A small, Montana-based energy company that won a $300-million contract to helprestore powerto Puerto Rico is facing scrutiny because, among other things, it is based in Whitefish, Mont., the home of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. A spokesman for the company, though, says the contract was entered into without any involvement from federal officials.
“室内部门将没有理由参与，也没有室内部门的官员。” Whitefish发言人克里斯·奇亚姆斯（Chris Chiames）说。
回应是在几次媒体报道之后发表的，其中包括《华盛顿邮报》上的一个故事指出，该公司在辛克的家乡。
After the华盛顿邮报story, Sen. Maria Cantwell, (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called on the Government Accountability office to investigate the contract. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) chairman of the House Natural Resources Panel, which oversees Puerto Rico, said he is seeking more information about the contract.
波多黎各政府周二在推特上发布了该合同，以确保符合联邦紧急管理机构标准。如果预计该领土被FEMA偿还该工作，则必须满足此类标准。
波多黎各州长里卡多·罗塞洛（RicardoRosselló）在一份声明中说，合同是因为它不需要太多的钱，因为它不需要太多钱，这是该岛破产公用事业所无法提供的。
根据合同泄露的副本，Whitefish获得了370万美元的前期付款。根据媒体报道，另一家公司要2500万美元。
Chiames says Whitefish was one of two companies that responded to a request for proposal issued by PREPA to help restore its devastated grid after Hurricane Irma. The Whitefish workload grew after Hurricane Maria. ”We’re a different kind of company, that doesn’t have the overhead of other companies,” Chiames said.
自9月26日以来，怀特菲什（Whitefish）一直在波多黎各（Puerto Rico），其中包括首席执行官安迪·蒂克曼斯基（Andy Techmanski）在内的小型管理团队。该公司正在协调约300名工人和分包商的工作，以重建该岛山区的大约100英里的传输线，在某些情况下，使用直升机。怀特菲什（Whitefish）表示，打算在该领土上动员1,000名工人。
公司成立于2015年,由Techmanski, former president of Quanta Field Services. Starting as a lineman, Techmanski has worked in the industry since 1995, according to his LinkedIn profile, and has worked in Europe and the Middle East building power lines. The company’s website says it has “decades of experience navigating mountainous terrain and difficult construction scenarios.”
Whitefish is backed by HBC Investments and Flat Creek Capital, both based in Dallas, and Comtrafo Transformers, based in Brazil.
根据《华盛顿邮报》获得的合同副本，怀特菲什每天为现场主管收取330美元的费用，“旅行者巡线员”为228美元，分包主管的$ 462，每天为319美元，每天319美元。据《邮报》报道，该公司还为食品和董事会收取每天412美元的费用。
关于为什么债务为90亿美元的Prepa并没有转向公共电力机构彼此之间的共同援助协议，这也提出了问题。虽然Prepa没有退还置评请求，但美国公共电力协会说，APPA的成员Prepa并未向APPA提供此类援助。
Under the mutual aid agreement, more than 1,100 utilities in network can send workers and equipment to another utility’s territory to help restore power before and after a disaster.
The help, however, is not free. The utility requesting the aid pays the utility preset rates for labor and equipment.
In a mutual aid agreement, PREPA would have to manage the logistics of getting workers and equipment to the island and be responsible for housing and feeding the workers. Under its contract with Whitefish, the Montana company is managing those logistics.
陆军军团指挥官托德·塞蒙特将军在10月20日的新闻发布会上指出：“因为它是一个岛屿，而且很难只驾驶数百辆杆卡车和数百种材料驶入维尔京群岛，然后进入波多黎各。Rico。”
该协会称，美国维尔京群岛确实与APPA联系以寻求互助援助，以补充已经进行的合同工作。
