8 p.m. update: Hawaiian Electric crews working through the night

8 p.m. update: Hawaiian Electric crews working through the night

All customers without power should prepare for extended outages

- Approximately 178,400 customers are without power as of 7 p.m.
- Oahu customers asked to conserve electricity overnight into tomorrow
- Initial restoration work is focused on damage inspections and transmission lines
- Help from mainland electric utilities anticipated to arrive Tuesday

Release Date: 8/16/2026

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HONOLULU, Aug. 16, 2026 - Hawaiian Electric crews are working through the night on Hawaii Island, Oahu and Maui County as they continue damage assessments and focus on repairs that can be done safely in severe weather conditions. While crews are working to restore as many customers this evening, Maui and Oahu customers currently without power are being asked to prepare for possible overnight outages. Customers on Hawaii Island are being asked to prepare for extended outages in the hardest hit rural areas of the island.

As of 7 p.m., about 178,400 customers are without power:

• Hawaii Island: About 44,900 customers remain without power, mostly in Puna, North Kona and South Kohala. Crews repaired three major transmission lines and teams were deployed to Puna and Kona Mauka for damage assessments. Vegetation management crews are trimming and removing trees and branches that fell on transmission lines. Additionally, teams of engineers are flying out to Hawaii Island from Oahu tomorrow to support restoration efforts. As restoration work continues, customers in heavily damaged rural areas are asked to prepare for extended outages.
• Maui County: Approximately 7,000 remain without power in areas of Kula, Haiku, Olinda and Piiholo area impacted by large downed trees and debris. A few remaining spot outages remain on West Maui, Central and South Maui. Crews made significant progress through the day after damage assessments were completed and repairs made to transmission lines that enabled the restoration of a majority of impacted West and South Maui customers.
• Oahu: About 126,500 remain without electricity, majority in parts of Leeward Oahu and Honolulu as well as Windward Oahu. Customers, from Salt Lake to East Oahu, are urged to continue practicing energy conservation overnight into tomorrow. Energy conservation by the public can help ensure sufficient power is available to meet demand. Suggested steps include turning off or lessening use of air conditioners, delaying hot showers, laundry, dishwashing activities, and minimizing cooking until later in the evening.

Outage numbers represent a snapshot in time and change often as additional customers are restored and more outages occur, sometimes in the same area.

Aerial inspections by helicopter and drones have helped to expedite damage assessments in remote areas, including in rugged and remote terrain not accessible by foot. While crews are working diligently to complete the inspections and repair damaged infrastructure, Tropical Storm Lala has left flooding, uprooted trees and unstable ground in some areas that have limited access and slowed restorations.

Several main transmission lines have been impacted by the storm on Hawaii Island, Maui and Oahu. Transmission lines are the backbone of our power grid, connecting power plants and other generation sources to our communities, and must be repaired first. Some of these transmission lines cross remote terrain and mountainous areas and can span miles, making repairs challenging and lengthy.

Hawaiian Electric, which is part of the Western Region Mutual Assistance Group, has requested personnel from partner electric utilities from the mainland to help expedite post-storm restoration. Roughly 100 crew members are anticipated to arrive as early as Tuesday and will begin work on Wednesday.

Customers can call our Trouble Lines to report any downed power lines, which should always be treated as energized and dangerous, or for emergency assistance call 911.

• Hawaii Island: 1-855-304-9191
• Maui County: 1-855-304-8181
• Oahu: 1-855-304-1212

As we are experiencing a high volume at our customer call center, information about current outages is available at the Hawaiian Electric website and mobile app (available on Apple App and Google Play stores) or on its social media accounts.