Two Senators Just Requested An Investigation Into Whitefish Energy's $300 Million Puerto Rico Contract

Charlie Warzel

Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell and Ron Wyden are formally requesting the Government Accountability Office investigate the "use of public money to reimburse work completed by Whitefish Energy," the two person company that was recently awarded a $300 million contract to restore power in Puerto Rico, according to a letter obtained by BuzzFeed News.

The letter urges the office to look into multiple concerns, including "the potentially inflated costs of time and material in the contract relative to comparable" agreements, "the opaque and limited nature of PREPA's [Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority] bidding process that led to the contract" as well as "the contemporaneous communications between Whitefish and senior members of the federal executive branch, including Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke."

The letter also asks the GAO to examine "whether it was wise of PREPA not to activate mutual aid assistance from mainland utilities" and requests that the GAO coordinate with the Puerto Rico Energy Commission in any review it undertakes."

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from BuzzFeed - Tech https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/whitefish-investigation-formal-request?utm_term=4ldqpia