Fault on St. Croix Feeder 2A caused island-wide outage after Richmond plant shutdown, WAPA said

Official document: http://www.viwapa.vi/docs/default-source/default-document-library/08082020-electrical-fault-contributed-to-island-wide-outage-on-st-croix-saturday-morning.pdf?sfvrsn=97b9ce63_2

Archive page: https://www.viwapa.vi/news-information/press-releases/press-release-details/2020/08/08/electrical-fault-on-st.-croix-feeder-2a-tripped-richmond-power-plant-resulting-in-major-service-interruption-saturday-morning

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said an electrical fault caused by downed service lines on Feeder 2A led to a shutdown at the Estate Richmond Power Plant on St. Croix and an island-wide power outage on the morning of August 8, 2020.

WAPA said the lines came down within the power plant footprint, where Feeder 2A originates. The fault triggered the plant’s protection system, which tripped all online generators to prevent damage to the units.

The outage began at about 8:15 a.m. on August 8, 2020. WAPA said restoration began at 10:35 a.m., and full service was restored by 11:15 a.m.

The authority said it was continuing to assess whether scheduled grid maintenance on Feeders 2A and 3A earlier that day contributed to the lines coming down. WAPA said there were no injuries or other damage associated with the incident.