PUNA, Hawaii – The Hawai‘i Electric Light Company is announcing that crews have completed repairs to all major damage caused by the recent high winds that swept over Hawaii Island. Downed trees knocked thousands off-line when a storm system passed over the islands last Friday and Saturday. It took the utility days to restore power for all customers, especially those living in hard hit Puna and North Kohala.

HELCO says late yesterday evening, power was restored to the final 40 customers left in the dark by the wind event. That includes customers who live in portions of Nānāwale, Leilani Estates, and a few other pockets in the Puna area.

“We would like to thank the community for their patience and understanding as we worked to safely restore electric service as quickly as possible,” said Kristen Okinaka, Hawai‘i Electric Light spokesperson, in a media release.

“Partnerships are critical for restoring essential services after a storm,” Okinaka said. “We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our employees, partners at the County of Hawai‘i Civil Defense, Department of Public Works, Police Department, Fire Department, other utilities, and contracted tree trimming and construction crews for their tremendous support and dedication to restore electric service to our community.”

Hawai‘i Electric Light advises the community to be cautious of trees that could be weakened by the high winds. Weakened trees or their branches can fall after a storm has passed, and this could cause new power interruptions.

Please call 969-6666 to report an outage, downed power line, or damaged utility equipment.HELCO media release on Feb 18, 2015