A new generator coming on line next summer should reduce the time Oahu residents spend in the dark during the next blackout, Hawaiian Electric Co. officials said yesterday.
The so-called combustion engine generator will be an advance equivalent to moving from propeller planes to the jet age, said Robbie Alm, HECO executive vice president.
It will start up in about 10 minutes, compared with 4 1/2 hours -- the time it took the first generators to get up and running during Friday's islandwide blackout.
"Once you get the first unit up, everything begins to fall into line," Alm said.
Meanwhile, HECO crews will head for the hills today to inspect transmission lines for signs of a suspected lightning strike or other reasons for the power failure.
State officials said yesterday the overall response to the emergency by the airport and hotels was good and that everything was back to normal yesterday.
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20081229_HECO_sees_hope_in_new_generator.html
