Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative bolsters after-hours, weekend customer support services

Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative members now have the benefit of additional customer support when reporting after-hours power outages.

The cooperative as of Oct. 1 has partnered with Cooperative Response Center — a nationwide 24/7 contact center providing support to rural electric utilities — to accept after-hours and weekend customer service and emergency calls.

“This is an important safety enhancement to ensure members can notify us of power-related and safety issues at all hours of the day without delay,” said Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative Member Services and Communications Manager Beth Amaro in the cooperative’s announcement. “Keeping you informed, especially when outages occur, is vitally important for us at [Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative].”

Cooperative members reporting outages or emergencies outside normal business hours are now connected to the Cooperative Response Center call center, where representatives can address concerns.

“The [Cooperative Response Center] agents will be able to monitor our system to confirm known outages or report new outages to our power plant personnel,” said Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative Chief of Operations Brad Rockwell in the announcement. “This will ensure no call is missed and our power plant operators can focus on critical operational needs during these periods.”

After-hours calls for outage notifications and emergencies were previously routed to personnel at the Port Allen Generating Station.

“Our workers at Port Allen do a commendable job dealing with after-hours calls. However, we have very limited after-hours staff, and when outages occur, the calls can sometimes delay their ability to resolve the outage,” Rockwell said.

Amaro added that it’s critical for members to keep their contact information updated, as calling from a phone number Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative has on file will automatically sync the call with your account information, considerably shortening the Cooperative Response Center response time.

She also noted that Cooperative Response Center agents are located on the mainland United States. It will take some time for them to become more familiar with place names on the Garden Island.

“We appreciate our members’ patience as [Cooperative Response Center] works to provide the best possible service to [Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative],” Amaro said.

Members are also encouraged to check Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s outage map or the cooperative’s Facebook page whenever an outage happens to confirm Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative officials and responders are aware of the outage.

“If you see your outage listed on either of these sources you can be assured we are aware and are responding and there is no need to call us,” Amaro said.

If members don’t see their outage listed on either, they are urged to call 808-246-4300 to make a report.

In an emergency such as a downed power line or fire on or near utility property, calling 9-1-1 and Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative directly is the best course of action.

Routine matters such as setting up accounts, billing questions, account payments and other general inquiries will continue to be addressed by the cooperative’s member services personnel during regular business hours.

Feedback about the Cooperative Response Center service is encouraged and can be sent to info@kiuc.coop.