Categorized | Business, Energy

HELCO power interruptions caused by loss of generating capacity

MEDIA RELEASE

Hawai‘i Electric Light explained that the brief power interruptions on Wednesday, Thursday and today (April 13-15) were due to a sudden loss of generation at several power plants.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the Hamakua Energy Partners generator unexpectedly tripped offline. This afternoon, Hawai‘i Electric Light’s Puna steam plant and a combustion turbine unit at its Keahole Power Plant (CT2) tripped offline. In each case, protective devices automatically disconnected some customers temporarily to rebalance the available supply of power generation with the demand for power, stabilizing the grid and maintaining service for the majority of customers. Those affected experienced a temporary power interruption lasting between 7 to 20 minutes while backup generators were started.

“We sincerely apologize for the interruptions,” said Kristen Okinaka, Hawai‘i Electric Light spokeswoman. “Our employees worked hard to bring additional generating units online and safely restore service to customers.”

Hawai‘i Electric Light crews have completed repairs to both the Puna and Keahole generating units. Hamakua Energy Partners’ plant remains out of service as it works to complete repairs.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

 

Quantcast