Dear Source:
I want to thank Anna Clarke for her astute observations regarding the ability of the average Virgin Islander to install an alternative energy source. It is true that the cost of alternative systems, especially solar, is so prohibitively high that not many dare to install such a high-maintenance system even with the high cost of power in the Virgin Islands. It's not only the initial cost of the system, which could be anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 for a "starter" system but there are additional costs for battery maintenance, etc.
To have Mr. Bruno-Vega make the statement that homeowners should take the lead in holding down costs by purchasing alternative systems is ludicrous at best! W.A.P.A. is a government agency and operates within the realities of governmental politics. To have Mr. Bruno-Vega suggest that power users are at fault here is tantamount to the government itself making that suggestion. The real problem lies in a government who failed miserably to take the necessary steps years ago to foresee this current dilemma.
The Virgin Islands have some of the highest power rates in the world. That fact is regrettable and smacks of governance at its absolute worst! We keep hearing about energy programs where the government pays back for installation of alternative energy systems. There is an energy department within the DPNR that supposed to push these matching programs throughout the Virgin Islands. At times, we hear about these programs but they seem to wane as soon as they come about. It's not amazing to me, given our very desirable location that much more solar installations are not being used simply because our government has failed to publish and push the program which come from federal grants for this purpose. Where is the matching money? Did we lose that as well? Where are the statistics on the success or failure of the program? Is it possible we can't get matching money because the V.I. government failed to either push or mandate such installations? Should solar or other alternative forms of energy be mandated in building codes?
W.A.P.A. is not the only problem here. They have costs that they cannot control because the government has not taken the necessary steps to make us less dependent on oil or to invest in equipment that just may make the process of producing energy more cost effective. Hell, they can't even pay their own electric bills! Virgin Island laws require us to purchase oil at the commodity rate of the NYSE. It is rumored that Hovensa could sell cheaper oil if only the government would change the laws to allow local pricing. If that's true, then what the heck are we doing? Change the dang law! And don't use the old Organic Act excuse. The VI has every right to make any law that is a benefit to its people. We simply haven't had the political courage to do so.
And how about a direct oil pipeline from Hovensa to the W.A.P.A. plant on St Croix instead of expensive barges? It's only a mile from one to the other! Is the government afraid of taking land, even though it could help the economy of the entire Virgin Islands? Why pay millions of dollars in transport fees? Why isn't there oil storage on St Thomas for gasoline? We ship local (Hovensa) oil to Puerto Rico only to have it re-sent right back to us! It's absurd that we haven't addressed these important issues years ago. As it is, we, the bill payers, are stuck paying for yet another government blunder!
Yes, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Bruno-Vega, a government employee, actually accused us of being the culprits here! When will it ever end?
Paul Devine
St. John
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