WAPA said fault likely on St. John terrestrial cable after island-wide outage

Official document: https://www.viwapa.vi/docs/default-source/2023-pr/press-release-(2.7.26)-wapa-provides-update-as-crews-continue-working-on-island-wide-st.-john-outage.pdf?sfvrsn=a105c4e1_3

Archive page: https://www.viwapa.vi/news-information/press-releases/press-release-details/2026/02/07/wapa-provides-update-as-crews-continue-working-on-island-wide-st.-john-outage

An island-wide power outage on St. John began at about 5:29 p.m. on February 6, 2026, after the transmission line supplying the island tripped, affecting feeders 7E and 9E, according to the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority.

WAPA said crews worked overnight to assess the transmission system, including opening manholes and testing infrastructure from Red Hook to the East End Substation. The utility said those tests narrowed the fault to the transmission line segment between Red Hook and the Cruz Bay Substation.

Additional testing completed on the morning of February 7, 2026, indicated the submarine cable was not the source of the outage. WAPA said the problem was likely on the terrestrial cable between the submarine cable landing site and the Cruz Bay Substation on St. John.

The authority said crews remained in the field on February 7 working to locate and repair the fault.