💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
WAPA board ordered additional spending cuts amid strained financial outlook
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s governing board on April 6, 2020, directed management to develop a long-term financial plan and impose additional cost-cutting measures as the utility faced mounting financial pressure during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Board Chairman Anthony D. Thomas said the board had asked management to continue reducing spending and strengthening financial controls. He said WAPA’s financial problems had been worsened by the effects of COVID-19 and by ongoing concerns over the cost of electric and water bills.
According to the release, the board ordered an immediate end to discretionary spending, curtailed inter-island and off-island travel, and continued limits on off-island training and conferences to operational employees. The board also said WAPA should maintain austere budgets aimed at reducing spending and debt.
Thomas said the utility would remain under financial strain until major debt could be refinanced at more favorable rates.