Frustration that has been building for years, intensified by a recent two-day outage and a week of rotating blackouts, is set to reach a boiling point on St. John Tuesday afternoon.
Community members will gather at Frank Powell Park at 4 p.m. for a protest organized by Gail Jackson and a team of concerned citizens, demanding accountability and immediate solutions from the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority.
The protest is timed to precede a WAPA town hall scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Julius E. Sprauve School, ensuring that the voices of the residents, many of whom feel unheard, will be visible and present as utility leadership arrives.
“This energy crisis in the Virgin Islands cannot continue. It affects everyone and it is devastating to our most vulnerable populations, like the elderly and the sick who are most at risk. The people who are in leadership must act now to fix these issues,” Jackson said.
For residents of St. John and across the St. Thomas-St. John district, rotating outages have become a frequent reality over the last week, disrupting nearly every aspect of daily life. “For many in our community, this past week was a breaking point. We believe it is time for residents to stand together, make our voice heard, and signal clearly that we will not remain silent in the face of persistent instability,” Jackson said.
The group is presenting WAPA and territorial leadership with three specific demands, including clear timelines and follow-through on getting long promised generators installed and operational, clear accessible information about how to file claims, what qualifies, and when people can expect resolution and appropriate credits, as well as a coordinated response to support vulnerable residents during outages.
The effects of these outages, organizers stress, are not simply inconvenient; they are dangerous. Residents who rely on oxygen machines or other medical equipment are placed at serious risk when power is lost. Small businesses face financial losses, and families, especially those with young children or elderly members, are left navigating uncertainty.
Hadiya Sewer, a member of the organizing team, highlights the particular vulnerability of St. John within the territory’s energy system. “St. John’s dependence on St. Thomas power puts us in a very vulnerable position. We often feel like our needs as the people of St. John are not prioritized and that our leaders overlook us. When power goes out, it affects everything, our health and our livelihoods. Who is thinking about the single mothers missing work to care for kids who are at home from school because WAPA is out, the elders who need electricity for their care, or the entrepreneurs paying high bills with no reliable power?” Sewer asked.
While Tuesday’s action is focused on holding leadership accountable, organizers emphasize that civic engagement takes many forms and that community strength extends beyond moments of public demonstration.
Raven Phillips, another member of the organizing team, offered a broader vision of what it means to show up for one another. “I think it’s important to remember that assembling for protest is just one of the many ways of engaging in community, and when we’re frustrated is when we should be in community the most. Being in community also means checking in on your neighbors, asking for help from those around you, and sitting to hold space through tough moments. We only have each other, and there are many ways to accomplish that,” Phillips said.
