The decision to award a contract to Whitefish Energy was made exclusively by PREPA. FEMA was not involved in the selection. Questions regarding the awarding of the contract should be directed to PREPA.
Any language in any contract between PREPA and Whitefish that states FEMA approved that contract is inaccurate.
FEMA has not provided any reimbursement to Puerto Rico to date for the PREPA contract with Whitefish Energy. Regardless, FEMA will verify that the applicant (in this case PREPA) has, in fact, followed applicable regulations to ensure that federal money is properly spent.
Based on initial review and information from PREPA, FEMA has significant concerns with how PREPA procured this contract and has not confirmed whether the contract prices are reasonable. FEMA is presently engaged with PREPA and its legal counsel to obtain information about the contract and contracting process, including how the contract was procured and how PREPA determined the contract prices were reasonable.
It is important for all applicants for FEMA Public Assistance to understand and abide by federal requirements for grantee procurement. Applicants who fail to abide by these requirements risk not being reimbursed by FEMA for their disaster costs.
FEMA continues to focus on the expedited restoration of essential services in support of the Governor’s recovery goals.
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FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.
Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.twitter.com/femaspox, www.facebook.com/fema and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Brock Long’s activities at www.twitter.com/fema_brock.
The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.