Rotating outages expected until weekend for STT, STJ
ST. CROIX — Residents on St. Thomas and St. John can expect rotating outages to continue at least until the weekend as the V.I. Water and Power Authority grapples with a shortage of diesel and increased power demands.
2024-09-05 17:45:37 - VI News Staff
WAPA began implementing fuel conservation measures on Tuesday, citing low fuel inventory. WAPA spokesperson Shanell Petersen told The Daily News on Wednesday that the peak hours of consumption the utility normally sees are extending later into the morning and beginning earlier in the afternoons.
Scheduled outages:
Thursday, 9/5/2024
12:00 AM – 2:00 AM
Feeder 9C
Feeder 8A
Feeder 7A
Feeder 8B
Feeder 6A
Feeder 7E
2:00 AM – 4:00 AM
Feeder 7C
Feeder 10B
Feeder 6B
Feeder 7B
“Because customers are using more power, it’s required us to have additional generation units running more often, which is then also requiring us to have and utilize more diesel,” she said. Petersen said the utility expects to see higher consumption during the warmer months and does take that into consideration, “so it’s based on the same time period last year that we’re seeing this ‘increased’ power usage.” Petersen hypothesized that one explanation could be more affordable air conditioning units. Petersen said a fuel delivery is expected over the weekend.
St. Croix has been relatively spared from the latest round of outages because its Richmond Power Plant primarily runs on propane, a more affordable fuel, and because the utility hasn’t observed as pronounced a spike in energy consumption on the territory’s biggest island. The utility’s Wartsila generator project is slated for completion by December. Once up and running, the generators — which can run on diesel and propane — should afford the utility greater flexibility in the St. Thomas-St. John district while saving on fuel costs.