WAPA said new Wartsila generators on St. Thomas passed black-start test after islandwide outage

Official document: https://www.viwapa.vi/docs/default-source/2023-pr/press-release-(10.10.23)-despite-challenging-week-of-outages-significant-progress-made-with-wartsila-generators.pdf?sfvrsn=ce3dd5c9_3

Archive page: https://www.viwapa.vi/news-information/press-releases/press-release-details/2023/10/10/despite-challenging-week-of-outages-significant-progress-made-with-wartsila-generators

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said on October 10, 2023, that new Phase II Wartsila generators at the Randolph Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas successfully completed a real-world black-start test after a plant-wide blackout early on October 5.

WAPA said the test also involved Phase I Wartsila units that were placed in service in 2018. The authority said the generators demonstrated the ability to restore power from a cold or de-energized state.

According to WAPA, the generators carried most of St. Thomas' electrical load during restoration on October 5. The authority said some customers experienced intermittent restoration and additional disruptions for one to two hours as personnel worked through unstable system conditions and became familiar with operating the new units.

WAPA said full restoration was completed after operators refined the generators' operation. The authority said the new units were later taken out of service that evening so final commissioning work could continue.

The October 10 statement said Phase II of the Wartsila project was expected to enter service within seven to 14 days. WAPA linked the week's outages to conditions following Tropical Storm Philippe and to the October 5 islandwide outage on St. Thomas.