Gov. Rick Scott paid another visit to Puerto Rico on Friday as part of a larger mission to help the struggling island recover from Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm which made landfall and ravaged the area nearly two months ago.
The visit is Scott’s second since Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico and came as a request from Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who said he wanted to meet with Scott in part because of his work to help Florida’s speedy recovery from hurricanes.
“Given your experience in managing natural disasters, your guidance on restoring energy would be greatly appreciated,” Rosello wrote in a letter to Scott.
Rosello and Scott spent Friday morning in a roundtable meeting to determine ways Puerto Rico could expedite power restoration to the island, which is still largely in the dark two months after Maria struck.
Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean during the first part of September, followed closely by Hurricane Maria, which soaked Puerto Rico with heavy rainfall and knocked out the country’s power grid, leaving all of the U.S. territory’s 3.5 million residents without power.
Preliminary estimates found power restoration could take up to six months and 70 percent of the island is still without power.
Restoration efforts to repair the badly-damaged power grid have come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
In early October, the Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority granted a $300 million contract to Montana-based Whitefish Energy to rebuild the island’s power lines, but the agreement was quickly cancelled following public outrage.
Whitefish is based in the small hometown of U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, which prompted questions about whether Zike was involved in the contract. Zinke has denied involvement.
The backlash over the contract, the largest awarded since recovery efforts began, caused Gov. Rossello to cancel.
"There can be no distraction that alters the commitment to repair the power grid as quickly as possible," the Puerto Rican governor said in a statement.
There is a possibility Florida-based companies could be recruited to help turn the lights back on in Puerto Rico. Florida companies are arguably more experienced in restoring electricity and some Florida power companies, like Florida Power & Light, have already said they were ready to assist in restoration efforts if necessary.
On Tuesday PERPA CEO Ricardo Ramos requested additional support from Florida and New York-based companies in a letter to power industry groups Edison Electric Institute and American Public Power Association.
According to estimates, more than 90,000 people have come to Florida airports from Puerto Rico since the beginning of October, with even more expected as recovery efforts continue.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
