Something Really Suspect Going On In Puerto Rico

Washington Post
Small Montana firm lands Puerto Rico’s biggest contract to get the power back on

"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...

Whitefish said Monday that it has 280 workers in the territory, using linemen from across the country, most of them as subcontractors...

The hourly rate was set at $330 for a site supervisor, and at $227.88 for a “journeyman lineman.” The cost for subcontractors, which make up the bulk of Whitefish’s workforce, is $462 per hour for a supervisor and $319.04 for a lineman. Whitefish also charges nightly accommodation fees of $332 per worker and almost $80 per day for food."
Paid over $227-$462 an hour--THAT'S PLAIN NUTS !!!

If I had the ultimate power (or if congress were so inclined) I'd tell the "state owned" already bankrupt utility to go stuff it. They're the reason Puerto Rico's electric grid was such a mess even before the storm. Instead I'd set up a temporary federal commission headed up by proven successful engineers from electric companies here on the mainland. After work was completed sell it (or pieces of it) off to each of the highest bidders within that group. While I was at it put a cap on how much they could pay per hour.

Here in the states we have many choices for our electric suppliers. Puerto Rico's citizens shouldn't be under the thumb of any one monopoly. Now would be the perfect opportunity since it's starting all over from the ground up.

Either this or inquire whether existing power producers would be interested in expanding there in whole or part of the areas.

Anybody but the current Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)PREPA has a $9 billion debt load and filed for bankruptcy earlier this year (2017). Hell if they couldn't run it even in good weather imagine how this is going to turn out. Course when your paying each worker over $1,800-$3,000+ a day with another $400+ for meals and lodging I have a pretty good hunch. Somebody's going to get screwed. Gee I wonder who?

Published on Oct 24, 2017