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Small Montana Company Wins Big Contract To Rebuild Puerto Rico's Power Grid

A worker repairs power lines about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island on Oct. 5, 2017 in San Isidro, Puerto Rico. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A worker repairs power lines about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island on Oct. 5, 2017 in San Isidro, Puerto Rico. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The vast majority of Puerto Ricans are still without power, more than a month after Hurricane Maria devastated the island’s power grid. Rebuilding that infrastructure is a huge job, but the biggest contract awarded so far went to a tiny, for-profit company that had only two permanent employees when the storm hit.

Whitefish Energy said last week that it had signed a $300 million contract with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, but some are questioning the company’s qualifications.

Here & Now‘s Meghna Chakrabarti talks with Washington Post investigative reporter Jack Gillum (@jackgillum), who reported the story along with Steven Mufson, Aaron C. Davis and Arelis R. Hernández.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.