Lawmakers will try to get answers about what caused last month's islandwide power failure and quiz utility officials on how a similar blackout can be prevented at a Jan. 14 hearing.

State Sen. Mike Gabbard, chairman of the Committee on Energy and the Environment, said the meeting is not "about pointing fingers," but is meant to get information on what went wrong Dec. 26 when all of O'ahu lost power for hours.

"We just basically want to see the causes ... and some solutions," said Gabbard yesterday. He added that he has gotten calls from dozens of businesses and residents who lost thousands of dollars in electronics and food during the power failure.

"They want some answers," Gabbard said.

The hearing is the first gathering lawmakers are planning on the power failure, the second islandwide blackout in two years. The meeting will also touch on the reliability of the power grids on the Neighbor Islands.

HECO officials will make a presentation at the hearing. The state Public Utilities Commission and the state Division of Consumer Advocacy will also make presentations. Following the presentations, lawmakers and the public will get to sound off and ask officials questions about what went wrong.

Hawaiian Electric Co. is still investigating what caused the power failure, which started about 6 p.m. on the day after Christmas and left almost all of the 295,000 residential customers on O'ahu in the dark. A HECO spokesman has said a preliminary report on the failure could be released as early as this week.

HECO is concentrating its investigation on lightning strikes to four transmission lines, which may have triggered an automatic shutdown of the utility's three major power plants. Transmission lines are the backbone of the electrical system, carrying the heaviest loads of power to subtransmission lines, then to substations, which deliver power to homes and businesses.

The power was out on Dec. 26 for more than 12 hours in most places and upwards of 24 hours in some. The failure triggered a water shortage, left people stuck in elevators and forced malls to close on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. It also forced thousands to empty out their refrigerators of perishables.

Win Schoneman, owner of the Bubbies Ice Cream store in Koko Marina Shopping Center, lost about $4,000 in ice cream because of the power failure.

He also had to get his refrigerator and freezer serviced, and estimates lost business from the power failure at about $1,700.

"It has been very expensive," said Schoneman, who attended a news conference yesterday announcing the briefing with lawmakers. Other business owners and representatives also were there.

Schoneman said something needs to be done to prevent power failures that leave thousands without power for hours at a time. His store also lost about $4,000 in product after the islandwide blackout following the October 2006 earthquakes.

"I don't feel confident about the reliability of our system," he said, adding he's concerned about how frequently the power goes out. "This all comes out of my bottom line. I feel I should be compensated for my losses."