Representative Joe Gedeon

08/16/2026

***HECO Update***

Please see 8 pm update below. Hawai’i Island and Maui customers who are currently without power will remain without electricity at least overnight. The hurricane-force wind and rain is hampering Hawaiian Electric crews who have been working around the clock to restore power to customers on Hawai’i Island, in Maui County and on O’ahu. Restoration work has to halt when the weather gets too dangerous.

As of 7 p.m.:

• Hawaiʻi Island: 63,270 customers, including all of the east side and south sides of the island plus Waimea and Honokaʻa, are without power. Wind gusts near 90 mph have been recorded in some areas as the storm stalled over the island. On the Hāmākua coast, wind-toppled trees knocked down multiple poles and structures along a 42-mile span of transmission lines, which will take time to inspect and repair once the weather improves.
• Maui County: Approximately 15,260 customers are without power, including all of West Maui, and parts of Upcountry and South Maui as well as Haʻikū. These customers should prepare for extended overnight outages. Extreme wind gusts, sometimes topping 80 mph, have battered West Maui for much of the day, preventing any damage assessments to start on the three transmission lines that serve the area. In Upcountry Maui, crews had to pause work where trees and large tree limbs have been falling across roadways due to the severe weather.
• Oʻahu: Roughly 9,500 customers don’t have electricity in ʻAina Haina, ʻEwa Beach, Kaimukī, Kalihi, Mapunapuna, Mānoa and Nuʻuanu. High winds driven by the approaching hurricane have damaged one major transmission line and half a dozen sub-transmission lines.

More than 67,100 customers across the five islands Hawaiian Electric serves have had power restored today. Hawaiian Electric, which is part of the Western Region Mutual Assistance Group, will be bringing in crews from other electric utilities to help expedite restoration. This help is anticipated to arrive as early as Tuesday.

We will keep you informed as more information becomes available. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

- Hawaiian Electric

08/07/2026

⚡ HAWAIʻI KAI ELECTRIC GRID UPDATE

Power outages, flickering lights, and electrical problems continue to be a major frustration for Hawaiʻi Kai residents. I hear these concerns regularly, including questions about why aging equipment and infrastructure were not replaced sooner.

That’s why I recently brought Hawaiian Electric to our community for a Let’s Talk Story—to hear directly from residents, explain what is happening, and answer for what is being done about it.

HECO acknowledged the reliability problems and apologized to residents. They also explained that we are dealing with two issues at the same time: aging electrical infrastructure that needs to be replaced, and a grid that must now handle a large amount of rooftop solar and home battery storage that it was not originally designed for.

HERE’S WHAT HECO SAYS IS BEING DONE:

• Aging underground cables – Older direct-buried cables are reaching the end of their useful life and are being replaced. New conduit is also being installed to make future repairs easier.

• Substation upgrades – Transformers, switchgear, and other equipment serving Hawaiʻi Kai are being replaced and upgraded.

• Flickering lights – HECO is working with solar and battery manufacturers on software and system adjustments to address voltage fluctuations. Some areas have improved, but the problem has not been completely resolved.

• Better monitoring – Smart meters and power-quality monitors are being used to identify voltage problems at the neighborhood and individual-home level.

• Grid modernization – HECO is upgrading the electrical system to better handle the growing amount of rooftop solar, batteries, and renewable energy.

• Vegetation and wildfire protection – More frequent inspections, vegetation management, and equipment upgrades are intended to reduce outages and strengthen the system against wildfires and severe weather.

I appreciate HECO coming into the community and answering questions, but our job doesn’t end with hearing about plans and projects.

Residents have dealt with these reliability problems for too long. My role is to continue working with HECO while also holding them accountable for completing these upgrades and showing that they actually improve reliability in Hawaiʻi Kai.

I’ll continue asking questions, tracking the work, and sharing updates with our community.

And if you are still experiencing frequent flickering, outages, or voltage problems, please continue reporting them to HECO—and please keep my office informed as well.

05/26/2026

05/02/2026

05/02/2026

Big win for Hawaiʻi’s film industry.

SB2580 has officially passed and is headed to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. After falling short last session, this was a priority for many in the industry and across our community, and it’s great to see it get across the finish line.

I was proud to serve on the conference committee and vote YES on this measure. I’ve supported this effort and other film industry initiatives since before the start of session because I believe in the impact this industry has on our local economy.

This bill raises the annual tax credit cap from $50 million to $60 million and includes additional incentives for productions that hire local workers, especially those with at least 50% local hires, helping ensure more of the benefits stay here at home.

Strengthening Hawaiʻi’s ability to compete for film and television projects means more jobs, more local spending, and more opportunities for our residents.

Mahalo to everyone who worked hard to make this happen.

04/30/2026

I wanted to personally apologize for the short notice, especially to those of you who had already set aside time to join us.

Our talk story session scheduled for tomorrow night will be postponed.

At this point, we still have not finalized the state budget, and we are expecting long days and late nights at the Capitol for the rest of this week as we work through it. We want to make sure that when we meet, we are able to provide you with accurate, confirmed information on the decisions being made.

We are planning to reschedule the session for sometime in the coming couple of weeks and will share the new date with you as soon as it is confirmed.

Thank you for your understanding and for staying engaged. I look forward to connecting with you soon.