WAPA Faces Accusations of Widespread Consumer Fraud as Lawsuit Awaits Class-Action Determination

Consumers of electricity in the Virgin Islands are still awaiting word from the court on whether a lawsuit against WAPA for consumer fraud and deceptive business practices will receive class action status.

Several plaintiffs, who initially filed suit anonymously in 2021, sought leave from the court in January of this year to expand the lawsuit into a class- action, claiming that at least 50,000 of WAPA's ratepayers have been negatively impacted by chronic failures in WAPA's automated metering (AMI) system.

The class-action claim that the plaintiffs are seeking to add is one of consumer fraud and deceptive business practices, as the suit claims that WAPA and co-defendants Tantalus Systems Inc. and Itron Inc, who were involved in the manufacturing and installation of the smart meters, knew from the very beginning that the AMI system would not work. The lawsuit alleges that the companies “knew that this false information was provided to the United States Department of Agriculture…so WAPA could obtain a $13 million loan” to install the system.

Included among the named plaintiffs are Johann Clendenin, former chair of the Public Services Commission, who claims that even as a member of the entity that regulates WAPA, he was unable to avoid receiving inflated bills for electricity his household never consumed. “Indeed, Plaintiff Johann Clendenin, who was a PSC Commissioner, complained to WAPA about his invoices that he knew were not based on actual usage to no avail,” the lawsuit alleges. During his tenure at the PSC, “WAPA officials lied, deflected, and did not admit that the meters were failing in the thousands. They also concealed the fact that the communication system was non-functional,” the amended complaint claims. When Mr. Clendinen, in his capacity on the PSC, continued to raise objections about various issues with WAPA, “it led to his termination as a Commissioner based on blatantly obvious and meritless pretext,” the lawsuit claims.