West Oahu residents express frustration, even as Hawaiian Electric touts restoration efforts

News admin October 9, 2026 0 Comments

West Oahu residents express frustration, even as Hawaiian Electric touts restoration efforts

KAPOLEI (HawaiiNewsNow) – The state Public Utility Commission has begun a series of meetings around the state to look at Hawaiian Electric’s reliability during the recent Kona storms and hurricanes.

“We’ve been tested by three hurricanes in about six weeks, and with the strong El Nino season, we’re probably not done yet,” said Shari Ishikawa, Hawaiian Electric’s Vice President of Energy Delivery.

Ishikawa made the remark at the PUC’s second meeting, which was held Thursday night at Kapolei High School. She said the utility has been doing a good job in getting the lights back on for leeward coast residents during the recent hurricanes.

“Restoration for Hurricane Lowell, which affected mainly West Oahu — 95 percent of the customers were restored within 24 hours, and the remaining customers within 36 hours,” she said.

Even so, residents were critical of everyday power reliability.

“We have a power generating facility within approximately one mile of our community, yet proximity to a power plant does not guarantee reliable electricity at our homes,” Kumu Lani Alo-Chu of Nanakuli told the PUC.

“It is unfortunate, I know exactly where the power outages are coming from because of the microgrid that’s being impacted. I know kind of the idea of what’s happening, but I never have a clear and direct answer,” said state Rep. Darius Kila of Nanakuli.

The utility has also asked the PUC to approve a $170 million consolidated revenue increase over the next two years.

“Just with the power outages and all of that, I think inflation is going to be another tipping point in what is currently happening with the leeward coast,” Kapolei resident Leticia Hernandez told HNN.

Hawaiian Electric was not required to answer questions at the meeting, which the PUC said was primarily for public comments. Some said the meeting’s location — in Kapolei — felt out of touch.

“So why didn’t this meeting happen in Waianae?,” asked state Rep. Chris Muraoka (R-Waianae, Makaha). “I promise you, if this happened someplace in 96792, you get a hundred-fifty people in this building. A hundred-fifty more voices speak so much louder.”

The PUC’s next scheduled meetings are set for Hawaii Island. Further meetings are scheduled for other areas of Oahu, as well as Maui, Molokai and Lanai. A schedule of the meetings, as well as the process to submit testimony, is available here.