WAPA approves $4 M contract for transformer upgrades
USA, Virgin Islands: Water & Power Authority (WAPA) of Virgin Islands has decided to procure new pad-mounted transformers instead of pole-mounted ones.
Image source: The Virgin Island Consortium
USA, Virgin Islands: Water & Power Authority (WAPA) of Virgin Islands has decided to procure new pad-mounted transformers instead of pole-mounted ones.
WAPA Board members were informed that the 117 new transformers, mounted on the ground instead of on poles, would be much more resilient to adverse weather conditions than the ones they would replace.
Even if the transformers do sustain damage in hurricanes, getting them back online would be easier since maintenance crews would not need bucket trucks to access the transformers for service or repair.
The board approved the contract for just over $4 M.
WAPA’s board also mulled over what to do with the large surplus of transformers it still has on hand that are unable to be used with the territory’s electrical grid, deciding to explore ways of liquidating the excess — which do not operate on the same voltages as the USVI’s power grid — to facilitate the purchase of additional transformers that the utility can actually use.
Source: The Virgin Island Consortium
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