CRISIS/PUERTO RICO: “A $300 million contract to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s electrical infrastructure, which was awarded to a small, two-year-old Montana company that had only two employees when Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. territory, has sparked calls for an investigation from both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
In addition to its size and relative inexperience, the fact that Whitefish Energy Holdings is based in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown of Whitefish, Mont., is fueling questions about how Whitefish Energy Holdings secured the lucrative contract. The former Montana congressman’s son also had a summer job at a Whitefish construction site.
A spokesman for House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, agreed that congressional review was needed. The committee has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories…
Whitefish Energy announced the contract last week but Whitefish spokesman Ken Luce said the company has been on the ground in Puerto Rico since Oct. 2.
In that time, Whitefish Energy said it has put 300 people to work, mostly subcontractors, repairing the critical power lines that run through the Island’s mountains. Twenty more workers are arriving each day, Luce said, and overall, the company plans to add 700 more…
Luce said Whitefish had a team in Puerto Rico on Sept. 26 to meet with representatives of the beleaguered Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. With the power still out, they poured over maps by smartphone light as the Whitefish Energy made its pitch.”
-William Cummings, “Two-person energy firm’s $300 million Puerto Rico contract raises eyebrows,” USA Today, Oct. 25, 2017 06:18am