Public Works cleared the Queen Mary Highway in the Barren Spot area on St. Croix Wednesday morning. By. ERNICE GILBERT, V.I. CONSORTIUM
Last updated at 12 noon on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024.
“There continues to be a major electrical service interruption affecting all customers in the St. Croix district following the loss of generation capacity at the Estate Richmond Power Plant.”
That’s the word from the Water and Power Authority, as they updated the public on the current situation on St. Croix. “Line crews are actively working alongside Department of Public Works (DPW) assessing the damage and clearing large trees in critical areas,” the announcement continues.
Power went down across the island between 9:30 and 10 p.m. Tuesday, amidst the high winds and heavy showers of tropical storm Ernesto. There is no assessment as present of an estimated timeline for power restoration. “Plant personnel are actively working to restore service to all feeders as weather permits,” WAPA says.
On St. Thomas, sporadic overnight outages persisted into Wednesday morning. “Line crews were able to assess damage earlier this morning and continue to work as weather permits,” a message from WAPA reads, which noted that “the following critical feeders have been maintained throughout the storm, including the hospital: 5A, 9B, 10B, and Yacht Haven Grande.”
Residents were thanked for their patience as WAPA noted that they would likely have to wait for power restoration. “Please anticipate delays as we ensure our line crews can safely work.”
