💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
WAPA said Unit 26 caused St. Thomas-St. John power interruptions on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said on November 11, 2019, that problems with Unit 26 were identified as the cause of electrical service interruptions affecting the St. Thomas-St. John district on November 10 and November 11.
WAPA described Unit 26 as a 25-megawatt rental unit whose performance had been questionable. The authority said it had generally avoided using the unit to meet demand until the previous few days, despite modifications to its fuel-pressure system that had improved performance.
According to the release, WAPA preferred to dispatch Units 15 and 23 when available, along with propane-fired Wartsila generators. The authority said it had limited options and added Unit 26 to the dispatch because some other units were unavailable.
WAPA said Unit 26's performance during that period showed that additional work was needed on the unit.