Will HECO cover revenue losses from power outage?

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Shuttered businesses are seen along Maunakea Street during a power outage in Chinatown on Tuesday.

1 /2 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Shuttered businesses are seen along Maunakea Street during a power outage in Chinatown on Tuesday.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Chun’s Meat Market used a gas-powered generator, seen at middle, during a power outage in Chinatown on Tuesday.

2 /2 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Chun’s Meat Market used a gas-powered generator, seen at middle, during a power outage in Chinatown on Tuesday.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Shuttered businesses are seen along Maunakea Street during a power outage in Chinatown on Tuesday.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @STARADVERTISER.COM Chun’s Meat Market used a gas-powered generator, seen at middle, during a power outage in Chinatown on Tuesday.

Question : Regarding the prolonged Chinatown power outage, will Hawaiian Electric seriously consider claims for lost business revenue, or only for damaged equipment or inventory (spoiled food, lei, etc.)?

Q : If HECO accepts responsibility for the outage, what exactly will they cover in claims ? This has been frustrating enough. I don’t want to file a claim that has no chance of being approved.

Q : Does HECO have an established upper limit on claim payments, per claim ? Is there a maximum amount it will pay on a damage claim, regardless of the actual loss ?

Answer : There’s no preset maximum dollar amount per claim, but otherwise we couldn’t get clarity about exactly what types of power-outage damage and losses Hawaiian Electric Co. will or won’t cover in the outage that lasted about 67 hours for some Chinatown and Downtown Honolulu customers, from Monday night to Thursday afternoon ; others lost power for a shorter period. A total of 3, 000 customers, many multi-unit buildings, were affected for some or all of the outage.

By order of Hawaii’s Public Utilities Commission, under what’s known as Rule 16, HECO must review each damage claim filed “and shall compensate the customer for any loss, cost, damage or expense as determined by the Company to be within the Company’s control.”

HECO has filing instructions on its website, , including on a claim form () that mentions damaged electric appliances, food and “other items, ” but is silent on lost revenue or wages, as documented, for example, by reservations canceled at restaurants that went dark or hourly shifts…