LEAC increase

i saw that this a.m. skye. another shot in our arms.....with running a/c, hot tub, two refrig,, dryer and freezer in VT elec. was around 100.00 and that was the most expensive.

this is bad news for us.

My electric bill in Texas was around $350 ~ $400 a month. It's less here for me, because I don't run A/C all the time. If we did though it would be more.

The increase comes as no surprise at all. But gasoline should be a little less pricey for a while as the Hovensa rack rate just decreased.

Start saving to pay your WAPA bill$!
We are in for it now with the present state of the economy in the VI and alll of the merchant/private sectror business closings over the last couple years. Looks like there shall be more closings possible and more financial strain on all of us.
The future does not look "bright."

A 20% increase!

Is it time for protests, clashes and actions against the utility yet?

If not now...when will sleepy VI residents wake up?

After January 1st when rates go up another 20%?

what could have been:
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2000/08/12/southern-defeated

what could have been:
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2000/08/12/southern-defeated

Please note that Chunky voted against the sale.

what could have been:
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2000/08/12/southern-defeated

Please note that Chunky voted against the sale.

The ONLY Senator who did so. I wryly noted that with the knowledge that this will be one of her major platforms when persuading de people-dem to cast their votes for her. I expect her oratory volume will reach new decibel highs and no microphones will be needed to hear her. Might be wise to stand outside spitting distance at her rallies as she's bound to be frothing at the mouth.

I can't recall but do not think that Chucky was the ONLY Senator to vote against selling WAPA.
If she was, then the bill would have passed and we might not be held hostage to the ever escalating costs of living and doing business in the VI. There were certainly more Senators that voted against it.

Anyone remember?

Sorry, didn't read the link prior to posting.

Voting against the joint venture were Sens. Adelbert M. "Bert" Bryan, Donald "Ducks" Cole, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg, Judy M. Gomez, George Goodwin, Alicia "Chucky" Hansen, Norman JnBaptiste, Almando "Rocky" Liburd and Vargrave Richards.

I too, must change any channel Chucky comes out on as her scheeching, tiresome, tirades are akin to listening to nails on a chalkboard or worse and make my head want to explode.

My bad. I wasn't referring to Chucky's actions where the sale of WAPA was concerned but the fact that she was the only Senator who, after hearing all the testimony, voted against the current LEAC increase.

what could have been:
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2000/08/12/southern-defeated

Here's my opinion of what could and would have been.....utility costs would be just as high if not higher. Companies are in business to make a profit and the only way for a company to make this utility efficient and profitable would be to raise prices.

The best case scenario for the Virgin Islands is to keep WAPA public.

That's the same lie we always hear. Your day is coming to an end, Cruz.

WAPA is not public. It is a quasi-governemt entity and that is and has ALWAYS been the problem.
When has our Government run anything properly, efficiently and cost saving to the public?

*-) ok SunnyCaribe...thanks for the chuckle....I'm just putting two on two together. Everyone would love a more efficient and quality ran utility, but that cost money. The utility is currently being run on old equipment that uses oil, which cost money. New investment into equipment will cost money. Now, if the utility was privatized how would the aforementioned things be paid for???? Will they be paid for with lower rates??? Like I said, I'm just putting two and two together......

@Alana...when I said public, I meant govt run....you know the mantra "for the people, by the people":-)

@Alana...when I said public, I meant govt run....you know the mantra "for the people, by the people"

I know the concept but don't think I have seen it in action in the VI.
The same problems we have now, we have had for over 2-3 decades or more without solutions or intelligent focus.
We had an already antiquated, unreliable WAPA 20 years ago, our cost of generating electricity creating the constant rise in the cost of living and doing business, bad and ill lit roads, crime, education, waste disposal, to name a few. Sound familiar?
What's Changed?. NOTHING. We pay our taxes and get Nothing in return.

I have to say there are more user friendly places to live when it comes to our local leadrship, who takes no responsibility in how our tax dollars are spent. Have you heard any Senator come out and actually discuss the missing $6.9Million Dollars of their legislative budget?

When the rates were HALF of what they are now, it was cheaper for large businesses to generate their own electricity than to buy it from WAPA.

It is now cheaper for homeowners to generate their own electricity, if they conserve reasonably, than to buy it from WAPA.

And still, there are voices like Cruz, who continue to suggest that Virgin Islanders don't deserve any better than the raping they are getting from their own.

Utterly, thoroughly, completely disgusting.

what could have been:
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2000/08/12/southern-defeated

Here's my opinion of what could and would have been.....utility costs would be just as high if not higher. Companies are in business to make a profit and the only way for a company to make this utility efficient and profitable would be to raise prices.

