HECO restores power to half of affected customers; over 11K still out on Monday

HONOLULU (Island News) – Overnight and into early Monday morning, Hawaiian Electric (HECO) crews achieved ‘significant restorations,’ bringing power back to approximately half of the customers across Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii Island who had been without electricity.

Around 11,200 customers, primarily on Hawaii Island and Maui, still remain without power across the utility’s three counties, according to HECO. HECO said outage numbers fluctuated throughout the day due to unstable post-storm conditions which continue to impact electrical service in some areas.

HECO released the following power outage stats on Monday 5 p.m.:

• Oahu — About 1,000 customers are without electricity in pockets across the island. This involves making repairs to individual service lines and verifying that each customer’s electrical connecting point is safe to receive power again.
• Maui County: About 4,500 customers remain without power. Crews are continuing damage assessments and repairs islandwide, including parts of Kula as far as Keokeo Place and other pockets. Crews are clearing mud and debris in Kihei to inspect and make any repairs to underground facilities to restore about 600 customers. In East Maui, including pockets of Hā‘ikū, About 300 customers located in East Maui, including pockets of Haiku, should continue to prepare for extended overnight outages as damage assessments and repairs remain ongoing.
• Hawaii Island - About 5,700 customers are currently without power, mostly in Puna and North Kona. On Monday, HECO crews continued working in Kea’au, Kurtistown, Mountain View, Volcano, South Point, and North and South Kona. Damage assessment teams are working in lower Puna. In the hardest hit areas, restoration efforts are being slowed by numerous fallen trees, large branches and downed power lines on roadways.

HECO released the following power outage stats on Monday 1 p.m.:

• Oahu — About 940 customers are without electricity in pockets across the island. More than 2,500 customers were restored overnight. This involves making repairs to individual service lines and verifying that each customer’s electrical connecting point is safe to receive power again.
• Maui County — About 2,600 customers remain without power. Crews are continuing damage assessments and repairs islandwide, including parts of Upcountry damage assessments and repairs islandwide, including parts of Upcountry and East Maui as well as pockets of Ha’iku and Kihei, where there are underground cable faults due to the heavy rains and flooding. Crews restored power to the majority of South Maui and Kula (from Oma’opio Road area to Lower Kula Hwy) as well as most of Hana town.
  • For customers in these areas restored overnight who may still be without power, contact Maui County’s trouble line at 1-855-304-8181 or report it online.
• Hawaii Island — About 8,000 customers are currently without power, mostly in Puna and North Kona. On Monday, HECO crews will work in Kea’au, Kurtistown, Mountain View, Volcano, South Point, and North and South Kona. Damage assessment teams are working in lower Puna. In the hardest hit areas, restoration efforts are being slowed by numerous fallen trees, large branches and downed power lines on roadways.

Restoration efforts in Maui County and on Hawaii Island may be slowed by limited accessibility due to terrain and fallen trees, despite improved weather conditions. Additionally, unstable trees and branches could fall and cause new outages. HECO cannot provide estimated restoration times until inspections are complete and any necessary repairs are made to ensure power can be safely restored.

Click here to see HECO’s storm restoration process.

FILING A CLAIM

If you’ve experienced, or are currently experiencing, a power outage, you have the right to file a claim for compensation for any loss caused by that outage. You may be eligible to receive either the cost to repair or the depreciated value of the damaged items, which is less.

In order for your claim to be valid, it must be filed with HECO within 30 days of the power outage.

Customers can file a claim one of three ways:

• Complete the Oahu, Maui, or Hawaii Island Claim for Damage or Loss (PDF) form and submit by email or mail to either one of the following addresses: (PDF linked in parenthesis)
  • (OAHU)  Hawaiian Electric, Claims Department, P.O. Box 2750, Honolulu, HI 96840-0001
  • (MAUI) Hawaiian Electric — Maui County, Claims Department, P.O. Box 2750, Honolulu, HI 96840-0001
  • (HAWAII ISLAND) Hawaiian Electric — Hawaii Island, Claims Department, P.O. Box 1027, Hilo, HI 96721-1027
• Send a letter with the necessary information (explained below) to any of the addresses previously listed.
• Call HECO’s Claims Department at the following numbers, and a representative will document the information needed to review your claim.
  • (OAHU) 808-543-4624
  • (MAUI) 808-871-2392
  • (MOLOKAI & LANAI, toll-free) 1-877-871-8461
  • (HAWAII ISLAND) 808-969-0279

The information you’ll need to provide while filing your claim is your name, HECO account number, and your contact information. As well as the date and time of the power outage and your observations regarding the outage, such as flickering lights, burned smell, loud noise, etc.

List the items that were damaged, including the year purchased and model number. If you have estimates or receipts for repairs or replacement costs, keep them until requested by HECO’s adjuster. Keep damaged items until your claim has been resolved.

Click this link to view more information on the process of filing a claim with HECO.