(BIVN) – Reinforcements have arrived in the ongoing effort to restore power to areas on Hawaiʻi island that have been in the dark since Hurricane Lala impacted the state.
Hawaiian Electric reports lineworkers, engineering and other support teams from Maui and Oʻahu are now on the island, boosting restoration efforts and helping to speed-up recovery. “Three newly arrived Oʻahu crews are working in the Kona area today,” the company says. “Seven additional Oʻahu crew members will arrive tomorrow in Hilo.” 50 utility workers from Southern California Edison (SCE) are already working in the Puna and Waimea areas.
Additional SCE equipment arrived in Hilo via military air transport from March Air Reserve Base, including two bucket trucks, a companion crew truck and a cable reel trailer. SCE has been providing supplemental support to Hawaiian Electric employees and contractors on the Big Island through a partnership with the Western Region Mutual Assistance Group, the utility says.
Despite the reinforcements, Hawaiian Electric says weather impacts from Tropical Storm Moke has slowed repair efforts. As of 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, about 6,390 Hawaiʻi Island customers remain without power.
Here is the latest estimated restoration table for Hawaiʻi island:
“In any other place, bringing in utility equipment just means driving it from a neighboring state. In Hawaiʻi, it took the leadership of Gov. Josh Green and the collaboration of multiple agencies to make it happen to accelerate the recovery of Hawaiʻi Island communities and to be ready for more storms in the coming weeks,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president and chief operations officer.
