Unit 15 Trips Again as Rotational Outages Continue; Contract for New Generation Still Pending

Rotational outages continued across St. Thomas and St. John Tuesday after a key generator failed again just one day after being returned to service, further straining an already limited power supply.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority acknowledged the “continued hardship” facing residents and apologized for the disruption to homes, businesses, and essential services. At approximately 9:25 a.m., Unit 15 — one of the Randolph Harley Power Plant’s aging generators — tripped again, triggering a districtwide interruption. WAPA said plant personnel identified additional mechanical defects as the root cause and will continue efforts to keep the unit available until its replacement is in service under the Prudent Replacement program.

The authority said efforts to restore Unit 27 are progressing and represent the fastest path to restoring generating capacity. Replacement parts are expected to arrive from Florida by Thursday so crews can begin accelerated repairs, while work on Unit 15 continues simultaneously. Until sufficient capacity is restored, outages are expected to continue, particularly during peak usage periods between approximately 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m.

The repairs come as the territory continues work toward replacing its aging power infrastructure through a FEMA-funded “prudent replacement” initiative, which includes rebuilding the Randolph Harley Plant on St. Thomas and the Richmond Plant on St. Croix. Puerto Rico-based RG Engineering was selected in December to lead design and pre-construction work for both sites under a progressive design-build approach.