Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló criticized the work of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in returning electricity to the island, saying that he was “unsatisfied” with the agency for a lack of urgency he believes has delayed the process, Reuters reported. The Army Corps was tasked with overseeing power repairs in Puerto Rico about a week after the U.S. territory was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Rosselló and the island’s power authority, PREPA, were criticized for declining to pursue so-called mutual aid from other U.S. public power utilities after the storm knocked out electricity to all of Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents. That decision has become a focal point because it partly spurred PREPA to sign a no-bid contract with tiny private firm Whitefish Energy Holdings — a deal Rosselló canceled on Sunday after an uproar over its provisions. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s oversight of that contract, along with another deal PREPA signed with Cobra, a unit of Mammoth Energy Services, is being investigated by the U.S. House of Representatives energy committee. PREPA only formally asked for mutual aid from utilities in New York and Florida this week. The initial decision to forgo it, Rosselló said, was based on concerns about the bankrupt island’s ability to afford the costs of utility workers. The Army Corps, though, said it could help restore power to Puerto Rico within 45 days, with no down payment from the island, Rosselló said.
