The count did not move. The diagnosis did.
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Wednesday: Kauai Island Utility Cooperative says distribution lines and associated equipment took the “biggest hit” from Lowell. Transmission lines and substations were damaged too. No significant damage to KIUC-owned generation. About 33,000 of roughly 36,000 members still dark — the paper’s phrasing is over 70,000 people. 466 restored Tuesday in Eleele and Hanapepe. There is no timeline for the rest.
That is the same outage we filed this morning. The new sentence is the grid layer. Brad Rockwell, chief of operations: inspections of the transmission backbone — helicopters, drones, crews — are done. “Our efforts the next two days will focus on completing these transmission system repairs.” If that holds, crews shift to distribution circuits by the end of this week, if not earlier. Critical infrastructure first, then dense neighborhoods. David Bissell, CEO: all available resources, patience, islandwide job.
House Speaker Nadine Nakamura, Kapaa: downed transmission lines from the car, refrigerators full, spoilage math. After Iniki, her district waited 45 days for electricity. She is telling people to give crews time, not to expect Tuesday’s 466 to become Thursday’s island. Rep. Jill Tokuda: first real test since 1992, peak 92% of KIUC members hit, lean on Hawaiian Electric and co-ops nationwide. KIUC says it has an accord under the Western Region Mutual Assistance Agreement and is talking with HECO about extra crews “arrive on island soon.”
On Oahu, HECO restored about 13,100 of roughly 21,000 who lost power, with most remaining outages on the Leeward and Windward coasts as of Tuesday afternoon. That is the other island. Do not mix the two.
What this means for you
If you are on Kauai, stay off downed lines. Assume they are live. Call (808) 246-4300 to keep your contact current. Fill out damage assessments. If you needed a clock, Rockwell gave you a sequence, not a Friday promise: transmission these two days, then laterals. If you are on the mainland, “90% dark” is still the island, not a caption you can retire because Lowell is 460 miles out.
Bottom line: the plants mostly stood. The poles did not. 33,000 still dark. Two days of backbone work before the neighborhood wires.
GLHR NEWS explains the news. Not investment, tax, or trading advice. Do your own work before you act.
