Standard & Poor’s recent decision to improve its outlook on V.I. Water and Power electric system bonds from negative to stable (See related link below) is because the utility is on an improving trajectory, according to V.I. Water and Power Authority Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr.
“The Water and Power Authority continues to take major steps forward in its overall strategy to reduce its dependence on oil to generate electricity, while at the same time, improving its efficiency while adding renewable energy sources to the power grid,” Hodge said, adding, “I anticipate that we will continue to see positive revisions to the outlook as we improve our competitive position through rate cuts for our customers and the steady progress being made to wean away from our once 100 percent dependence on oil in the production of electricity.”
While WAPA will continue to capitalize on the decline in oil prices in world markets, it will also continue to introduce lower cost propane powered generators and solar power to the electrical grid across the territory, Hodge said. “Through these means, we will avoid our exposure to the oil price swings that are so detrimental to the overall cost of electricity to all of our customers," he said in a statement.
The current rate of electrical service for residential customers is 39 cents per kilowatt hour and commercial clients are presently paying 42 cents per kilowatt hour, down from 51 cents for residential service and 56 cents for commercial users in September of 2014.
