of December 31, 2020 the total amount of available borrowing capacity (net of commercial paper outstanding) under the Company’s committed lines of credit was approximately $360 million, which was an increase of approximately $146 million compared to December 31, 2019.

In addition to the foregoing financing transactions, in order to further enhance the Company’s liquidity position, the Company has deferred, pursuant to section 2302 of the CARES Act, the payment of the applicable employer portion of Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance payroll tax deposits that are due in 2020, but arose subsequent to the enactment of the CARES Act. The total amount of payroll taxes deferred was approximately $13 million at December 31, 2020. Fifty percent of the deferred payroll taxes will be paid in each of December 2021 and December 2022. The Company had also deferred approximately $6 million per month in planned monthly pension contributions through August 2020 to further strengthen its liquidity position, but elected to fund such deferred contributions in September 2020 in order to deduct the contributions on its 2019 tax return. If further liquidity is necessary, which is not contemplated at this time, the Utilities could also reduce the pace of capital spending related to non-essential projects. Additionally, the Company has the option to issue new shares rather than purchase currently outstanding shares on the open market to satisfy share issuances under its Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan (DRIP) program. The estimated amount of equity capital that could be raised by issuing new shares, rather than utilizing open market purchases, is estimated to be approximately $30 million on an annual basis, based on historical demand, but such future amount is dependent on a number of factors, including, without limitation, future share prices, number of shares/participants in the DRIP program, and the amount of new investment in HEI’s stock by DRIP participants.

The Company believes that its ability to generate cash, both internally from electric utility and banking operations and externally from issuances of equity and debt securities, as well as bank borrowings, is adequate to maintain sufficient liquidity to fund its contractual obligations and commercial commitments, its forecasted capital expenditures and investments, its expected retirement benefit plan contributions and other cash requirements. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is an evolving situation, and the Company cannot predict the extent or duration of the outbreak, the future effects that it will have on the global, national or local economy, including the impact on the Company’s cost of capital and its ability to access additional capital, or the future impacts on the Company’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in Part I for further discussion of risks and uncertainties.

The consolidated capital structure of HEI (excluding deposit liabilities and other bank borrowings) was as follows:

(dollars in millions)

Short-term borrowings—other than bank $ 129 3 % $ 186 4 %

Preferred stock of subsidiaries 34 1 34 1

HEI’s commercial paper borrowings and line of credit facility were as follows:

(in millions) Averagebalance End-of-periodbalance December 31, 2019

Commercial paper $ 25 $ 65 $ 97

Line of credit draws 6 — —

Undrawn capacity under HEI’s line of credit facility — 150 150

Note: This table does not include Hawaiian Electric’s separate commercial paper issuances and line of credit facilities and draws, which are disclosed below under “Electric utility—Liquidity and capital resources” below. The maximum amount of HEI’s short-term commercial paper borrowings in 2020 was $99 million.

HEI utilizes short-term debt, typically commercial paper, to support normal operations, to refinance commercial paper, to retire long-term debt, to pay dividends and for other temporary requirements, including short-term financing needs of its subsidiaries. HEI also periodically makes short-term loans to Hawaiian Electric to meet Hawaiian Electric’s cash requirements, including the funding of loans by Hawaiian Electric to Hawaii Electric Light and Maui Electric, but no such short-term loans to Hawaiian Electric were outstanding as of December 31, 2020. HEI periodically utilizes long-term debt, historically unsecured indebtedness, to fund investments in and loans to its subsidiaries to support their capital improvement or other requirements, to repay long-term and short-term indebtedness and for other corporate purposes. As of December 31, 2020, HEI’s debt maturities in 2021 include $50 million of long-term debt that matures in March 2021 and $15 million related to a 364-day term loan that matures in April 2021. HEI has prefunded these maturities through the $50 million and $75 million private placements. See Notes 5 and 6 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for a brief description of the Company’s loans.

