WAPA Worries as State of Emergency Safety Net Lifted

Water and Power Authority officials shuddered Thursday at potential existential threats to the long-troubled utility posed by its own regulators this week.

WAPA CEO Karl Knight said an idea floated at a recent Public Services Commission meeting to reduce the rate Virgin Islanders pay per kilowatt hour may seem attractive but would work to undermine the authority’s tentative footing as it works toward the yet-distant goal of financial solvency. Also troubling was the Legislature’s decision Wednesday to end the state of emergency that had allowed Government House to quickly inject cash for fuel when needed for the last roughly eight months, Knight said.

“I think it was ill-advised. We are in a precarious situation. The ability to call on the executive branch to support us with our cash flow … that’s a helpful lifeline. Whether we use it or don’t use it, having the ability to be backstopped in that fashion allows us to make better decisions because a lot of the decisions we make, when it comes to cash flow, are just in time. We are looking at cash collections this week to see if we can pay the bills at the end of the week. If we were to come up short in any week, the ability to say, ‘hey, we’re a little short, can you assist,’ that’s helpful,” he said at a meeting of the board of directors Thursday.