HECO denies
$727,000 in claimsThe losses resulted from power
failures in a January storm
Hawaiian Electric Co. will not pay claims made by customers for some $727,000 in losses related to power failures Jan. 14-15 because they were outside the company's control, HECO announced yesterday.
"An extensive investigation has determined that the outages were storm-related and not within the company's control," a HECO statement said.
A total of 70,000 HECO customers islandwide were without power at some point during the storm, which had wind gusts of up to 85 mph.
About 11,000 customers in Hawaii Kai and Kuliouou went without power for between 20 and 25 hours.
In Central Oahu, wind knocked down 18 utility poles on Kamehameha Highway near the Helemano Plantation on Jan. 14. It did not cause a major power failure, but did block access to Haleiwa for hours while the poles were removed.
A total of 438 claims were filed, HECO said yesterday. The company said all claimants will get letters explaining the outages.
Lester Muraoka, vice chairman of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board, said his house on Mariner's Ridge was without power for about 24 hours.
"We could see the whole area shut down, and we were concerned," he said. Though his family did not suffer financial losses, he imagines that some businesses that rely on refrigeration did.
"We regret that many customers experienced inconvenience or hardship during the outages," said Chuck Freedman, HECO vice president of corporate relations. "This storm created the worst weather conditions we have seen on Oahu since Hurricane Iniki."
High winds in the Koolau Mountains blew down one of two 46-kilovolt supply lines serving Hawaii Kai about 4:16 a.m. Jan. 14 and then knocked the second line offline about 6:25 p.m., HECO's investigation revealed. Attempts to re-engage the second line were unsuccessful, and the wind made it unsafe to conduct repairs on the downed line until the following day, the company said.
In the wake of the storm, HECO said it will review and complete a number of improvements.