Puerto Rico scrapping controversial $300 million Whitefish Energy contract
Hurricane Maria damage in Puerto Rico (photo courtesy US Military)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - The head of Puerto Rico's government power company says the agency will scrap a $300 million contract with Whitefish Energy Holdings once it finishes current work on Hurricane Maria recovery efforts.
Power company director Ricardo Ramos said Sunday that he's bowing to a demand by the U.S. territory's governor, Ricardo Rossello.
Ramos says the cancellation will delay work by 10 to 12 weeks.
The contract for the small Montana company has come under intense scrutiny, and audits of the Whitefish contract at a local and federal level are under way.
Roughly 70 percent of the island remains without power more than a month after Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. territory on Sept. 20.