On Sunday, a complete power outage affected the islands of St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The disruption marked the second blackout in the area over the weekend, highlighting the territory’s growing issue with frequent power outages.
The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority announced that the outages resulted from a loss of power generation at a local plant. The initial blackout occurred late Saturday, but after power was restored overnight, another outage followed.
St. Thomas, the largest island, is home to over 42,000 residents, while nearly 4,000 live on St. John. Power outages are increasingly common in the U.S. Virgin Islands, prompting frustration and demands for immediate action on social media.
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. is working to improve the situation by directing about $100 million in federal funds toward the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority in recent years. However, challenges remain, as the utility still struggles to maintain service. Officials reported to legislators in April that outages are caused by storms, equipment shortages, limited generation capacity, equipment breakdowns, and postponed maintenance efforts.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration indicated that over half of the U.S. territory’s petroleum-powered generating units are more than 25 years old. The damage from hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017 compromised up to 90% of the islands’ transmission and distribution networks.
Plans are underway for the installation of temporary power generation and additional battery energy storage at a main power facility in the coming months. This initiative aims to reduce outages in the area.
Currently, renewable energy sources account for only about 3% of the power generated in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2024, electricity costs in the territory averaged around 33 cents per kilowatt-hour. This price is significantly higher compared to the U.S. average of 16 cents per kilowatt-hour, based on information from the U.S. Energy Agency.