Government House Communications Director Richard Motta confirmed Monday, alongside a statement from the V.I. Water and Power Authority Board, that the utility’s Chief Executive Officer Andy Smith had resigned but had little details about the transition process over the next 30 days or whether anyone is being eyed as a successor.
Smith’s contract with the authority is up on June 30 and according to WAPA officials, he opted not to renew, with the resignation coming prior to last week’s emergency governing board meeting. The WAPA Governing Board statement emphasized this was not performance related, praising Smith’s “changes and improvements” implemented during his tenure.
“Under CEO Smith’s leadership and vision, the authority embarked on an industry standard approach to commercial decision-making that is data and analysis driven,” it said. “Director Smith’s efforts have resulted in the acquisition of the propane supply infrastructure from Vitol, nearing receipt of grant funding, and the successful negotiations with Wartsila to remobilize and complete the installation of new generation and battery energy storage at the Randolph Harley Power Plant.”
The board, which is responsible for hiring and firing the authority’s top executive, said it is also “ensuring a smooth, sustainable leadership transition” and is expected to share more in the coming days.
Meanwhile, at a Government House press briefing and despite reports of Smith’s departure Sunday night, nothing about WAPA was mentioned until members of the media broached the subject during the question-and-answer segment.
Along with confirming the resignation, Motta said that the governor has continued to engage with the board under the current state of emergency, which was declared in late April in an effort to pay down a substantial amount of money owed to WAPA by the territory’s hospitals and Waste Management Authority. Along with approximately $11 million tapped from the Budget Stabilization Fund for the bills, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. has said another approximately $3 million was earmarked for the onboarding of a turnaround management agency that can conduct an assessment of WAPA and provide recommendations for its efficient, reliable and cost-effective operation.
A bill mandating the hiring of the agency was passed by the Senate, vetoed by Bryan, then overridden in early to late 2021, though Bryan has said no appropriation for it was included.
“A request for qualification has been issued so that process is moving forward,” Motta said during Monday’s press briefing. “No company has been identified as yet, but the process is moving forward and once that process plays through, then a company will be selected and then funded and then the process will take its course as prescribed by law.”
The Public Finance Authority, in a special meeting called for this Wednesday, is set to approve a resolution selecting a company and authorizing the PFA’s leadership to execute a contract.
