barryv —

By Hawaiian Electric:

Crews to upgrade power equipment in Pearl City area

Work requires power outage, brief road closures Wednesday

Hawaiian Electric reminds Pacific Palisades customers to prepare for an extended outage Wednesday, June 20, while crews install new distribution equipment. The work is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and the outage will affect about 2,000 customers from 8:30 a.m. to at least 4:30 p.m.

Crews will replace a riser utility pole that supports the circuit feeding the Palisades neighborhood, as well as five other poles. Five of the six poles date to 1962 when the neighborhood was first developed. Replacing the riser pole requires a crane and both overhead and underground work. A helicopter will also be used for pole replacements.

The equipment upgrades will improve grid resilience and service reliability for the Palisades area.

Letters were sent to affected customers, and updates will be provided during the workday via Hawaiian Electric’s social media channels.

There will be brief intermittent traffic stoppages on upper Waimano Home Road and Komo Mai Drive during the helicopter overflights.

Helicopter flights over Waimano Home Road are scheduled from 8:30 to 2:30 p.m.

Flights over the Komo Mai Drive hairpin turn area will take place from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and also from 1 to 2 p.m.

The crane used to set the riser pole will be parked on ‘Aumakua Street near the intersection with ‘?‘?manu Street, requiring the closure of one lane of traffic in that area.

Upgrades will also be made to utility pole-mounted equipment on ‘?mo‘omo‘o Street, ‘?po‘epo‘e Street and Waimano Home Road. Parking will be restricted in the work areas.

Signs will be placed in the work areas a day in advance to notify residents. Traffic signs, control measures, flagmen, and special-duty police officers will help direct traffic.

To prepare for the extended outage, customers can refer to Hawaiian Electric’s Handbook for Emergency preparedness for food safety tips: www.hawaiianelectric.com/prepare

Here are some basic tips for food handling:

Freeze ice packs and large blocks of ice (in rinsed milk cartons or similar containers) before the power goes out.

Dry ice can help keep perishable items cold during a power outage, but be sure to read instructions on safely handling dry ice. Remember to remove dry ice from the freezer once the power is restored.

Consider transferring food to a freezer that is still powered (such as a friend’s or family member’s freezer).