Hawaiian Electric: ‘Tight supply of electricity’ on the Big Island through April
Hawaiian Electric is asking all Hawaii Island customers to reduce or shift their electricity use over the next month.
“This is an unusual situation, driven mainly by the unavailability of several large generators that have experienced mechanical problems, are at reduced output, or are undergoing maintenance,” the utility said today in a press release.
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The largest generator — an independent power producer that sells electricity to Hawaiian Electric — is offline with significant mechanical issues. The plant generates 60 megawatts or nearly one-third of the typical peak demand of 180 megawatts on the island.
Hawaiian Electric did not name the independent power producer in its press release.
“At least through the middle of April, when one of the company’s larger generators is scheduled to return from an overhaul on the mainland, generation margin will be extremely tight, especially when wind, solar and hydroelectric output is lower than forecast,” according to the utility.
Hawaiian Electric customers “may see alerts asking them to conserve energy,” especially on days when there isn’t much wind, which can generate up to 15% of the electricity on the grid. When the alerts are issued, customers are asked to take immediate action to minimize the use of electricity.
Hawaiian Electric will post alerts on its X (formerly Twitter) @HIElectricLight and Facebook account. Customers also are encouraged to subscribe to Hawaii County Civil Defense’s emergency notification system, Everbridge, to receive alerts.
Even without an alert, customers — including hotels and large retailers — are urged to reduce their electricity use as much as possible, especially between 5 and 9 p.m. weekdays.
Without enough supply to meet electricity demand, the company may initiate rolling outages of up to an hour around the island. The impacted areas and the timing will be based on the amount of demand that needs to be reduced.
Customers may experience delays or busy signals on the Trouble Line (808) 969-6666 due to high call volume., according to Hawaiian Electric. Other options are calling Customer Care (808) 969-6999 or direct messaging on X or Facebook. For more information, visit hawaiianelectric.com/HawaiiIslandUpdate.
See Tuesday’s Tribune-Herald for more.
