The rolling blackouts and power outages caused by our recent, relatively minor Kona storm raise a multitude of concerns (“Oahu hit with heavy rain, power outages,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 9). How does Hawaiian Electric simply “run out of power,” how are lines and poles so easily downed, and how does it expect solar to augment the power supply on days that are forecast to be cloudy?

Worse, the public was warned of imminent rolling blackouts, but none of the scheduled times were adhered to, adding confusion to the inconvenience. While resetting clocks or computers is no big deal, these outages also adversely affect medical equipment, security systems (increasing crime), put livestock at risk, and a multitude of other very real problems.

We all know that a lack of electric company maintenance was a partial cause of the Lahaina tragedy; with the grid on Oahu now proving to be inadequate, we all need to be wary of what Oahu can expect when faced with a real natural disaster.

Blair Thorndike

Maunalani Heights

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