With the worst of this year’s hurricane season yet to come, Tropical Storm Ernesto brought many lessons when it passed over the Virgin Islands in the middle of last week.
But one stands out as the most urgent: The territory must strengthen and better protect its utility grid.
Ernesto — which was more intense than expected, but not catastrophic — was followed by electricity and internet outages that continued to plague some areas well into this week. That’s too long.
This is not to cast aspersions on the tireless line workers and others who toiled into this week to restore the grid. Their job is dangerous and arduous, and they deserve residents’ appreciation and support.
But their job should have been much easier after a storm the size of Ernesto. It is imperative, then, that policymakers and other officials ask why the utility grid was hit so hard — and respond to that question with rapid improvements.
One place to look is the vegetation that had overgrown many utility lines before Ernesto.
Officials blamed recent heavy rainfall for the fast growth, but this is a weak excuse: In the heart of hurricane season, the BVI Electricity Corporation, the Ministry of Communications and Works and other agencies must keep vegetation under control.
We are also troubled by post-storm electrical fires that torched wooden poles, required firefighters to intervene, and complicated the repair effort. The BVIEC should probe the cause of this issue and enact a plan to ensure it doesn’t happen again in the future.
Staffing should also be reviewed. In the immediate aftermath of Ernesto, the BVIEC had to contend with the absence of three line workers who had been dispatched to St. Vincent and the Grenadines to support recovery efforts from Hurricane Beryl, a Category Four storm.
Mutual aid is a laudable part of the BVIEC’s mandate, and few here can forget the assistance that the VI received after the 2017 hurricanes. But in a small island territory where resources are stretched, perhaps such deployments at the height of hurricane season should be reconsidered.
Finally, we are troubled that some utility poles toppled during the storm. Given that Ernesto didn’t even reach hurricane strength during its passage, this outcome does not bode well. Again, the BVIEC should investigate.
To his credit, Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer acknowledged some of these shortfalls and pledged to do better. He also highlighted how the public can help, including simply by staying off the roads after a storm. That’s sound advice.
As the territory heads into the height of hurricane season, officials must heed the lessons of Ernesto before the next storm. And over the longer term, the BVIEC and government should consider ways to further strengthen the utility grid with measures like installing stronger poles and burying lines.
In an age when climate change is bringing more frequent and more powerful storms, such efforts are key to maintaining the territory’s status as a global financial services and tourism hub. They are also key to protecting the lives of all residents.