A budding ecosystem of companies stand to gain as businesses and policymakers grow increasingly focused on improving the electric grid. The deadly wildfires in Maui refocused attention on an issue utility companies, policymakers and activists have been contemplating for years: What to do to make the U.S. electric system safer without entirely passing the burden onto consumers? As extreme weather events become more common, it’s an issue that’s attracted billions of investments and much attention. “It is more difficult today to operate an electric grid than it was 20, 25 years ago,” said Wells Fargo utilities analyst Neil Kalton. “There’s an increased sense of urgency on the part of all these constituents to really look at the grid, and try to figure out how to best improve the safety and reliability.” Why update the grid? More than 100 deaths have been confirmed as a result of the wildfires in Maui, according to NBC News. President Joe Biden committed $95 million to shore up Hawaii’s electric grid following the tragedy. It’s just the latest example of states — and their major utility providers — gaining nationwide focus after extreme weather events leave residents without power and sometimes injured or dead. Said another way, there’s a growing consensus that current grid systems aren’t advanced enough to handle the increased frequency of dangerous weather and drought that’s come as a result of climate change. Kalton pointed to California, Colorado and Oregon for recent examples where utilities have been blamed for a role in deadly and destructive wildfires. He said a major reason why utilities are willing to invest in power grid improvements is to avoid the potential fallout, which has included bankruptcy, if the companies are found even partially at fault in such disasters. The circumstances in Maui remain under investigation. Hawaiian Electric has disputed claims in multiple lawsuits that have alleged, among other things, that high winds took down power lines that sparked the blaze. Shares of Hawaiian Electric have tumbled more than 67% since August began. HE YTD mountain Hawaiian Electric shares this year And Wall Street expects more pain ahead for shareholders. Most analysts have a hold rating on the stock, with an average price target suggesting shares could slide another 27%, according to FactSet. Beyond that, Kalton said it’s also just good business sense: Utility companies don’t want their grids to go down and leave unhappy customers without power. And he said utility companies can grow earnings power by spending capital and increasing their base rate. “The increasing severity of weather and climate, and the impact it’s having on the grid, is creating, on the one hand, more risk,” he said. But, “it also creates opportunity.” Still, these projects should be thought of in 15-to-20-year timelines, he said. Progress has already started in some instances, with Kalton pointing to lines going underground in California amid wildfire concerns, while wood poles are being replaced with metal or concrete in Florida to better hold up against hurricanes. While he said it’s an across-the-board trend, he pointed to NextEra as an early adopter of these projects who has shown success in Florida. There’s other reasons beyond disaster prevention for updating grids. UBS industrials analyst Steven Fisher pointed to a need for increased capacity for electric vehicles and solar panels. Also, the Texas power grid was brought its closest to blackouts since 2021 on Thursday as the system struggled to handle high demand amid the summer heat, further highlighting the limitations of current structures. Yet lawmakers and regulators remain focused on ensuring that the expense of these projects doesn’t completely get passed down to the consumer, Kalton said. That can raise the alarm among companies about the likelihood of getting returns on investments. The labor opportunity A dearth of skilled labor is also a restricting force. Utilities are turning to specialty construction firms to fill in the gaps. Some are private, but Quanta Services , MasTec and Primoris Services are also in the mix, Fisher said. “A rising tide will lift all ships in this market because we do expect it to drive material demand growth over the next several years,” he said. After quality control issues tarnished its image, the industry has been working over the last half decade to better match projects to its skill sets, Fisher said. He explained that means Quanta, as one example, has shifted its core business to small capital and maintenance work, rather than focusing on big projects that can naturally cause variation. The group has varied in recent performance, with MasTec underperforming the broader market. But on average, analysts surveyed by LSEG, formerly Refinitiv, see upside ahead for all three. Fisher warned that even if a company has made efforts to improve execution, there’s factors outside of their control like the approval timelines for permits that can impact their reputation. Meanwhile, there are others who are helping carry out specific types of improvements for investors to get behind. Andrew Chanin, CEO of ProcureAM and issuer of the Procure Natural Disaster Recovery ETF (FIXT) , pointed to AECOM as a company involved in helping utilities move their lines underground. An ecosystem of companies Beyond physically changing the grid, some companies are making progress elsewhere, said Chanin, whose ETF is up about 18% this year. For example, Eaton provides software to manage and upgrade the grid, as well as measure efficiency and determine risk area. NV5 offers fire mitigation studies with a focus on utilities, in addition to offering forensic investigation services. It’s also part of the story for some bigger name companies. He noted contracts between government agencies and Nvidia , the chipmaker whose stock has soared more than 200% this year, to use artificial intelligence for disaster risk modeling. NVDA YTD mountain Nvidia’s strong year While Chanin said focus tends to fall on companies setting sweeping goals to curb climate change, he said it’s equally important to think about those offering common-sense — albeit less grand — solutions that can lead to meaningful change. “Everyone wants to champion the renewable energy company, the company that’s going to decarbonize the world, the bank that’s going to have a zero-carbon footprint by the end of the year,” he said. “If those metrics don’t really work, we are going to be begging these companies to help save us.” — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report