Maui Electric Sending Crews, Equipment to Hawaiʻi Island

Maui Electric boom trucks heading to assist in power restorations on Hawai‘i Island were loaded onto the Young Brothers Maka‘ala barge in Kahului this morning (Aug. 12). Maui Electric crews will arrive tomorrow to help in the restoration efforts. Courtesy Photo.

By Wendy Osher

Maui Electric Company announced today that it is deploying boom trucks and other equipment to Hawai‘i Island today to assist Hawai‘i Electric Light in restoring power to customers affected by Tropical Cyclone Iselle.

In addition to the equipment, Maui Electric response crews will be arriving on Hawai‘i Island on Wednesday, Aug. 13, to help with the restoration efforts.

“We are still working on repairs and maintenance in some of the storm-damaged areas here on Maui,” said Kurt Tsukiyama, manager of transmission and distribution at Maui Electric in a company statement. “However, with power completely restored on Maui County, we can shift our focus to helping our sister company on Hawai‘i Island.”

The company completed restoration of service to affected customers on Maui over the weekend, with the final 39 customers in Piʻiholo and Olinda brought back online on Sunday evening.

The largest outage on Maui was reported on Friday, Aug. 8, when an estimated 7,750 customers from Hāna to Haʻikū lost power as the result of high winds and heavy rains. Power was restored the same day.

The state Emergency Management Agency has also released a list of suggested ways to donate, volunteer and assist with recovery.

Maui Electric boom trucks heading to assist in power restorations on Hawai‘i Island were loaded onto the Young Brothers Maka‘ala barge in Kahului this morning (Aug. 12). Maui Electric crews will arrive tomorrow to help in the restoration efforts. Courtesy photo.