Nov. 30, 2007 — The governing board of Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority appointed Hugo Hodge Jr. as WAPA's next executive director, effective Jan. 1. Hodge, a native of the Virgin Islands and a graduate of Charlotte Amalie High School, has been the director of Griffin Power in Griffin, Georgia since 2005.
Hodge joins WAPA with marching orders to make alternative energy one of his top priorities, according to authority spokeswoman Cassandra Dunn. He brings with him a track record of improving and sustaining system efficiency, according to WAPA, which released a statement from Hodge expressing delight at returning to the Virgin Islands.
“Coming home to work for WAPA has been my lifelong dream and goal. People have asked me why I want to inherit a lot of problems, but I look at those problems as great opportunities,” Hodge said. “First and foremost, we must get more efficient, and once we achieve efficiency we can improve our economics.”
Hodge has a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Southern Polytechnic State University and a masters of business administration from Georgia State University. He signed a 3-year contract and will earn an annual salary of $150,000.
In other action Friday at WAPA's monthly board meeting, Interim Executive Director Nellon Bowry told board members he was hopeful, based on recent conversations with the governor, that WAPA will soon see some cash from Government House to help settle long-standing government debt.
"We got (verbal) commitments," said Bowry, who explained that Gov. John deJongh Jr. was investigating two revenue sources to help pay down the $10.9 million that government agencies owe the utility, both in current and past fees. Bowry is hopeful that as much as $5 million could be forthcoming.
Acting Interim Chief Financial Officer Maurice Sebastian echoed Bowry's confidence. "I know the governor is genuine in his effort and doesn't want to hear that the V.I. Government is not paying. He wants to make the authority whole," he said.
Included in the government’s WAPA debt is $4.8 million owed for street light maintenance and repair, the revenues for which derive from property taxes. Bowry told the board the governor has committed to immediately paying WAPA about $900,000 from monies collected for property taxes since May 2007. But, he said, the amount levied on property taxes to take care of the street lighting program doesn't meet needs.
"Two percent was half of what we need, so (WAPA’s portion of) the property tax would have to double, and that’s not going to happen,” Bowry said. He added that discussions are underway on bridging the gap, “…but nothing at the level that’s worth putting on the record.”
Board members are hopeful that cash expected from Government House, as well as a new increase in the surcharge placed on electricity, will help persuade WAPA's auditors that the financially troubled utility is moving in the right direction.
That increase was approved Thursday by the Public Services Commission — "a very positive step," according to Sebastian — but was still lower than requested and will be spread out over nearly double the time period requested. That means a projected revenue shortfall of between $9 million and $11 million by June of 2008, according to Glenn Rothgeb, WAPA’s chief operating officer.
A great deal of what plagues the utility, said board member Juanita Young, chairman of the group's financial and audit committee, is rapidly increasing oil prices.
“This is not a WAPA problem, this is a V.I. problem and we don’t regulate the cost of fuel. If fuel goes up…our options are limited,” said Young.
In other action, St. Croix Chief Engineer and Director of Water Gregory Willocks told the board that the heat recovery steam generator slated to be up and running by September 2008 on St. Croix remains on schedule.
“It’s the biggest project WAPA has ever undertaken, not only in terms of money, but size,” Willocks said. The $34.1 million generator will use exhaust from two turbines to heat water to steam without burning additional fuel, he explained. Two similar boilers are already in place, one on St. Croix and one on St. Thomas, but neither has the capacity this new one will generate.
The project is in line with WAPA’s priority to lessen its reliance on fossil fuels and will save customers up to $1.5 million a month, Willocks said.
WAPA also hopes to send out a request for proposals early in the new year seeking alternative energy proposals from contractors nationwide, and board members urged the PSC to approve the RFP in December, as hoped.
In other matters, the board approved funding in the amount of $228,850 to the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources for payment of the annual emission fees for 2006 in accordance with Title V of the Clean Air Act. The fees are a requirement of the Environmental Protection Agency and are based on actual emissions released by fuel-burning equipment in the St. Thomas and St. Croix power plants. WAPA said it is in compliance with all EPA regulations.
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