8 a.m. update: Power restored to parts of Downtown Honolulu
Many businesses, residences expected to remain out until end of day
Release Date: 12/7/2021
HONOLULU, Dec. 7, 2021 – Hawaiian Electric crews worked throughout the night to restore service to customers in downtown Honolulu and Chinatown and were able to repair one of three transformers damaged by flooding. As a result, power was restored this morning to six buildings, including the State Capitol, state office and city municipal buildings, district court, Central Pacific Bank and First Hawaiian Bank.
Two other transformers at the Iwilei substation, which were damaged during last night’s heavy rains from the Kona low storm system, are being dried out, repaired and tested.
Crews first need to drain floodwater from inside the underground vaults that house the transformers, and with rain continuing off and on, combined with the high tide that peaked shortly before 7 a.m., the vaults refill faster than they can be pumped out. Right now, repair crews are targeting full restoration of power by the end of the business day.
“System operators and planners worked through the night to come up with creative solutions to enable us to bring more customers back online as soon as possible,” said Jim Alberts, senior vice president of operations. “They’re really thinking outside the box in terms of how to safely reroute power to the highest number of customers. We really appreciate everyone’s patience as we make these repairs.”
