Kahului Power Plant shutdown plan presented New switchyard would be built, plant turned into transmission center
Hawaiian Electric has developed a plan to shut down the power generation capability of the 72-year-old oil-fired Kahului Power Plant in 2024, while maintaining some of its power distribution capabilities, and building a new switchyard off Pulehu Road.
The plan was submitted to the state Public Utilities Commission for approval on Oct. 22.
The Kahului Power Plant in the Kahului Harbor area was shut down February 2014 after the utility pledged to retire the four oil-fired, steam generators considered old, inefficient and environmentally dirty. But the utility decided to restart the plant in 2016 with increasing power demands and the shutdown of Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., which provided 4 to 16 megawatts of power.
