Kaanapali Outage Caused by Cable Fault

By Wendy Osher

File image by Wendy Osher.

A cable fault on the Honoapiilani Highway was to blame for a power outage that knocked out electricity to some 400 customers in Kaanapali this morning.  The outage was reported at 9:45 a.m. and power was restored by 11:25 a.m.

The outage was the third reported since union workers walked off the job on Friday afternoon amid unresolved contract negotiations.  Despite the reduced manpower, power was restored to customers fairly quickly, with the longest outage lasting 2 hours and 20 minutes.

The first outage affected an estimated 600 customers Sunday night in the Old Wailuku Heights and Iao Valley subdivisions when a tree fell on power lines. A separate outage affected an estimated 670 customers in Kaanapali early Tuesday morning.

Union employees on Maui took a ratification vote yesterday on a new tentative contract agreement.  The vote went out to workers at Hawaiian Electric Industries on the Big Island today, with the final vote slated for Oahu’s Hawaiian Electric Employees on Friday.