In anticipation of having 75 percent of power restored on St. Croix by Wednesday, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull changed the curfew on St. Croix to 12 midnight until 6 a.m., a move welcomed by most Crucians who have complained bitterly on the talk radio shows this week about the curfew.
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority expects to have St. Croix restored to 85 percent of its normal electrical load by this weekend, according to a release from WAPA Wednesday afternoon.
On Tuesday evening, 70 percent of St. Croix’s normal electrical load before Hurricane Lenny had been restored. Raymond George, executive director of WAPA, said he expects 75 percent of the load to be restored by Wednesday evening.
George said he would know Wednesday if linemen from the Puerto Rico Electrical Authority would be sent to St. Croix to assist in the Hurricane Lenny Recovery. Every effort is being made to have PREPA crews on St. Croix by the weekend.
Offers of help from Southern Energy, the company that was contracted after Hugo and Marilyn and that is trying to buy WAPA, was rejected earlier this week.
The release said that having President Bill Clinton declare the Virgin Islands a disaster area would permit WAPA to move the PREPA linemen to St. Croix on a expedited basis through the Federal Emergency Management Agency .
The Authority would not have funds without the disaster declaration to bring any outside linemen into the territory to assist with the Hurricane Lenny Recovery, the release said.
PREPA lineman have assisted WAPA in the Hurricane Hugo and Marilyn Recovery efforts in the past, according to George.
Lineman from the St. Thomas/St. John Water Island District were sent to St. Croix on Tuesday to work in East End St. Croix on the St. Croix Hurricane Lenny Recovery effort. The addition of the St. Thomas/St. John lineman will expedite the recovery effort by one week.
Meanwhile , parts of St. Thomas experienced power outages on Wednesday afternoon.
Feeders 8 and 7 a were down due to condensation on Unit 18, according to WAPA spokesperson Patricia Blade Simmonds.
