ST. CROIX, Virgin Islands – Virgin Islanders are beginning to see the light. As power returns to neighborhoods throughout the territory, street and traffic lights are becoming a familiar sight again, with more and more businesses and homes illuminated after dark.
After hurricanes Irma and Maria damaged almost 90 percent of the territory’s electrical grid in September, Virgin Islanders have spent weeks in the dark. Today, more than a third of customers have functioning power – and the territory is making headway in reaching its goal of restoring electricity to 90 percent of customers with functioning meters by the end of the year.
Boosting the emergency power restoration effort is more than $76 million in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance program. As a result of the major disaster declarations for the U.S. Virgin Islands, FEMA is funding 100 percent of the costs of such emergency work for 180 days from the declaration dates – until March 4, 2018, for Hurricane Irma, and March 15, 2018, for Hurricane Maria.
The funds are helping the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) cover the cost of bringing about 700 linemen from the mainland, as well as shipping in more than 10,000 poles (including many that can withstand 200 mph winds), hundreds of trucks and thousands of miles of wire.
“FEMA is funding the territory’s power restoration work in such a big way because electricity drives nearly every aspect of the recovery effort for survivors, for businesses and for communities,” said FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer William Vogel. “Our territorial partners are working nonstop to light up the islands again, and we’re pleased to support them in their efforts.”
Behind the scenes of the power restoration effort is a joint territorial/federal task force dedicated to developing strategies and courses of action for restoring power. Comprised of WAPA, the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the task force is focused on finding best methods of repairing generating facilities, transmission equipment and distribution systems. The task force is also looking for ways to build resiliency into the islands’ power systems for the long term.
Initially, the priority had been on making sure hospitals, schools and other critical public buildings were powered up and able to provide services to Virgin Islanders. To that end, USACE has installed nearly 160 industrial generators throughout the islands in the weeks since the hurricanes. Now, as communities get back on the power grid, USACE has begun de-installing generators – another sign of progress.
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Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-3362 (voice, 711/VRS - Video Relay Service) (TTY: 800-462-7585). Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish).
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
For official information on the recovery effort following the hurricanes, please visit www.informusvi.com or www.usviupdate.com. Follow us on social media at twitter.com/femaregion2 and www.facebook.com/FEMAUSVirginIslands.
To donate or volunteer, contact the voluntary or charitable organization of your choice through the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) at www.nvoad.org. For those who wish to help, cash donations offer voluntary agencies the most flexibility in obtaining the most-needed resources and pumps money into the local economy to help businesses recover. The Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands also has the “Fund for the Virgin Islands” at www.USVIrecovery.org.