The rating of HEI’s commercial paper and debt securities could significantly impact the ability of HEI to sell its commercial paper and issue debt securities and/or the cost of such debt. As of February 12, 2021, the Fitch, Moody’s and S&P ratings of HEI were as follows:

Fitch Moody’s S&P

Long-term issuer default, long-term and issuer credit, respectively BBB WR* BBB-

Commercial paper F3 P-3 A-3

Outlook Stable Positive Positive

* Moody’s long-term debt rating was withdrawn because HEI does not currently have any outstanding, publicly traded debt. Moody’s continues to rate Hawaiian Electric’s long-term debt. See ‘Electric utility–Liquidity and capital resources’ below.

Note: The above ratings reflect only the view, at the time the ratings are issued or affirmed, of the applicable rating agency, from whom an explanation of the significance of such ratings may be obtained. Such ratings are not recommendations to buy, sell or hold any securities; such ratings may be subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the rating agencies; and each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating.

There were no new issuances of common stock through the HEI DRIP, HEIRSP or the ASB 401(k) Plan in 2020, 2019, or 2018 and HEI satisfied the share purchase requirements of the DRIP, HEIRSP and ASB 401(k) Plan through open market purchases of its common stock.

Operating activities provided net cash of $429 million in 2020 and $512 million in 2019. Investing activities used net cash of $1,414 million in 2020 and $542 million in 2019. In 2020, net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to purchases of available-for-sale investment securities, capital expenditures, net increase in loans held for investment and

purchases of held-to-maturity investment securities and stock from Federal Home Loan Bank, partly offset by receipt of repayments from available-for-sale and held-to-maturity investment securities, redemption of stock from Federal Home Loan Bank and proceeds from sale of available-for-sale investment securities. In 2019, net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to capital expenditures, net increase in loans held for investment, purchases of available-for-sale and held-to-maturity investment securities and stock from Federal Home Loan Bank and contributions to low-income housing investments, partly offset by receipt of repayments from available-for-sale and held-to-maturity investment securities, redemption of stock from Federal Home Loan Bank and proceeds from sale of available-for-sale investment securities and real estate held for sale.

Financing activities provided net cash of $1,116 million in 2020 and $88 million in 2019. In 2020, net cash provided by financing activities included net increases in deposits and proceeds from issuance of long-term debt, short-term debt and other bank borrowings, partly offset by payment of common and preferred stock dividends, repayment of long-term debt, short-term debt and other bank borrowings and net decreases in short-term borrowings and other bank borrowing with original maturities of three months or less. In 2019, net cash provided by financing activities included proceeds from issuance of long-term debt and short-term debt, net increases in deposits and short-term borrowings, partly offset by payment of common and preferred stock dividends, repayment of long-term debt and funds transferred for redemption of long -term debt and repayment of short-term debt.

For a discussion of 2018 operating, investing and financing activities, please refer to the “Liquidity and capital resources” section in Item 7, “Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—HEI Consolidated,” in the Company’s 2019 Form 10-K.

Other than capital contributions from their parent company, intercompany services (and related intercompany payables and receivables), Hawaiian Electric’s periodic short-term borrowings from HEI (and related interest) and the payment of dividends to HEI, the electric utility and bank segments are largely autonomous in their operating, investing and financing activities. (See the electric utility and bank segments’ discussions of their cash flows in their respective “Liquidity and capital resources” sections below.) During 2020, Hawaiian Electric, ASB (through ASB Hawaii) and Hamakua Energy paid cash dividends to HEI of $107 million, $31 million and $7 million, respectively.

