Virgin Islands weighs gas pipeline to Puerto Rico

By JUDI SHIMEL Associated Press Writer CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) - The U.S. Virgin Islands may build a pipeline to replace diesel-generated power with natural gas brought in from a bigger grid in the nearby U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the head of the islands' utility company said Thursday. Engineers are looking to recalibrate oil-dependent generators to burn cheaper natural gas instead, Hugo Hodge Jr., chief of the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, known as WAPA, told an annual meeting of the utility's board. The shift would save the WAPA and its customers a significant amount of money, WAPA spokeswoman Cassandra Dunn said without giving details. The average household in the three-island U.S. territory of 130,000 residents now pays $210 a month for electricity, she said. An undersea pipeline... [read full story]