About 1,100 customers on Hawaii island — and hundreds on Maui — remained without electricity Sunday in the wake of a cold front that brought high wind that toppled trees and power lines Friday and Saturday.
Service was restored to about 44,000 customers by 7 a.m. Sunday, Hawaii Electric Light Co. said by email.
But the area of the Big Isle roughly from Waimea to Honokaa suffered "substantial damage," and customers were told to prepare for an extended outage through Tuesday.
The utility pledge to continue round-the-clock repairs.
"We know what a hardship it is for our customers to be out of power," said Hawaii Electric Light spokeswoman Rhea Lee. "We sincerely apologize and want to assure them that we are doing everything we can to safely restore service as quickly as possible."
All transmission lines were repaired and are back in service, the utility said.
Hawaii Electric Light asks customers who have not yet reported their power outage to call its trouble line at 969-6666, but warned that call volume has been high and customers might spend a long time on hold.
On Maui about 350 customers remained without power Sunday in Piiholo and Olinda, and customers from Keanae to Nahiku can expect an extended outage, Maui Electric Light Co. said.
Throughout Saturday customers in Central Maui, Upcountry, Paia, Haiku and East Maui, and on Molokai, were brought back online after strong storm winds Friday brought down trees and debris onto transmission lines and "wreaked havoc on the electrical system," the utility said.
The summit of Haleakala remained closed Sunday and will remain so until power is restored and the ice has melted off the summit road and parking lots, with no chance of refreezing overnight, said park spokeswoman Polly Angelakis.
Without power there are no phones, radios or other ways to communicate with emergency services outside of the park, she said. The Kipahulu district is open, but the Pools of Oheo, or Seven Sacred Pools, are closed.
The Maui Department of Water Supply on Sunday said water service disrupted by Friday’s storm has been restored in nearly all areas.
Residents and businesses may resume normal water usage except those on Upper Olinda and Upper Piiholo roads, the department said. Power has not yet been restored to a pump station in the Upper Olinda Road area; as a result, area residents are requested to continue conserving water until further notice.
A high-wind warning remained in effect Sunday for the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, while all other weather advisories and warnings were canceled.
Hawaii County Civil Defense said Sunday there were numerous reports of fallen trees, downed power lines, power failures and several roads closed following the storm. As of Sunday county officials said all major roads and highways were open.
