💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
WAPA awarded contracts for composite pole installations on St. Thomas and St. John
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said on October 8, 2020, that its governing board had awarded three federally funded contracts for additional composite pole installations in the St. Thomas-St. John district.
WAPA said Haugland Energy Group LLC received two contracts for St. Thomas, one for 750 poles on the west end of the island and another for 750 poles on the east end. The west-end contract was capped at $24 million and the east-end contract at $23.7 million.
BBC Electric Services Inc. received a contract for St. John capped at $32.8 million to replace 600 existing wooden poles within three years.
WAPA said the projects were funded by FEMA and HUD, and that it was finalizing the use of HUD grants for the required local match.
According to the authority, St. Thomas had 800 composite poles in place at the time, including 253 on Water Island, and another 1,500 were scheduled for installation over three years. On St. John, WAPA said 1,000 composite poles had already been installed.
The authority said the poles would be used in locations where electrical facilities could not be undergrounded.