WAPA To Launch ‘No Customer Left Behind’ Campaign On St. John Aimed At Restoring Customers Who May Have Been Missed In Early Phase Of Restoration

ST. JOHN — Beginning Thursday the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority will begin a “No Customer Left Behind” campaign, which will be aimed at reconnecting all customers who can be restored to the electric grid, and who may have been bypassed during the first phase of service restoration, WAPA announced Wednesday.

“As the restoration effort on St. John nears completion, the No Customer Left Behind campaign will begin with customers on St. John having the opportunity to inform WAPA if they have not yet been restored. This will include customers who are either missing service connections to their weather heads, missing meters, or who were bypassed because their weather head and/or meter base was not ready to be reenergized in previous stages of the restoration,” said Clinton Hedrington, Jr., acting executive director / CEO of WAPA.

Mr. Hedrington said a No Customer Left Behind telephone hotline number, 340-715-8020, has been established for St. John customers to call. The customer’s information will be collected by a WAPA employee on St. John, and will then be channeled to the appropriate divisions so restoration can be scheduled. “The goal is once a customer makes contact with the No Customer Left Behind hotline, assuming all documentation is in order, that customer will be restored within 72 hours,” he added.

As of Tuesday, approximately 98% of St. John has been restored. Currently, the No Customer Left Behind campaign only applies to St. John customers. “Once we get closer to the end of the restoration effort on St. Thomas & St. Croix, identical campaigns will be launched for those islands as well,” Mr. Hedrington said. WAPA will continue to identify priority work areas for restoration each week, and restore customers daily until every home or business that can be connected to the electric grid is reenergized.

Mr. Hedrington also said that beginning on Thursday, the customer service office on St. John, located at The Marketplace, will be open from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. All services will be available at this location.

WAPA customers on St. John, who have not yet been restored, are encouraged to call the No Customer Left Behind hotline at 340-715-8020. The utility thanked its customers for their patience and understanding as we not only rebuild our electrical systems from near 98% destruction, but slowly begin to restore all levels of service ordinarily provided by the Authority.