💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
WAPA board approved contracts for St. John undergrounding project and St. Croix composite poles
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s governing board approved several federally funded contracts on January 30, 2020, for electrical system mitigation projects, including undergrounding work in Cruz Bay on St. John and continued installation of composite utility poles on St. Croix.
The board approved purchases for the first federally funded undergrounding project, covering St. John Feeder 7E from Cruz Bay to North Shore Road, the Myrah Keating Smith Health Clinic and an area just past the Westin Resort on Centerline Road. Approved contracts included $769,961 with American Wire Group for pad-mounted liquid-filled transformers, $2.1 million with American Wire Group for cable and accessories, and a contract with Haugland Energy for medium-voltage distribution switchgear estimated at just over $3 million.
The board also authorized a $114.9 million contract with Haugland Energy Group for continued composite pole installation work on St. Croix, including replacement of more than 3,600 wooden poles and related work. WAPA said the project was funded through FEMA’s 90-10 cost share, with the local match to be covered by HUD federal grant awards. The authority said the territorywide composite pole project was about 27% complete.
The board approved a no-cost time extension for Fortress Electric for installation and upgrade of electrical facilities at the Estate Richmond Power Plant on St. Croix.
It also approved a $360,000 increase to Arcadis Inc.’s contract for mandatory air-quality stack testing on generating units at both power plants and extended that contract through the end of January 2020. A separate no-cost extension was approved for RG Engineering, which was providing services related to restoration of generating Unit 17 at the Estate Richmond plant.
Board members also approved an amendment to WAPA’s donated leave policy to bring it into compliance with Virgin Islands law and approved a five-year contract term with the Virgin Islands Workers Union, subject to union ratification.
At the meeting, Executive Director Lawrence J. Kupfer reported that WAPA had used a larger volume of propane for electricity generation in December 2019 compared with No. 2 oil and said year-over-year generation increased during the month.