A photo circulating online and a late-afternoon power outage across St. Thomas–St. John Wednesday had residents speculating about a possible explosion at the Randolph Harley Power Plant. However, officials say there’s no emergency.
Shanell Petersen, spokesperson for the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, told the Source Wednesday night that the smoke seen coming from the plant was not the result of an explosion or fire.
According to WAPA, the outage began when the plant experienced a low-frequency event earlier in the afternoon, affecting two feeders. In an effort to stabilize the system, operators attempted to bring Unit 15 online. That attempt failed, resulting in smoke being released from one of the plant’s stacks, and the district’s remaining feeders being affected — but again, no fire was reported.
As of 7 p.m. Wednesday evening, there was no estimated timeline for full power restoration, though crews continue to work on resolving the issue.
The Source will provide updates as they become available. Customers are also encouraged to monitor WAPA’s official Facebook page for the latest information.
St. Croix Source
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