Public schools across the St. Thomas-St. John District will not open until 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 22, after multiple power failures struck both islands overnight, the Virgin Islands Department of Education announced.
Both the district's administrative offices and state education offices will also begin operations at 9 a.m. The decision followed guidance from the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority.
The first outage began Wednesday at 7:43 p.m., when WAPA reported that the Randolph Harley Power Plant had lost generation, affecting every customer in St. Thomas and St. John. By 10:10 p.m., the utility had restored partial service by bringing feeders 5A, 9E and 7E back online, along with portions of several additional feeders.
Power failed again early Thursday. At 2:21 a.m., WAPA reported a complete loss of generation at the plant once more, leaving all customers without electricity. The authority said staff were working to restore power but did not give a timeline for when service would return.
Education officials asked parents and guardians to make sure children arrived at school safely at the new time. Employees and members of the public with business at education offices were instructed to adjust their schedules accordingly. The department said it would monitor developments and share updates through official channels.
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