The V.I. Water and Power Authority has hired a specialist to help cut its losses in electrical current, which are 6 percent to 7 percent above industry standards.
Howard Dean, a diversion specialist with Photo Investigations Information and Invetigative Services, will spend six months going business to business and house to house, checking the WAPA meters to see if they are working and to look for anyone who may be bypassing the meters to avoid being billed for service.
Some electrical loss is normal, according to a release from WAPA, but the industry standard is 4 percent to 5 percent. WAPA is losing 11 percent.
Dean will check the meters and reseal and repair any that are malfunctioning.
The meter-readers who normally take the readings have their hands full attending to routine tasks, WAPA spokesperson Patricia Blake Simmonds said.
WAPA's revenue-protection and meter-reading programs have identified and corrected some losses, but this is really a full-time job, which is why Dean has been hired, Simmonds said.
With all the storms and hurricanes over the last several years, homeowners and business owners also have changed or modified their dwellings and WAPA’s records need to be updated accordingly.
If WAPA can eliminate even 4 percent of its losses, the authority stands to gain up to $3.4 million per year in revenue, the WAPA release said.
Dean will spend three months in the St. Thomas-St. John district and three months in St. Croix, after which the program will be evaluated.