💧 Water and Power · U.S. Virgin Islands
WAPA board approved AMI restoration contract and St. John generator engineering work
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s governing board approved contracts at an emergency meeting on May 8, 2020, to continue restoration of the utility’s automated metering system and advance a backup generation project for St. John.
The board authorized a contract with Black & Veatch International Co. for the first stage of restoring WAPA’s Automated Metering Infrastructure at a cost of $371,140. WAPA said the system had been heavily damaged in the 2017 hurricanes. The utility said the work was expected to take 16 to 18 weeks, with field work to be completed by the end of 2020.
WAPA said completion of the restoration was tied to improving meter communications, synchronizing data management systems and improving meter data management functions, with the goal of more accurate and timely billing.
The board also authorized Executive Director Lawrence J. Kupfer to enter a contract with Wartsila LLC for $3 million in engineering services and engine reservation fees tied to a previously approved project to purchase and install two four-megawatt emergency generators for St. John. WAPA said the units would be located in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay and would provide electrical service to St. John during service interruptions on St. Thomas.
WAPA said the St. John project had originally been approved in September 2018 and later underwent additional FEMA review to determine eligibility for federal funding. The authority said the project was expected to be funded on a 90-10 FEMA cost-share basis. Final contract terms and costs were to return to the board for approval after design work and negotiations were completed.
The board also approved an amendment to a loan contract with Rural Utility Services and a new deposit control agreement to replace the former Cushion of Credit Account. WAPA said the changes were required by RUS, which had provided a $13 million loan for the initial development and implementation of the automated metering system and related systems.