Puerto Rico’s finanical oversight board said Wednesday it will install an emergency manager to oversee the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority despite the governor’s objections.
The board, created by Congress, said it intends to hame Noel Zamot, who serves on the oversight board, to be chief transformation officer and monitor daily operations of Puerto Rico’s power utility, known as PREPA, which has struggled to restore power to the island after Hurricane Maria.
The oversight board has the authority to reject contracts such as the $300 million contract PREPA struck with Whitefish Energy, a small Montana firm that had two employees the day Maria hit, to repair the island’s shattered electric grid.
An emergency manager can play a larger role in vetting contracts.
Many members of Congress have expressed concern about the contract. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urged inspectors general to investigate it.
PREPA, a bankrupt, publicly owned utility with $9 billion in debt, faced deep-rooted problems even before Maria ravaged the island.
Puerto Rico’s federal oversight board was created by Congress to oversee the restructuring process of the island’s $70 billion debt load.
It rejected a proposed settlement on PREPA’s $9 billion in debt, and the power monopoly filed for bankruptcy in July.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló opposes the plan to appoint an emergency manager to oversee PREPA, arguing that the island’s leaders and the utility’s management could handle the situation.
Zamot, the choice to be emergency manager, was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He has 25 years of experience working in the aerospace and defense industry.
He worked at the U.S. Space Command at the Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, and founded a cybersecurity firm, Corvus Analytics.
About 75 percent of Puerto Rico remains without power.
