Oct. 26, 2008 — Power to St. Croix has been about 95 percent restored, but a few areas are still in the dark and could be for another 10 days.
"Line crews made substantial progress over the weekend in restoring power to both the northwest and southeast portions of St. Croix as Hurricane Omar restoration efforts continued," energizing "many of the pockets or small sections of main feeders that were without power due to various problems, including blown fuses, damaged transformers, broken poles and fallen lines," according to a news release issued by the authority Sunday night.
Crews will continue work to restore hard-to-reach connections and areas obstructed by heavy debris from Category 3 Hurricane Omar, which passed over St. Croix Oct. 15, downing utility poles and doing other damage.
WAPA asked customers to help in the effort by replacing their damaged weatherheads and preparing them to accept connection. Weatherhead repairs must be verified by a certified electrician or an inspector from the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources before re-connection can be made, said the release from Cassandra Dunn, director of corporate communications.
Customers are also asked to assist line crews by chaining dogs, unlocking fences to allow access and moving cars parked in areas that present obstacles to repair trucks.
With the help of additional bucket trucks that arrived over the weekend, WAPA has set a goal of another week to 10 days to complete restoration to the entire island, Dunn said.
The authority asks customers to avoid downed power lines and to turn off circuit breakers while waiting for power to be restored to protect appliances and electronic equipment.
Water customers in Mon Bijou and Glynn are presently experiencing a service interruption because of low storage levels, the release said. Power supply to WAPA well fields was unavailable until Saturday, and lines must be flushed of possible impurities for at least 48 hours and water samples tested for purity before water service can be restored to customers. Customers in Mon Bijou and Glynn can possibly expect service by late Monday or Tuesday morning.
Questions about water or power can still be directed to the emergency call center at 713-9272 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Callers can dial 773-0150 after 8 p.m. to report problems.
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