Puerto Rico and Whitefish Energy Holdings yesterday defended their $300 million contract for the small Montana company to repair the U.S. territory’s hurricane-ravaged power grid after the deal was criticized by U.S. lawmakers, Reuters reported. The back-and-forth comes as Puerto Rico struggles to restore power to more than 80 percent of the island a month after Hurricane Maria made landfall.
Puerto Rico in Distress
Video Features
ABI Analysis
The Senate sent President Donald Trump a $36.5 billion hurricane relief bill Tuesday that gives Puerto Rico access to $4.9 billion in low-interest Treasury loans, amid concerns that recovery efforts from the recent disasters will require significantly more funding, Bloomberg News reported.
For the sprawling effort to restore Puerto Rico’s crippled electrical grid, the territory’s state-owned utility has turned to a two-year-old company from Montana that had just two full-time employees on the day Hurricane Maria made landfall, the Washington Post reported today.
The Senate is moving forward on a disaster aid package this week, despite concerns from some lawmakers that it would “bail out”' the struggling federal flood insurance program and doesn’t include enough money to help states recover from devastating hurricanes, USA Today reported today.
Other Resources
The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico was created under the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act of 2016. The Board consists of seven members appointed by the President of the United States and one ex officio member designated by the Governor of Puerto Rico. Access information on the Board, documents, videos of meetings, calendar of events and live webcasts by clicking here.