Conservation of electricity by customers successfully deters rolling outages on Big Island

Hawaiian Electric continues to urge customers on the Big Island to reduce their electricity use to avoid rolling blackouts.

The power company has been asking its customers to conserve for the past several weeks and officials say it’s helping.

“Last night, conservation efforts helped to ensure that enough power was available for all customers and prevented the need for rolling outages,” Hawaiian Electric stated in a press release. “Many large businesses like hotels and retailers as well as government agencies are voluntarily reducing their electricity use and implementing conservation measures.”

Customers are asked to continue conserving electricity, especially from 5 to 9 p.m. on weekdays.

Hawaiian Electric has been asking residential and business customers to conserve electricity due to the unavailability of several large generators and cautioned that rolling outages might be needed if generation falls short of demand.

The company has been working to bring its generating units back into service as quickly as possible.

If necessary, brief outages will be initiated to prevent a loss of power to an even greater number of customers. Outages would rotate in various areas around the island and last for about 30 minutes. The areas and timing will be based on the amount of electric demand that needs to be reduced. Individuals who are dependent on electrically powered life support medical equipment are advised to arrange for a backup power supply.

Alerts and updates will be posted on the company’s Facebook (HawaiianElectric) and X (@HIElectricLight) accounts. Hawai‘i County Civil Defense also will send emergency alerts through local radio and its Everbridge emergency notification system. Customers are encouraged to subscribe to their free service to receive alerts.

Energy conservation tips and emergency preparedness resources are available on the company’s website hawaiianelectric.com/hawaiiislandupdate.