More than 1,900 Hawaiian Electric customers across West Oahu lost power late Saturday night, with roughly 990 still without power in an update just before 10 p.m. Saturday as crews worked to finish repairs. The outage, which began around 8:20 p.m., hit Makaha, Nanakuli, Wahiawa, Waialua and Waianae — a wide swath of the Leeward and North Shore communities that have endured a rough stretch of grid trouble in recent weeks.
Hawaiian Electric crews had restored power to about 920 customers just before 10 p.m. Saturday, according to Hawaii News Now, which reported crews continued repairs in a Saturday-night update. The utility said the outage was not related to a Public Safety Power Shutoff, though the underlying cause had not been determined as of publication. Hawaii News Now said it had reached out to Hawaiian Electric for more detail on what triggered the blackout and was awaiting a response.
Other Outages And Reliability Concerns
More than 4,700 residents on Kauaʻi were affected by an outage. Separately, traffic lights were reported out on Oʻahu. The PUC's Oahu hybrid public hearing was held October 2 at its Honolulu office; October 8 was the community-television broadcast date.
The timing has sharpened frustration in a region that was already pushing back on Hawaiian Electric before this weekend's blackout. Residents at the Kapolei meeting raised concerns about both the frequency of outages and the cost of power, coming as the utility is seeking Public Utilities Commission approval for a $170 million consolidated revenue increase over two years.
The proposed $170 million increase remains a request before regulators, not an approved bill hike. In its notice for docket 2026-0162, the Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission says Hawaiian Electric’s companies seek about $170 million more in combined annual revenue—5.3% above current effective rates—and scheduled public hearings on the proposal. The commission will decide whether to approve an increase and at what level.
Hawaiian Electric has planned pole replacements along Farrington Highway. The utility said Saturday's outage was not related to its Public Safety Power Shutoff program.
The utility’s Public Safety Power Shutoff program is a preventive measure, not a general label for an unexpected blackout. Hawaiian Electric says it may proactively cut power in identified wildfire-risk areas after weighing conditions such as persistent drought, forecast winds of at least 45 mph, humidity below 45% and field observations. The company describes a shutoff as a last resort and says a weather warning alone does not automatically trigger one, as explained in its PSPS criteria.
A Grid Already Strained By Storms
Saturday's outage comes amid strain on Oahu's power grid. Hurricane Lala cut power to 190,418 Hawaiian Electric customers on Oʻahu, and Hawaiian Electric requested mutual-assistance crews.
Hurricane Lala caused outages on a far larger scale: 190,418 Hawaiian Electric customers on Oʻahu lost power during the storm. The utility also called for mainland assistance, with Southern California Edison workers joining restoration efforts through the Western Region Mutual Assistance Group. The storm’s widespread damage and outside support underscore how different a major weather-driven restoration can be from Saturday’s outage, whose cause remained undetermined.
Statewide in 2025, Hawaiian Electric replaced 1,650 utility poles, upgraded another 850, and trimmed vegetation along 2,334 miles of circuits. By March 2026, it had also installed 101 weather stations and 144 AI-assisted fire-detection cameras as part of its broader grid-hardening push.
