This week, Hawaiian Electric is asking Hawaiʻi Island customers to conserve electricity between the hours of 5 to 9 pm.

The need to conserve power is prompted by the unavailability of the island’s largest independent power producer, Hamakua Energy Partners as well as the island’s low wind forecasts.

Hamakua Energy Partners, an independent power producer, normally supplies 60 megawatts of power, but is currently unavailable. It is not known when the units will be returned to service. In addition, Hawaiian Electric’s Hill Plant Unit No. 5 is undergoing annual scheduled maintenance. It normally supplies 14 megawatts of power.

Currently, Hawaiian Electric expects to have enough generating capacity available to meet the early evening peak demand. Energy conservation by the public can help ensure sufficient power is available to meet demand, which increases in the early evening. Suggested steps include turning off or reducing use of lights and air conditioners, delaying showers, laundry and dishwashing activities, and going out for dinner or minimizing cooking until later in the evening.

Hawaiian Electric is also taking these steps:

• Asking large commercial customers, including hotels and resorts, to voluntarily reduce energy use, especially heavy equipment and air conditioning;
• Accelerating repair and maintenance on its own units;
• Running units longer and on different schedules than usual to ensure sufficient generation is available
• Requesting maximum output available from Puna Geothermal Venture

By reducing demand, Hawaiian Electric can ensure enough electricity is available and prevent the need to initiate rolling, 30-minute outages.

If rolling outages are necessary, Hawaiian Electric will use social media to notify customers in advance.  Customers can also follow Hawaiian Electric on twitter @HIElectricLight for updates.