Nov. 6, 2003 — Large swaths of St. Croix lost electrical power just after dawn Thursday morning. The Water and Power Authority reported that the first failure happened at 6:36 a.m., when its Unit No. 20 tripped, leaving Feeder No. 2 dead.
Feeder No. 2 supplies power to the island's East End.
WAPA quickly brought its Unit No. 19 on line, restoring power at about 6:50 a.m., but that machine failed a little after 7 a.m.
"Plant operators opened Feeders Nos. 3 and 6 at 7:12 a.m. in order to stabilize the Richmond Plant operations and electrical service to the rest of St. Croix," according to a statement issued around 9 o'clock.
Workers had been able to restore power to Feeder No. 2 at 7:33 a.m., WAPA said, from Unit No. 19, but that generator tripped again just before 8 o'clock, putting out the lights in more of the eastern reaches, including Christiansted.
Feeder No. 3, which had been shut down after a fire destroyed a utility pole in Estate Work and Rest, was joined by Feeders 2 and 6 as unable to supply power.
WAPA reported later that full service to the island was restored around 11 a.m.
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