Whitefish Energy

Whitefish Energy Holdings, LLC (d/b/a Whitefish Energy) is a small holding company based in Whitefish, Montana whose portfolio of companies installs, maintains, and repairs electrical grids. The holding company was founded in 2015 by Andy Techmanski, a former lineman. In October 2017, Whitefish, a company whose previous biggest assignment was $1.4 million, was awarded a $300 million contract to repair part of the energy infrastructure in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. This contract involved Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). The contract was ultimately canceled after coming under public scrutiny; the company relied on subcontracted workers, who were paid several times less than the sum Whitefish Energy charged PREPA in return, which was described by The New York Times as "far above the norm even for emergency work — and almost 17 times the average salary of [such workers] in Puerto Rico." History Whitefish Energy Holdings LLC was founded in 2015 by Andy Techmanski, a former lineman with more than twenty years of experience in the electric power industry. The company has been funded by Dallas-based HBC Investments, by Flat Creek Capital Management, and by Brazil's Comtrafo Transformers. In 2016, a 51% stake in the company was sold to Comtrafo S.A. Hurricane Maria controversy After Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) awarded Whitefish a no-bid contract for up to $300 million to repair part of the island's electrical grid. As part of the contract, Whitefish was paid a tender of $3.7 million upfront. The awarding of the contract was unusual in several respects. The contract stipulated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved its terms, but FEMA categorically denied any involvement with the contract. Moreover, when questioned about the stipulation, PREPA executive director Ricardo Ramos said that, "There [was] no other explanation for that other than an 'oops. Furthermore, FEMA expressed that it had "significant concerns over how PREPA procured this contract" and that the agency had not confirmed "whether the contract prices [were] reasonable" because the contract was given without the competitive bidding process typically associated with federal contracts.