MONDAY UPDATE 4:30 P.M.: Crews restore about 80% of customers on Maui
Power restored to the Lahaina Civic Center area and pockets of Upcountry
Release Date: 8/14/2023
KAHULUI, Aug. 14, 2023 – Hawaiian Electric has restored power to about 80% of the customers who have been without electricity since Tuesday. Crews are continuing response efforts to restore about 100 customers in Upcountry and approximately 2,300 customers in West Maui. This estimated outage count has been adjusted downward to account for structures that were damaged or destroyed.
In West Maui, the focus continues to be safely restoring areas that provide essential public services as well as facilities serving first responders and the emergency response efforts. This includes services and resources such as water, wastewater, gas stations, and hotels that are being planned for temporary shelter.
Earlier today, crews restored power to the Lahaina Civic Center and are working to bring other emergency response facilities in the area back online. Crews also completed the installation of the mobile substation in the Lahainaluna area and are working to bring it online. Once online, the mobile sub is expected to restore power to homes, schools and county facilities mauka of the Lahaina Bypass Road. This complex process takes time to safely connect customers. Substations step down power from high-voltage transmission lines to lower-voltage distribution lines that serve neighborhoods.
Ongoing damage assessments in West Maui have identified about 400 poles out of 750 and 300 out of 575 transformers that are visibly damaged. The Lahaina substation also was destroyed.
In Upcountry, crews are continuing to repair neighborhood circuits and individual service lines.
Hawaiian Electricʻs response efforts include more than 400 employees and contractors working to safely bring power back to communities on Maui. Employees from Oahu, Hawaii Island, Molokai and Lanai are also providing additional response resources, including staffing, expertise, materials and equipment to expedite and respond to the restoration efforts on Maui. Heavy equipment and 26 vehicles were shipped from Oahu.
Updates are also available at hawaiianelectric.com/windstormresponse.
