Hawaiian Electric Co. on Oahu asked its customers Thursday to conserve energy in an effort to prevent rolling blackouts. No such request was made of Hawaii Electric Light Co. customers on Hawaii Island, however.
Hawaiian Electric Co. on Oahu asked its customers Thursday to conserve energy in an effort to prevent rolling blackouts. No such request was made of Hawaii Electric Light Co. customers on Hawaii Island, however.
Soaring temperatures and high humidity have conspired with flagging tradewinds to drive up the use of air conditioning on Oahu, leading to a six-year-high demand for electricity on Wednesday night, according to a HECO press release issued Thursday.
“In addition, light winds have limited production from the two wind farms on the North Shore,” the release reads.
Customers were asked to conserve energy in general, but also to focus on limiting its use between the peak hours from 5-9 p.m.
“Although Hawaiian Electric anticipates it will be able to serve the evening peak demand for electricity, available backup generation reserves will be very low,” the release states. “Should demand for electricity remain high and an unplanned loss of generation occurs, power outages may be necessary.”
In a phone interview Thursday afternoon, HELCO spokeswoman Rhea Lee-Moku explained that Oahu and the Big Island are two very different electricity markets, and Big Isle consumers had nothing to worry about regarding power generation.
“We have a surplus of generation available,” she said. “We do track our generation on a daily basis to ensure that we have sufficient generation available for the needs of our customers. … On Hawaii Island, especially on the east side of the island, there’s not a lot of air conditioner use in homes. A lot of people use the tropical breezes to cool their homes, so there’s not a lot of high air conditioning use.”
Honolulu, however, does not benefit as much from the tradewinds and can experience higher temperatures, leading to more people using air conditioners.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.