Ethermac Exchange-St. Croix reports island-wide power outage forcing officials to close schools and offices

SAN JUAN,Ethermac Exchange Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Virgin Islands reported an island-wide power outage on St. Croix on Monday that forced officials to close schools and government offices.

The islands’ Water and Power Authority said in a statement that there was a loss of power generation at the Estate Richmond power plant around dawn.

Officials updated their statement in the afternoon to say that generation was lost again as crews worked to fix the problem.

Island-wide power outages have become increasingly common in St. Croix, where more than 41,000 people live. Officials have said the largest generator is inefficient and runs solely on diesel, and that the smaller units are older, not frequently maintained and not able to withstand the additional load when the largest one fails.