A portion of the net assets of Hawaiian Electric and ASB is not available for transfer to HEI in the form of dividends, loans or advances without regulatory approval. In the absence of an unexpected material adverse change in the financial condition of the electric utilities or ASB, such restrictions are not expected to significantly affect the operations of HEI, its ability to pay dividends on its common stock or its ability to meet its debt or other cash obligations. See Note 14 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

HEI’s material cash requirements include: capital expenditures, O&M expenses, fuel and purchase power costs, and debt payments at the Utilities; investments in loans and investment securities at the Bank; and shareholder dividends and debt payments at HEI. Forecasted HEI consolidated “net cash used in investing activities” (excluding “investing” cash flows from ASB) for 2021 through 2023 consists primarily of the net capital expenditures of the Utilities principally related to maintaining and modernizing the grid to allow for the integration of more renewable energy, improved customer reliability, and greater system efficiency. The Utilities’ capital expenditures are estimated to range from $1.0 billion to $1.3 billion over the next three years and are expected to be funded primarily through a combination of retained earnings and proceeds from debt issuance, and if required, contributions of equity from HEI (see also discussion regarding other material cash requirements under “Financial Condition–Liquidity and capital resources,” contained in the “Electric utility” and “Bank” sections below). In addition to the funds required for the Utilities’ construction programs and debt maturities, with respect to HEI, approximately $50 million will be required in 2021, $150 million in 2022, and $50 million in 2023 to repay HEI-issued private placement notes and a bank term note, which are expected to be repaid with the proceeds from the issuance of commercial paper, bank borrowings, other medium- or long-term debt, issuance of common stock and/or dividends from subsidiaries. Additional debt and/or equity financing may be utilized to invest in the Utilities, Bank or Pacific Current; to pay down commercial paper or other short-term borrowings; or to fund unanticipated expenditures not included in the 2021 through 2023 forecast, such as increases in the costs of, or an acceleration of, the construction of capital projects of the Utilities or unanticipated utility capital expenditures. In addition, existing debt may be refinanced prior to maturity with additional debt or equity financing (or both).

Selected short-term and long-term contractual obligations and commitments. Information about payments under the specified contractual obligations and commercial commitments of HEI and its subsidiaries was as follows:

(in millions) Less than1 year 1-3years 3-5years More than5 years Total

Contractual obligations

Investment in qualifying affordable housing projects $ 15 $ — $ — $ 26 $ 41

Short-term borrowings 129 — — — 129

Other bank borrowings 90 — — — 90

Operating leases

PPAs classified as leases 63 42 — — 105

Service bureau contract, maintenance agreements and other 18 18 8 — 44

Hawaiian Electric open purchase order obligations1 46 13 3 — 62

1Includes contractual obligations and commitments for capital expenditures and expense amounts.

The table above does not include other categories of obligations and commitments, such as deferred taxes, trade payables, amounts that will become payable in future periods under collective bargaining and other employment agreements and employee benefit plans, and potential refunds of amounts collected from ratepayers (e.g., under the earnings sharing mechanism). As of December 31, 2020, the fair value of the assets held in trusts to satisfy the obligations of the Company’s retirement benefit plans did not exceed the retirement benefit plans’ benefit obligation. Minimum funding requirements for retirement benefit plans have not been included in the tables above; however, see Note 10 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for 2021 estimated contributions.

See Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of fuel and power purchase commitments. See Note 4 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for a further discussion of ASB’s commitments.

Off-balance sheet arrangements. Although the Company and the Utilities have certain off-balance sheet arrangements, management has determined that it has no off-balance sheet arrangements that either have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future effect on the Company’s and the Utilities’ financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that are material to investors, including the following types of off-balance sheet arrangements:

1.obligations under guarantee contracts,

2.retained or contingent interests in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity or similar arrangements that serve as credit, liquidity or market risk support to that entity for such assets,

3.obligations under derivative instruments, and

4.obligations under a material variable interest held by the Company or the Utilities in an unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit risk support to the Company or the Utilities, or engages in leasing, hedging or research and development services with the Company or the Utilities.

Material estimates and critical accounting policies. In preparing financial statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change include the amounts reported for pension and other postretirement benefit obligations; contingencies and litigation; income taxes; regulatory assets and liabilities; electric utility unbilled revenues; allowance for credit losses; fair value; goodwill impairment; and asset retirement obligations (AROs). Management considers an accounting estimate to be material if it requires assumptions to be made that were uncertain at the

time the estimate was made and changes in the assumptions selected could have a material impact on the estimate and on the Company’s results of operations or financial condition.

