UPDATES: Big Island Power Outage Status

**UPDATE: Friday, Aug. 15, 1 p.m. Please check back with this post for further updates.

Customers without power were estimated by HELCO to be reduced to 3,800.

Power was restored to 2,500 yesterday, they said.

Current areas of focus are:

• ·         Nanawele Estates – In Nanawale Estates, crews are working on the main power line that brings electric service to the subdivision. Contracted crews are also preparing the area by clearing and trimming trees and digging holes for new utility poles.
• ·         Hawaiian Paradise Park – In Hawaiian Paradise Park, crews have restored most of the main lines along Makuu and are focusing on Paradise Drive and the area between 21st and 12th Avenues, which suffered extensive damage from trees.
• ·         Hawaiian Beaches – In Hawaiian Beaches, crews have restored main lines along Kahakai Boulevard down to Puni Makai Loop. Crews are still addressing side streets in the vicinity of Puni Makai South.
• ·         Leilani Estates – In Leilani Estates, crews have restored power along Leilani Boulevard and are now working on side streets, which suffered extensive damage from fallen trees.

**UPDATE: Thursday, Aug. 14, 12 p.m.

Around 1,400 customers had power restored on Wednesday, according HELCO.

The company says the current estimate of customers with power outages stands at 6,300, despite yesterday’s reported figure at 6,600. HELCO spokesman Darren Pai told Big Island Now that the discrepancy was due to new outages being discovered.

Some areas of focus today include:

Electricity workers continue to fix damaged power lines. Photo courtesy HELCO.

• In Hawaiian Beaches crews have restored main lines along Kahakai Boulevard down to Puni Makai Loop. This allows crews to restore side streets along the way.
• In Leilani Estates, crews have restored power power along Leilani Boulevard and are now working on side streets.
• In Hawaiian Paradise Park, crews have restored most of the main lines along Paradise Drive and are focusing on the area between 21st Street and 12th Street, which suffered extensive damage from trees.

**Original post, Wednesday Aug. 14.

In HELCO’s latest public update on the power restoration operations, it said that a further 1,500 customers had power restored Tuesday, Aug. 12.

But the number of customers without power stands at 6,600 as of Wednesday 11:15 a.m., despite Tuesday’s reported figure of 6,800. That’s due to previously unreported outages being discovered, said HELCO.

The company says that power has been restored in Hamakua, Ainaloa, Orchidland Estates, and portions of Upper Puna, Hawaiian Beaches and Hawaiian Paradise Park.

Reinforcements land at Hilo Bay Aug. 11 — utility trucks and telephone poles as workers from Maui, Kauai and Oahu join recovery efforts. Photo by Ev Oshiro.

Approximately 200 workers have mobilized to work in the field on restoring power, including 22 electrical line crews, 14 tree trimming crews, and 25 construction crews contracted to dig holes for utility poles, said HELCO.

An additional 40 crew members will reportedly be arriving, including crews from Maui Electric, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, and contracted companies.

Wednesday, HELCO said electrical line crews expect to make progress in the following areas: Leilani Estates, Hawaiian Beaches, Hawaiian Paradise Park, and portions of Upper Puna. Crews also hope to make progress along the highway from Pahoa to Kalapana.

“We know there are customers in areas where they don’t see crews working. In many cases, we need to do additional work on the system away from their exact location in order to restore their power,” HELCO spokesman Darren Pai said.

Reinforcements land at Hilo Bay Aug. 11 — utility trucks and telephone poles as workers from Maui, Kauai and Oahu join recovery efforts. Photo by Ev Oshiro.

There are pockets throughout the Puna district where the damage is so severe that customers should be prepared for an extended outage, said the company. They pegged outages at possibly up to three weeks, but maintained that there was no certainty in that estimate.