An outage in Hawaii Kai has left approximately 13,000 HECO customers without power Sunday afternoon.
The outage began around 2 p.m. and HECO has estimated a restoration time of 3:30 p.m.
Affected areas include:
- Aina Haina
- Hahaione
- Hawaii Kai
- Hawaii Loa Ridge
- Kalama Valley
- Kamiloiki
- Koko Head
- Koko Marina
- Niu Valley
- Portlock
- Wailupe
- Waimanalo
Later Sunday afternoon, the Department of Health advised the public to stay out of waters fronting the East Honolulu Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Due to the power outage, partially treated sewage was released. Officials said the public should stay out of affected waters until the advisory has been canceled.
Around 7 p.m., HECO announced the outage was caused “by damage to one of the main transmission lines that bring power across the Koolau mountains.”
Officials added about 4,000 feet of 46-kilovolt line fell on the second transmission line causing both of them to go out of service.
Due to the location of the lines, HECO crews must use a helicopter to reach the area however, weather conditions are making it difficult to do so.
Instead, crews are attempting to separate the two lines by using a weighted rope to pull one off the other.
If neither attempt is successful, “repair will have to wait until daylight and service will not be restored until later Monday.”
“Our crews are working in rain and darkness to try to restore service tonight. We understand how frustrating this is for our customers and want to assure them we are working diligently to restore their service as quickly as possible while ensuring the safety of our crews and the public. We urge our customers to make preparations for the possibility that they will be out of power overnight,” said Hawaiian Electric Spokesperson Darren Pai.
At 9:45 p.m. on Sunday, HECO announced that most power had been restored to East Honolulu residents.
Officials estimated that around 2,200 customers would still go without power for the rest of Sunday into most of Monday.
