ST. CROIX — Following a weekend blackout that extended into Monday in the St. Thomas/St. John District, some public officials called for emergency action and federal intervention at the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, while others point to time factors not federal assistance.
Senator Ray Fonseca, the Legislature’s liaison to the U.S. Congress, issued a statement Monday calling on the lawmaking body to pass his resolution petitioning Congress to authorize federal oversight and management of WAPA’s daily operations, calling the “unreliable” power grid a “crisis that threatens the health, safety, and economic wellbeing” of everybody in the territory. He noted he submitted a bill request for his resolution on November 3, 2025.
“We submitted this resolution months ago and the situation has only gotten worse,” Fonseca said in a statement. “It is time for the Legislature to act. Pass this resolution and let us send a united message to Congress that the people of the Virgin Islands need and deserve federal intervention now.”
Fonseca noted that he is also urging Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett to introduce and champion corresponding federal legislation without delay.
Plaskett, in a press release posted Monday on her official gubernatorial campaign Facebook page, “Plaskett Potter HQ,” called on the current administration to implement five items without delay to include transparency, an immediate focus on transmission and distribution system management, increase funding for the local energy crisis assistance program, roll out the Virgin Islands Resiliency Gateway, and declare a state of emergency on energy and request a federal disaster declaration. Plaskett said in a video message on the page that she asked the governor in 2019 and again this year to request a declaration of a state of emergency for the territory’s energy system.
“This would unlock so much support from the federal government,” she said. “It would mean more resources, more technical support. It would also speed up the permitting process for us. We could also utilize from that emergency declaration batteries that would then be attached to substations; we could purchase them and use that for redundancy. When generation goes out at the plant, the batteries can go up.”
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. confirmed with WTJX in a text that Plaskett did ask him in 2019 and again this year to request a declaration of a state of emergency. He said, however, that Plaskett does not seem to understand the concept of a state of emergency.
“We have all the money and federal help we need,” Bryan said. “What we don’t have is time.”
The governor noted that WAPA has the funding to replace both power plants and energize St. John.
“Unfortunately, it’s not like you can just plug in an extra generator,” he said. “Perhaps if she paid more attention to the details of the issues and not politically pander for votes she would be of more help to the utility and the people of the Virgin Islands.”
Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach, acting governor while Bryan is out of the territory, rejected calls for federal intervention at WAPA during the weekly Government House news conference on Monday, stating that the territory can and must solve its own power crisis. He addressed the issue after reporters asked about the potential for a state of emergency.
“I do not agree that we should at this point be requesting federal intervention,” Roach said. “I think the people of the Virgin Islands are capable of developing our own solutions.”
WAPA Chief Executive Officer Karl Knight, speaking at a news conference earlier on Monday, stopped short of calling the situation an emergency, instead describing it as a “power crisis.”
“I don’t consider it an emergency at this point in time, but certainly it is a crisis that we’re trying to address,” Knight said, adding that if the situation became prolonged, WAPA might begin referring to it as an “emergency.”
When WTJX asked Knight during the news conference if the governor should declare a state of emergency so WAPA could benefit from federal assistance and technical help, Knight said the Authority already receives such aid.
“We have federal dollars that are being deployed, both for repair and replacement in the power plant,” Knight said. “We have ongoing relationships with consultants and technical assistance. A federal state of emergency, while it sounds good, doesn’t change the mode of operation for us significantly. FEMA has already declared an emergency. That is why we’re being funded for temporary generation, permanent generation. That declaration has already been made. Adding a federal declaration on top of that declaration doesn’t change their response to the emergency.”
In a press release issued Monday, Senate Vice President Kenneth Gittens said he “vehemently disagreed” with Knight's characterization that the situation was not an “emergency.”
“The frustration being expressed by residents today is justified, and I share that frustration,” Gittens said in the press release. “Over the past several days, families have lost hundreds of dollars in groceries, residents have worried about preserving life-sustaining medications, businesses have suffered interruptions, and countless households have experienced damage to appliances and electronics because of unstable power service. We definitely deserve better!”
Gittens has written to the Office of the Virgin Islands Inspector General requesting a status update on a forensic financial audit of the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority that was authorized nearly three years ago but has not yet been completed.
In his letter emailed Monday to Inspector General Delia Thomas, Gittens asked for a detailed progress report on the audit, an explanation of any factors contributing to delays, an estimate of the remaining work, and a timeline for when the final report can be expected.
Act No. 8731, which Gittens sponsored, directed the IG’s office to conduct the audit and appropriated $250,000 to fund the work. The bill became law after the Legislature overrode the governor’s veto, according to the letter.
Gittens said in the letter that the passage of time has heightened public concern.
“At this point, we need facts, not speculation,” he stated. “The findings of this audit may help identify operational weaknesses, management failures, systemic challenges, or other factors that have impacted WAPA’s ability to deliver reliable service. Whatever those findings may be, the people of this Territory deserve to know the truth.”
