ST. THOMAS — The V.I. Water and Power Authority said all feeders serving St. Thomas and St. John were restored at approximately 11:35 p.m. Saturday, following days of repeated outages, shifting rotation plans and repairs to a major generating unit at the Randolph Harley Power Plant.
In an update at 2 a.m. Sunday, WAPA also announced that its website and telephone reporting system had been restored. The authority advised customers still experiencing isolated outages to report them, indicating that restoration of all feeders did not necessarily mean electricity had returned to every individual customer.
The announcement followed another districtwide interruption Saturday afternoon, even as crews worked to return General Electric Unit 27 to service. WAPA’s last detailed statement on the unit, issued Saturday evening, said it was online but still undergoing testing before it could support customer demand. The subsequent feeder-restoration announcement did not specify whether that testing had been completed or which units were supplying electricity.
The latest restoration update superseded a 7:24 p.m. Saturday notice that portions of Feeders 9C and 10B remained without power. Customers with isolated outages were directed to WAPA’s website or to call 340-774-3552 and select option 4.
Repairs continued after replacement parts arrived
In a corrected release Saturday evening, WAPA said parts needed for Unit 27 had been airlifted from Tyler, Texas, and Sedalia, Missouri, late Friday night, allowing crews to proceed with repairs around midnight. The authority said critical parts were installed Saturday morning, followed by additional repairs to the unit’s fuel system.
“Although GE Unit 27 is online, it is undergoing testing before it can be used to support customer demand,” WAPA said in the corrected statement.
Earlier Saturday, the authority had reported that installation was complete but troubleshooting and safety checks remained necessary before additional restoration could proceed. Repair delays subsequently forced further changes to its planned power rotations.
At 8 a.m., WAPA said some neighborhoods had been shifted to different feeders and that it would not release a neighborhood-specific rotation schedule at that time. It initially anticipated two-hour rotations beginning around 8:30 a.m., then changed to three-hour intervals to reduce grid fluctuations and prevent wider outages.
A later update pushed the anticipated start of rotations to between approximately 10:30 and 11 a.m. because of delays involving Unit 27. By the afternoon, WAPA was again reporting an interruption affecting the entire St. Thomas–St. John district.
Generating units tripped during restoration efforts
In its 1:15 p.m. Saturday alert, WAPA attributed the districtwide outage to lost generation at the Randolph Harley Power Plant. The authority later said additional generating units had tripped and crews were troubleshooting feeders and other system conditions.
Several Wärtsilä units subsequently returned online, allowing service to be restored to portions of St. Thomas and St. John at approximately 3:45 p.m., according to the corrected evening release. Restoration continued through the night.
WAPA said the outage was not related to fuel inventory. That statement concerned the availability of fuel, separate from the fuel-system repairs performed on Unit 27. The authority also acknowledged the broader effect of its financial constraints on system reliability.
The Saturday interruption followed a districtwide outage Friday morning at approximately 9:17 a.m. WAPA reported later Friday that generation had been temporarily restored before unexpectedly tripping again because of instability, leaving insufficient capacity to provide consistent service across the district.
The Consortium previously reported districtwide interruptions Wednesday and early Thursday, as well as a rotation plan that was withdrawn amid further plant problems. The recurring outages prompted the closure of public schools and Executive Branch government offices in St. Thomas and St. John on Friday, with essential personnel required to report to work.
Reduced voting hours remain scheduled Sunday
The disruptions also affected early voting. The Elections System announced that voting in the St. Thomas–St. John district would operate from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, October 25, citing power outages and interrupted water service affecting the St. Thomas voting center.
That notice remained in place Sunday morning despite WAPA’s feeder-restoration announcement. St. Croix’s early-voting schedule was unaffected and remains 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Elections System said it anticipated resuming normal hours in the St. Thomas–St. John district Monday, October 26.
