The House Natural Resources Committee is investigating allegations of corruption against Puerto Rico’s state-run, bankrupt power utility, which has struggled to manage the restoration of power on the island after Hurricane Maria.
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, this year suspended three employees without pay as it investigates 25 cases of bribery involving employees responsible for restoring power after Hurricane Maria, PBS News reported in January.
The PREPA employees being investigated are accused of requesting money in exchange for powering houses or businesses.
El Vocero, a San Juan newspaper, wrote that the employees under investigation for bribery had requested as much as $5,000 to reconnect power. The power authority is also said to have restored power in their own homes before critical locations, such as San Juan’s Rio Piedras Medical Center and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.
House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, on Monday night sent a letter to PREPA’s interim executive director, Justo Gonzalez, alerting him of the committee’s investigation.
“In addition to betraying the public’s trust, improper, out-of-sequence power restoration has been associated with at least two fires and complicates scheduled power restoration operations,” Bishop said.
Bishop said his committee also will probe evidence of mismanagement in PREPA’s power restoration efforts.
He says a member of the committee has learned that utility crews are delayed or unable to complete electrification projects because PREPA has not provided sufficient materials.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified material and equipment shortages as the biggest challenge to bringing back power for the entire island.
As of Sunday — 171 days after Maria struck the island, destroying its already fragile electricity grid — PREPA said more than 130,000 customers remain in the dark.
“These latest allegations of corruption and mismanagement raise serious questions regarding PREPA’s internal controls and ability to competently manage power restoration in Puerto Rico,” Bishop said. “Billions of taxpayer dollars are pledged to help Puerto Rico, but a lack of faith in Puerto Rico’s institutions remains a major barrier to recovery.”
Bishop in his letter to PREPA wants all documents related to PREPA’s internal corruption probe given to the committee by March 26. The committee also is requesting documents showing PREPA’s policies and procedures related to warehousing, distributing, and tracking power restoration equipment.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello recently said he wants PREPA privatized to cut costs and attract needed capital.
The utility has been criticized especially for signing a $300 million contract with small Montana firm Whitefish Energy to restore the island’s power.
In November, the House Natural Resources Committee revealed the Puerto Rican power utility approved higher rates of pay and costs than are normal for the Whitefish contract.
Ricardo Ramos resigned in November as executive director of the utility, under pressure for the Whitefish deal, which was later canceled and subject to multiple investigations in Congress.
PREPA was failing before Maria hit and has been susceptible to political influence and corruption. It is responsible for $9 billion of Puerto Rico’s $73 billion debt load.
The power utility, heavily dependent on Venezuelan oil, has aging power plants and has not maintained its energy infrastructure. It has lost two-thirds of its workforce in the past three years, as residents migrate to the mainland U.S. to escape the island’s financial woes and stagnant economy.
