Days-long power outage forces eateries to toss thousands worth of food
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) — A Kona low storm knocked out power for well over 100,000 Hawaiian Electric customers over the weekend, and businesses in hard-hit areas are reporting tens of thousands of dollars in losses.
At Chao Phya Thai in Windward City Shopping Center, owner Guy Smith said he had to throw out about $50,000 worth of food because their freezers were down during a three-day outage.
“We’re very passionate about taking care of our customers and the local community, so we feel very bad that we have not been able to fulfill our obligation. It’s been painful,” Smith said with tears welling in his eyes.
A few doors down at Yoonyson Korean BBQ, owner Cecilia Piimauna said she lost out on about $6,000 because she too could not freeze her food, could not use her phone or credit card machine, and had to partially close.
“I was so, so stressed, I don’t know what to do because all my meat melting already. Nobody knows we were open, yeah, cause no more telephone,” Piimauna said.
But the phone at the mom-and-pop was ringing off the hook Monday for orders after electricity was restored the night before. The Open sign was also illuminated, welcoming hungry customers deciding between the macaroni salad and kim chi shining under the shop’s bright lights once again.
“I’m planning to buy generator, but then God bless because oh, the power is on, saved by the bell, yeah,” Piimauna added.
Shopper Gustavo Ramos compared the mall over the weekend to “the apocalypse.”
“It was kind of chaotic, I think, when we got here, everything was closed. The whole market was blacked out, all the street lights were out and everybody was going to the grocery store and getting all the canned items and stuff like that,” Ramos described.
As Hawaiian Electric crews work to restore power for thousands across the islands, impacted customers can file claims.
“We’re working as quickly as we can. We know it’s very frustrating for our customers and, we apologize for that. We appreciate their patience and we want them to know that we’ll just keep working until it’s all done,” Hawaiian Electric external communications manager Darren Pai said.
Click here for more information on the claims process.
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