Oct. 15, 2007 — The V.I. Water and Power Authority has taken one more small step toward burying the power lines in Frederiksted, Christiansted and Charlotte Amalie.
In a special meeting Monday on St. Croix, WAPA’s governing board voted to petition the Public Services Commission (PSC) to use $2.3 million from the self insurance and hazard mitigation fund to bury the electric-distribution system in Christiansted. WAPA is already in varying stages of planning to bury power lines in Frederiksted and Charlotte Amalie.
Should the PSC grant the petition, the money will provide the 25-percent matching funds WAPA needs to secure a $5.2 million hazard-mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and provide a cushion to cover the possibility the cost of the project will increase before completion.
The utility wants to bury Christiansted’s electric system to reduce the impact of hurricanes and strong wind storms on aerial lines, and improve reliability of service in the downtown and adjacent areas, said Nellon Bowry, who is serving as WAPA’s interim director while its governing board seeks a permanent candidate for the position.
“We believe this is just the type of project that the self insurance hazard mitigation fund is intended to address,” Bowry said.
The reserve fund has a balance of more than $6 million. The money came from the self insurance/hazard mitigation surcharge on monthly electric bills. The PSC approved the surcharge in March 1994. The charge was suspended in early 2006 when the fund reached its cap of $8 million.
Some of the hazard-mitigation funds were committed earlier this year when the PSC approved the use of $1.5 million to purchase transformers and make repairs to steam turbine unit No. 13 in St. Thomas’ Randolph Harley Power Plant. The turbine was damaged by fire in July.
Burying Christiansted’s power supply will be completed in two phases, according to a news release from the utility. The first phase will include the installation of primary line duct banks and cables from the Richmond substation throughout Christiansted town, installation of transformers, and construction of electrical and communication manholes. The second phase will include the installation of secondary lines to connect the system to homes and businesses and power streetlights. Each phase is expected to take about a year and a half.
The PSC approved a similar petition last July to provide $408,000 in matching funds to bury the downtown Charlotte Amalie electrical system on St. Thomas. With the assistance of the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency, WAPA anticipates receiving a $1.6-million grant through FEMA’s pre-disaster mitigation program to bury the distribution lines underground on Main Street and surrounding areas. That project will be completed about 18 months after WAPA gets the funds from FEMA in early 2008, according to WAPA.
The utility anticipates completing its first underground project, Frederiksted feeder No. 8, by July 2008, according to Gregory Willocks, WAPA’s chief engineer on St. Croix.
WAPA is presently preparing to solicit quotations for the purchase and installation of cabling and the hardware needed to activate the feeder from Emancipation Drive at the western end of the Melvin Evans Highway to the legislature building in Frederiksted. The final phase will include building a switching station in Frederiksted town and tying in feeder No. 8 with feeder No. 10 to better serve the northwestern areas of St. Croix, WAPA said in the release.
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