WAPA’s Financial Frailty Hindering Utility’s Ability to Prepare for Possible Hurricanes

The V.I. Water and Power Authority’s ability to respond to a Category Four hurricane currently stands at four out of ten, with circumstances unlikely to change between now and September.

That is the assessment the Public Service Commission received from Don Gregoire, WAPA’s Water Systems director, during Wednesday’s meeting of the PSC. The utility's chronically precarious financial situation is to blame, Mr. Gregoire told commissioners. “Our primary focus right now is just to keep the lights on and keep our WAPA employees paid,” he noted. The lack of finances prevents WAPA from filling water and fuel tanks to a sufficiently high level to offer protection against damage from high winds in a powerful storm.

As Mr. Gregoire explained, the ideal scenario would be to have metal storage tanks filled to 75-80% capacity, to enhance the tank’s ability to withstand strong gusts. However, “to achieve that number, to reach that capacity, it's going to be quite an investment. Definitely not capital that WAPA has.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which according to Mr. Gregoire is aware of WAPA’s current predicament, is “not in a position to assist us before the [emergency] declaration is issued.”

The current energy state of emergency declared in April by Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and recently extended until September, will be of limited assistance in helping WAPA get better prepared for a major storm. “It doesn’t open up any avenue for revenue specifically,” said WAPA’s interim Chief Executive Officer Ashley Bryan. Because it is not a federal state of emergency, any financial support would have to come from local government coffers. “It’s all subjective based on the ability of everyone to have the cash flow to support the needs of the authority,” Ms. Bryan said.

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