Wind Wreaks Havoc on MECO Power Lines and Poles

Haleakalā summit file photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

High winds are being blamed for two extended power outages on Maui.

Officials from Maui Electric Company say high winds on Monday night brought several trees down on power lines in Olinda at around 9 p.m. on Monday, December 17, 2012.

The incident cut off power to an estimated 270 customers in the Olinda and Piiholo areas.

Once debris was cleared, MECO crews worked to replace poles and repair electric lines.  Power was restored to affected customers by 2:48 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, December 18, 2012.

A separate outage was reported shortly before 6 p.m. on Monday, December 17, 2012 at the Summit of Haleakala.

MECO spokesperson Kau’i Awai-Dickson said the outage resulted when trees came down on power lines in a gulch near the summit area.

MECO crews hiked to the area today to complete repairs on three spans of electrical cable and power was restored at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 18, 2012.