In this May 16, 2018 file photo, an electric power pole leans over the road in the Piedra Blanca area of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico’s new governor announced on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019 that she is suspending an upcoming $450,000 contract to rebuild and strengthen the island’s power grid destroyed by Hurricane Maria. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)
By DÁNICA COTO, Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s new governor says her administration will be evaluating all government contracts as anger still simmers across the U.S. territory after corruption and mismanagement of public funds led to the recent ouster of the island’s former leader.
In one of her first moves as governor, Wanda Vázquez announced late Sunday that she was suspending a pending $450,000 contract that is part of the program to rebuild and strengthen the island’s power grid, which was destroyed by Hurricane María nearly two years ago.
“There is no room in this administration for unreasonable expenses,” said Vázquez, who on Wednesday became Puerto Rico’s third governor in a week following popular protests that resulted in political turmoil.
Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, which is more than $9 billion in debt, had been expected to sign the contract with Stantec, a consulting firm based in Canada. Vázquez did not explain why she was suspending the deal, saying only that transparency is a priority for her administration.
However, a power company spokesman emailed a statement to The Associated Press saying that PREPA executive director José Ortiz planned to meet with Vázquez on Monday to explain why it was important to sign the contract. Ortiz said the contract has to be submitted before Oct. 6 so the U.S. territory can obtain federal hurricane recovery funds.
A Stantec official based in Puerto Rico did not respond to a request for comment.
It is unclear whether Vázquez’s move will delay efforts to rebuild and bolster the power grid, which remains fragile and is prone to outages that have exasperated many of the island’s 3.2 million people. Power company spokesman Jorge Burgos said that he had no further details and that more information would be released after Monday’s meeting.
Puerto Rico’s power company has awarded several multimillion-dollar contracts since the Category 4 storm hit on Sept. 20, 2017, and many of those deals have come under intense scrutiny, with some being canceled. Currently, Mammoth Energy Services’ subsidiary Cobra Acquisitions, which has some $1.8 billion in contracts with the power company, is facing a federal investigation.
Economist José Caraballo said he hopes Vázquez’s announcement is the first of more changes to come.
“I hope this isn’t a smoke screen and that there’s a real audit,” he said in a phone interview. “That’s what all these people who have lost trust in the government expect.”
Puerto Rico has been mired in political turmoil, with former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló resigning Aug. 2 following large protests. The island’s Supreme Court then ruled that his replacement was illegally sworn in, which left Vázquez, the justice secretary, next in line to become governor. The U.S. territory also is struggling to emerge from a 13-year recession and trying to restructure some of its more than $70 billion public debt load.
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