Molokai Power Outage Explained
The island-wide power outage Sunday night that left thousands without electricity for approximately eight hours was caused by a pole fire at the Pala`au Substation, according to a statement issued by Maui Electric Company (MECO).
Shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday evening, Molokai’s three primary electric generators operated by MECO tripped offline. This was caused by a fire at the top of a pole at the power plant that appears to have started from a contaminated insulator, stated MECO.
“Over time, insulators that hold the electric line to the pole can become soiled by salt spray and dust,” said MECO spokesperson Kau`i Awai-Dickson. …