PSC Votes to Keep WAPA’s Electricity LEAC at 22.22 Cents Per Kilowatt-Hour Until June 30

During their meeting on Tuesday, members of the V.I. Public Services Commission agreed to maintain the Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause for electricity supplied by the Water and Power Authority at its current 22.22 cent per kilowatt-hour rate, at least until June 30.  The decision dashes the hopes of those ratepayers in the Virgin Islands who may have been anticipating some relief in their monthly bills following the recent commissioning of four new fuel-efficient generators, as well as the coming online of significant solar generation last year as well. However, as PSC consultant Jim Madden noted, there have been setbacks which resulted in the Wärtsilä units being taken offline. “From what I've been told,” Mr. Madden disclosed, “two of the units will be online in March, and two of the units will be online in April.”  A new fuel agreement is also still pending, commissioners were told. “At this time, there's significant uncertainty around what responses WAPA will receive [to] the R...