As storms approach Kaua‘i, utility co-op shares plans for power shutoff, wildfire preparedness

Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative leadership briefed the Līhu‘e business community on Thursday about its wildfire preparedness and mitigation plan – one month after several local blazes torched more than 2,000 acres in the midst of fire season.

The Kaua‘i Fire Department recorded a year-to-date total of 122 brush fires through late July, a number on par with preceding years. Although wildfires in the Hawaiian Islands have historically been associated with volcanic activity or lightning strikes, 98% of all such wildfires are now attributed to human causes, including electrical distribution lines, according to KIUC.

“We spent a great deal of time over the last year trying to get better, working with a lot of community agencies and county of Kaua‘i folks, to all work together to improve our responses to fire,” KIUC president and CEO David Bissell said during the meeting of the Līhu‘e Business Association.

John Cox, KIUC transmission and distribution manager, reported the utility cooperative has improved its inspection process of more than 16,700 utility poles – at times using drones equipped with high-resolution cameras, infrared thermographic cameras and lidar.

KIUC is using high-tech hammers that employ sound waves to assess conditions without damaging poles’ structural integrity, and replacing some wooden utility poles with ones made of composite material impervious to rot.

Subscription-based access to a network of local weather stations also is part of the cooperative’s toolkit.

“We have a screen where our dispatchers can see real-time data in regards to wind gusts, wind speed, relative humidity and temperature,” Cox said. “We’re using this weather data to get a little more granular in regards to when red flag warnings are issued.”

Such warnings are issued by the National Weather Service in Honolulu when conditions support extreme fire danger. But the weather on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu is not always comparable.

“We’ve had red flag warnings … and it’s actually raining here on Kaua‘i,” Cox said. “We do take that red flag warning into account, but these weather stations just give us a little bit more data in regards to certain areas of the island that are more fire prone.”

When conditions warrant more precaution than usual – such as during very dry or stormy weather – KIUC may place certain breakers on its grid “in the one-shot” to prevent fire ignitions.

Normally, when there is a fault on the system, the substation breakers are automatically programmed to trip open and they automatically reclose to resume service. Placing the breakers in the one-shot means the reclosing is blocked.

“So if there’s a problem on the system, the breaker is just going to open up and it’s going to stay open,” Cox said.

KIUC may isolate power, or “dump customers,” in extreme situations. The utility cooperative has identified three areas – the remote Kōke‘e circuit; the Kaumakani and Pākala circuit host to about 340 customers; and the Māhāʻulepū circuit host to about five customers – as zones where dumping may occur if warranted.

KIUC on Wednesday activated its emergency preparedness plan due to the approach of Hurricane Gilma, and on Friday asked customers to prepare for extended outages due to the potential impact of Tropical Storm Hone.

“We’re going to try to communicate as early as well as we can, but things change … We’re going to try to do what’s best to keep us safe and keep the lights on,” Bissell said. “We really don’t like talking about deenergizing circuits. We don’t like talking about shutoffs.

“That’s not what our DNA is. Our DNA is trying to keep the lights on, but the world’s changed and we’re trying to adapt with it.”

More information about wildfire preparedness and mitigation can be found on the KIUC website, which also features storm preparedness tips.

General emergency preparedness information can be found on the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency’s website.