CHRISTIANSTED—Governor Albert Bryan Jr. celebrates the profession of electrical linemen this week during “National Lineman Appreciation Day” and wishes to honor all Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) line personnel, and linemen who remain in the territory following the post-hurricane restoration for their exemplary service to the territory and its residents.
This profession requires skill, knowledge, passion, dedication, ongoing training, and a willingness to be on call 24 hours a day to keep the two independent electrical grids energized on St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and Water Island 365 days a year.
“Linemen play a vital role in ensuring a quality of life for Virgin Islands residents by maintaining our electrical infrastructure. They put their lives on the line every day,” Governor Bryan said. “The people of the U.S. Virgin Islands owe a great debt to the linemen working on each island for their hard work and especially their work to restore electricity to our homes, hospitals, schools, and businesses after the territory was affected by two catastrophic category-five hurricanes in September of 2017.”
The U.S. Virgin Islands has weathered storms for decades and recognizes linemen as first responders during extreme weather events like hurricanes and rely on linemen in the immediate aftermath of unpredictable natural disasters like an earthquake or tsunami.
On National Lineman Appreciation Day, Governor Bryan is encouraging residents to reflect on the hard work these men and women did to quickly restore electricity on each island before Christmas in 2017.