March 25 (Reuters) - Hawaiian Electric on Monday

asked its customers in Hawaii Island to reduce or shift their

electricity use through April after the utility's largest

generator, an independent power producer, went offline due to

significant mechanical issues.

The generator could account for nearly one-third of Hawaii

Island's typical peak demand of 180 megawatts (MW), the

Honolulu-based company said.

Without enough supply to match demand, Hawaiian Electric will

initiate rolling outages for up to an hour, with impacted areas

and timing to be determined by amount of demand to be reduced.

Hawaiian Electric also started rolling outages in February

due to the unavailability of several large generators and the

resulting output reduction.

On Monday, it encouraged consumers to minimize energy use as

much as possible, especially on weekdays, and heed alerts to

conserve energy on days without much wind.

Wind-generated power accounts for 15% of the grid's

electricity, according to the utility.

Other large generators were also expected to be unavailable

due to mechanical problems, were operating at reduced output or

undergoing maintenance during the month, it said.

Hawaiian Electric last made headlines in 2023, when the Maui

county sued the company saying it acted negligently by failing

to shut down power, leading to wildfires that destroyed the

coastal town of Lahaina and killed more than 114 people.