March 11, 2009 — The V.I. Water and Power Authority reopened its St. Croix customer-service offices at Sunny Isles Wednesday, a week after they closed for emergency repairs.
On March 3, WAPA temporarily moved its customer operations to the Innovative Building at 4006 Estate Diamond, situated between the Sunny Isle Shopping Center and the Juan F. Luis Hospital.
St. Croix customers can make payments at the walk-up cashier windows on the northwest corner of the Sunny Isles building. The cashier windows will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Regular cashier hours will resume next week: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Customers needing to speak with a service representative can enter the building through the front or side lobby doors and follow the signs to the WAPA offices. Representatives will be available this week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. Regular hours from Monday through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon will resume next week.
To be served by a representative, customers can enter the lobby and sign the customer log at WAPA's security-guard station. Customers are asked to remain in the area so that they can be called and served in the order of arrival. Long lines and service delays should be expected initially because the offices have been closed since last week, so customers are urged to exercise a great deal of patience. Every effort will be made to provide service as quickly as possible, according to a news release from WAPA.
Customers can still make payments at First Bank, Banco Popular and Bank of St. Croix. Until further notice, payments by check or money order will still be accepted in the drop box at WAPA's Sunny Isle Annex location and posted promptly. Customers with a personal identification number (PIN) can pay online at viwapa.vior visit the website to apply for a PIN.
Disconnections for late payments will resume Monday. Customers are urged to pay delinquent bills by Saturday to avoid disconnection of water and power services.
The offices were closed last week for environmental problems, according to a release from Cassandra Dunn, WAPA's director of customer services and communications.
The problems began when fumes from materials used by the landlord's contractor to repair the roof infused the building, causing employee discomfort. Efforts to alleviate the odors created other problems that subsequently required cleaning air vents and other measures to guarantee air-quality standards, the release said.
"Despite our best efforts to correct the problems during evening and weekend hours, a decision was made (last week) to completely close the building and take a more comprehensive approach to addressing the employees' concerns," said Hugo V. Hodge Jr., WAPA's executive director. "We also want to ensure that customers are comfortable while conducting business at our facility."
Technicians continue to work on the telephone systems. Customer calls will continue to be routed to St. Thomas customer-service representatives for assistance. St. Croix emergency calls can be made to 773-0150.
Back Talk Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
