Lightning Causes Power Outages in East Hawai‘i

Big Island Now stock photo. June 2012.

Hawai‘i Electric Light reports that customers in the Hilo and Puna Districts experienced brief power interruptions due to lightning strikes from a storm system that swept through the island late yesterday afternoon, March 9.

About 1,250 customers in the Hilo area experienced a longer interruption of about 1.5 hours.

Most customers were restored by early evening.

“After lightning strikes damaged utility equipment, crews responded immediately and rerouted electricity to restore power to most customers,” said company spokesperson Rhea Lee-Moku. “Our transmission and distribution systems are designed with redundancies, or duplicate critical components, that provide alternate routes if one component fails or is damaged. This allows us to improve reliability and restore power to customers more quickly until permanent repairs can be made.”

Following a damage assessment, crews will prioritize repairs to the equipment damaged by lightning.

To report an outage, call 969-6666.