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The lengthy power outage in Chinatown should serve as a cautionary tale to everyone who preaches about wanting to have their power lines threaded underground. It's the same song & dance. Whenever someone loses their power b/c of an overhead power line downed by a traffic accident, high winds, fallen trees, etc. They'll complain & make the case about how wonderful their life would be, if power & other utilities were placed underground. Or...you'll have those saying that overhead lines are aesthetically unpleasing & that their community would be more beautiful if those nasty lines were buried. Or...you'll have those playing the safety card, claiming that they don't want their neighborhood to be the next Lahaina.Well, what happened in Chinatown these past couple of weeks should open those people's eyes. Yes indeed, there are disadvantages to having utilities threaded through underground conduits. The lengthier time to diagnose problem & conduct repairs. The inherent difficulty in effectively performing preventative maintenance work.While residents w/underground lines may encounter fewer outages, whenever problems do occur, the repair time could take much, much longer.

KalihiValleyHermit · 6 months ago

Regulation to ensure essential services is the role of the state. HECO has proven time and time again they can not be counted on to provide essential services.Have we heard from the mayor?

Kentmk · 6 months ago

As a small businessperson, power outages have had a negative impact on me also. I don't necessarily blame HECO though. I suspect that state mandate to go green by covering islands with PV panels and windmills has taken money and resources away from HECO's ability to maintain existing power grid as more of it gets funneled towards green infrastructure. Recent power outages is just a primer to get us used to what's to come - having regular power outages due to inconsistent and unreliable green energy power supply. Buckle up small business as we are to become the sacrificial lambs for green energy. Net return of going green is going to be in the red as economy and people suffer impact of actions being taken by government to address exaggerated claims of climate change caused by oil emissions. BTW: USA burns oil cleaner than any other nation. Our much greater polluting enemies especially CCP think we are idiots. They don't need to start a war with us, they can just sit back and watch us destroy ourselves as our economy tanks and we can no longer keep up with worldly demands. Oil is a gift from God as long as we use it responsibly. It's not something to dread.

LHHawaii · 6 months ago