Hawaiian Electric restores power to thousands in Puna after outages
Thousands in lower Puna got power back after an outage sent about 150 vehicles to a Pāhoa relief site for ice, water and food.
Power returned to thousands of customers in Nanawale Estates, Leilani Estates, Kalapana, Ainaloa and Pahoa Town after repairs were completed safely and service was fully restored by May 1. The outage forced Hawaii County to arrange ice, water and food distribution for lower Puna residents at the Billy Kenoi Sports Complex in Pāhoa, where about 150 vehicles lined up for help.
The outage landed in a part of Hawaii Island that has been hit hard again and again. During the March 2026 Kona low, Hawaiian Electric said high winds toppled trees that damaged or broke up to 50 poles and downed multiple spans of power lines, leaving thousands without service across the island, with most outages concentrated in Puna. One report put the number of Hawaiian Electric customers still without electricity at about 8,000 on Monday afternoon, while another showed 571 outages and 3,049 customers still dark by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
For households and small businesses, those numbers carried immediate consequences far beyond a darkened room. In lower Puna, outages quickly become a food problem, a work problem and a school problem, which is why the county’s ice, water and food distribution drew such a heavy response in Pāhoa. The same kind of outage also disrupts refrigeration, internet access, phone charging and the power needed for medical devices, making restoration timing as important as the repair itself.
Hawaiian Electric says its outage-map customer counts and estimated restoration times are approximate and can shift as crews get a clearer picture of the damage. The utility also tells customers to report outages so crews can identify exact trouble spots, a reminder that multiple breaks on the same feeder can slow down estimates and delay repairs. Hawaiian Electric serves 95 percent of Hawaii’s 1.4 million residents and has operated since 1891, making its storm response a critical part of island life.
The recurring trouble in Puna raises a larger question about grid vulnerability in lower Puna, where similar outages hit Nanawale, Leilani, Ainaloa and nearby subdivisions in 2021 and again during later storm events. Hawaiian Electric’s answer so far has been the same pattern of updates, damage assessment and safe repair work. For families and businesses that have watched the lights go out before, the real test will be whether the next storm leaves Puna less exposed than the last.
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