ST. CROIX — The governing board of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority approved three items during executive session today related to the appointment of a new CEO, the Estate Petronella solar farm on St. Croix, and the Rebuild VI initiative.
The board approved a mitigation power project on St. Thomas, a cost-increase for a water line rehabilitation project on St. Croix, and multiple finance-related matters during its regular board meeting held via videoconference between both islands as well as virtually.
The board approved the appointment of Karl Knight as CEO effective Monday.
READ MORE: “Karl Knight to lead WAPA as new CEO, shares vision for a thriving public utility”
The board approved execution of an agreement assigning the Estate Petronella solar farm power purchase agreements and battery energy storage system leases to VIRAPC Holdings Inc. from VI Electron. The Virgin Islands Renewable and Affordable Power Corporation is the parent company and 100% owner of VIRAPC Holdings.
The board approved the execution of the Rebuild VI memorandum of understanding with the Office of Disaster Recovery. Governor Albert Bryan Jr. announced the Rebuild VI initiative six months ago during his State of the Territory Address to group top-priority disaster recovery projects into billion-dollar bundles for procurement.
The board approved the executive director to enter into a not-to-exceed contract for $4.4 million with Haugland VI following a public bidding process for the construction and installation of a federally-funded underground electric project for Feeder 5A on the west side of the Randolph Harley Power Plant on St. Thomas.
Belgrave Stedman, an electrical engineer with WAPA’s Design and Construction Department, said the mitigation project will result in less repairs and the ability to reenergize customers faster after a windstorm in addition to providing more reliable power. He said the required permits have been obtained, noting the project is anticipated to take 14 months after the notice to proceed.
“The scope of the project is to replace overhead primary and secondary lines with underground infrastructure,” Stedman said while speaking from the WAPA conference room on St. Croix.
The board approved a change order cost increase for $1.1 million and an 84-day time extension to the new end date of November 26 for a water line rehabilitation project in Estate Hannah’s Rest that affects 109 customers and is funded through a federal grant. The project, which is 80% complete, includes replacing ductile iron pipes with PVC pipes to improve water quality and pressure.
The board approved an amendment to a federally-funded contract with FX Bonnes in the amount of $9.7 million that includes a 10% cost increase and a three-year time extension to April 17, 2028.
Cordell Jacobs, WAPA interim director of Transmission and Distribution, said FX Bonnes provides planning project management, construction management, and engineering and design support to the Authority’s hazard mitigation underground projects. He said the original rates are from a 2020 contract, so the cost increase is due to inflation.
The board approved a no-cost extension to September 3 of the 2022 bond anticipation notes, which are short-term, interest-bearing securities that pave the way for future long-term bond issues. The 2022 BANs were set to expire at the end of the month, so the board approved a one-month extension to allow negotiations to be completed.
The board approved a one-year renewal of the FirstBank lines of credit and the FirstBank overdraft credit facility to expire July 31, 2025 at a cost not to exceed $70,000, inclusive of transaction-related fees, expenses charged by the bank, and WAPA-incurred legal expenses.
The board approved a one-month, no-cost extension to August 31 of Banco Popular credit facilities.
The board approved a three-month extension of WAPA’s fiscal year 2024 budget to permit the operations of the Authority to continue at FY 2024 levels until October 31.
