Hawaiian Electric again asks Big Island customers to reduce electricity use

For the second day in a row, Hawaiian Electric is asking its Big Island customers to limit their use of electricity because of the unavailability of several of the utility company’s large generators.

Hawaiian Electric is once again asking its customers on the island to conserve power, especially from 5-9 p.m.

The electric utility’s combustion turbine units Kanoelehua CT-1 and Puna CT-3, which normally supply about 32 megawatts of power, are offline with mechanical issues. In addition, two units at the Keahole Power Plant are undergoing annual scheduled maintenance. These units usually supply about 36 megawatts of power. Wind resources are also forecast to be lower than usual.

Hawaiian Electric’s Hill 5 unit, which unexpectedly tripped offline Thursday, was returned to service Thursday night. That and the two units undergoing annual maintenance caused the utility company to issue a request for Big Island customers to limit their energy consumption Thursday evening.

Conservation efforts by households, businesses and government agencies Thursday night helped ensure there was sufficient power to meet the evening peak demand, preventing the need for rolling outages.

By reducing demand, Hawaiian Electric can ensure enough electricity is available and again prevent the need to initiate rolling, 30-minute outages to prevent a loss of power to an even greater number of customers.

If outages are necessary, Hawaiian Electric will notify customers in advance through social media. Check @HIElectricLight on Twitter for updates.