Legislators plan investigation over Oahu power outage

• http://starbulletin.com/2006/10/17/news/story01.html
• http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061017/NEWS01/610170343/1001

Oahu legislators are pounding the bully pulpit and threatening HECO with an investigation over Sunday’s power outage.

It’s an election year. Some legislators are afraid that voters will take out their anger at the polls next month.

B.J. Reyes’ article in the Star-Bulletin does a good job of presenting HECO’s concerns. I still maintain that HECO performed very well during the outage. Unlike electric utilities on the mainland, HECO cannot buy power from neighboring states, or ask crews to drive in from out of town to help restore services.

Frankly, it’s amazing that HECO was able to bring Oahu’s grid back to full power within 24 hours. Their disaster recovery plan (DRP) worked.

I really do believe that HECO did not play favorites in choosing which neighborhoods received power first.

Of course the hospitals, government, airports, telecom providers, sewage treatment plants and hotels received priority. They perform essential services.

I’m embarrassed that so many people know so little about electrical power generation and distribution. Electricity is a service, not a right. I did my MBA internship at an electric utility, where I wrote software that simulated that company’s generation and distribution capabilities. That experience left a lasting impression, and I make sure I turn off as many electrical devices as I can before I leave my home. I don’t need to run my computer or fan if no one’s home.

I hope that the residents and businesses who have blocked the construction of new power plants and alternative power sources, including windmills and solar, will rethink their selfish attitudes. Sunday’s outage shows that HECO needs more robust generation facilities that can tap a diverse array of energy sources. HECO customers will foot the bill as the company invests in a stronger network. There are very few places on this island where a power plant can be located, and neighbors are just going to have to deal with it.

I was pleased to hear announcements on KSSK during the morning regarding electrical loads. I wonder how many customers took a moment to turn off their refrigerators and electric water heaters, so that the grid wouldn’t be overwhelmed when power was restored?

At the same time, I wasn’t happy to hear callers and radio announcers grumbling about HECO’s “slow” performance. Some of the posts on honolulu.craigslist.com/rnr are so poorly written and full of misplaced anger that they’re almost funny.

Oahu got through this crisis easily when compared to the big island, which sustained at least US$40M in damage from the quake.