Breaking

The number of restored customers across the territory continues to increase as significant work is being carried out on all three islands by WAPA Line Department personnel, as well as by on and off-island contractors.

On St. Thomas Wednesday, electrical service was restored to some customers in Estate Pearl, Scott Free & Upper John Dunkoe, Mahogany Estate, Altona, Frenchtown and Old Tutu.

On St. Croix, more than 100 customers were restored in William’s Delight, along with some customers to the east of Christiansted town, Barren Spot, Mary’s Fancy and Mars Hill. More than 80% of customers in Ginger Thomas are now restored, and approximately 90% of customers in Sion Farm. Several condo complexes on Feeder 6A as well as The Corner Pocket, Skyline Car Rental, and Sion Farm gas station have been restored.

On St. John, restoration work continued in Gifft Hill, Fish Bay, and along Centerline Road.

On Thursday, the Valdemar Hill Sr. Drive, “Skyline Drive” on St. Thomas, will be closed to vehicular traffic from 8:30-11:30 a.m., and again from 1-4 p.m., as crews perform reconstruction work and debris removal. The road closure will be in effect from the intersection of Louisenhoj Castle to the Donoe Bypass. Area residents will be allowed to access their homes during the road closure. Alternate routes are available for motorists who must traverse the area. Additionally, traffic flow may be restricted to one-lane on Mafolie Hill at times Thursday as work continues in the area. Crews will also work on Harwood Highway from Pueblo supermarket toward MSI Building Supplies. This work may also reduce the west bound traffic flow to one lane.
On St. Croix, a partial road closure will be in effect on Thursday on the Island Center road (Route 79) westward to the intersection with Northside Road (Route 75). This roadway will experience a complete road closure on Saturday as crews work in the area.
A restoration schedule was published for the next two weeks detailing areas where crews will be restoring service. WAPA remains committed to its previously stated goal of restoring 90% of all areas in the territory by December 25. The restoration schedule is available on WAPA’s website:www.viwapa.vi and on Facebook: Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority.

· Customers are reminded that homes with temporary roofs (blue roofs) will be restored with electrical service once a licensed electrician has certified, in writing, that the structure is safe to energize.

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 notify the Customer Service office. All fees usually associated with meter removal and reconnection have been waived during this restoration period. Customer service offices operate 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.

Residents are reminded of the need 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 six days of emergency water storage on St. John, eight days on St. Thomas, and five days on St. Croix. Customers in Frederiksted may experience some loss of water pressure as the capacity of the Kingshill storage tank rebuilds overnight Wednesday.

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 operate 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.