💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
Pole fire in Sugar Estate caused overnight outages in parts of St. Thomas and St. John
A pole fire in Sugar Estate on the night of Sept. 21, 2021 damaged electrical equipment and caused outages for customers in parts of St. Thomas and St. John, according to the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority.
WAPA said the fire began at about 9:30 p.m. and sent an apparent electrical fault to the Randolph Harley Power Plant, tripping three generating units and affecting customers on Feeders 6A, 7A, 7C and 7E. The damaged pole also carried equipment associated with Feeder 8A, and service on that feeder was later interrupted while crews made repairs.
Service was restored to customers on Feeders 6A, 7A, 7E and part of Feeder 7C, from Tutu to the top of Cassi Hill, after plant personnel restarted units. WAPA said the remaining portion of Feeder 7C could not be restored immediately because of voltage limitations on another transmission circuit.
Crews replaced the burned pole and damaged equipment over several hours. WAPA said restoration to the remaining customers began at about 3:20 a.m. on Sept. 22, and all customers in the St. Thomas-St. John district were restored by 4:10 a.m.