In accordance with SEC Release No. 33-8040, “Cautionary Advice Regarding Disclosure About Critical Accounting Policies,” management has identified the accounting policies it believes to be the most critical to the Company’s financial statements—that is, management believes that the policies discussed below are both the most important to the portrayal of the Company’s results of operations and financial condition, and currently require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments. The policies affecting both of the Company’s two principal segments are discussed below and the policies affecting just one segment are discussed in the respective segment’s section of “Material estimates and critical accounting policies.” Management has reviewed the material estimates and critical accounting policies with the HEI Audit & Risk Committee and, as applicable, the Hawaiian Electric Audit & Risk Committee.

For additional discussion of the Company’s accounting policies, see Note 1 of the Consolidated Financial Statements and for additional discussion of material estimates and critical accounting policies, see the electric utility and bank segment discussions below under the same heading.

Pension and other postretirement benefits obligations. The Company’s reported costs of providing retirement benefits are dependent upon numerous factors resulting from actual plan experience and assumptions about future experience. For example, retirement benefits costs are impacted by actual employee demographics (including age and compensation levels), the level of contributions to the plans, earnings and realized and unrealized gains and losses on plan assets, and changes made to the provisions of the plans. Costs may also be significantly affected by changes in key actuarial assumptions, including the expected return on plan assets, the discount rate and mortality. The Company’s accounting for retirement benefits under the plans in which the employees of the Utilities participate is also adjusted to account for the impact of decisions by the PUC. Changes in obligations associated with the factors noted above may not be immediately recognized as costs on the income statement, but generally are recognized in future years over the remaining average service period of plan participants.

Based on various assumptions in Note 10 of the Consolidated Financial Statements, sensitivities of the projected benefit obligation (PBO) and accumulated postretirement benefit obligation (APBO) as of December 31, 2020, associated with a change in certain actuarial assumptions, were as follows and constitute “forward-looking statements”:

(dollars in millions)

Pension benefits

Other benefits

Also, see Notes 1 and 10 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Contingencies and litigation. The Company is subject to proceedings (including PUC proceedings), lawsuits and other claims. Management assesses the likelihood of any adverse judgments in or outcomes of these matters as well as potential ranges of probable losses, including costs of investigation. A determination of the amount of reserves required, if any, for these contingencies is based on an analysis of each individual case or proceeding often with the assistance of outside counsel. The required reserves may change in the future due to new developments in each matter or changes in approach in dealing with these matters, such as a change in settlement strategy.

In general, environmental contamination treatment costs are charged to expense, unless it is probable that the PUC would allow such costs to be recovered through future rates, in which case such costs would be capitalized as regulatory assets. Also, environmental costs are capitalized if the costs extend the life, increase the capacity, or improve the safety or efficiency of property; the costs mitigate or prevent future environmental contamination; or the costs are incurred in preparing the property for sale.

See Notes 1, 3 and 4 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are established for the temporary differences between the financial reporting bases and the tax bases of the Company’s assets and liabilities using tax rates expected to be in effect when such deferred tax assets or liabilities are realized or settled. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible.

Management evaluates its potential exposures from tax positions taken that have or could be challenged by taxing authorities. These potential exposures result because taxing authorities may take positions that differ from those taken by

management in the interpretation and application of statutes, regulations and rules. Management considers the possibility of alternative outcomes based upon past experience, previous actions by taxing authorities (e.g., actions taken in other jurisdictions) and advice from its tax advisors. Management believes that the Company’s provision for tax contingencies is reasonable. However, the ultimate resolution of tax treatments disputed by governmental authorities may adversely affect the Company’s current and deferred income tax amounts.

See Note 12 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Following are discussions of the electric utility and bank segments. Additional segment information is shown in Note 2 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. The discussion concerning Hawaiian Electric should be read in conjunction with its consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes.

