Power Outages Affects 9,000 Customers

At 9:29 p.m. last night power flickered off and was interrupted from The Hawai’i Electric Light Company’s Pohoiki substation to the Kaumana substation.

Approximately 9,000 customers exist in the affected areas. Consumers experienced two more outages today.

According to a HELCO service representative, overgrown trees touching power lines are the probable cause. A worker was dispatched last night, but due to vehicle accessibility issues, power outages continued.

The aggressive winds and their high wind advisories exacerbate the problematic outages. However, this afternoon a customer who lives near the overgrowth had given permission to HELCO workers to enter the premises.

Workers are trimming trees today. The precise location of the compromised power lines is unknown. According to the HELCO representative, the trees that needed trimming is in a location only reachable by foot in the Nanawale area. Being unnavigable by vehicle has slowed this process down considerably.

The HELCO representative expressed understanding and sympathy for the inconvenience this causes everyone, especially those who “work from home.” For now, power seems stable, and the representative did not foresee further interruptions after trees are appropriately cut back.