💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
33rd Legislature members toured WAPA power plants on St. Croix and St. Thomas
Members of the 33rd Legislature toured Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority generating facilities on St. Croix and St. Thomas during the week of October 7, 2019, according to an October 11, 2019 WAPA statement.
WAPA said the visits took place on October 7 at the Estate Richmond plant on St. Croix and on October 11 at the Krum Bay plant on St. Thomas.
According to the statement, lawmakers were shown generating units, control rooms, the Vitol liquefied petroleum gas facilities, electrical substations and Seven Seas seawater reverse osmosis water plants.
On St. Thomas, Plant Superintendent John Woodson III told senators that WAPA had identified pressure-regulating valves controlling fuel flow to two leased generators as the root cause of recent service interruptions in the St. Thomas-St. John district. WAPA said its analysis found the valves did not provide enough fuel when plant instability occurred, causing the units to trip offline. The authority said replacement of the valves had improved reliability and overall performance of the two units.
The archived record also included photo captions stating that senators were briefed by WAPA officials at the Estate Richmond power plant electrical substation on St. Croix and toured the engine hall at the Randolph Harley Power Plant, which houses three propane-fired Wartsila generating units.