ST. THOMAS — A districtwide blackout struck St. Thomas and St. John Wednesday evening, with power restored to several feeders later that night before the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority again reported all customers without service early Thursday. WAPA attributed both outage reports to a loss of generation at the Randolph Harley Power Plant and provided no estimated restoration time in its latest notice.
The authority’s initial alert, received at 7:43 p.m. Wednesday, October 21, said the generation loss was affecting all customers in the St. Thomas–St. John district. Plant personnel were working to restore service, but WAPA did not identify the generating units involved or explain what caused the interruption.
By 10:10 p.m., added generation capacity had allowed WAPA to restore electricity to feeders 5A, 9E and 7E. Portions of feeders 7A, 8A, 7C, 9C and 6A were also restored, according to the authority’s Wednesday-night update.
That partial recovery was followed by a new alert received at 2:21 a.m. Thursday, October 22, reporting a districtwide outage affecting all customers on both islands. “WAPA Plant Personnel are working to quickly and safely restore power to impacted customers,” the authority said.
The latest notice did not specify when the generation loss occurred or explain the cause of the setback following partial restoration. WAPA had not issued a subsequent restoration notice in the updates reviewed by the Consortium as of 5:51 a.m. Thursday.
The outages came days after Governor Albert Bryan Jr. announced plans to seek legislative approval for a $250 million bond-financing package that includes $40 million for WAPA. As the Consortium reported October 19, the authority’s proposed allocation would address outstanding financial obligations and support continued electricity and water services. The broader package also includes $85 million for the territory’s hospitals and a separate $40 million for the Waste Management Authority.
The proposed bonds would be backed by gross receipts tax revenues. Participating institutions would be required to develop five-year financial sustainability plans, strengthen financial reporting and audit compliance, and establish measurable goals for improving efficiency and reducing reliance on central government assistance.
