graphic by BIVN

• Power conservation efforts have thus far prevented the need for rolling outages on Hawai‘i Island, but Hawaiian Electric customers are still being asked to limit electricity use from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for the rest of this week.
• Honokaʻa People’s Theatre is one of the businesses that has made an adjustment in response to the call for evening energy conservation.

From the Hawaiian Electric company:

Conservation efforts by residential and business customers prevented the need for rolling outages on Hawai‘i Island Monday and Tuesday nights. Customers are asked to continue limiting electricity use from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for the rest of this week.

The evening peak demand is when electricity use is highest. Using less electricity from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. helps ensure enough power is available during those hours. Conservation methods include turning off air conditioners and unnecessary lighting, shutting off water heaters, and delaying activities like cooking, showering, laundry, and dishwashing.

The request for conservation is prompted by the unexpected shutdown of the island’s largest independent power producer, Hamakua Energy, due to the unavailability of ammonia used for pollution control. Hawaiian Electric’s Hill Plant Unit No. 5 and Puna Steam Plant also are unavailable due to planned annual maintenance and repairs. These three plants normally generate 89 megawatts for the Hawai‘i Island grid. In addition, wind resources are forecast to be lower than usual.

Conservation likely will be needed all week. If necessary, rolling 30-minute outages will be initiated to protect the electric system and prevent loss of power to an even greater number of customers. Hawaiian Electric will notify customers in advance through social media. Please check @HIElectricLight on Twitter for updates.

Some establishments are already making adjustments. For example, the Honokaʻa People’s Theatre is postponing the showing of movies through September 8. From the theatre:

Honokaʻa People’s Theatre management has been advised by our technical support that POSTPONING the showing of further movies until the island electrical grid is stabilized would be desirable. Therefore the movies of Wednesday, August 31, through Thursday, September 8, will be postponed. Should notification be given before Sept. 9 of stability to the electrical grid then the postponed movies will be rescheduled with notification. Management thanks you for your patience. And the show will go on.