WAPA urged by board chairman to develop independent energy sources for every home

Following recent struggles to maintain a consistent energy supply across the territory, the chairman of the Governing Council of the 6th Water and Energy Authority has called on the utility to actively explore a “distributed, decentralized approach” to energy.

Kyle Fleming, chairman of the WAPA board and director of the Virgin Islands Office of Energy, apologized for the “shameless plug” at last week’s board meeting, but nonetheless raised the issue of rolling out sustainable energy initiatives, such as home battery storage, on a much broader scale. He mentioned a company based in Vermont that faced similar challenges to WAPA – “very remote customers in its service area who struggle with the ability to centrally deliver electricity to the farthest corners of the grid.” As Mr. Fleming explained, Green Mountain Power’s work involves “the fundamental deployment of energy storage devices in residential homes, which… improves the quality of service the company is able to provide to these customers.”

While he said the Virgin Islands is “starting to come to the surface” when it comes to sustainable energy solutions, Fleming argued that the push shouldn’t necessarily come from the Energy Authority, but should be a utility-led strategy to capitalize on the scale. “I feel we would be remiss if we didn’t actively explore a distributed, decentralized approach to continuously providing the same quality of service that our community demands.” He revealed that VIEO’s efforts could reach about a hundred people, but given that the local utility is behind the battery storage push, thousands of households could be included. Consumers could use WAPA’s existing billing system to pay for battery storage setups, Mr. Fleming proposed.

But, as another board member put it, how does WAPA go from talking about the problem to ensuring its implementation, especially when the company is bogged down by an overworked staff and insufficient cash to cover its needs?

“According to Mr. Fleming, WAPA would need to identify “champions” within the company who could implement this idea. Without these key workers, important development paths “very easily become just ideas… that exist but don’t actually get implemented.”

Board member Hubert Turnbull expanded on Mr. Fleming’s comment, stating that overall, WAPA needs to provide “better service behind the meter.” Noting the rapidly aging population in the area, he noted that the frequent shutdowns and rationing currently experienced by St. Tomasz, they affect the elderly. He noted that energy storage solutions would be extremely helpful for this demographic, but added that the problem “is not just one for WAPA to solve.” He argued that input from partners was needed, including the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and possibly the Department of Health. “It goes beyond energy,” Turnbull said.