Blackout avoided: HECO monitors energy generation on Oahu

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hawaiian Electric reported they avoided rolling outages on Wednesday night and Thursday morning after crews sourced additional energy from the Kahe Power Plant.

Around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, HECO issued a conservation alert for the island of Oahu after the Kalaeloa Power Plant, the largest independently-owned power plant on the island, went offline due to a rupture of an underground pipe.

The rolling outages were scheduled to affect the majority of the leeward coast at 6 p.m. before HECO moved the time back to 10 p.m.

Hawaiian Electric spokesperson Darren Pai explained that HECO’s customers made a big difference in avoiding the rolling blackouts.

We thank our customers for their patience and support during period of tight generation margins. We’re still monitoring the generation situation, but everyone’s conservation efforts made a significant difference last night.

Darren Pai, Hawaiian Electric Spokesperson

Officials said HECO is monitoring the situation, keeping a close eye on generation capacity while Kalaeloa Partners continue making repairs.

In the meantime, HECO brought on additional generators at Kahe and Waiau Power Plants in an attempt to avoid rolling outages in the future.

The Board of Water Supply continues to request customers to conserve water.