Posted on: Friday, November 8, 2002

Big Island may face rolling blackouts

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — Hawai'i Electric Light Co. is warning of possible rolling blackouts tonight and over the weekend while repairs are conducted at Hamakua Energy Partners' Haina plant.

Last night's planned shutdown of one of the plant's generating units reduced by half Hamakua's output of 60 megawatts — about 20 percent of the island's power grid.

HELCO requires a maximum 162 megawatts daily during the peak demand between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Even after asking larger users such as West Hawai'i hotels to conserve, HELCO may not be able to keep the system up, said distribution manager Jay Ignacio.

He said the repair work on the steam unit at the Haina plant is overdue and had been delayed while other power plants were completing annual maintenance work. The unit is expected to be back in service Tuesday.

If rolling blackouts are ordered, Ignacio said, radio announcements will be issued in advance, identifying affected areas. HELCO's 65,000 customers could lose power for 45 minutes or more at a time.

HELCO also has been hurt by the loss of 30 megawatts normally supplied by Puna Geothermal Venture, which has suffered well failures. The company should be providing 5 megawatts starting Sunday, when one of its wells is back in service. A second well is expected to come online in December, officials said.