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Work on Maui Electric Co.'s Ka'ono'ulu Substation on the mauka side of the Piilani Highway-Ohukai Road intersection is set to begin this month, the utility announced Tuesday.
The work is expected to be completed by next summer, and no extended interruptions of power are anticipated, MECO said.
The substation was approved by the state Public Utilities Commission in 2015. MECO says the new substation will help provide reliable service to a growing South Maui
and with the integration of more renewable energy, as well as isolating outages to smaller areas.
MECO notes that more than 15 new projects are expected in Kihei, including the new Kihei high school and residential developments.
The substation will sit on about 1 acre of land and is considered a "low profile" substation, very different from the substation on Dairy Road in Kahului, MECO said. A portion of the substation's electrical lines will be underground.
New lines will tap into the existing transmission and distribution lines currently running between the Maalaea and Kihei substations on Kaiola Place, go underground across Kaiola Place and Piilani Highway and rise up mauka of Piilani Highway, where eight poles and about 1,000 feet of overhead lines will connect the substation to the electrical system, MECO said.