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WAPA CABLE TO ST. JOHN LAID; JUNE FULL-USE TARGET

March 25, 2004 – The V.I. Water and Power Authority moved another step closer to improving St. John's electrical service with the installation of an undersea cable on Wednesday.
WAPA spokeswoman Patricia Blake-Simmonds said Thursday that the day-long job was finished by the end of the day. "Except for maybe the termination," she added.
The $1.9 million cable runs 18,000 feet from Great Bay in St. Thomas to Frank Bay in St. John. It will replace a 19-year-old deteriorated cable that now runs from Cabrita Point near Red Hook to St. John. The cable is one of two that supplies power to St. John.
The cable that will be replaced is in such bad shape that WAPA director Alberto Bruno-Vega said that St. John's power situation will be critical until the new cable comes on line. He expects it to be fully operational by June, although WAPA could use it before that time in an emergency.
WAPA also needs to replace the cable because, if one of the two cables goes down, WAPA can't meet St. John's peak demand with only one cable.
Bruno-Vega said in a news release that should this happen, St. John would face several days of rotating blackouts and irreparable damage to the functioning cable. (For Bruno-Vega's comments on St. John's power situation and WAPA's future plans, see St. John's eventual electrical power outlook bright, the Source article on a February St. John town meeting.)
In emergencies, WAPA turns on the Silver Arrow generator, but it only powers Cruz Bay.
WAPA is in the midst of constructing a $2.9 million substation at Frank Bay in St. John. This will allow the agency to increase voltage to St. John. It now transmits power on the submarine cable at only 13,000 volts, the maximum it can manage without a substation. Construction should be finished in May.
While WAPA's latest efforts will improve electrical supply to St. John, the island will still be dependent on St. Thomas for its power. WAPA is also in the midst of improving its capabilities at its Krum Bay power plant and its distribution line to St. Thomas' East End.
The new cable was manufactured by Kerite Cable Services in Seymour, Conn. Durocher Marine, a Kerite subcontractor, laid the cable using the barge Ybor-City.
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