💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
WAPA board approved waterline, undergrounding and substation projects on Sept. 18
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said its board approved several infrastructure actions at a Sept. 18 meeting, including waterline rehabilitation in Blackbeard Hill and Mahogany Estate on St. Thomas, undergrounding work in Hannah’s Rest and along Queen Mary Highway/Centerline Road, and replacement of equipment at the Estate Richmond Substation on St. Croix.
WAPA said the undergrounding work was intended to reduce outages, particularly during storms, and that the substation transformer upgrade was aimed at reducing the risk that a single equipment failure could affect large numbers of customers. The board also approved a no-cost change order with Wartsila North America tied to the Wartsila Phase II project.
The authority also approved a contract for professional security services at facilities on St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix.
In the same announcement, WAPA said generation shortages had led to rotating outages in the St. Thomas-St. John district in the preceding weeks. It said outages on Sept. 18 in St. Thomas and St. John were caused by water intrusion into a unit at the Randolph Harley Power Plant, while some customers on St. Croix experienced weather-related interruptions that WAPA attributed primarily to lightning strikes.
WAPA said repairs to Unit 27 had provided some relief in the St. Thomas-St. John district, though older units were still undergoing deferred maintenance.