TMCnet News
WAPA approves $265K for stateside training for line crew [The Virgin Islands Daily News, St. Thomas](Virgin Islands Daily News (St. Thomas) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 24--ST. CROIX -- The V.I. Water and Power Authority's Board of Directors met in its monthly meeting Thursday and approved close to $265,000 to have about half of its line crew complete Live Line Certification training programs. Clinton Hedrington, transmission and distribution director, said 26 line crew members from across the territory have been selected to travel outside of the territory to complete training with Technical Electrical Consulting and Training, Inc.. The training is needed to certify the personnel in the execution of energized power line work on WAPA's transmission and distribution system, according to Hedrington. Upon successful completion of the program, WAPA will have additional personnel on all three islands who will be able to perform routine and scheduled pole and line replacement or maintenance work without power interruption in the area, which will translate to saving the utility money, Hedrington said. In his report to the board, Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. said he is proud of the work that 10 linemen are completing after they traveled to Anguilla to aid in disaster recovery efforts following the passing of Hurricane Gonzalo two weeks ago. He said the men had already been trained in doing live-line work and were regarded as highly capable when linemen in Anguilla realized the benefits of having that type of qualifications. "The power company in Anguilla turns off power to the lines to work on them, but there are some problems on the line that you can't find out until the line is re-energized, so our team has realized the value in that time they could have saved in detecting problems," he said. Hodge said he continues to see a line department that is thriving with young individuals who are willing to work and always anxious to learn more and that in itself goes against the grain of the national trends. He said everyone who is eligible right not is going for the training by next summer. Hodge also told the board that all of the LPG storage tanks on St. Croix have been relocated to the Richmond plant, and WAPA will be preparing to transport the St. Thomas storage tanks in the coming weeks. With all board members present at the meeting, they approved the extension of a contract to have Leidos Engineering continue to provide technical assistance with the development of rate-related items required by the Feed-in Tariff Bill. Chief Financial Officer Julio Rhymer explained the summary request that now allows Hodge to give an extension to continue to provide assistance until everything is in place. The extension is needed because WAPA will purchase electricity that will be produced by the renewable energy generator according to the Feed-in Tariff power purchase agreement between WAPA and the owner of the renewable energy generator connected to WAPA's grid, Rhymer said. The tariff is subject to the terms in the bill passed in April, but while the scope of work has been completed, the Public Services Commission has not yet reviewed or approved it, he said. In a unanimous vote, the members approved the use of $4.2 million for the engineering, design and upgrade of the fire protection system at the power plants in Sub Base and Estate Richmond. Gregory Rhymer, WAPA's chief operating officer, said approval of the request will allow the utility to perform detailed engineering design, specifications and RFPs to allow commissioning combustion units to safely burn liquefied petroleum gas at the Richmond and Harley power plants. The work will be done in two phases, according to Gregory Rhymer. The first phase, costing $1.3 million, will focus on the fire and gas detection system and area class modifications and trench remediation, and the second phase will address fire-fighting systems at a cost of $2.6 million. Construction management cost was estimated at $250,000. Gregory Rhymer said the design also addresses out-of-code compliance issues of the existing fire protection system and facilities which will ultimately lead to a reduction in property insurance premiums. The upgrades are expected to be completed by next October, he said. Rupert Pelle, water distribution director, presented the "WAPA Working for You" segment of the meeting and gave a overview of the strength and weaknesses of the system. - Contact reporter Fiona Stokes at 714-9149 or email [email protected]. ___ (c)2014 The Virgin Islands Daily News (St. Thomas, VIR) Visit The Virgin Islands Daily News (St. Thomas, VIR) at www.virginislandsdailynews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |