POWERLESS

CEO of Puerto Rico Utility Cancels Controversial $300 Million Whitefish Energy Contract

The decision comes hours after the territory’s governor demanded it.

The CEO of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has announced that a controversial contract with a small Montana-based energy company to restore electricity to the island will be canceled after current work on the island is complete. Ricardo Ramos, the CEO of the territory’s utility company, canceled the $300 million contract with Whitefish Energy hours after Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello called on him to do so, the Washington Post reported on Sunday. The company, headquartered in the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and backed by a major donor to President Donald Trump, reportedly only had two full-time employees on the day Hurricane Maria struck the island, knocking out power for millions of people.