Natural Gas Availability

Lots of people here use gas stoves.... the power here goes out from time to time, and when storms hit the area and there is no electricity for several months, gas stoves are the best.... so people have stuck to using them. So yes you have gas delivered to your house.

--Islander

Remember, the gas on the island is LP or bottle gas. If your range or dryer used natural gas at home, it will need to be converted. Using LP gas in a appliance set for natural gas can make for and ugly explosion. Ususally the conversion is pretty simple. The LP gas people in the states will make the conversion for you. I don't know about in the islands.

Are you serious when you say you no power for months?

Ric thanks for mentioning the different types of gas. Dont know anything about the two in terms of differences... hope Jason looks into it.

Glen - Yes I am quite serious about not having power for months. This of course is not a regular occurance. From time to time the power will go out in certain sections of the island for a couple minutes to a couple hours in order to do maintenance work. If the power will be out for longer - it is annouced - usually this is done in the early morning or during the day, maybe for 3-5 hours. Now when Hurricane Hugo in 1989 hit the islands it devasted the basic infrastructure of power lines, telephone lines, cable lines... all of which at that time ran on poles above ground. With over 100 mile per hour winds blowing through, many lines and poles were blown down. Again during Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, the same thing happened. Recovering this is not a quick process in residencial homes. The airport, hospital and business areas are first to be fixed. Residential areas get worked on based on damage and on closeness to the hospital and airport.... moving away from these places and out accross the island. After Marilyn schools were closed for (I am trying to remember) around 2 months... electricity was out around where I lived for over 5 months.. some people waited longer. Telephone and cable in some cases a year +. Today many lines are buried so the 'get everything back in order' might move quicker, but still I believe it would take several months if the same type of storm situation occured. Some people get generators, most adjust (Caribbean people are pretty tough 🙂 wake up when the sun rises, cook on gas stoves, buy food for that day or else it will spoil, drink warm drinks, ice is a treat, be friendlier to neighbors and try to help eachother get through things, get everything done before sunset or shortly thereafter, entertaiment is reading and people. Any other questions ask away... been through both and smaller ones in between.... Ronnie and East Ender and other residents I am certain remember both hurricanes as well... and can share stories there too.

--Islander

I was only here for Marilyn- no electricity for 2+ months, no phone at home for 5 months. Didn't bother with cable for years as I realized you don't need it! Cable was down for a LONG time, but the entrepeneurial spirit brought in Alpha Star- they quit business suddenly leaving everyone with grey bird baths!! As Islander said, Virgin Islanders are tough. I remember entertainment being visiting folks- since you couldn't call, you would go over and chat!