HECO ends power shutoff watch as fire risk conditions ease

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaiian Electric has ended its Public Safety Power Shutoff watch as hazardous weather conditions across the state continue to ease.

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The utility announced the end of the watch at 9 a.m. Sunday, saying wind speeds have been decreasing and humidity levels have risen out of hazardous ranges across its service territories.

Hawaiian Electric said it did not need to shut off power to any customers under its PSPS program. Any outages that occurred during the watch were unrelated to the program.

On Friday, HECO said it was in a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) watch, meaning the company could shut off power if weather conditions intensified within 24 to 48 hours.

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Areas of concern had included:

The utility said three criteria are considered when determining a shutoff: persistent drought conditions, wind gusts of 45 mph or higher, and relative humidity below 45%.

“A watch doesn’t mean we will shut off power, only that we are monitoring it closely in areas at the highest risk for wildfires,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president and chief operations officer. “While we hope shutting off power won’t be necessary, we have to take this threat seriously and we urge our customers to be prepared and stay informed.

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