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Additional Hawaiian Electric crews arrive on Hawaii Island to aid repairs from Hurricane Lala

Equipment also arrives from California via mutual assistance

Release Date: 8/24/2026

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HONOLULU, Aug. 24, 2026 – Additional Hawaiian Electric employees arrived on Hawaii Island today, including lineworkers, engineering and other support teams from Maui and Oahu, to aid in restoration efforts and help speed recovery. Three newly arrived Oahu crews are working in the Kona area today. Seven additional Oahu crew members will arrive tomorrow in Hilo.

This is in addition to the 50 utility workers from Southern California Edison who are working in the Puna and Waimea areas. Today, additional SCE equipment arrived in Hilo by air shipment via military transport from March Air Reserve Base, including two bucket trucks, a companion crew truck and a cable reel trailer. Additional tools and equipment are anticipated to arrive later.

SCE has been providing supplemental support to our employees and contractors on Hawaii Island through Hawaiian Electric’s partnership in the Western Region Mutual Assistance Group. SCE personnel have been working under the direction of Hawaiian Electric’s Hawaii Island crews to support the restoration efforts in some of hardest hit areas that saw severe flash flooding and extreme winds during Hurricane Lala.

“In any other place, bringing in utility equipment just means driving it from a neighboring state. In Hawaii, it took the leadership of Gov. Josh Green and the collaboration of multiple agencies to make it happen to accelerate the recovery of Hawaii Island communities and to be ready for more storms in the coming weeks,” said Jim Alberts, Hawaiian Electric senior vice president and chief operations officer.

Weather impacts from Tropical Storm Moke has slowed repair efforts. As of 8:30 a.m., about 6,390 Hawaii Island customers remain without power. Crews are continuing restoration work in some of the hardest-hit areas, including additional parts of Kaloko Mauka, Holualoa, Mountain View, Glenwood, Ahualoa, Hawaiian Beaches, Paauilo Mauka, Kohala Mountain, Fern Forest, Hawaiian Shores, Tangerine Drive, Nanawale, Naalehu, Punaluu, Leilani Estates, Kalapana, Kapoho and Kau.

Estimated restoration times are based on the best information available at the time. Times may be adjusted due to access issues, additional damage, unsafe conditions, or need for specialized equipment. The list provided focuses on larger or more complex outage areas that are estimated to take longer to fully restore. The purpose of this list is to enable customers to make plans based on estimated restoration times. Keep in mind:

  • This list does not represent every community or pocket of customers currently without power on Hawaii Island – even if your area isn’t listed here, Hawaiian Electric is aware and is working on restoration.
  • Some locations that experienced little storm damage may still be without power because of damage to lines and facilities that provide electricity to their area. These may be hidden from view or located in distant areas.
Estimated Restoration Timeframe Area
Within 24 hours for most, extended outages for some
  • Lower Puna subdivisions
  • Kona (Keauhou, South Kona, Upper Road Kona)
  • Ocean View subdivision: While crews continue work in the area, some will remain without power as additional damage is being discovered during restoration efforts
  • Paauilo Mauka: About half have been restored. Customers who remain without power will be out at least through tomorrow with small pocket outages taking longer.
  • Kohala Mountain: About a third of customers are restored, Restoration efforts will continue through tomorrow, with small pockets possibly taking longer.
  • Royal Hawaiian Estates, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Forest, Volcano: Half of Volcano has been restored as work continues. Fern Forest and Royal Hawaiian remain out into tomorrow.
Beyond 48 hours, significant extended outage possible
  • Kaloko Mauka: Some customers have been restored, but remaining customers should prepare for a possible extended outage due to extensive pole repairs needed.
5 – 7 days
  • Orchid Isle Substation to Mountain View Post Office / Mountain View and Glenwood: Crews are onsite, but due to extreme damage, customers should prepare for extended outages.
  • Ahualoa: Crews are working but customers are asked to prepare for extended outages.
By Sept. 8 for full restoration; many sooner
  • Kau including Waiohinu, Naalehu, Punaluu, Pahala, and Wood Valley: Repair work on transmission lines to Pahala are near completion but further assessments underway on distribution lines. Debris must be cleared from Naalehu, Waiohinu, Punaluu and Wood Valley before distribution lines can be rebuilt.

Customers who are without power but see their neighbors have electricity restored should check their main circuit breaker before reporting the outage. Outages should be reported to Hawaiian Electric’s Trouble Lines:

Customers who experienced major flooding and have not had their power restored must ensure their main breaker is off and contact an electrician to confirm their system is safe to re-energize once power is restored. If you have photovoltaic panels and battery energy storage systems installed on your home or business, consult your licensed solar contractor regarding normal and emergency operation procedures for your system.

Customers are also responsible for maintaining trees and clearing access on their own properties so that Hawaiian Electric may access the property to make service line repairs. Damage to service lines caused by trees on customers’ property and damage to equipment in customers’ homes caused by downed trees are also the customer’s responsibility.

Keeping you informed

Hawaiian Electric will continue to provide updates as work progresses on Hawaii Island. Please check hawaiianelectric.com or the Hawaiian Electric mobile app for the latest outage information and estimated time of restoration.

Updates and more information are available on the following resources: