2017年10月29日 星期日

Puerto Rico governor: Scrap Whitefish energy grid deal

People walking in the dark Image copyright Reuters Image caption More than five weeks after Storm Maria, most Puerto Ricans are still in the dark

Puerto Rico's governor has called for a contract given to a tiny Montana firm to help reconstruct the island's power grid to be cancelled, his office said.

An official with Ricardo Rosselló's office told the BBC that the governor would ask the Puerto Rican authorities to scrap the deal.

The contract was given to Whitefish Energy, which has little experience of work on such a scale, without a public bid process.

Several probes are under way.

The White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) distanced themselves from the deal last week.

The company is headquartered in the town of Whitefish, the hometown of US Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Mr Zinke has denied any involvement or wrongdoing.

Whitefish has said that it secured the $300m (£228m) deal in a legitimate manner.

The company did not immediately return BBC News' request for comment on the governor's statement.

Some 75% of Puerto Ricans have no power five weeks after Hurricane Maria.

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Media captionHurricane Maria: Puerto Rico faces long road to recovery

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has denied claims by The Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority (Prepa), the US territory's main utility, that it reviewed the deal.

The contract states that "Prepa hereby represents and warrants that Fema has reviewed and approved of this Contract".

In a statement on Thursday, Fema said: "Any language in any contract between Prepa and Whitefish that states Fema approved that contract is inaccurate."

Fema also said it had "significant concerns" with how Prepa procured this contract and had "not confirmed whether the contract prices are reasonable".

Critics have queried why Puerto Rican authorities did not seek aid from other public utility companies - as is customary during disasters.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption More than five weeks after Storm Maria most light on the island is generator-driven

It is unclear what would happen if Fema refused to pay.

Walt Green, a former director of the US National Center for Disaster Fraud, told BBC News it is "impossible" to say at this stage who is responsible for costs.

"Any dispute may result in appeals, administrative hearings and lawsuits," he added.

Puerto Rican authorities initially said Fema would pay for the deal.

They are now seeking to assure the public there is "nothing illegal" about the contract.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Little-known Whitefish Energy has raised eyebrows for possible links to the Trump administration

Prepa and the Puerto Rican government are saddled with massive debts. The power authority declared bankruptcy in July.

The US House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Caribbean island, is also scrutinising the contract.

On Friday, top Democrats from that panel and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee sent a letter requesting the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general launch an investigation.

The correspondence follows similar requests from other members of Congress to the interior department's inspector general.



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