The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority confirms that a gas leak was safely detected and contained at approximately 9 a.m. Monday, with a second leak occurring at the Randolph Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas around 11 a.m. The second leak delayed restoration but was also safely contained.
The plant’s emergency shutdown system activated as intended, and all personnel were evacuated per safety protocols for both occurrences. The team successfully vented the gas from the facility, preventing any risk of fire or explosion. There were no injuries, no environmental damage, and no danger to the public.
As a precaution, several generating units were taken offline earlier Monday following the detection of the leak, including Wärtsilä Phase I and Phase II units, resulting in reduced capacity at the power plant. Several feeders were impacted throughout the day as energy needs could not be met for the entire district. Following the second leak, WAPA plant personnel ensured all safety measures were followed before bringing the units back online and restoring service to impacted customers.
“Safety guided every step of our response to the gas leaks this morning,” said WAPA CEO and Executive Director Karl Knight. “Our crew carefully followed protocols to protect our team and customers before restoration began.”
Separately, approximately 1,087 customers on a portion of Feeder 7A experienced an extended outage due to a pole fire earlier this morning. Line crews completed repairs and isolated the outage but were unable to restore customers immediately due to the reduced generation capacity at the power plant.
As of approximately 6 p.m., all feeders were restored and are expected to remain stable throughout the evening peak with the operating units and the support of the Battery Energy Storage System at the plant. While two units are undergoing repairs, normal operations are still anticipated Tuesday.
WAPA sincerely thanks the St. Thomas–St. John community for its patience and support during what has been a challenging few days of unexpected maintenance repairs. Our teams continue to work diligently to maintain reliable service during peak energy hours, and we want to reassure customers that every action taken has been guided by safety and care for the community.
St. Croix Source
Alerts, Local government