Electric utility

Executive overview and strategy. The Utilities provide electricity on all the principal islands in the state, other than Kauai, to approximately 95% of the state’s population, and operate five separate grids. The Utilities’ mission is to provide innovative energy leadership for Hawaii, to meet the needs and expectations of customers and communities, and to empower them with affordable, reliable and clean energy. The goal is to create a modern, resilient, flexible, and dynamic electric grid that enables an optimal mix of distributed energy resources, such as private rooftop solar, demand response, and grid-scale resources to enable the creation of smart, sustainable, resilient communities and achieve the statutory goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045.

Recent developments—COVID-19. See also Recent developments—COVID-19 in HEI’s MD&A.

Economic conditions in Hawaii continue to be severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Statewide daily passenger counts, while improving, remain depressed, and unemployment stood at 9.3% as of December 31, 2020. As a consequence of the significant decline in economic activity, the demand for electricity remains adversely impacted. In the fourth quarter and for the full year 2020, kWh sales were down 6.5% and 7.1%, respectively, compared with the fourth quarter and full year 2019, respectively. The Utilities expect kWh sales to gradually improve throughout 2021 as the COVID-19 vaccine is more widely distributed and administered, which would allow the economy in Hawaii to fully reopen.

While the Utilities’ electric energy revenues have not been significantly impacted due to the decoupling mechanism, which allows recovery of the difference between PUC approved target revenues and recorded adjusted revenues regardless of the level of kWh sales, the timing of customer collections would be delayed (or accelerated) if the level of kWh sales decreases below (or increases above) the estimated kWh sales. See “Current Decoupling” in Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of decoupling. Annually, the Utilities submit a decoupling filing to the PUC, which requests recovery by the utility (or refund to customers) of the difference between recorded adjusted revenues and target revenues under the RBA. The difference is collected or refunded through an adjustment to customer rates in the following year based on estimated sales, starting on June 1st of that following year, which has an impact on the timing of the Utilities’ cash flow. Additionally, although the Utilities’ decoupling mechanism allows for collection under the RBA, the RBA balance accrues interest only at the short-term debt rate from the last rate case (1.75% and 2.5%, starting November 1, 2020, for Hawaiian Electric, 3.75% for Hawaii Electric Light and 3.0% for Maui Electric). As of December 31, 2020, the RBA balance related to decoupling revenues was approximately $7.6 million, compared to a credit balance of $16.4 million as of December 31, 2019. While the billed accounts receivable balances, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, as of December 31, 2020 of $148 million is 3.2% lower than the billed accounts receivable balances as of December 31, 2019, due in part to lower fuel prices resulting in lower bills, the past due accounts receivable balance has increased by $24 million or 75% since December 31, 2019. The increase is primarily driven by the statewide restrictions imposed during 2020, the pandemic’s impact on the tourism industry, resulting in a higher unemployment rate, the moratorium on customer disconnections (which moratorium is currently in place through March 31, 2021) and, for certain customers, the inability to make payment on their accounts. To address the financing requirement related to the delayed timing of cash flows collected under the decoupling mechanism through the RBA and the modest slowing or reduction in accounts receivable collections from customers, the Utilities have completed a number of steps to enhance their liquidity position. See “Financial Condition—Liquidity and capital resources” for additional information.

The Utilities provide an essential service to the State of Hawaii, and have continued to operate to protect the health and safety of employees and customers and to ensure system reliability, and have been following the Governor’s directive that the Utilities take necessary measures to ensure they can operate in the normal course. The Utilities have also implemented certain aspects of their business continuity plans, which includes the activation of its Incident Management Team to closely manage the response to the pandemic and have implemented practices related to employee and facilities hygiene in order to ensure the reliability and resilience of their operations.

