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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Hodge Shows Modern, Forward Moving Utility to YPN Group

Africa Harrigan asks predetermined questions of Hugo Hodge Jr.Water and Power Authority Chief Executive Officer Hugo Hodge Jr. debunked some of the usual myths and accusations thrown at the authority while exposing the seldom spotlighted forward moving and thinking side of WAPA.

The meeting Wednesday night at Windward Passage Hotel was part of the Young Professionals Network’s ongoing forum dubbed “Real Talk VI” moderated by Africa Harrigan and broadcast live over the internet. The pre-determined questions are posted to Facebook, Twitter and via email prior to the broadcast meeting.

When asked why he didn’t sue the government agencies that owe millions of dollars in back utility bills, Hodge said they were “slow pays, not no pays,” adding that in at least one case the problem was “internal.” He was speaking of the Juan Luis Hospital on St. Croix whose bill he said had been paid off twice since he took his position four years ago.

He also expressed compassion when asked why he didn’t “disconnect.”

“I had an employee who had to be air-lifted to St. Croix with a health emergency,” he said gesturing toward his heart. “You can’t turn them off.”

And the hospital knows that, he said, therefore paying their utility bill is not a priority.

When asked about the WAPA’s mandate to reduce its use of fossil fuels by 60 percent by 2025, Hodge assured the audience of young business men and women that the authority was aggressive in its pursuit of that goal, adding that the waste heat boiler on St. Croix has reduced fuel use by a third.

But he said, “I don’t think we can get there without some kind of waste to energy system.”

Waste to energy, as well as wind and solar energy are part of the authority’s forward thinking plans, and Hodge brought to light many modernizations that have taken place at WAPA, saying the utility is used throughout the region as an example of a next generation facility, boasting a state of the art substation.

Hodge also said the utility is only 36 months away from hooking into Puerto Rico’s grid on St. Thomas. He said the initiatives WAPA is taking, along with being chosen by Energy Development in Island Nations (EDIN) for a pilot project, have received attention up the food chain all the way to the State Department.

Hodge said he got a call from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s office.

“I didn’t believe it,” he said. “I thought it was one of my friends playing a joke.”

But it wasn’t. Clinton’s office is interested in observing how WAPA is going to solve its astronomical problems of being 100 percent fossil fuel dependent, along with being a tiny isolated group of islands vulnerable to not only natural but also unnatural disasters like wildly fluctuating oil prices.

The other dangerous impediment to solving the energy crisis in the territory, Hodge said, is the “loud minority” that continually drives energy companies and investors out of the territory.

“If we don’t start treating companies better, none of them will come here.”

He said the wrong signal is being sent to investors. “The head of the last company was warned not to come here, but he came anyway.”

That was Alpine Energy, the company that left months ago after years of ill-fated forays into trying to get the go-ahead for a waste to energy facility on St. Thomas and St. Croix. The waste to energy solution came out of years of focus groups and studies.

“They were told, ‘no pet coke,’ so they did away with the pet coke, only to be voted down by a bigger majority than that which had been against the pet coke,” Hodge said, speaking of Alpine. “People are not going to invest if they can’t make money.”

Addressing a question utilizing one of the myths about Alpine’s plan and the emissions, Hodge was clear that the rumors, loud mouths and lies continue to undermine WAPA’s efforts to move forward.

The question suggested the Alpine plan would have increased emissions by 30 percent. But Hodge pointed out it was a 30 percent decrease not increase that was expected.

“We allow people we wouldn’t let run our businesses to run the policy of our government,” Hodge said.

Hodge restated what he has said many times in the past, that it is up the ratepayers to reduce their bills by “plugging out.”

But he said, the authority is working on a web-based metering technology that will allow customers to go to their televisions or computers and determine in real time what their power usage is and find out also in real time how that changes when you unplug an appliance or battery charger, or turn off a fan.

A piece of advice Hodge said he gives to his 12-year-old son could apply to everyone: “You determine your future; nobody else determines your future.”

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