The V.I. Water and Power Authority issued a statement Tuesday attributing a district-wide power outage on St. Thomas and St. John to generator failure at the Randolph Harley Power Plant.
The unplanned loss of generation occurred at approximately 7:45 a.m., less than an hour after the conclusion of an eight-hour, “overnight planned outage” that the utility said was necessary to complete a “critical phase” of its Feeder 13 bypass project. That work is expected to continue tonight from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
In a statement, WAPA said Tuesday morning’s generator malfunctions created confusion around a proposed rotational outage, which the utility was planning to implement because of a delayed diesel shipment. That rotating schedule was never implemented, according to the utility, but rotating outages may resume if fuel supply issues persist. Throughout the day, the utility took pains to tell community members that the delay was due to their supplier’s “difficulty securing a vessel,” not a lack of payment.
“WAPA’s fuel supplier has experienced transportation delays that have temporarily limited diesel deliveries,” according to the statement. “However, there is encouraging news. WAPA has secured an earlier maritime fuel delivery from Puerto Rico, pending vessel arrival. This delivery will help stabilize fuel inventories while additional scheduled deliveries continue.”
Aging legacy generators, faulty newer units and the rising cost of fuel have all contributed to the outages bedeviling WAPA customers on St. Thomas and St. John. Both of the territory’s power plants are slated for full replacements funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but relief for customers may still be months away. Representatives from WAPA told a federal judge Monday that the two-phased replacement involves getting a new unit installed at the Randolph Harley plant as quickly as possible.
“In order to do that, we have two hurdles,” WAPA’s outside counsel for environmental matters, Robert Smith, said. “One is to try to find an engine that is already built — so we don’t have to wait for construction of it. And the second is to get whatever permitting we need in order to be allowed to permit and operate the unit as quickly as possible under federal law, which applies here.”
Smith estimated that process could take between eight and 12 months. WAPA’s project management director, Maxwell George, said the temporary unit still wouldn’t alleviate all of the plant’s current generation issues but added that the utility is also working with RG Engineering to “revive” two legacy generators, Unit 15 and Unit 23. That process is also being funded by FEMA.
“What became obvious was once we started to try to source generation outside of what we had in the plant, it became obvious that it would be difficult for us to secure units within that time,” plant superintendent Kevin Harrigan said during Monday’s status conference. “So we … decided that it would be better for us to take a closer look at 23 and see if we could return those units to service, or we could buy something off island and go through that whole process.”
