Editor’s Note: The following was submitted to the Consortium on Wednesday evening by PSC Executive Director, Donald G. Cole. Because of the current crisis at WAPA that customers have been feeling the brunt of via utility rates, the Consortium has decided to include this opinion in the Breaking News and Featured categories of the website. In the past week the Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority (WAPA) has issued press statements that the three cents per kilowatt/hour surcharge now appearing on your bill is to pay for leased generators that the Commission insisted on.  To call this representation of the facts a distorted history, would be generous.   Unfortunately, WAPA has been, at best, reckless with its ratepayer’s money and careless with its operations for years.  The current result is that WAPA now has the highest rates in the United States and/or the Caribbean and still cannot cover its debts or its operating costs.  Under the current laws and court decisions in the Virgin Islands, and despite the PSC’s efforts to seek changes to current laws, the Commission cannot direct WAPA to do anything; per the court, all we can do is set rates. And to be clear, setting rates that deny WAPA funding for even its imprudent and unreasonable actions could result in WAPA “going dark.” The use of the current leased units exists as a result of WAPA’s past mismanagement, and the effect on rates of VI residences and businesses.  Again, to be clear, if not for leased generators, St. Thomas and St. John would already be dark, and the Levelized Energy Adjustment Charge/Clause (LEAC) rate would be substantially higher.  So, yes, the Commission has urged the use of leased generation as an interim measure; as a bridge to new generation technologies of greater efficiency.  But the “interim”…
Read More: PSC Response To WAPA’s Leased Generator Surcharge On Customers’ Bills
Source: VI Consortium