Opinion

It's Time For Peaceful Protests In The U.S. Virgin Islands

Over two years ago, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority promised that its expensive propane conversion project, costing well over $150 million, would be good for the territory and its residence, and would reduce power bills by a respectable 30 percent. Two years later and as the propane conversion is nearing its end (the conversion is 100 percent completed on St. Croix), instead of announcing promised decreases to customers' power bills, W.A.P.A. has instead sought and received increases to both residential and commercial lines. That's what you call a slap in the face. Here you have an economy that remains anemic, a dwindled population that continues to struggle from a myriad of other factors, and after floating tens of millions in bonds that the taxpayers may wound up paying in part, WAPA adds another price hike to power bills. Elsewhere, the government is having challenges accessing the bond markets, as confidence in the V.I. government's ability to pay its co...