UPDATE: Outage Affects 32,000 on Maui, Power Restored

Power Outage Kahului. Photo by Wendy Osher.

UPDATE: 7:10 p.m. 12/18/15

Maui Electric Company officials say a problem at two substations in Waiʻinu and Kahului resulted in an automatic shutdown of electrical service at around 3:20 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015.

The shutdown, or load shedding was done to avoid a more widespread outage or damage to the electric system.

As a result, company officials say approximately 32,000 customers lost power in parts of Lahaina, Kahului, Wailuku to Kahakuloa, Pāʻia, Haʻikū and Kula.

Power was restored to the majority of affected customers shortly before 4 p.m. with remaining customers being brought back online at 4:56 p.m. The initial cause of the outage remains under investigation.

Fire units also responded to four cases of victims trapped in elevators when the outage occurred between 3:29 and 3:45 p.m.

The Department of Water Supply is also asking all consumers to conserve water and to avoid any unnecessary water use until tomorrow morning, when power supply is completely restored.

Maui Electric apologized for the inconvenience caused by this situation and thanked customers for their patience and understanding. Any customers who are still without power should call Maui Electric’s Trouble Line at (808) 871-7777.

UPDATE: 4:08 p.m. 12/18/15

At approximately 3:20 p.m., Maui Electric experienced a problem on the transmission and distribution system that resulted in an automatic load shed of electrical service in order to protect and prevent further damage to the system.

As a result, power was affected in areas of Lahaina, Kahului, Wailuku to Kahakuloa, Paia, Haiku and Kula.

At this time, power has been restored to all areas with the exception of parts of Kahului and Wailuku to Kahakuloa.

Maui firefighters responded to several calls of individuals stuck in elevators following the power outage. Crews responded to the main elevator at the mall and the elevator at a doctor’s office located at the west end of the Kaʻahumanu Center. Photo 12/18/15, by Wendy Osher.

An update will be provided as soon as more information becomes available

Police say there are traffic light outages reported in Kahului, Wailuku, Pukalani, Mokulele, Kīhei and Lahaina.  Motorists are advised to drive with caution.

Authorities at the Kahului Airport say they are working on backup generator power and no flights have been affected.

The Department of Water Supply is also asking all consumers to conserve water and to avoid any unnecessary water use until tomorrow morning, when power supply is completely restored.

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FYI: POWER OUTAGE 3:18 p.m. 12/18/15,

Power outage reported in parts of Central Maui including Kahului. We have reports of several traffic lights out along Hāna Highway. Crews are working to determine the cause and restore power as quickly and as safely as possible.