💧 Water and Power · St. Thomas, VI
WAPA said two gas leaks were contained at Randolph Harley plant on Sept. 8
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said two gas leaks were detected and contained at the Randolph Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas on Sept. 8, 2025, with the second incident delaying power restoration.
WAPA said the first leak was detected at about 9 a.m. and a second occurred at about 11 a.m. The plant’s emergency shutdown system activated during both incidents, personnel were evacuated, and gas was vented from the facility. The authority said there were no injuries, no environmental damage and no danger to the public.
Several generating units, including Wärtsilä Phase I and Phase II units, were taken offline after the first leak, reducing capacity at the plant. WAPA said several feeders were affected during the day because available generation could not meet demand across the district.
The authority also said about 1,087 customers on part of Feeder 7A experienced an extended outage tied to a pole fire earlier on Sept. 8. Line crews completed repairs and isolated that outage, but service could not be restored immediately because of the reduced generation capacity at the plant.
As of about 6 p.m. on Sept. 8, all feeders had been restored, WAPA said. The authority said two units were undergoing repairs and that normal operations were anticipated on Sept. 9.