Governor Albert Bryan Jr. expressed disappointment after a special session of the 35th Legislature, convened at his request, failed to authorize a line of credit up to $150 million for the Government of the Virgin Islands. The funds were intended to advance critical infrastructure and energy projects in the territory, as well as address the longstanding financial obligation between the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) and its propane supplier, Vitol.

The governor stated that the legislation presented during Wednesday’s special session represented months of lobbying with the federal government, Congress, and Vitol to move forward with vital recovery projects and make a good faith payment toward resolving WAPA’s debt with Vitol. The outcome of the session might negatively impact WAPA’s ability to provide efficient and effective services to ratepayers and the government’s capacity to progress key recovery projects in a timely fashion.

Despite the setback, Governor Bryan said he remains committed to working with the 35th Legislature and senators who did not support the current approach, aiming to find alternative solutions to address these matters before the next scheduled legislative session on April 14.