WAPA Keeps Projection Unchanged, Says It’s Still On Track To Restore 90 Percent Of USVI By Christmas; Latest Update Released

With the addition of linemen who landed in the U.S. Virgin Islands in recent days, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority said on Monday that it would meet its projection of restoring 90 percent of the territory by Christmas 2017. Along with the linemen, WAPA also said that it’s in constant receipt of materials and supplies needed to keep the workflow constant.

Find the latest restoration update below. Above, crews on Monday worked on a utility pole on the stretch between Sion Hill and Sion Farm in St. Croix. (Ernice Gilbert, VIC)

ELECTRIC SYSTEM 

• On St. Croix Monday, restoration crews worked on Feeders 8B and 9B in Frederiksted. Additional crews restored service to customers on Feeder 3A in Beeston Hill, and on Feeder 2A in Estate Welcome and Southgate, Christiansted. To date on St. Croix, more than 5,100 customers have been restored.
• On St. John, work on the primary circuit that connects Cruz Bay to Coral Bay is approximately 80% complete and the circuit will be energized by weekend.
• On St. Thomas, crews are beginning to reconstruct the Ridge Road Feeder beginning at Cabrita Point. Additional customers have been restored in the Tutu area on Feeder 7C, as well as in Wintberg and Mandahl on Feeder 9C. Other crews restored service to customers on Feeders 6A and 7A. Work continues to reconstruct the St. Thomas portion of Feeder 5A which is approximately 90% complete. Once work on the feeder is complete, customers on Water Island and Hassel Island can be restored. Crews continue to reconstruct primary circuits on Feeder 10A in Frenchtown.
• Through an agreement reached with the Department of Planning & Natural Resources, WAPA will restore electrical service to homes with temporary roofs (blue roofs) once a licensed electrician has certified, in writing, that the structure is safe to energize.
• Customers and electricians are reminded that it is against the law to remove or otherwise destroy meter seals. If work needs to be done to repair a damaged meter base and/or weather head, customers must call the Emergency Call Center at 340-774-1424 on St. Thomas-St. John or 340-773-0150 on St. Croix. The call centers operate seven days a week, 9 am – 5 pm.
• If your electric meter was removed by WAPA personnel to facilitate repairs to either a meter base and/or weather head, once repairs are completed and a licensed electrician certifies the work in writing, customers are required to contact the Customer Service office to ensure that the meter will be reinstalled and resealed prior to the restoration of electrical service. All fees usually associated with meter removal and reconnection have been waived. Customer service offices are operating Monday-Friday, 9 am – 4 pm at Sunny Isle on St. Croix and Port of Sale Mall on St. Thomas.
• Reconstruction, restoration and hurricane debris removal crews are deployed across the islands. Motorists are asked to exercise caution when driving through the work areas and to heed the directions of flaggers and VIPD officers who are assisting with traffic control.
• WAPA urges residents to shut off standby generators when line crews are in your neighborhood restoring electrical service. A standby generator has the potential to back feed electricity to the grid which poses a severe safety risk to restoration crews.

POTABLE WATER SYSTEM

• There are seven days (80%) of emergency water storage on St. John, eight days (59%) on St. Thomas, and four days (51%) on St. Croix.
• WAPA urges clean-up contractors and homeowners in both districts to exercise caution when piling debris on and around potable water meters. There are a growing number of instances where water meters are being damaged by clean-up equipment grading debris and causing damage to the roadside water meters. The continued damage by heavy equipment poses difficulty in maintaining or restoring potable water service to customers.

OTHER INFORMATION

• WAPA telephone contact: St. Thomas – St. John district, 340-774-3552; St. Croix district, 340-773-2250
• Customer Service Offices are operating Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Sunny Isle on St. Croix and at Port of Sale Mall on St. Thomas.
• The latest information on the restoration effort is available on the WAPA website, www.viwapa.vi and on Facebook: Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority.