Failed transmission line cuts power in 10 neighborhoods
By Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Thousands of people in 10 Honolulu communities lost electrical power yesterday when one of O'ahu's major transmission lines failed.
About 40,000 customers in Manoa, McCully, Kaimuki, Waikiki, Palolo, St. Louis Heights, Mo'ili'ili, Diamond Head, Kapahulu and parts of Kahala lost power at 7:42 a.m., said Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Peter Rosegg.
Service was restored to some of those customers by 8:42 a.m., with the rest restored by 9:13 a.m., Rosegg said.
The cause of the failure was not known yet.
The line that failed — a 138 kilovolt transmission line from Kane'ohe to Palolo Valley — is one of two that cross the Ko'olau Mountains, Rosegg said.
It belongs to a network of power that HECO sought to bolster with a third line until public pressure forced the company in 2002 to seek an alternative route underground.
Community and environmental groups spoke out against the $31 million project on Wa'ahila Ridge, saying it was not needed and would scar a historic, undeveloped area.
HECO crews have been working on structures above Palolo Valley since January. They had shut off power to one of the 138 kilovolt lines for the job, but when the failure occurred, the crews restored it to service.
Rosegg said an inspection team flew over the line but could not find an obvious source of the failure. Tests were being done on the line, he said.
"We will keep investigating until we come up with an answer," Rosegg said.
There is no indication that wind was a factor, but the power lines travel through remote places prone to heavy rain and gusty winds not always felt in more populated areas, Rosegg said.
"We will move to deal with it as quickly as we can," he said.
The National Weather Service was not reporting especially strong winds, with most breezes registering between 6 mph and 13 mph, said lead forecaster Robert Ballard.
"But we do know it has been locally gusty in places," he said. "There are places near the mountains that have gusted higher, but none of our observation posts are showing much."
Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012.
