Kaua'i Island Utility Cooperative officials yesterday continued to investigate the cause of an 80-minute power outage Monday morning that led to traffic jams and service delays in Kapa'a and the North Shore, the Garden Island newspaper reported.

While one of two transmission lines providing power to Kapa'a and the North Shore was down for planned maintenance work, the second line experienced a fault, resulting in the 80-minute power loss, said Shelley Paik, KIUC spokeswoman.

"In order to restore power, the planned maintenance work was cut short and the first line was put back in service," she said in an e-mail.

KIUC crews continued to investigate the cause of the fault on the second line.