Thought an update was in order.
Small company from Trump Interior chief's hometown wins massive contract to restore PR's power
- Thread starter exGOPer
- Start date
Thought an update was in order.
The current update is that August will be the earliest that Puerto Rico gets power back.
Whitefish still has over 200 contractors on the ground working in Puerto Rico. It appears the federal government (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) has taken over paying Whitefish from PREPA (Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority) -- because PREPA failed to pay.
Power Secure - a power company located in Wake Forest now has three contracts to restore power in Puerto Rico ($48 million, $99 million, and $44 million) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They are primarily focused on sub-stations and power infrastructure but have recently expanded into fixing lines due to need.
There is one additional company providing contractors to fix lines to Puerto Rico as well -- being paid by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since PREPA has no money.
All the other utility companies on the mainland have refused to provide mutual assistance to PREPA because PREPA will not pay. Some mainland utility companies (e.g. Duke Power) have sent unpaid employee (lineman) volunteers to Puerto Rico for a number of weeks to help out as a charity effort.
Another interesting note is that it appears that PREPA does not have a single employee out fixing power lines on the island according to local news reports. PREPA is basically a useless shell company.
Hmmmm.....so everything exgoper was pushing was fake news and political propaganda?
A top FEMA official says Whitefish Energy ‘did a good job’ in Puerto Rico
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article198947589.html
February 07, 2018 05:51 PM
Updated February 07, 2018 06:04 PM
WASHINGTON -- When a tiny Montana-based company secured a $300 million no-bid contract to restore power in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was quick to distance itself from the ensuing backlash.
But one top FEMA official apparently didn’t get the memo.
FEMA Region 9 Deputy Administrator Ahsha Tribble praised Whitefish Energy’s work in Puerto Rico during a Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board meeting in New York on Feb. 1, according to video obtained by the Miami Herald.
“Without getting kicked from my attorney, Whitefish was there early,” Tribble said. “They did a good job. They took a risk and that risk is still being weighed.”
(More at above url)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article198947589.html
February 07, 2018 05:51 PM
Updated February 07, 2018 06:04 PM
WASHINGTON -- When a tiny Montana-based company secured a $300 million no-bid contract to restore power in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was quick to distance itself from the ensuing backlash.
But one top FEMA official apparently didn’t get the memo.
FEMA Region 9 Deputy Administrator Ahsha Tribble praised Whitefish Energy’s work in Puerto Rico during a Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board meeting in New York on Feb. 1, according to video obtained by the Miami Herald.
“Without getting kicked from my attorney, Whitefish was there early,” Tribble said. “They did a good job. They took a risk and that risk is still being weighed.”
(More at above url)
Shocking, I know.
Duke Power has sent volunteer linemen to help restore power in Puerto Rico... .they returned recently after six weeks of helping in PR.
Duke linemen return to Triangle after working to restore power in Puerto Rico
http://www.wral.com/duke-linemen-re...ing-to-restore-power-in-puerto-rico/17402173/
Duke linemen return to Triangle after working to restore power in Puerto Rico
http://www.wral.com/duke-linemen-re...ing-to-restore-power-in-puerto-rico/17402173/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/us/puerto-rico-fema-arrests-corruption.html
Former FEMA Official Accused of Taking Bribes in Hurricane Maria Recovery
MIAMI — A former top administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was arrested on Tuesday in a major federal corruption investigation that found that the official took bribes from the president of a company that secured $1.8 billion in federal contracts to repair Puerto Rico’s shredded electrical grid after Hurricane Maria.
Federal authorities arrested Ahsha Tribble, FEMA’s former deputy administrator for the region that includes Puerto Rico, and Donald Keith Ellison, the former president of Cobra Acquisitions with whom Ms. Tribble had a “close personal relationship,” Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez, the United States attorney for Puerto Rico, announced. They were accused of conspiring to defraud the federal government, among other charges.
A second FEMA employee, Jovanda R. Patterson, who worked as a deputy chief of staff in Puerto Rico and was later hired by Cobra, was also arrested, Ms. Rodríguez Vélez said.
President Trump has repeatedly cast Puerto Rico’s leaders as incompetent and corrupt. Tuesday’s arrests, however, did not involve any Puerto Ricans, but rather a longtime federal employee working on the island under the Trump administration.
Former FEMA Official Accused of Taking Bribes in Hurricane Maria Recovery
MIAMI — A former top administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency was arrested on Tuesday in a major federal corruption investigation that found that the official took bribes from the president of a company that secured $1.8 billion in federal contracts to repair Puerto Rico’s shredded electrical grid after Hurricane Maria.
Federal authorities arrested Ahsha Tribble, FEMA’s former deputy administrator for the region that includes Puerto Rico, and Donald Keith Ellison, the former president of Cobra Acquisitions with whom Ms. Tribble had a “close personal relationship,” Rosa Emilia Rodríguez Vélez, the United States attorney for Puerto Rico, announced. They were accused of conspiring to defraud the federal government, among other charges.
A second FEMA employee, Jovanda R. Patterson, who worked as a deputy chief of staff in Puerto Rico and was later hired by Cobra, was also arrested, Ms. Rodríguez Vélez said.
President Trump has repeatedly cast Puerto Rico’s leaders as incompetent and corrupt. Tuesday’s arrests, however, did not involve any Puerto Ricans, but rather a longtime federal employee working on the island under the Trump administration.
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I wonder how they got such glowing reviews? Oh, right...