The best case scenario for the Virgin Islands is to keep WAPA public.

A large cash infusion into the utility by a company with a huge bankroll would have allowed them to drastically increase its efficiency and lower the amount of money lit on fire by constantly repairing generators that are constantly on the brink because we keep throwing bandaids on them. Our rates would have lowered and they still would have turned a profit in the long run - they wouldn't have offered to buy it AND forgive the government's debt to it completely if they didn't believe this, and I think they knew what they were doing.

... I don't think it's "rape" at all - this is what it costs to generate and distribute electric power and we have to pay for it. But what to do about it? Will this situation logically progress until we are beaten down to just refrigeration and a few lights, maybe the internet and radio? Forget about arguing whose fault it is and lost opportunities - bad moves were made in the past and now we see the result. Too much palaver about losing "local control" and now it appears not have been about that at all - it was really about getting the best deal for money spent. But WAPA is a big employer - would assumed elimination of jobs by off-island companies be a much greater economic loss balanced against higher utility bills?

There are over 600 coal-fired power plants in the US...
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Existing_U.S._Coal_Plants

US residents pay less because it is cheaper to run the plants off of coal...also much dirtier.

There are also lots of nuclear power plants...
http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/

There is really no fair way to compare our utility costs with the mainland.

We can build a small nuclear power plant 😮 (imagine WAPA running a nuke), we can convert to coal 😮

...or we can go solar.

Something needs to happen, and soon...preferably before WWIII starts...closing the Straits of Hormuz will result in $300.00 a barrel oil prices due to shipping insurance.

The Straits of Hormuz will be closed soon if the politicians and militarists have their way and attack Iran.
A successful attack on Iran can only be accomplished with nuclear weapons.
The upcoming nuclear surprise attack on Iran will draw Russia and China into the fight, starting WWIII...our WAPA issues will become trivial then.

Pay attention to the news, there is a lot going on that will affect us in a really bad way...you ain't seen nothin' yet.

A large cash infusion into the utility by a company with a huge bankroll would have allowed them to drastically increase its efficiency and lower the amount of money lit on fire by constantly repairing generators that are constantly on the brink because we keep throwing bandaids on them. Our rates would have lowered and they still would have turned a profit in the long run - they wouldn't have offered to buy it AND forgive the government's debt to it completely if they didn't believe this, and I think they knew what they were doing.

Of course they knew what they were doing. It was a win-win for everyone and a totally crashing blow when the numb nuts finally turned down the offer. Probably the stupidest move the government has ever made in its history. The Southern Company continues to prosper and stay in the forefront of technology while here we flounder in the same old pit we were in back then with no relief in sight.

http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-news/2012/09/25/christensen-seeks-federal-help-unsustainable-vi-energy-costs#comment-2535

Here's a quote from the above article: "Hovensa, which closed its oil refinery earlier this year, is adamant about not allowing other suppliers to use its port and storage facility, when some have said they can supply cheaper and cleaner fuel. Calling the territory’s position “extremely precarious,” Christensen called that position is "tantamount to holding us all hostage.”

We need to sell WAPA...surely there has to be some energy company that would buy is old piece of junk.
So sad to read above that "Chunky"was one of the Senators that voted against sell WAPA to the Southern Company.
She and the other Senators like her are so uneducated as to the real world that most of the good people of the Virgin Island live in...she only lives in a world of greed!!!

Where have all the smart good men and women gone???

I think it is time for me to refer everyone back to an earlier post.

https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,170683

All of the other island nations are ahead of the USVI and have gone to modern medium speed diesel-engine generators that are 45% efficient (... over 50% eff. with waste heat recovery). They can use the dreaded fuel oil or natural gas as an option.

The video also discusses renewables in the mix to supplement, however, there still needs to be a majority of prime power that can produce 24-7.

The sale to Southern Company would have put the VI light years ahead .... since they have deep pockets and due to it being a for-profit company, they need to operate lean and mean. The PUC would still set electric rates so that we would not be gouged.

If WAPA was sold or privatized to for-profit, it will take some time (years) before we see positive (lower cost) results. But at least they would have a plan as required by their stock holders.

Right now WAPA and the Gov.t know the right answers, but with no money, they try to "appease" us with renewables (solar / wind) as our Savior.

I see 2 options now. Fed. Gov.t take-over / monetary help OR sell the WAPA generating assests (.... WAPA continues with transmission / distribution).