Hawaiian Electric works to restore power following Big Island storm

This story was updated at 12:12 p.m. on Dec. 21.

Hawaiian Electric currently reports 800 customers without power in the communities of Honoka’a, Ahualoa and Ocean View. Crews are working as quickly as possible to safely restore power, and anticipate restoration to be completed by Friday.

Transmission line repairs are expected to be completed by the end of this week.

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Approximately 40,000 Hawaiian Electric customers lost power at some point during a storm that swept the island early Monday into Tuesday. Repairs are estimated to take until Thursday to complete at the latest, the power company stated on Twitter.

Damage assessments are ongoing and may take a few days. In some areas, personnel must wait for roads to be cleared of fallen trees and debris before they can safely enter the area to conduct assessments and begin repairs.

Late Tuesday, Hawaiian Electric reported a number of extended outages. Approximately 400 customers on Waipi’o Valley Road from Honoka’a town to Waipi’o Valley are expected to have power restored Friday.

In the Ahualoa area, approximately 300 customers are without power and can expect restoration by Thursday. About 100 isolated customers are without power in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates. Power restoration is estimated later today or early Thursday.

Two transmission lines along the Hāmākua Coast were damaged during the cold front. Several trees fell on lines throughout various areas on the island. In some areas, repairs will begin once those trees are cleared and crews can safely access the area.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, crews were working to restore power for 2,000 customers in Ocean View, Honoka‘a, Ahualoa, and Captain Cook. Some customers reported on social media they had been without power for as long as 20 hours.

On Tuesday afternoon, Hawaiian Electric spokesperson Kristen Okinaka said the number of outages is dynamic.

“As customers are restored, new outages are occurring because of falling trees due to wind and flooding,” Okinaka said. “There will be extended outages for some customers in Waipio, Ahualoa and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates.”