Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority

Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority, doing business as Viwapa, is a U.S. local government-owned utility entity registered in the System for Award Management since April 2002 and serving as the sole provider of electricity and water services across the U.S. Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, and Water Island. The Authority provides critical infrastructure support to federal agencies through federal contract and grant awards, delivering essential utility services that are fundamental to emergency response, disaster recovery, and long-term territorial development initiatives. As the territory's exclusive utility provider, Viwapa plays a vital role in maintaining reliable electricity and water infrastructure during both routine operations and emergency scenarios, particularly in support of federal disaster response and recovery efforts across the island community.

Through federal contract awards, Viwapa has provided utility services—specifically electricity and water—to support Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster recovery operations, with three prime federal contract awards totaling approximately $479,408 in ceiling values. These firm fixed-price purchase orders, awarded without set-aside designations, funded utility services throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands for FEMA facilities supporting Disaster Recovery 4340 (DR4340) between March 2023 and February 2026, including electricity services for critical infrastructure such as the St. Thomas bunkers, which house communications equipment and initial operating facilities essential to federal emergency response. The contracts covered utility services in Christiansted, St. Croix and other locations across the territory, with performance periods ranging from single fiscal years to multiple-year arrangements. Additionally, Viwapa has served as a sub-recipient under federal grant awards administered by the Government of the Virgin Islands as prime grantee, performing work related to electrical distribution permanent repairs, power generation facility repairs, potable water distribution system improvements, advanced metering infrastructure systems, and force account labor for emergency electrical and water infrastructure repairs across all three islands, supporting disaster recovery and permanent infrastructure restoration efforts funded by FEMA and other federal programs.

Viwapa has received substantial federal grant funding directly as a prime grantee from the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs under the Economic, Social, and Political Development of the Territories program (CFDA 15.875), with grant awards totaling over $10 million since 2021. These grants support comprehensive infrastructure modernization and operational improvements including the acquisition and installation of battery energy storage systems (BESS) at critical facilities such as the Roy Lester Schneider Hospital ($3.15 million) and the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency headquarters ($3.385 million), fleet electrification through the acquisition of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and specialized equipment such as electric and hybrid bucket trucks, mulchers, and zero-turn mowers for vegetation management and line maintenance operations. Viwapa has also received grant funding for critical workforce development and operational capacity building initiatives, including cybersecurity training, substation and underground power lineman training programs, power generation training and development, and a comprehensive cost of service study to inform rate structure development. Additional grants support essential infrastructure upgrades such as network switch and uninterruptible power supply system replacements for cybersecurity resilience ($380,600), implementation of a mobile workforce management system to transition from paper-based to digital operations ($400,000), renewable energy integration and smart grid project implementation ($500,000), and water distribution system maintenance through equipment acquisition and line replacement programs ($240,000 through November 2025). These grants, with performance periods extending through 2028 and 2030, underscore the federal government's commitment to strengthening Viwapa's capacity to deliver reliable, sustainable, and secure utility services to the U.S. Virgin Islands.