HECO: Some power restored, underground work needed

In an update issued at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, Hawaiian Electric is advising approximately 1,700 customers in Ewa Beach who lost power again this morning that they should prepare to be without electric service through the night.

Hawaiian Electric management employees restored power to about 300 customers in Ewa Beach earlier today. However, restoring service to the remaining customers in the area requires additional inspections and repairs to underground cables, which is a labor intensive and time consuming process.

This afternoon, crews made up of management employees have also restored power to an additional 400 customers in various locations across the island. Pockets of customers in scattered locations, including Waimanalo, Kailua and Waiawa, may also be without power. Those outages may involve a few homes or a portion of a neighborhood.

“We sincerely apologize to our customers in Ewa Beach and other areas for the hardship we know this extended outage is causing them,” said Lynne Unemori, Hawaiian Electric Vice President of Corporate Relations. “Our employees have been working all day to restore power as quickly as possible in a safe manner to as many customers as we can.”

Restoration is expected to take longer than usual due to the current strike by the company’s union workers. Restoring power safely — both for the public and employees — remains Hawaiian Electric’s highest priority.

Hawaiian Electric management employees and contractors are replacing 15 utility poles on Fort Weaver Road, 6 utility poles on Old Fort Weaver Road, and 3 utility poles on Fort Barrett Road which were knocked down during severe weather early Friday morning.

During an extended power outage, Hawaiian Electric reminds customers to:

• If someone in your home is dependent on electric power for life sustaining medical equipment, check backup facilities. Plan where to go should the need for evacuation occur and remember to take your equipment, medicine and/or supplies with you.
• Use flashlights or chemical light sticks instead of candles as an open flame may create a fire hazard.
• Turn off and unplug any electrical equipment, especially sensitive electronics such as computers and HD televisions. This will prevent damage to the equipment from surges when power is restored. Leave at least one light in the on position to know when power is restored.
• If you use a portable generator, operate it in a well ventilated area. Do not attempt to run the entire house on a portable generator but hook up needed appliances directly to the generator.
• During a power outage, a fully-stocked free-standing freezer will keep most of your foods frozen for up to 72 hours – if you don’t open the door. Resist the urge to peek inside to see if the food is still frozen. Each time you open the door, cold
  air gets out.
• The freezer section of a refrigerator-freezer will keep most of your foods frozen 10 to 24 hours. Try not to open the freezer door during an outage as you’ll let the cold air escape.
• In addition, remember to turn off stoves, ovens and other appliances and remove such items as pots and pans from the burners if you were cooking when the outage occurred.
• Stay tuned to local media for reports on Hawaiian Electric’s progress in restoring power.