Power is out across St. Thomas and St. John Thursday morning following the loss of generation capacity at the Randolph Harley Power Plant, the V.I. Water and Power Authority announced.
“Plant Personnel have been actively troubleshooting since Generation Unit 15 tripped at approximately 1:20 a.m.,” WAPA said in a press release issued around 6:20 a.m. Thursday. “The loss of generation was caused by an excitation issue on Unit 15 which cascaded to the other generating units. Currently, there is no estimated time of restoration,” it said.
Some customers have been without power since 5 a.m. Wednesday as Tropical Storm Philippe brought heavy winds and rain to the area.
Philippe was 445 miles north of St. Thomas on Thursday morning but could still produce heavy rain across the islands, according to the National Weather Service in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“Due to the expected and ongoing conditions, there will remain a moderate to high chance for urban and small stream flooding as well as mudslides in areas as of steep terrain, as well as river flash flooding,” the weather service said.
Rainfall totals could reach between four and eight inches across the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands, with locally higher amounts up to 12 inches. Puerto Rico was forecast to receive approximately two to four inches of precipitation.
