WAPA board approved contract to buy eight electric SUVs

Official document: https://www.viwapa.vi/docs/default-source/news-(docs)/wapa-governing-board-approves-purchase-contract-for-electric-vehiclesbd94c95b15144bf5b773739bb3b4b70a.pdf?sfvrsn=65a4346f_2

Archive page: https://www.viwapa.vi/news-information/press-releases/press-release-details/2022/05/26/wapa-governing-board-approves-purchase-contract-for-electric-vehicles

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s governing board approved a contract on May 26, 2022, to purchase eight electric SUVs for its fleet.

WAPA said the vehicles were Tesla SUVs valued at about $500,000 and were being procured through an Energizing Insular Communities grant of about $1 million from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

According to the authority, the remaining roughly $500,000 in grant funding was designated for the purchase of hybrid bucket trucks, and that procurement process was underway.

WAPA said the grant had originally been intended for electric pickup trucks, but the authority shifted to Tesla SUVs after it was unable to secure electric Ford F-150 Lightning trucks because of limited availability and a backlog.