The state Capitol is closed to the public due to a power failure resulting from equipment damage, the Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services said.

The power outage occurred Saturday morning due to the “shorting of one of the three high voltage circuit breakers” at the capitol, the department said in a news release today. “This resulted in smoldering in the circuit. The cause is unknown.”

DAGS, the Honolulu Fire Department and Hawaiian Electric initially responded to the outage.

A Hawaiian Electric spokeswoman noted the outage was caused by a failure in the customer’s equipment, not Hawaiian Electric. “We assist when the customer needs us to shut down power for their contractors to safely make repairs, etc.,” said Shannon Tangonan.

Back-up generators are providing limited power within the building.

“DAGS has been working around the clock with our contractors to restore power to the State Capitol as soon as possible. Until our contractors can repair the damaged equipment, the State Capitol will remain secured and closed to the public for safety reasons,” the department said.