Honolulu, Hawaii Power Outage Today

How reliable is Hawaiian Electric service in Honolulu?

Hawaiian Electric is an investor-owned utility with 309,348 customers. In 2024 its customers averaged 1.89 interruptions and 234 minutes (about 3.9 hours) without power, so the average outage lasted about 2.1 hours.

Major event days, the severe-weather days that utilities report separately, made up about 27% of that time. Without them the average is 172 minutes, so weather matters here but ordinary equipment faults and tree contact account for most of the total.

The typical outage was repaired in about 2.1 hours.

For comparison, Hawaii as a whole averaged 321 minutes and the United States 614 minutes. That puts Hawaiian Electric below the state average, which is better.

Among the 4 utilities in Hawaii with at least 5,000 customers that report to the federal government, Hawaiian Electric ranks 1st for the fewest outage minutes (1 is best). Nationally, 43% of the 926 utilities of that size reported more outage minutes in 2024.

This utility reports with its own method rather than the IEEE standard, so compare its numbers with other utilities loosely.

These are the figures the utility itself reported to the US Energy Information Administration (Form EIA-861, 2024) and describe the whole service territory, not one street. Your own address can be better or worse.

Storm season and outages in Honolulu

NOAA’s Storm Events Database lists 358 storm reports for Honolulu County from 2015 through 2026, most often heavy rain (255), flash flood (69), flood (15), and debris flow (7). The busiest full year was 2018 with 58 reports and the quietest was 2025 with 6, so the risk changes a lot from one year to the next.

Reports peak in March (57 since 2015), followed by October and September. October is one of the three busiest storm months here, so it is a good time to charge backup batteries and check the flashlights.

NOAA’s own narratives name power outages in 12 storm episodes in Honolulu County since 2015, most often in August. That count is a floor, since the database records outages only when a spotter or agency mentions them.

What the most common storm types in Honolulu do to the grid:

• Flash flood. Floodwater reaches ground-level transformers, meters and low-lying substations. Utilities may shut power off ahead of the water on purpose, and wading near flooded equipment can electrocute.
• Heavy rain. Saturated ground topples shallow-rooted trees onto lines, and standing water slows crews trying to reach the damage.
• Lightning. Lightning trips breakers, burns out transformers and can damage electronics connected to the grid; a surge protector on valuable equipment is cheap insurance.

Storm reports that name Honolulu

Within Honolulu County, 18 NOAA storm reports since 2015 name Honolulu as their location or in their description: flash flood (11), heavy rain (3), flood (2), and lightning (1). That is about 5% of the county’s reports, so most of the county’s weather history happened elsewhere. Reports naming Honolulu are most common in September. The busiest full year was 2015 with 3. These reports record 3 injuries in total.

In NOAA’s own words, storms that left Honolulu without power:

• March 10, 2021 (lightning): “Lightning strikes on Oahu led to power outages from Honolulu to Hauula.” Source: NOAA Storm Events Database

Who a power outage hits hardest in Honolulu

Home heating in Honolulu is mixed: 49.1% of occupied homes use electricity (US 41.3%) and 5.2% use piped natural gas. Either way, furnaces and heat pumps need grid power to run, so a winter outage means a cold house for most households.

Residents aged 65 or older are 22% of the population in Honolulu, above the US share of 17.2% and 13% report a disability (US 13.3%). These are the households most likely to depend on powered medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP machines and refrigerated medicine. If someone in your home does, ask Hawaiian Electric whether it keeps a priority or medical-needs list, and register before the next storm rather than during it.

About the housing: 39.2% of the housing in Honolulu was built before 1970 (US 35.5%); 48.7% of homes are in buildings with 20 or more units (US 10.3%), where an outage also stops elevators and water pumps, which matters for upper floors and anyone who cannot use stairs; 51.1% of households rent (US 34.8%), so many residents depend on a landlord to restore building systems and cannot add a generator or battery themselves.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 (housing, heating fuel, age and disability tables).

Backup power and electricity use in Honolulu

The average Hawaiian Electric home used about 454 kWh a month in 2024 (US average 892 kWh), an average draw of 0.6 kW around the clock, and paid about 42.9 cents per kWh (42.9 in the state, 15.8 nationally), roughly $195 a month.

Keeping only the essentials on (a refrigerator, router, a few lights and phone chargers, about 400 watts) through an outage that lasts the average about 2.1 hours takes less than 1 kWh. A portable power station or a power bank covers that; a generator is more than most households here need for a typical outage.

A generator must never run indoors, in a garage or near a window; generator and food-safety rules are in the power outage guide linked below.

If the power is out in Honolulu

About 347,397 people live in Honolulu, the largest of the 4 Hawaii cities on this site. Report the outage to the utility so a ticket exists for your address, then check Hawaiian Electric’s outage map for an estimate. If neighbors have power and you do not, report it again: the fault may be on the line to your house alone, which is a separate repair.

Honolulu power outage map

Hawaiian Electric’s outage map has the official restoration estimate for your address; the count above comes from residents. Food and generator safety: power outage guide.

Honolulu power outage questions