Hawaiian Electric is again asking Hawaii Island customers to limit their use of electricity this evening, especially from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The need for conservation is prompted by the unavailability of several large generators, the utility said in a press release this afternoon.
Thursday night, conservation efforts by households, businesses and government agencies helped ensure there was sufficient power to meet the evening peak demand, preventing the need for rolling outages.
Hawaiian Electric asked its larger commercial customers — including government, hotels and retailers — to voluntarily reduce electricity use.
“Hawaiian Electric thanks businesses for their help and asks the public to continue to patronize stores and restaurants tonight — they’ll still be open.”
Hawaiian Electric’s combustion turbine units Kanoelehua CT-1 and Puna CT-3, which normally supply about 32 megawatts of power, are offline with mechanical issues. In addition, two units at the Keahole Power Plant are undergoing annual scheduled maintenance. These units usually supply about 36 megawatts of power.
Hawaiian Electric’s Hill 5 unit, which unexpectedly tripped offline Thursday, was returned to service Thursday night.
By reducing demand, Hawaiian Electric can ensure enough electricity is available and prevent the need to initiate rolling, 30-minute outages to prevent a loss of power to an even greater number of customers.
If outages are necessary, Hawaiian Electric will notify customers in advance through social media. Please check @HIElectricLight on Twitter for updates.