HECO could be fined for power outages in Mililani meant to prevent wildfires

HONOLULU(KHON2) — The state has identified wildfires as the most significant natural hazard in the islands…and Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) is taking additional measures to prevent wildfires in the wake of the Lahaina tragedy.

Those efforts focused specifically on areas considered high risk.

“In certain places the system has been set to be more sensitive to any kind of disruption which can create a safety hazard and when that happens the system will automatically trip and there will be a power outage in the area,” HECO spokesperson Darren Pai explained.

Mililani has had a handful of outages impacting over 2000 residents here in the last month alone. Each of those outages lasting around an hour according to HECO and attributed to the new wildfire safety strategy.

“When it happened to me once I was blow drying my hair getting ready for work,” explained Mililani resident Lorena Pojas.

At first Pojas said it wasn’t that bad cause she thought it wouldn’t happen that often.

“The last time we’re in the middle of cooking dinner and then the power goes off,” she said. “I mean it’s frustrating you know? It’s like all of a sudden and it’s again and again.”

Mililani Neighborhood Board Chair Danielle Bass said the outages are happening on a weekly basis and mostly at night.

“So that’s impacting their dinner times, you know? Some might be in the shower, in the bath and that can be problematic and a safety hazard.”

According to Pai, the outages are happening more in Mililani than any other community.

He said the way the cables were buried underground decades ago may be partly to blame.

“At that time, the industry standard practice was to directly bury the cables underground. So there are essentially cables that are buried in the dirt,” he explained.

That leaves the cables vulnerable to water, other elements and wear-and-tear over the years, which is much different than cables that are now encased in concrete before they’re buried underground.

Pai said there are some power lines above ground in Mililani that could also be the cause of the problems.

“There may be trees that fall down, or branches that blow into power lines,” Pai explained. “There can be strong winds that blow debris or furniture from somebody’s yard up into a power line.There are a number of things that can cause a disturbance on these circuits.”

Prior to the Lahaina fire, restoring power quickly was the top priority but now safety comes first. Someone needs to visually inspect the cables before they re-energize the wires to ensure there is no fire risk and Pai said that extra step may prolong the outage.

In a statement the Deborah Kwan Public Utilities Commission Communications Officer said:

“The Commission is very concerned with recent outages throughout the state, including the recent outage in Mililani, and may take appropriate regulatory action to ensure electric utilities do everything they can to protect customers.

In light of the tragic wildfires last year, Hawaiian Electric is deploying new measures to reduce any likelihood of fires, especially in high wildfire risk areas, which impact the duration and frequency of outages. The Commission is working with the utility and various stakeholders to determine how best to balance these critical priorities.

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The Commission continues to closely monitor HECO’s performance to ensure that electrical services are safely and reliably provided to customers. These outages may be counted against HECO’s reliability performance and subject to financial penalties at the end of the year.”