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Hawaiian Electric restores power to most customers affected by Hone

UPDATE: 10:10 p.m.

Hawaiian Electric Co. officials said crews have now restored a majority of customers who lost electricity due to Hurricane Hone.

HECO officials said on Hawaii island, power has been restored to most customers in North Kohala, Volcano and Punaluu. About 1,800 Big Island customers are still without power, company officials said at about 9:30 p.m.

Company officials said 74 Upcountry Maui customers will remain without power overnight “due to safety conditions out in the field, including the clearing of downed trees on roads before restoration can safely be completed.”

About 200 Oahu customers also remained without power Sunday night.

6:25 p.m.

Over 900 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers on Maui and Oahu remain without power tonight, according to the company’s outage map.

The map for the Big Island shows no outages as of 6:25 p.

3:30 p.m.

Hawaiian Electric crews continue to work on restoring storm-related power outages affecting customers on Hawaii island, Oahu and Maui.

As of 3 p.m. there were 12,476 customers without power. Earlier there were 18,150 customers affected.

Hawaii island still has about 10,000 customers without power in North Kohala, Volcano and Punaluu, Maui County has about 700 customers affected in parts of Upcountry Maui, and Oahu has 1,776 customers without power in Punchbowl and Manoa.

Hawaiian Electric said customers in Upcountry Maui should prepare for an extended outage, possibly overnight, as crews work to restore power lines brought down by the storm. On Hawaii island, power is expected to be restored to North Kohala by 7 p.m. and in the Volcano area by 10:30 p.m. Heavy rains and wind may delay the ability to safely make repairs, the utility said. Crews are unable to access the Punaluu area due to road closures caused by flooding.

Customers who live outside these areas and are without power are asked to call Hawaiian Electric’s Trouble line.

If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and dangerous. Stay at least 30 feet or more away from all power lines. Warn others to stay away. For emergency assistance call 911. For Hawaiian Electric, call Hawaiian Electric’s trouble line:

>> Oahu: 855-304-1212

>> Hawaii island: 808-969-6666

>> Maui: 808-871-7777

>> Molokai: 877-871-8461

1:30 p.m.

Hundreds of Hawaii Electric employees are working to restore storm-related power outages affecting 18,150 customers on Hawaii island, Oahu and Maui.

As of 11:30 a.m., approximately 14,000 customers mostly in the east and south sides of Hawaii island, approximately 750 customers in portions of Upcountry Maui, one customer in West Maui and approximately 3,400 customers in Punchbowl, Kahala and other areas across Oahu were without power.

An equipment failure at the Iwilei substation on Oahu caused an outage at about 5 a.m. from downtown Honolulu to Chinatown, according to a news release. Workers repaired and restored power to customers after 10 a.m.

Meanwhile, a car that hit a separate high-voltage transformer in a parking garage caused a separate downtown outage at about 3:40 a.m.

“If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and dangerous. Stay at least 30 feet or more away from all power lines. Warn others to stay away,” according to a news release.

For emergency assistance call 911.

For Hawaiian Electric, call the trouble lines listed below. Customers are urged to keep trying if they hear a busy line due to the high call volume:

• Oahu: 1-855-304-1212

• Hawaii island: 808-969-6666

• Maui: 808-871-7777

• Molokai: 1-877-871-8461

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