MEDIA RELEASE

Utility pole came down in Hamakua during the winter storm Sunday, February 10, 2019.

HILO, Feb. 11, 2019 (1 p.m.) – Hawai‘i Electric Light crews are working to restore electric service to customers impacted by last weekend’s winter storm. Gusty winds and fallen trees downed power poles and lines, causing power interruptions primarily in north and east Hawai‘i.

Since Saturday morning, about 9,700 customers have been directly affected by wind storm impacts on the transmission and distribution system. On Sunday morning, about 45,800 customers experienced a power interruption due to a sudden loss of generation, also caused by wind storm impacts.

The company is conducting damage assessments today. Currently, about 2,000 customers in Honoka‘a and Waipunahina remain without power. Crews are working to remove and replace at least 13 transmission poles that were downed by gusty winds.

Hawai‘i Electric Light reminds the community to assume that downed power lines are energized and dangerous. Stay at least 30 feet away and report it to the Trouble Desk at (808) 969-6666.

Outage notifications are posted on the company’s Twitter account @HIElectricLight with the hashtag #BigIslandOutage. To report an outage, please call (808) 969-6666.