ST. THOMAS-ST. JOHN, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS (Oct. 22, 2026) – The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (“WAPA” or “the Authority”) continues troubleshooting generation equipment issues affecting service in the St. Thomas–St. John district following overnight disruptions, including repeated attempts to bring generating units back online.
For customers who have experienced repeated interruptions, each unsuccessful restoration attempt means more time without the power they depend on. WAPA is focused on stabilizing generation while identifying and correcting the equipment problems contributing to the interruptions.
WAPA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Karl Knight outlined several separate equipment issues that developed over the past several days, complicating the Authority’s ability to maintain sufficient generation and restore service following outages.
Last Thursday, a defective component caused repeated trips when a generating unit was restarted in automatic mode, affecting the operation of other units. Operators identified manual operation as a temporary workaround while the defective component is replaced.
On Friday, GE Unit 27 experienced a separate malfunction involving its control system. Following work on Saturday, the unit returned to service and operated through the weekend before additional problems emerged. A malfunctioning gas detector triggered an alarm and shut down GE Unit 27. When operators attempted to restart the unit, the earlier control-system problem recurred. Technicians are continuing to verify the suspected source of that malfunction before confirming the necessary corrective work.
Meanwhile, another generating unit, Wärtsilä 7, has experienced mechanical problems. WAPA has determined that more extensive repairs are needed to address the issue, which has also contributed to the district’s current generation shortfall.
The current disruptions also underscore the challenges of operating with limited available generation and insufficient redundancy when multiple units become unavailable. These operational challenges are compounded by WAPA’s ongoing financial constraints, which limit the Authority’s flexibility to address equipment needs while maintaining existing infrastructure and advancing improvements. Persistent under-recovery of operating costs continues to strain available resources.
Knight also explained that restoring the power plant after a districtwide outage presents additional challenges when the larger generating units are unavailable. As a result, restoration can take hours, and circuits that are initially energized may drop offline if the system becomes unstable.
“The crews have been working through these issues since Thursday, including returning to the plant after hours and working overnight,” Knight said. “We are bringing additional personnel from St. Croix to support the team as this work continues.”
WAPA is continuing efforts to restore greater stability to the St. Thomas–St. John generation system. Longer-term work includes repairs to Unit 15, preparation of additional generating units, and installation of new generation capacity for St. John. While these projects are moving forward, they do not resolve the immediate equipment issues, which remain the focus of the operations team.
WAPA will continue to provide updates as repairs progress, generating units return to service and more information becomes available about service conditions.
Customers may sign up for text notifications through WAPA Alerts at https://member.everbridge.net/892807736728730/new, follow WAPA’s official social media channels, @USVIWAPA, and visit www.viwapa.vi for service updates.
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