Thousands Still Without Power Days After Kona Low Hits Big Island

Four days after a Kona Low knocked out power to more than 120,000 customers statewide, thousands of Hawaiʻi Island residents were still waiting for their lights to come back on as Hawaiian Electric crews raced to clear debris-choked lines and complete repairs across the archipelago.

About 7,000 customers on Hawaii Island, roughly 3% of HECO's customer base on the island, remained without power as of Sunday, March 17. Statewide, the scale of the storm's damage was staggering: HECO's outage map showed approximately 111,366 customers affected at 3:30 p.m. Friday, climbing to 121,020 statewide by 4 p.m. and spiking again to roughly 122,341 by 8 p.m. that same evening.

Oahu bore the heaviest initial hit. As of 5 p.m. Friday, 67,767 HECO customers on Oahu were without power. Crews scored a significant breakthrough at 8:30 p.m. when they restored a major transmission line, bringing electricity back to 29,000 customers on the island. That same repair effort cleared the way for the H-3 Freeway to reopen in both directions shortly after 6 p.m., after workers completed fixes to a transmission line that crosses directly over the highway.

By Sunday morning, 26,000 customers remained without power across Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii Island combined, according to HECO. Speaking to HawaiiNewsNow that morning, HECO spokesman Darren Pai said "restoration efforts are continuing across the state as approximately 300 crew members and contractors assess storm damage and work to restore service."

The recovery has been complicated by conditions that keep creating new problems as fast as crews can fix old ones. The Kona storm continued to cause recurring outages, knocking down trees in rain-drenched areas and blowing vegetation and other debris into power lines. HECO said many areas required toppled trees, branches, and debris to be cleared before damage assessments and repairs could even begin, extending timelines in neighborhoods where multiple downed trees blocked access to damaged infrastructure.

HECO issued a specific warning to customers in Hawaii Kai and portions of East Honolulu to prepare for extended outages lasting overnight or longer, underscoring that restoration in the hardest-hit areas would not be quick.

West Hawaii Today reported Monday that Hawaiʻi County residents were among the principal actors navigating the post-storm recovery, with local residents quoted alongside HECO advisories in coverage of conditions on the Big Island. With storm-driven debris continuing to complicate repair work, residents across the island were urged to plan for prolonged outages rather than expect a swift return to normal.