KIUC Restores Power for Some Members While Damage Assessments Begin

LĪHUʻE, KAUAʻI — Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative was able to restore 466 members in ‘Ele‘ele and Hanapēpē today, while damage assessment crews conducted an initial sweep of transmission line inspections with the assistance of drone technology.

“We were pleased that some restoration could be made today, but unfortunately the majority of our members remain without power,” said KIUC’s Chief of Operations, Brad Rockwell. Approximately 90% of KIUC members experienced an outage at some point during the storm.

Prioritizing Repairs

Today’s inspections focused on transmission lines, which are the backbone of Kaua‘i’s grid and must be repaired prior to attempting to restore individual distribution circuits. Inspection of all of KIUC’s transmission lines was completed today using helicopter surveillance, drone examination, and on-the-ground inspection. 

“Our efforts the next two days will focus on completing these transmission system repairs,” Rockwell said. “If all goes well, we can complete that work and shift to repairing distribution circuits by the end of this week, if not earlier.”

Restoration Plan

Recognizing the need to restore power to critical infrastructure as quickly as possible, KIUC will prioritize these facilities and high density population areas for initial distribution-level restoration efforts.

Additional Resources

Prior to the onset of Hurricane Lowell, KIUC brought additional contract tree trimming crews and utility inspection personnel to Kaua‘i. KIUC has executed an agreement with the Western Region Mutual Assistance Agreement, and is in discussions to mobilize supplemental crews and equipment from Hawaiian Electric Company to arrive on island soon.

Other Storm Impacts

Based on preliminary inspections, it appears that distribution lines and associated equipment took the biggest hit from Hurricane Lowell, according to Rockwell. Transmission lines and substations were also damaged. There appears to have been no significant damage to KIUC-owned generation units. Information regarding non-KIUC-owned generation facilities is still being gathered.

KIUC’s President and Chief Executive Officer, David Bissell, stressed that KIUC is placing all available resources toward restoring members as quickly as possible. “We know our members want to know when their power will be restored. However, this is a significant island-wide restoration effort, and we ask for our members’ patience as our crews work restore power” Bissell said.

KIUC will provide daily updates on progress and will share restoration plans and progress on a regular basis.

Updates will be provided through KIUC’s website, social media channels and local news media as additional information becomes available.

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