US VIRGIN ISLANDS – Governor Albert Bryan Jr. held the weekly Government House briefing Tuesday from St. Croix, which included a status report on the local energy State of Emergency declared to address the electrical outages that have plagued the territory over the past several weeks. Governor Bryan was joined by Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jenifer O’Neal.
Governor Bryan began by recalling the activities of the Memorial Day weekend, during which he and Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach celebrated the lives and legacies of fallen Virgin Islands servicemen and women.
Additionally, Governor Bryan congratulated the Territory’s students on the successful conclusion of the school year. He also extended condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of former Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards, who passed away last week.
“My heart goes out to her entire family circle, and to all who knew Pam during this time, as we mourn her untimely passing,” Governor Bryan said.
Governor Bryan began the energy update by empathizing with the Territory’s residents and business owners over the failure of the VI Water and Power Authority (WAPA) to provide consistent electricity.
“I am here this afternoon to extend my empathy and concern for all our residents affected by the recent power outages in the St. Thomas/St. John District and the prolonged outage on the island of St. John last week. I understand the significant disruption and hardship these events have caused for families, businesses, and essential services in our community,” Governor Bryan said.
On April 22, 2024, Governor Bryan declared a State of Energy Emergency to avert the threat of imminent rotating power and blackouts on St. Croix. The State of Emergency was extended on May 22 for an additional 30 days.
On Saturday, Governor Bryan, Senate President Novelle Francis Jr. and Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett received a high-level briefing from the Incident Command regarding the first 30 days of the State of Emergency.
Incident Commander Jenifer O’Neal provided an update at the briefing Tuesday on progress since the local energy State of Emergency was called.The State of Emergency is set to expire June 21.
The Incident Command meets daily and was stood up by VITEMA Director Daryl Jaschen. Members include individuals from WAPA, the Office of Management and Budget, the Public Finance Authority, Finance, VITEMA, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, the Virgin Islands Energy Office and the Virgin Islands Housing Authority.
According to O’Neal, the Incident Command’s goal is to restore and maintain energy security in the US Virgin Islands while assisting WAPA with becoming current with its vendors and avoiding outages and blackouts.
The VI government has paid more than $10M to WAPA for past due utility bills from Schneider Regional Medical Center, the Juan F. Luis Hospital and Waste Management Authority, O’Neal said. WAPA has paid Agrekko for the 18 generators that it leases on St. Croix, has paid Seven Seas for the operation and maintenance of reverse osmosis plants, and will be paying Wartsilla shortly.
Incident Command has confirmed that by mid-July a closing will take place with the Virgin islands Housing Finance Authority on federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, for the acquisition of VITOL propane terminals to complete the construction of propane facilities on St. Thomas and St. Croix.
O’Neal said the Wartsilla generators will restart shortly, and a negotiated agreement will allow WAPA to install four new generators and fuel efficient battery storage systems in the Krum Bay power plant for the St. Thomas/St. John District.
“All things considered, we expect Wartsilla to restart within 30 days,” O’Neal said.
Additionally, over the next 30 days the Incident Command will continue to meet daily and is tasked with hiring a WAPA turnaround company to address WAPA’s liquidity. The Public Finance Authority has issued a Request For Proposals and expects to have a contract in place within 30 days.
“My team and I have been hard at work with WAPA’s Board of Directors and Management team to address these plaguing issues,” Governor Bryan said. “We estimate it will take a minimum of five months to address some of the more pressing issues. However, I will not give up on you — the people of St. John, St. Thomas, Water Island, or St. Croix.”
Governor Bryan said that in addition, VI Electron is making significant progress on the solar site at Estate Petronella on St. Croix that will provide 10 megawatts of power with battery supply. The interconnection study for estate Petronella is expected to be completed by the end of July.
“We are in this for the long haul, and we will not stop until we have fixed WAPA, just as we have fixed GERS,” Governor Bryan said.“No matter what it takes, it’s going to get fixed.”
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