WAPA BILL

I have also been here since April and noticed almost the exact same increase
I also thought I had been using less. I havent dug out my old bills to actually compare yet.
(and have 1 less person in house this month)
any one else?

We are off island and ours is 200 more.

Yes I believe this months bill will reflect the new increase in rates.

Pia

Yep, you just can't get away from it! It was $.242 per KWH when we moved in Jan. 2009!

In April 2012, the total combined rate was .$.43 per KWH. The November 2012 bill was $.537 for the total combined rate....or a $.10 increase over April. A $100 increase in your bill would mean that you used an additional 1000 KWH!!!

We have solar and our bill in April was $35.39 (.43 per KWH). Our most recent bill in November was $57.52. (.537 per KWH)
Our bill prior to April and the solar installation was between $180 and $220 for

I think I heard a rumour that there is another 6% increase in the LEAC that has been approved for January.....can't substantiate that. .

Sadly, it is not a rumor. Here is the article

it continually annoys me that the governor and congresswoman have made no attempt to seek help from washington for what i consider our "electricity crisis" in the virgin islands. i know there is always big resistence to federal interference in the virgin islands but this is DIRECTLY killing the people and the economy of these islands!! but then again,the government doesn't pay its wapa bills and the government ,who has no business running an electrical powerplant,might lose control of it.

Well, I think I was 'hoping' it was a rumour! It is going to go much higher when they start shipping in oil from Puerto Rico so fasten your seat belts and fill those wallets with dollars! I figured it would go to $.62 per KWH by mid 2013. Ah, life on an island.

Not that I think 50 cents per kilowatt is reasonable by any means, but we were there before in early 2008 and yet we survived. The price per kilowatt is broken down on every bill. The billing period is not the same on every bill either, particularly during the holiday season. The billing cycle on my December bill was for a longer period than typical, so the bill was higher because I was paying for more days than usual.

It surprises me that people are surprised that their electricty bill went up again.

Your electricity bill will never go down until there is a sustained and highly visiable course of civil disobedience targeting the utility.

But complacent Virgin Islanders seem to be oblivious to this.

If we were in any other part of the world, WAPA executives would be running for their lives.

As it stands now, they're just laughing all the way to the bank.

We used the a/c in the bedroom at night for two months this year. Normally our bill was about $130. The first month of a/c it went up to $180. The next month it was $250! I almost threw up when I read that number. I was for a 34 day billing cycle or something stupid like that, but WHOA!! I've not seen a bill since that one, but I'm sure the horror is waiting for me at the Mail Center.

So, I kicked the hornet's nest and read this thread to the bf. Now he's sitting on the couch, ranting about how we should file a class action lawsuit and claim grand theft and on and on. What can I tell him we could reasonably do?

http://virginislandsdailynews.com/

PSC consultants: WAPA's claim oil prices cause LEAC increases is 'simply incorrect' l experts blame inefficiency for LEAC hike

ST. THOMAS - The V.I. Water and Power Authority has provided information that is "inaccurate at best and misleading at worst" regarding the territory's soaring electricity rates, according to a new report from a consulting firm hired by the V.I. Public Services Commission, the government body that oversees WAPA.

The report, issued Dec. 15 by the Georgetown Consulting Group and made public at a Public Services Commission hearing Dec. 18, blasts WAPA for failing to properly support its case for increases in the fuel surcharge known as the Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause, or LEAC.

(read more)

I had my NEW WAPA service started on Nov. 15th and have not received a bill. I am on the phone right now to the WAPA to see what has happened to our bill...been on hold now for over 20 minutes. We have not gotten our first bill.

We don't use air, but do use 2fans at night. We have changed all our bulbs to LED and energy efficient ones, but do run pool pump for 4hours per night.

They hung up on me! But, before they did, you guessed it I got to talk to another customer! Seems they crossed our lines, she had been holding for 15 minutes. DANG!

It surprises me that people are surprised that their electricty bill went up again.

Your electricity bill will never go down until there is a sustained and highly visiable course of civil disobedience targeting the utility.

But complacent Virgin Islanders seem to be oblivious to this.

If we were in any other part of the world, WAPA executives would be running for their lives.

As it stands now, they're just laughing all the way to the bank.

vicanuck i couldn't agree with you more!!

So I've read a number of posts on WAPA, but everyone is talking in terms of kwh amounts. Can some of you provide an example of a monthly bill? Let's say you have a two bedroom apartment with A/C... what is the amount one can expect to pay per month?

If this seems like a rookie question, it is because I am moving to STT in April.

So I've read a number of posts on WAPA, but everyone is talking in terms of kwh amounts. Can some of you provide an example of a monthly bill? Let's say you have a two bedroom apartment with A/C... what is the amount one can expect to pay per month?

If this seems like a rookie question, it is because I am moving to STT in April.

Our bill this month was around $450 (about 900KWH used). We have a 2 bedroom decent sized place. We run two fans at night. We haven't used any A/C over the last 3 months because it's been broken and the temperature is a lot cooler so it's not needed either. We do about 2 loads of laundry a week. Our stove is gas. We have the TV on for a about 3 hrs each night. Like I said before though, we are on the same meter as the tenants downstairs but they pay a fixed fee of just $75/month. I wish we could see how much they are really using compared to us because I guarantee they are using way more than $75/month!

$450 a month? OMG is that the what others pay as well? That is insane!! and with no A/C I am stunned.

As TX9920 stated that $450 is not only their apt but includes the apt downstairs so $450 is not an apple to apples comparison - using things like A/C, pool pumps, freezers, dryers, stoves, water heaters, water pumps, toaster ovens, closet heat rods and other high wattage appliances will consume a lot of energy and it is important here to learn good conservative practices - the electricity rates are expensive, absolutely unlikely to decrease, and any measures you can use to limit consumption will result in noticeable savings - sharing a WAPA meter with any other household is an undesirable lease arrangement usually precipitated by the existence or construction of an illegal rental unit which wouldn't qualify for a certificate of occupancy and its own meter.

we have a 3 bedroom no a/c no clothes dryer no dishwasher. we use ceiling fans, one stand fan, tv at night and computer at night. maybe 3-4 loads of laundry-line dried. our bill is about 220 per month

The other tenant has no reason to conserve..my guess would be that what they pay does not begin to cover their usage. When our house is empty, and the water heater is turned off, no pool, some lights on but all CFL, 2 energy star refrig and a small wine cooler running along with some 'ghost' items..the cable boxes, microwave clock, etc, the current bill was still $125 or so. How long does your lease have to run?

I think we may talk with our landlord about the amount the downstairs unit pays because I think it's totally unfair. Beachy - you are right, they have no reason to conserve since they pay a set fee no matter what their usage and a low fee at that. I do notice they do laundry just as much as we do, maybe more. They do not have A/C so at least I know they are not blasting that 24/7. In the summer time we were gone for about a week and a half and made sure everything that we could unplug in our unit we did and we didn't notice any difference in our bill that month. We have about 6 more months left on our lease. We like our place and the location, but feel like the situation with the downstairs unit may make us think twice before signing another lease.

Depending on the wording of the lease agreement your landlord may be able to change the payment allocation during the term of the lease.

Our bills will be $0.53 per Kwh with new increase that PSC just allowed.
It is highway robbery due to total incompetence by Mr. Hodge in running a power plant.
It doesn't matter to him or, appearently, our government since we foot the bills for their ever increasing incompetence and lack of long range planning.

Maybe they should have someone other than Mr. Hodge running WAPA whilst being paid a staggering salary, befitting someone truly competent in a community 20-30 times as big as the VI.

Where is the WAPA office located at?