On Thursday, September 18, 2025, life in the U.S. Virgin Islands ground to a near halt as torrential rains battered the territory, prompting widespread closures and plunging thousands into darkness. Schools, businesses, and government agencies shuttered their doors, while residents of St. John and St. Thomas found themselves grappling with a sweeping power outage that left entire communities without electricity. The deluge, which forecasters warned could trigger flooding, landslides, and dangerous river surges, also extended its reach to parts of neighboring Puerto Rico, raising anxieties across the region.
According to the Associated Press, the National Weather Service traced the cause of the severe weather to a tropical wave interacting with a nearby trough—a technical term for an area of relatively low atmospheric pressure. Despite the timing, meteorologists emphasized that the chaos was not linked to Tropical Storm Gabrielle, which was looming in the Caribbean but expected to remain safely over open water. "The rough weather was not associated with Tropical Storm Gabrielle," the AP clarified, quelling rumors that the storm posed an immediate threat to the islands.
But for residents on the ground, the academic explanations offered little comfort. The outages and closures disrupted daily routines and underscored a deeper, ongoing struggle with the territory's aging and vulnerable power infrastructure. The Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA), which had hoped that recent upgrades would bolster reliability, found itself once again at the center of public frustration.
Just nine months earlier, in January 2025, WAPA had brought online four new Wärtsilä generators at the Randolph Harley Power Plant in St. Thomas. The move was intended as a leap forward, promising more stable and efficient energy production. Yet, as The Virgin Islands Daily News reported, the St. Thomas-St. John District has since experienced a string of outages—some due to mechanical repairs, others to reduced generation capacity, and more still to inclement weather like Thursday's drenching rains.
WAPA, for its part, has provided explanations for each disruption, but on Thursday, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. shed new light on the situation during a candid phone interview on "Analyze This with Neville James." He revealed technical challenges that had not been publicly disclosed: "What they’re not telling people in St. Thomas is they’re trying to convert the Wärtsiläs over to the propane, and they’re having failures on the propane side, which is turning off the plant," Bryan said. "It’s triggering other things happening and that’s why we keep getting these island wides. But they’re trying to fix the problem, so it’s kind of like a grow pain."
Shanell Petersen, WAPA spokesperson, confirmed in an audio update around 10 a.m. Thursday that the St. Thomas/St. John District was experiencing a district-wide outage due to the loss of generation at the power plant. The territory has also been subject to regular rotational outages for at least the past month, a reality that has tested the patience of residents and businesses alike.
Digging deeper, Governor Bryan pointed to Unit 27 at the St. Thomas power plant, describing it as a "power horse" that has been causing persistent problems. The unit had been offline for several weeks prior to Thursday’s outage, compounding the grid’s fragility. Karl Knight, WAPA’s executive director and CEO, addressed the issue during a board meeting the same day. He explained, "Most of the issues at the St. Thomas power plant has to do with a shortfall of generation capacity. We should be in a better position, believe it or not, moving forward that we’ve been in the last couple of weeks, or quite frankly, than we’ve been since Unit 27 went offline several weeks ago. So, we’ve been flirting with disaster the last few weeks and we’ve had a run of bad luck."
WAPA’s efforts to transition the Wärtsilä generators to propane have been met with repeated setbacks, but help is on the way. According to Bryan, engineers from Wärtsilä are on site, working alongside local teams to resolve the technical snags. The governor struck an optimistic tone: "They’re going to get it together. We’re going to get through this. We’re moving forward with the solar plants. I’m working with the Trump administration to make sure that we can secure those dollars."
Yet the path forward is anything but straightforward. The territory’s ambitions to diversify its energy sources and build resilience face significant regulatory and financial hurdles. Bryan noted that Coastal Zone Management (CZM) permits are still required for two planned solar plants on St. Thomas, and he’s been in talks with the CZM board to expedite the process. With substantial construction deadlines looming in December, time is of the essence.
Complicating matters further, federal funding for renewable energy projects has come under threat. Bryan lamented, "We lost about $50 million in Solar for All in the Big Beautiful Bill. That’s one of the cuts that they made, so you’ve got to kind of ride the wave that you get." He also mentioned ongoing efforts with Energy Secretary Chris Wright to ensure the territory retains access to crucial funding, as the Trump administration continues to rescind dollars from various programs.
For many in the Virgin Islands, Thursday’s events were a stark reminder of the territory’s vulnerability—to both the whims of nature and the challenges of modernizing critical infrastructure. The closures of schools, businesses, and government offices rippled through the community, disrupting everything from education to commerce. The widespread power outage in St. John and St. Thomas left many residents to cope without air conditioning, refrigeration, or reliable communications, all while the threat of flooding and landslides loomed large.
Forecasters remained on high alert, warning that the combination of saturated ground and additional rainfall could trigger further hazards. The National Weather Service continued to monitor the situation closely, urging residents to stay vigilant and heed official warnings. The experience was a sobering illustration of how quickly life can be upended in island communities, where the margin for error is often razor-thin.
Despite the setbacks, local leaders and utility officials expressed determination to persevere. The restoration of Unit 27, the successful conversion of the Wärtsilä generators to propane, and the eventual construction of solar plants are all seen as critical steps toward a more resilient and sustainable future. As Governor Bryan put it, "We’re going to get through this." For the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands, that resolve may be the most important resource of all.
