Hawaiian Electric: Power restored to most affected customers

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
A woman crosses South King Street in the rain, on Thursday, in Honolulu.
UPDATE: 9:05 p.m.
Hawaiian Electric Co. officials said they expect to complete most of its power restoration efforts tonight after a powerful winter storm knocked out power to ten of thousands of customers on multiple islands.
In a final update on power restoration efforts this week, the company said tonight that fewer than 1% of its roughly 471,600 customers remained without power.
“We sincerely thank our communities and our customers for their patience and understanding throughout this restoration process,” Jim Alberts, senior vice president and chief operations officer, said in the news release
As of 6 p.m., crews restored electricity to all but 1,120 customers across Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii island, they said. According to Hawaiian Electric:
>> On Oahu, crews restored power to over 1,323 customers today and the remaining 320 customers are expected to be restored tonight.
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>> In Maui County, workers restored power to about half of the remaining customers who were without power today. Roughly 700 customers in Haiku and pockets of Upcountry and Kihei on Maui are expected to be restored tonight.
>> And on the Big Island, crews restored power to about 3,700 customers today and are working to restore power to fewer than 100 customers in Hilo, Kona, and upper and lower Puna. Some customers may remain without power overnight, officials said.
5:10 p.m.
Hawaiian Electric officials said crews and contractors have made progress restoring service throughout Hawaii, but over 4,500 customers on several islands remain without power.
Company officials said improved weather has aided visibility, but flooding, downed trees and rough terrain have hampered some repairs, especially in rural areas.
At 9 a.m., nearly 11,000 customers were without power.
As of 4 p.m., the company said:
>> Crews restored power to over 3,100 Oahu customers today, but about 1,650 customers are without power across Oahu. The Wiliwilinui Ridge hiking trail will be temporarily closed Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as crews make emergency repairs.
>> In Maui County, crews are working to restore 1,400 customers in Haiku and pockets of Upcountry and Kihei.
>> And fewer than 200 Hawaii island customers are without power in pockets of Hilo, Honoka‘a, Kohala, Holualoa, Honaunau, Kealakehe, Konawaena, Kau, Pahala, and Na‘alehu, with most of the outages are in the upper and lower Puna areas.
Friday, 9 a.m.
Approximately 10,912 customers on Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii island are still without power this morning.
According to Hawaiian Electric’s outage maps:
>> About 4,764 customers on Oahu were without power.
>> About 2,256 customers in Maui County were without power.
>> About 3,892 on Hawaii island were without power.
“Crews are aware and responding to multiple storm-related outages across Oahu, including in parts of Manoa, Kailua, Kaneohe, Hawaii Kai, Laie, Kahuku, North Shore, Wahiawa, and Makakilo,” HECO said in an update today on X at 9:15 a.m.
Thursday, 10:05 p.m.
Hawaiian Electric officials said that about 39,500 customers on Oahu, Hawaii island and Maui County were without power as of about 8 p.m.
The total is down from about 54,000 at 6 p.m., they said.
HECO officials said as of about 8 p.m.:
>> Nearly 25,000 out of 310,000 Oahu customers were without power, the majority on the Windward side.
>> About 6,500 customers out of about 72,000 were in the dark in Maui County, the majority in parts of Upcountry and North Shore areas on Maui due to fallen trees and branches on lines.
>> About 8,000 Big Island customers out of 90,000 are without power, the majority on the eastern side in the upper and lower Puna areas.
The company asked customers to continue to plan for possible extended outages, potentially overnight.
9 p.m.
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative said it has restored power to the majority of Kauai as of 8 p.m.
About 1,500 cooperative members, primarily in Wainiha, Lawai and Kokee, remained without power, the company said. Those members should expect to be without power until Friday, officials said.
7:40 p.m.
Hawaiian Electric officials said at 6 p.m. company crews and contractors were working to restore power to about 54,000 customers on Oahu, Hawaii island and Maui County.