In the second quarter of 2020, the PUC approved the deferral of certain COVID-19 related costs, such as higher bad debt expense, higher financing costs, non-collection of late payment fees, increased personal protective equipment costs, and sequestration costs for mission-critical employees. As of December 31, 2020, these costs, which have been deferred and recorded as a regulatory asset, totaled approximately $18 million (see also discussion under Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and

“Regulatory assets for COVID-19 costs” in Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements). Looking forward, while the distribution and administration of the COVID vaccine is expected to hasten the reopening of the Hawaii economy, the prolonged impact of COVID-19 could adversely affect the ability of the Utilities’ contractors, suppliers, IPPs, and other business partners to perform or fulfill their obligations, or require modifications to existing contracts, which could adversely affect the Utilities’ business, increase expenses, and impact the Utilities’ ability to achieve their RPS goals beyond 2020. Additionally, while the state’s aggressive response to the pandemic has dramatically reduced the spread of the coronavirus, the measures taken have had a severe economic impact on the state’s businesses and residents, which may influence the PUC’s actions regarding future rate increases. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in Part II for additional discussion of risks.

For a discussion regarding the impact of the economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on the Utilities’ liquidity and capital resources, see discussion under “Financial Condition–Liquidity and capital resources.”

Performance-based regulations. On December 23, 2020, the PUC issued a D&O (PBR D&O) approving a new performance-based regulation framework (PBR Framework). See “Regulatory proceedings” under “Commitments and contingencies” in Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Transition to renewable energy. The Utilities are fully committed to a 100 percent renewable energy future for Hawaii and are partnering with the State of Hawaii in achieving their Renewable Portfolio Standard goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045. Hawaii’s RPS law requires electric utilities to meet an RPS of 30%, 40%, 70% and 100% by December 31, 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2045, respectively.

The Utilities have made significant progress on the path to clean energy and have been successful in adding significant amounts of renewable energy resources to their electric systems and exceeded the 2015 RPS goal two years early. The Utilities’ RPS for 2020 was 34.5%, which was in excess of the statutory goal of 30%. The Utilities will continue to actively procure additional renewable energy post-2020 and expect to meet or exceed the next statutory RPS goal of 40% in advance of the 2030 compliance year. (See “Developments in renewable energy efforts” below).

If the Utilities are not successful in meeting the RPS targets as mandated by law, the PUC could assess a penalty of $20 for every megawatthour (MWh) that an electric utility is deficient. Based on the level of electricity sales in 2020, a 1% shortfall in meeting the 2030 RPS requirement of 40% would translate into a penalty of approximately $1.6 million. The PUC has the discretion to reduce the penalty due to events or circumstances that are outside an electric utility’s reasonable control, to the extent the event or circumstance could not be reasonably foreseen and ameliorated. In addition to penalties under the RPS law, failure to meet the mandated RPS targets would be expected to result in a higher proportion of fossil fuel-based generation than if the RPS target had been achieved, which in turn would be expected to subject the Utilities to limited commodity fossil fuel price exposure under a fuel cost risk-sharing mechanism. The fuel cost risk-sharing mechanism apportions 2% of the fuel cost risk to the utilities (and 98% to ratepayers) and has a maximum exposure (or benefit) of $3.7 million.

The Utilities are fully aligned with, and supportive of, state policy to achieve a 100% renewable energy future and have made significant progress in its transformation. This alignment with state policy is reflected in management compensation programs and the Utilities’ long-range plans, which include aspirational targets in order to catalyze action and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels at a pace more rapid than dictated by current law. The long-range plans, including aspirational targets, serve as guiding principles in the Utilities’ continued transformation, and are updated regularly to adapt to changing technology, costs and other factors. While there is no financial penalty for failure to achieve the Utilities’ long-range aspirational objectives, the Utilities recognize that there is an environmental and social cost from the continued use of fossil fuels.

