Rotating power outages will likely continue Friday night in the St. Thomas-St. John district, depending on demand, as the V.I. Water and Power Authority brings generating units back online after a districtwide outage on Thursday, the utility announced.
The series of events began with a districtwide outage at approximately 9:45 a.m. on Thursday after a safety shutdown of the control system was triggered, resulting in the loss of propane supply to all active generating units, WAPA said in an update Friday afternoon announcing the rotation schedule.
“This safety mechanism was activated to protect the health and safety of WAPA personnel and contractors working at the Randolph Harley Power Plant. The system responded as designed to prevent potential injury or damage during ongoing operations,” WAPA said.
“Thanks to the swift response of our Operations and Maintenance contractor, Saintnals, the issue was resolved, and the control system was safely restored yesterday. Coordination with Saintnals at the propane terminal helped bring propane supply back online,” it added.
However, WAPA is currently experiencing a shortage in generating capacity due to several units undergoing mechanical repairs. As of Thursday afternoon, Unit 15 was operational alongside four of the seven Wartsila engines and the Donoe solar farm, according to WAPA.
“While we are working diligently to bring at least one additional generating unit back into service today, the current generation shortfall requires the continuation of rotating outages in order to maintain overall system stability,” it said. Customers may experience temporary service interruptions throughout the evening until sufficient generation is brought back online.
“We recognize the inconvenience this poses to our community and assure the public that full restoration remains our priority. WAPA appreciates the patience, support and understanding of our customers as our teams work around the clock to stabilize the system and restore service to all customers on the St. Thomas/St. John district,” WAPA said.
Following is the rotation schedule announced at 4 p.m. on Friday, which will only be activated if needed based on demand. Restoration may be delayed upwards of 15 minutes and the schedule is subject to change if demand increases or decreases. According to WAPA, not all feeders will be impacted as seen on schedule below:
4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Portion of Feeder 10B
Feeder 7A
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Portion of Feeder 9C
Feeder 7E
8:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Feeder 8A
Feeder 9E
10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
6B
