💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
WAPA said legislation and PSC action addressed propane fuel payments and generator surcharge
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said on December 28, 2019, that legislation passed by the 33rd Legislature addressed money owed to its propane fuel supplier, Vitol, and that the Public Services Commission had extended the leased-generation surcharge.
WAPA said Vitol had suspended fuel supply, forcing the utility to use No. 2 oil on older generating units. The authority said oil cost about 40% more than liquefied petroleum gas and that generating electricity with oil was costing about $200,000 a day.
The authority also said the PSC, at an emergency meeting on Friday, reconsidered actions taken at its December 12, 2019 meeting and extended the leased-generation surcharge. WAPA said it had maintained that it could not afford to pay for rental generators using propane beyond December 31, 2019, when the surcharge had originally been set to expire.