Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rossello on Sunday called for the termination of a $300 million contract to repair Puerto Rico’s hurricane-damaged electricity infrastructure awarded to a tiny Montana utility company financed by major donors to President Donald Trump.
Rossello retweeted statements asking the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA, or AEE: Autoridad de Energia Electrica de Puerto Rico) to cancel its contract with Whitefish Energy Holdings.
“There cannot be any distraction that alters the commitment of raising the electric system as quickly as possible,” Rossello said.
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke on Friday said he “had absolutely nothing to do” with the contract being awarded to Whitefish, which is based in his hometown.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday said the contract “was determined by the local authorities in Puerto Rico, not something that the federal government played a role in.”
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday asked Whitefish for more details. The ranking Democrats on the House Committee on Natural Resources and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on Friday asked the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general to look into whether the contract is an “appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Friday said it “has significant concerns about how PREPA procured this contract” and is looking into how the contract was awarded.