Wapa

Senators Confront Governor Over WAPA's Debt Clearance Method

The territory’s lawmakers have doubled down on the need for accountability from the Water and Power Authority as they prepare to discuss options to bail out the utility provider once more.  The 35th Legislature’s press conference on Tuesday afternoon followed Governor Albert Bryan’s declaration of a state of emergency, allowing the Government of the Virgin Islands to bypass the legislative process and access central government funds to make arrangements to pay off debts owed by WAPA. On Monday, the governor promised that some $2.3 million owed to Aggreko by WAPA would be paid off by today, thus eliminating the looming threat of rotating power outages on St. Croix.  But while lawmakers agree that there is an “immediate need” to keep the lights on across the territory, “any decision to pay WAPA using general funds of the people of the Virgin Islands should be a part of the legislative process,” declared Senator Donna Frett-Gregory, who chairs the Committee on Budget Appropriations and ...