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WAPA Advises of Continued Rotations as Unit Repairs Progress; Some Relief Expected by Monday

Nov 07, 2026

ST. THOMAS-ST. JOHN, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS (Nov. 7, 2026) - Residents of the St. Thomas-St. John district should anticipate a continuation of power rotations over the next day as the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (“WAPA” or “the Authority”) undertakes necessary repairs to several Wärtsilä generating units at the Randolph Harley Power Plant.

As previously communicated, taking additional generating units offline to safely complete these repairs will temporarily increase the district's generation shortfall. As a result, outages will continue to be more widespread over the next 24 hours. WAPA anticipates reduced scheduled outages by Monday morning, with rotations potentially ending seven days later, based on the current repair timeline provided by Wärtsilä technicians.

The increased rotations are necessary to provide WAPA personnel and Wärtsilä technicians with a safe working environment as they perform repairs on generating units housed within the same engine hall. Protecting the safety of the employees and technicians that we are relying on to perform this work must remain a priority.

WAPA understands the fatigue that repeated power interruptions create for families and businesses in the district. The next several days will require additional support as crews work through these repairs, but the work is necessary to return the affected generating units to service and improve available generation capacity.

Residents and businesses in the St. Thomas-St. John district can assist with minimizing service interruptions by continuing to conserve power to the greatest extent possible during this period of reduced generation.

The Authority will continue to monitor generation availability and communicate adjustments to rotations as the repair work progresses.

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 and outage announcements.

The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s Communications Department is committed to reaching, informing, and connecting with the youngest members of the community to the eldest through meaningful, transparent, and effective communication.

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