“Customers are asked to continue to plan for possible extended outages, potentially overnight, as the powerful storm system is still making its way across the island chain,” the company said in a news release
Officials encouraged customers to check the hawaiianelectric.com or on the company’s mobile app for outage maps for updates and estimated time of restoration, and to report outages.
Hawaiian Electric’s trouble line numbers are:
>. Oahu: 1-855-304-1212
>> Maui: (808) 871-8777
>> Molokai and Lanai (toll-free): 1-877-871-8461
>> Hawaii island: (808) 969-6999
2:35 p.m.
Hawaiian Electric is urging customers to prepare for the possibility of extended power outages due to the powerful storm system that is battering the state today.
The utility said outages are being reported on all islands due to strong winds and thunderstorms that began early this morning on Kauai and have been moving across the other islands.
A flash flood warning for Oahu has been extended to 5 p.m. today.
“Our crews are currently responding to outages and we want to reassure our customers that we’re on the job, ready for the impacts of this storm system,” Jim Alberts, senior vice president and chief operations officer, said in a news release. “In the past 24 hours, we’ve increased our restoration team and have workers standing by to restore power as quickly as possible. As long as it’s safe, we’ll work continuously after the storm clears until all customers have power again.”
Hawaiian Electric said damage to the electrical infrastructure could be extensive, depending on the storm’s ultimate path and intensity.
“Repairs could take longer, and in extreme cases require us to rebuild parts of our system,” company officials said in the release. “Flooding, fallen structures, debris and other obstacles also can affect the scope and speed of power restoration.”
Hawaiian Electric said that immediately after the storm clears, teams will conduct damage assessments so the company can estimate when repairs will be finished and power restored in each affected area.
“We urge our customers to complete their preparations and make safety their highest priority, and we thank our customers in advance for their patience with what could be a challenging couple of days,” said Alberts. “Please know that we’ll be out in force as soon as it’s safe to work.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE
The severe weather brought on by a powerful storm has resulted in numerous power outages across the islands.
On Oahu, Hawaiian Electric is responding to numerous outages islandwide, including one in Kaneohe impacting about 1,100 customers as of about 10:40 a.m.
Some outages have also been reported in Laie, Haleiwa, Mokuleia, in Waianae, Manoa, and Kailua.
On Maui, multiple outages have been reported, impacting thousands of customers in East Maui, the North Shore, Upcountry and the North Shore. As of 9:40 a.m., nearly 3,400 customers are without power in the Kula area.
Hawaiian Electric said these outages are not Public Safety Power Shutoff related.
On Hawaii island, more than 1,700 customers are without power in the Hawaiian Beaches area as of noon. Earlier, more than 800 customers in Honomu Town to the Ookala Town area were without power due to a tree on the lines. That power was restored at 11:30 a.m., about an hour later.
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative at about 1 p.m. today said power cannot be restored for residents in the Wainiha and Haena areas until transmission towers can be accessed via helicopter. This will not be possible until Friday morning, at the earliest.
KIUC was responding to 169 outages as of 1 p.m. today, impacting 4,146 customers all around the Garden Isle, according to its outage map.
KIUC crews have been responding to weather-related outages since late Wednesday evening, the cooperative said in a news release.
“Crews are responding and restoring power as weather conditions allow,” said KIUC in the release. “Members are advised to remain prepared for extended outages.”
Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan recommended people stay off the roads and not drive if they do not have to due to the severe weather today.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation reminds drivers that when traffic signals are out due to power outages, they should treat the intersection as an all-way stop.
The Maui Police Department says at four-way stops, the first driver to stop is the first to go. If there is a tie, then the driver on the right has the right of way. If two drivers are directly across from one another, the one going straight has the right of way over the one turning left.
MPD said drivers must yield to pedestrians in or approaching a crosswalk.
Hawaiian Electric warns the public to stay at least 30 feet or more away from downed power lines and to always assume they are energized.
Report power outages and downed power lines
>> Oahu 1-855-304-1212
>> Maui 808-871-7777
>> Molokai and Lanai 1-877-871-8461
>> Hawaii island 808-969-6666