Energy Firm Apologizes For Threatening To Withdraw Workers From Puerto Rico

8 DE SEPT 2016 SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, CONFERENCIA DE PRENSA DE CARMEN YULIN CRUZ SOBRE COLABORACION CON EL CAMPAMENTO EN CONTRA DE LA JUNTA FRENTE AL TRIBUNAL FEDERAL. FOTO:VANESSA.SERRA@GFRMEDIA.COM (GDA via AP Images)
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Whitefish Energy Holdings, a tiny Montana utility company financed by major donors to President Donald Trump, apologized late Wednesday for threatening to withdraw its workers from San Juan in response to remarks by the city’s mayor.

“On behalf of our employees, we would like to apologize for our comments earlier today,” the company tweeted at San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. “Our goal is to continue to do all we can to help everyone in Puerto Rico in this time of need.”

Cruz on Tuesday called on the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority to immediately void its $300 million contract with Whitefish Energy Holdings.

“The contract should be voided right away and a proper process which is clear, transparent, legal, moral, and ethical should take place,” Cruz said. “It seems like what the Puerto Rican people are going to be paying for, or the American people are going to be paying for, is an intermediary that doesn’t know what is at stake here and that really has to subcontract everything.”

The firm said Cruz’s remarks were “misplaced” and “very disappointing and demoralizing.”

“What are they afraid we will find?” Cruz responded.

“We’ve got 44 linemen rebuilding power lines in your city & 40 more men just arrived,” Whitefish Energy Holdings replied to Cruz’s tweet. “Do you want us to send them back or keep working?”

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Notable Replies

  1. A__holes.

    I think that about covers it.

  2. Any other government would fire these guys…

  3. It said on the news yesterday that PERPA went with Whitefish because they only wanted $2 million upfront and their closest competitor wanted $25 million. Is Whitefish taking a huge chance on the broke territory? Or do they know they have a political safety net? One that includes protection for starting a twitter beef with clients?

  4. Avatar for drgary drgary says:

    Who are the owners of Whitefish Energy Holdings? Names important.

  5. It’s the latter. Whitefish knows it will get massive tax payer bailout money when the firm ends up claiming that “no one could have predicted” that the job was beyond its estimates and capabilities. This is a cronyism deal if there ever was one. Zinke had a dark, dirty hand in this deal and there needs to be a full investigation on how the contract was awarded and who signed off on it.

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