ST. THOMAS — All public schools in the St. Thomas–St. John District will open at 9 a.m. Thursday, October 22, following the overnight power outages, the Virgin Islands Department of Education announced. The department’s district and state offices will also open at 9 a.m.
VIDE said the delayed opening was prompted by an island-wide power outage and was issued on the advisement of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority. The announcement, distributed shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday, follows a districtwide blackout Wednesday evening, partial restoration later that night and another WAPA report of lost generation early Thursday.
Parents and guardians were urged to ensure students arrive safely and in accordance with the revised opening time. Faculty, staff and members of the public conducting business with the department’s district and state offices were also advised to adjust their plans.
“The Department will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary through its official communication channels,” VIDE said. It encouraged families, students, employees and the wider community to follow its official announcements for the latest information.
WAPA’s initial outage alert, received at 7:43 p.m. Wednesday, reported that a loss of generation at the Randolph Harley Power Plant was affecting all customers in St. Thomas and St. John. By 10:10 p.m., the authority said added generation capacity had allowed it to restore feeders 5A, 9E and 7E, along with portions of several other feeders.
A new WAPA alert received at 2:21 a.m. Thursday again reported that all customers on both islands were affected by a loss of generation at the plant. The authority said its personnel were working to restore service but provided no estimated restoration time in that notice.
