Tiny Whitefish Energy spars with San Juan's mayor amid growing scrutiny of huge no-bid Puerto Rico contract


Puerto Rico's federal financial oversight board is taking steps to install an emergency manager at the territory's public power utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), amid criticism of PREPA's decision to award a $300 million no-bid contract to a two-employee company with no office headquartered in Whitefish, Montana — the tiny hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan ZInke — primarily bankrolled by a significant donor to President Trump. A month after Hurricane Maria ripped up Puerto Rico, the power situation is still bad and getting worse, though Whitefish Energy has at least 300 workers on the island — at a cost to Puerto Rico of $330 an hour for supervisors and $277.88 an hour for each "journeyman lineman."
PREPA's hiring of Whitefish has drawn bipartisan scrutiny in Congress, threat of a possible audit from Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, and widespread criticism, including from San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, who said Tuesday that the contract should be "voided right away." Whitefish responded to Cruz's comments, saying in a statement that her comments were "misplaced" and "demoralizing" to workers. Cruz took to Twitter to wonder why Whitefish had singled out her criticism for response, and Whitefish responded:
"Do you want us to send them back or keep working?" A Twitter user named Matt LaCasse had a follow-up question for Whitefish: "Why are you arguing with someone on Twitter rather than, you know, RESTORING POWER TO THE ISLAND?" Presumably, all in good time — contract willing.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
August 2 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a tariff self-own, rough times at the Trump golf course, and more
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardon
Cartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement