UPDATE: Maui Electric Company Crews Continue to Restore Power

Olinda Road between Seabury Hall and Oskie Rice Arena at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 3. Courtesy Jim Lordan.

By Maui Now Staff

UPDATE: Maui Electric crews expect to bring full restoration to all customers in parts of Upcountry Maui, Pā‘ia and Ha‘ikū later this evening. Approximately 350 remaining customers in Pi‘iholo and Olinda, and Keanae to Nahiku can expect an extended outage as restoration efforts will resume at 6 a.m. tomorrow when working and lighting conditions in these remote areas are safer for response crews to repair and replace damaged electrical equipment.

As of 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 3, Maui Electric Company crews have restored power to all customers on Moloka‘i and a majority of customers in Kahului and Wailuku.

Crews continue to work on restoring power to a approximately 4,888 customers remaining without power in pockets of Central Maui, Upcountry, Pā‘ia, Ha‘ikū and East Maui after high storm winds cut power to customers throughout Maui County late last night.

Customers in parts of Olinda and Ha‘ikū can also potentially expect an extended outage as crews continue to work their way to remote areas with downed lines or blocked roadways due to downed trees and debris. In East Maui, Hāna town is currently being powered by two generating units in Hāna.

“We understand this can be extremely difficult for customers experiencing extended outages and we sincerely apologize and thank you for your patience as we work to restore power,” said Sharon Suzuki, president of Maui Electric. “In some of our most remote areas, helicopter were deployed to inspect and assess electrical lines and other Maui Electric teams are currently out conducting field assessments to get service back up as safely and quickly as possible.”

Report any outages, and/or downed power lines and poles on Maui by calling 871-7777. Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i customers should call (877) 871-8461.

For customers who may experience an extended outage,
Maui Electric offers the following food safety tips:

1. During a power outage, a fully-stocked free-standing freezer will keep most of your foods frozen for up to seventy-two hours — if you don’t open the door! Don’t peek inside to see if the food is still frozen… each time you open the door, cold air gets out.
2. The freezer section of a refrigerator-freezer will keep most of your foods frozen ten to twenty-four hours. Try not to open the freezer door during an outage as you’ll let the cold air escape.
3. If power restoration is taking longer than anticipated, put some dry ice in the freezer. Always use gloves or tongs when handling it. Dry ice can be placed directly on top of your foods. Remember, dry ice cools foods below it.
4. After the power is restored, you can refreeze most your food items that still have ice crystals remaining, but try to consume these foods as soon as possible.
5. After the power has been restored check your foods and immediately cook foods that have thawed out, but are still cold. Dispose of any food that has an off color or odd odor, or perishable foods that have warmed to room temperature for an unknown length of time.
6. Here are some guidelines for food safety — butter, margarine, and hard cheeses are safe unless mold or rancid odors develop. Fresh fruits and vegetables are safe as long as they aren’t mushy or slimy. Eggs will be safe for several days if the shells have no cracks. Fresh meat, poultry, luncheon meats or hot-dogs should be discarded if allowed to warm to room temperature for more than two hours. Milk and cream probably will sour after eight hours without refrigeration. Vinegar and oil salad dressings, jellies, jams, mustard, pickles, and olives may be safely kept unrefrigerated unless they have been contaminated by poultry or meat juices.

When in doubt, throw it out!