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Oil leak suspected
in blaze at Hilo
power plant

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By Rod Thompson
Big Island correspondent

A ruptured hose that leaked lubrication oil is suspected as the major cause of a fire yesterday morning that shut down the operations at a provider of power to Big Island residents.

No one was hurt at the Hilo Coast Processing power plant, and there was no interruption in the power transmitted by the Hawaii Electric Light Co.

"We're grateful that there was no injury to workers, and that the fire department was able to quickly contain the blaze," Hilo Coast President Richard Hill said.

Fire officials estimated the blaze did more than $500,000 in damage to the $15 million plant.

Hill said the company is moving forward as quickly as possible so that it may resume operations.

Hilo Coast officials said they were still assessing the dollar amount of damage.

"We don't know yet how long it will be down," said Marc Tilker, senior vice president and chief financial officer of BEI LLC, the business that owns Hilo Coast Power.

Hilo Coast has the capacity to generate 22 megawatts of electricity or 13.3 percent of the 165 megawatts provided during peak hours on the Big Island.

Hawaii Electric Light official Jay Ignacio said Hilo Coast's power shutdown will not cause power interruptions, although it will significantly reduce power reserves.

Ignacio said Hawaii Electric may have to use backup power units that aren't as efficient in producing electricity as Hilo Coast, which burns coal to produce power.

The blaze was under control an hour and 55 minutes after firefighters received the alarm at 5:04 a.m. yesterday and was extinguished at 8:01 a.m., fire Capt. Curtis Matsui said.

As firefighters arrived, the flames were visible on the upper floors of the power plant and the smoke from the plant was heavy, Matsui said.

Firefighters initially used foam to put out the blaze, then water to cool the plant.