The State of Hawaii’s policy is supported by the regulatory framework and includes a number of mechanisms designed to maintain the Utilities’ financial stability during the transition toward the State’s 100% renewable energy future. Under the sales decoupling mechanism, the Utilities are allowed to recover from customers, target test year revenues, independent of the level of kWh sales, which have generally declined (with the exception of 2019), as privately-owned distributed energy resources have been added to the grid and energy efficiency measures have been put into place. Other regulatory mechanisms reduce regulatory lag, such as the rate adjustment mechanism to provide revenues for escalation in certain O&M expenses and rate base changes between rate cases, and the major project interim recovery mechanism, which allow the Utilities to recover and earn on certain approved major capital projects placed into service in between rate cases. Certain mechanism are replaced or modified under the new PBR framework. See “Regulatory proceedings” under “Commitments and contingencies” and “Current Decoupling” in Note 3 of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Integrated Grid Planning. Achieving 100% renewable energy will require modernizing the grid through coordinated energy system planning in partnership with local communities and stakeholders. To accomplish this, the Utilities filed their Integrated Grid Planning (IGP) Report with the PUC on March 1, 2018, which provides an innovative systems approach to energy planning intended to yield the most cost-effective renewable energy pathways that incorporates customer and stakeholder input.

In March 2019, the PUC accepted the Utilities’ IGP Work plan submitted on December 14, 2018, which describes the timing and scope of major activities that will occur in the IGP process. The IGP utilizes an inclusive and transparent Stakeholder Engagement model to provide an avenue for interested parties to engage with the Utilities and contribute meaningful input throughout the IGP process. The IGP Stakeholder Council, Technical Advisory Panel and Working groups have been established and meet regularly to provide feedback and input on specific issues and process steps in the IGP. In March 2020, the Utilities launched a broad public engagement program, which consisted of a combination of in-person and online engagement. This provided customers opportunities to connect with the IGP team. The Utilities submitted an updated IGP work plan to the PUC in January 2021, marking the significant progress made through the stakeholder engagement phase of the IGP process. The Utilities will use the stakeholder feedback and input as it enters the next phase of the process which includes the development of long-range integrated grid plans and the acquisition of new resources.

Demand response programs. Pursuant to PUC orders, the Utilities are developing an integrated Demand Response (DR) Portfolio Plan that will enhance system operations and reduce costs to customers. The reduction in cost for the customer will take the form of either rates or incentive-based programs that will compensate customers for their participation individually, or by way of engagements with turnkey service providers that contract with the Utilities to aggregate and deliver various grid services on behalf of participating customers and their distributed assets.

In October 2017, the PUC approved the Utilities’ request made in December 2015 to defer and recover certain computer software and software development costs for a DR Management System in an amount not to exceed $3.9 million, exclusive of allowance for funds used during construction (AFUDC), through the Renewable Energy Infrastructure Program (REIP) Surcharge. The Utilities placed the DR Management System in service in the first quarter of 2019. On October 30, 2019, the Utilities filed the final cost report, reflecting total project costs of $3.7 million. On February 27, 2020, the PUC approved the Utilities’ request to recover deferred and other related costs of the DR Management System through the REIP Surcharge effective March 1, 2020 until such costs are included in determining base rates. On June 26, 2020, the Utilities submitted an updated REIP rate effective August 1, 2020 to the PUC.

On January 25, 2018, the PUC approved the Utilities’ revised DR Portfolio tariff structure. The PUC supported the approach of working with aggregators to implement the DR portfolio. In 2019, the Utilities signed a multi-year Grid Services Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with a third party aggregator. These contracts pay service providers to aggregate grid-supporting capabilities from customer-sited Distributed Energy Resources. The first of these five-year contracts has been executed (PUC approval obtained on August 9, 2019) and is expected to deliver not only benefits through efficient grid operations, but also avoided fuel costs over that 5-year period. The Utilities selected the next set of aggregators in the first quarter of 2020, commenced GSPA contract negotiations, and filed two executed contracts on July 9, 2020. This complements the Utilities’ transformation and supports customer choice. The GSPA contracts were approved by the PUC on December 31, 2020.

