WAPA blackouts continue, former AG says billing errors harming elderly customers

Blackouts and random disconnections are plaguing V.I. Water and Power Authority customers, and the utility still has not explained why a 100-year-old St. Thomas man, Alfred J. Williams, was recently left without power for more than six hours.

In the meantime, a lawsuit filed in 2021 that claims WAPA is using a faulty automated billing system has been winding its way through District Court. The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Terri Griffiths, said in a recent filing that the problems are causing particular harm to elderly residents.

In addition, WAPA feeders on St. Thomas and St. John went off without warning Monday afternoon, leaving thousands of customers without grid electricity for hours on another hot summer day.

After the blackouts began, WAPA issued a statement that work was being done on the new Wartsila generators, causing some feeders to be abruptly taken offline. WAPA spokeswoman Shanell Petersen said Monday the work is expected to continue for the next four months, but that advance notice of the blackouts is not possible.