During the V.I. Water and Power Authority’s monthly board meeting, board members approved a plan that would bring automated meter reading to the territory.

WAPA has been exploring this option for the past eight years, and on Monday, the board approved a work plan that would allow these automated systems to be deployed throughout the Virgin Islands. WAPA expects the time frame for implementation to be somewhere around 18 months, generating a savings of approximately $26 million per year.

Instead of having meter readers come to the home, WAPA will now have the ability to get its customers’ usage remotely with a smart meter that has the ability to send the data back to the office. Officials said Monday that no employees will lose their job during the transition – current meter readers will be transferred to the transmission and distribution division and will be learning how to maintain the new smart meters.

Board members said the new system will result in less theft, less meter tampering and less unreported metering periods.

Also approved was a one-year extension to a contract with RW Beck for the completion of an “auto staking” system for the authority’s GPS inventory and GIS implementation project. According to board members, RW Beck has already finished a territorywide inventory of WAPA’s equipment, along with a GIS, or electronic map, of the authority’s transmission and distribution system.

Board members explained that the outstanding component, the auto staking system, would allow for technicians to start mapping out electronic improvements to a customer’s home – such as the addition of poles or lines – on a computer instead of by hand.

There will be no added cost to the project, board members said. A motion to approve the extension passed unanimously.

Board members also authorized Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. to find a funding source for an approximately $2 million environmental study on the feasibility of a possible interconnection between Puerto Rico and the territory. The project is still being touted by Puerto Rico’s new governor and Congress, and board members believe that this connection could be the kick-off to other interisland connections within the region.

The money would cover a contract with CDR Maguire.

Repairs and re-assembly of the Unit #11 steam turbine for return to service was also approved Monday. Once completed, the unit will tie into Units #15 and 18, helping them to run more efficiently and allowing the authority to finally shut down Unit #23 for much needed repairs.

WAPA did not go through the usual bidding process for the contract. Hodge explained Monday that in order to speed up the process, the authority had to bypass advertising the contract and personally contact companies that would be able to do it quickly.

Getting the units to run more efficiently would allow WAPA to save $584,640 per week in fuel, according to board members.

Also approved Monday was:
– the purchase of two used bucket trucks from I-80 Equipment, and one used bucket truck from Peco International, with funds coming from the authority’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget;
– the purchase of underground feeders (no new money will be used);
– the purchase high voltage cables ($257,771) and transformers ($217,440) from Electrical Supply of Tampa.

Board members present included Gerald Groner, Noel Loftus, Karl Knight, Wayne Biggs, Donald Francois, Alicia Barnes and Cheryl Boynes-Jackson. Board member Juanita Young was excused.