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Public Services Commission warns unpaid utility assessments threaten rate investigations and operations
Summary
The Virgin Islands Public Services Commission told the Budget Committee its FY2026 request of about $2.08 million would cover core regulation work but warned unpaid assessments from the Water and Power Authority and Waste Management Authority have depleted reserves and slowed rate investigations.
The Virgin Islands Public Services Commission told the Legislature’s Budget, Appropriations and Finance Committee on June 26 that unpaid assessments from major utilities have eroded the commission’s reserve and constrained its ability to carry out multi-island rate investigations.
The commission’s executive director, Sandra Satori, said the agency’s FY2026 budget request — about $2.08 million — supports core regulatory activities including rate investigations, consumer complaint resolution and technical oversight of water, electric, solid waste, wastewater and telecommunications utilities. “My name is Sandra Satori, executive director of the Virgin Islands Public Services Commission,” Satori said as she opened the presentation.
Satori and PSC staff told the committee the commission is funded by statutory assessments on the utilities it regulates, not by general‑fund appropriations. The assessment is calculated annually and deposited into a PSC revolving fund. Satori said that legal authority and the commission’s duties are grounded in the Virgin Islands Code and related statutes governing electric,…
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