Kohala Information Update for January 9th, 2020

A downed utility pole and line results in a widespread outage throughout the North Kohala district Thursday morning (January 9th).

The Hawaiian Electric Light Company (HECO, formerly known as HELCO) reported downed utility pole and electric line near the intersection of Kynnersley Road and Hawi Road (Highway 250) was the cause for a widespread outage that occurred throughout the North Kohala district Thursday morning (January 9th).

The initial report came in at 5:45 am Thursday morning and HECO troubleshooter responded to the scene and immediately began making repairs to the downed utility pole and electric line.

Due to the outage, the Department of Education (DOE) reported that Kohala Elementary, Middle, and High Schools were closed for the day as a result of the outage. Also, some businesses in the Hawi and Kapa'au area had also remained closed Thursday morning until power was restored.

The outage affected an estimated 2,096 customers and power was restored to the majority of the customers in the North Kohala district at 8:00 am Thursday morning and all remaining customers were restored at 11:30 am.

HECO officials did not disclose the cause of the downed utility pole and electric lines, however, did note there were strong winds and gust in the area at the time of the incident.