June 30, 2006 – After a 45-minute delay with all in attendance wondering if a quorum was possible, the monthly meeting of the V.I. Water and Power Authority got under way Thursday.
The big-ticket item for this meeting was the approval of WAPA's 2007 budget.
The WAPA Board expects electric system revenues of $221,763,370 and anticipates expenses to be $218,404,185. The electric capitol expenses for 2007 are budgeted at $82,878,660.
For the water system, revenue is expected to be $32,721,026 and expenses of $32,664,134 are anticipated. The capitol projects budget for the water system is $12,074,450.
Additional expenses for 2007 include $200,000 to complete paying legal expenses related to the Richmond Dredging Project; $955,776 for facility security; and $45,000 for 2006 Homeland Security requirements.
All 2007 budget figures were accepted and approved by the Board.
Acting Executive Director Nellon Bowry told the Board that WAPA's proposal to the Public Services Commission for an increase in the Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause (LEAC) was not voted on because the PSC did not have a quorum at its last meeting. Since the PSC didn't respond by the July 1 request date, the rate increase went into effect automatically
However, WAPA has held good on a promise made by Alberto Bruno-Vega after the PSC meeting fell apart last week when one commissioner walked out, breaking the tenuous four-person quorum the commission has been left with, to accept the PSC consultant's lower rate increase of 21.9 cents per kilowatt hour. Right now it's 19.6. The original request was for 23.6.
There was unanimous approval to help customers who find themselves on the water or electrical service disconnection list. These customers can now request that accrued interest on their connection deposits be used by WAPA toward their overdue bills.
More good news for consumers came when John Klein of JDM Associates presented the Board with the Change the Light Campaign, a plan under which WAPA will purchase 60,000 high efficiency compact fluorescent light bulbs with $100,000 from PSM funds.
At events throughout the territory, WAPA customers will be able to exchange their old, less efficient incandescent bulbs for new, low-energy bulbs. Initially such an exchange would be limited to one bulb per household, but Klein pointed out that such an investment "will save the public close to $2 million a year by just changing one light bulb."
Residents can also expect to see informational videos on local television and in WAPA Service Center locations that explain things like the LEAC or how to lower energy consumption.
Board member Alphonso Franklin noted, "It is not a WAPA problem but a worldwide problem," referring to ongoing high-energy costs that have hit consumers all around the globe.
Board member Claude Molloy pointed out that he, like other V.I. residents, has felt the increased cost of electricity, citing his own home electrical bill running $400 a month.
On hand during a part of the board meeting were two of the Virgin Islands' brightest up and coming engineers, Cyril Andrews and Dexter Hypolite, the recipients of the 2006 Alva C. McFarlane Scholarship award of $60,000. The two young men beamed as photos were taken of them beside their proud mothers. Both high school graduates are enrolling in the electrical engineering program at the University of the Virgin Islands, after which they will transfer to a sister university on the U.S. mainland to finish their degrees before returning to work at WAPA for a five-year stint.
With all the inherent faults of a system based on oil, the challenge is before these young engineers and WAPA to make the conversion to an alternative energy source soon, before the consumers give up on the current system.
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