(BIVN) – The effort to restore power to Hawaiʻi island following Hurricane Lala continued into the night on Tuesday.
In an evening news release, Hawaiian Electric reported 33,600 customers remain without power, statewide. Most of those customers are on Hawaiʻi island.
“The company expects 95% of all impacted customers to be restored across the state by Friday, except for certain remote and severely damaged areas of South Hawai‘i Island,” Hawaiian Electric stated. “Areas of Puna, North and South Kohala and the southern part Ka‘ū, Nā‘ālehu, Punalu‘u and Kīlauea which could take at least two weeks.”
On Tuesday, Hawaiian Electric released new maps showing the estimated times of restoration for the various districts on Hawai‘i Island.
As the map shows, the districts of Puna, North Kohala, and North Kona are estimated to be 95% restored by the end of Sunday, August 23rd. Kaʻū is estimated to be 95% restored by the end of Tuesday, September 8th.
The utility said that as of 7 p.m., approximately 24,000 customers on Hawaiʻi island remain without power. From Hawaiian Electric:
Most of the outages are in the Puna area, North and South Kona, North and South Kohala, Hamakua, North and South Hilo, and Ka‘u. Damage assessments were completed in accessible areas of Puna and Hamakua. More than half of the transmission lines damaged by the storm have been repaired. Hamakua Energy, the island’s largest independent power producer, was reconnected to the grid. Employees from SoCal Edison began arriving in Hilo to assist with restoration efforts through Hawaiian Electric’s membership in the Western Region Mutual Assistance Group.
