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HomeNewsArchivesWAPA Board Approves Cleaning of St. Croix Waste Heat Boilers

WAPA Board Approves Cleaning of St. Croix Waste Heat Boilers

The V.I. Water and Power Authority governing board approved a $390,000 contract to clean its waste heat boilers on St. Croix at its regular meeting Monday. The contract with Precision Ice-blast Corp. provides for cleaning of HSRGs 21 and 24 super heat tubes, ice blasting the stack and outer walls of HSRG 21, and applying high temperature paint to the stack and walls. Once the units are cleaned, they will be more efficient, according to WAPA.

The board also authorized an increase in a contract with V.I. Paving to build a temporary water bypass while completing work on a new water transmission manifold for customers in the Mon Bijou area. The temporary bypass will cost $137,000 and includes a 10-inch C-900 pipe and two additional 16-inch magnetic flow meters. It will allow the contractor to tie the new 24-inch manifold to the existing pump station without disrupting service to customers. The entire project will help to reduce line loss caused by aging pipeline in the existing infrastructure and will increase the reliability of the Richmond Pump Station, according to WAPA.

The board also authorized Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. to enter into a contract with Evertec Group LLC for $450,000 per year for billing and mailing services from July 2014 through June 2017. Outsourcing the authority’s mailing and billing services saves between $50,000 and $70,000, WAPA says.

The board approved a contract with Electric Supply of Tampa Inc. for transmission and distribution line materials on consignment. The annual consignment purchase agreement, at a cost of $927,000, allows for large and frequently used materials to be readily available and onsite at the authority’s facilities or in a secured facility in Tampa, but readily available to be sent to WAPA as needed. There is no cost for the materials stored until they are used.

Board members in attendance at Thursday’s meeting included Chairman Gerald Groner, Vice Chair Juanita Young, Secretary Noel Loftus, Planning Committee Chair and V.I. Energy Office Director Karl Knight, Cheryl Boynes-Jackson and Elizabeth Armstrong. Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Wayne Biggs and Donald Francois were absent.

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