Grid modernization. The overall goal of the Grid Modernization Strategy is to deploy modern grid investments at an appropriate priority, sequence and pace to cost-effectively maximize flexibility, minimize the risk of redundancy and obsolescence, deliver customer benefits and enable greater distributed energy resources and renewable energy integration. Under the Grid Modernization Strategy, the Utilities expects that new technology will help increase adoption of private rooftop solar and make use of rapidly evolving products, including storage and advanced inverters. The Utilities have begun work to implement the Grid Modernization Strategy Phase 1, which received PUC approval on March 25, 2019. The estimated cost for this initial phase is approximately $86 million and is expected to be incurred over five years. As of December 31, 2020, approximately $16 million has been incurred to date under Phase 1. The Utilities submitted a proportional advanced meter opt-out deployment filing on September 30, 2020 in an effort toward broader and faster deployment.

The Utilities filed an application with the PUC on September 30, 2019 for an Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) as part of the second phase of their Grid Modernization Strategy implementation. The estimated cost for the implementation over five years of the Advanced Distribution Management System, which includes capital, deferred and O&M costs, is $46 million. However, on December 30, 2019, the PUC suspended the Utilities’ application for the Advanced Distribution Management System pending the Utilities’ filing of a supplemental application for the broad deployment of field devices. This Phase 2 field devices application will be filed at the end of first quarter of 2021, at which time the ADMS filing could be resumed and unsuspended.

The Utilities acquired spectrum licenses in the Federal Communications Commission Citizens Broadband Radio Service Auction which concluded in August. The licenses represent the first step in facilitating the development of a Private LTE (PLTE) communications network that provides another option for the growing demand of connectivity to all parts of the electric grid in order to better serve our customers, and facilitate Grid Modernization and our renewable goals. Use cases for an PLTE network include backhaul for advanced metering infrastructure, switches, monitoring devices, falling conductor protection systems, surveillance equipment, mobile radios, and supervisory control and data acquisition systems. With respect to the Grid Modernization strategy, PLTE provides optionality to ubiquitously connect devices that are in less densely congregated service areas and/or not accessible with existing telecommunications infrastructure.

Community-based renewable energy. In December 2017, the PUC adopted a community-based renewable energy (CBRE) program framework which allows customers who cannot, or chose not to, take advantage of private rooftop solar to receive the benefits of renewable energy to help offset their monthly electric bills and support clean energy for Hawaii. The program has two phases.

The first phase, which commenced in July 2018, totals 8 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) only with one credit rate for each island closed on April 9, 2020.

By PUC order, CBRE Phase 2 commenced on April 9, 2020 with the goal to develop a robust CBRE market with competitive pricing anticipating that clean energy projects and programs, such as CBRE, can meaningfully contribute to the State’s recovery from the COVID-19 emergency. CBRE Phase 2 capacity is substantially larger than Phase 1 and allows up to 235 MW across all Hawaiian Electric service territories in two tranches. The capacities are allocated by island and allow for small (under 250 kW) and large system sizes to encourage a variety of system sizes. In addition to the first-come, first-served process offered in Phase 1, the majority of the 235 MW will be awarded to projects selected through a competitive process. To provide opportunities for low- to moderate-income (LMI) customers to participate in the program, separate project proposals may be submitted specifically targeting LMI customers.

Eight request for proposals (RFPs) were required by order: one each for Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, Molokai, and Lanai, and LMI-specific RFPs for Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island. Draft RFPs for the three LMI RFPs and the RFPs for Molokai, and Lanai were filed on July 9, 2020, along with a revised tariff and associated contract models. LMI projects do not have a size cap nor do they decrease the 235 MW capacity available to other projects. In addition to its administrative role, the Utilities and their affiliates are eligible to participate in the solicitations, with the exception of the LMI-specific RFPs, where the PUC will only consider a utility self-build option if there are no successful competitive bids for an LMI project on one island or more. The Utilities will also have opportunities to earn based on shared savings mechanisms for specific solicitations. Comments were received during and after a Technical Conference hosted by the PUC on July 28, 2020. Proposed final drafts of the RFPs, tariff, and contracts were filed on September 8, 2020. Pending PUC approval, the Utilities anticipate issuing these RFPs during the first quarter of 2021.

HE US Equity

HE · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

HE US Equity☆

HE · 10-K · period ended 2020-12-31

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

HE US Equity