SPOKESMAN FOR WHITEFISH ENERGY, KEN LOOS.
KEN, LET'S START WITH THE WHITEFISH ENERGY CONTRACT,
OBVIOUSLY DOWN IN PUERTO RICO. HOW DID YOU GUYS GET IT?
>> HI, STEPHANIE. GOOD MORNING.
THIS IS REALLY A VERY SIMPLE EFFORT BY AN ENTREPRENEUR TO GET
ON THE PLANE, PLY TO PUERTO RICO, TALK TO PREPPA WHEN NO ONE
ELSE WOULD. HE HAS ANDY AND WHITE FISH HAVE
EXPERIENCE IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS, THEY WANTED TO DO
BUSINESS IN PUERTO RICO AND THEY GOT THERE.
IT'S NOTHING -- >> BUT SIR --
>> GO AHEAD. >> WE KEEP HEARING THERE WEREN'T
OTHER BIDS, WE KNOW THAT THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC
UTILITIES, AAPU, ALSO WAS INTERESTED IN THE CONTRACT AND
THEY ALSO HAD NO STRINGS ATTACHED AND WEREN'T ASKING FOR
ANYTHING UP FRONT. >> WELL, I CAN'T SPEAK FOR
PREPPA AND WHETHER THEY TALKED TO AA.
THAT'S UP TO PREPPA. WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT WE ARE
THERE DOING WORK TODAY WITH 325 PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND AND THE
ARMY CORPS AND OTHERS AND THEIR CONTRACTORS ARE NOT THERE YET.
>> BUT YOU SAID YOU WENT DOWN THERE WHEN NO ONE ELSE DID AND
YOU HAD EXPERIENCE IN MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS.
>> YES. >> SO DID OTHER ORGANIZATIONS GO
DOWN THERE AND WANT TO GET THE CONTRACT.
SO YOU WEREN'T THE ONLY ONES WHO DID, BUT IT'S STRANGE TO THE
AVERAGE EYE TO SAY HOW DOES THIS TEENY TINY COMPANY IN WHITE
FISH, MONTANA, HOMETOWN OF RYAN ZINKE GET THE CONTRACT AND
FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT DOESN'T. >> SURE.
IN THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES, I GET PEOPLE'S QUESTIONS, THEY'RE
VERY LEGITIMATE. FIRST OFF, THEY FLEW TO PUERTO
RICO ON SEPTEMBER 26th, PREPPA HAS SAID PUBLICLY THERE WAS ONLY
ONE OTHER FIRM INTERESTED IN BIDDING.
THE OTHER FIRMS HAVE BEEN INTERESTED ONLY WHEN THE U.S.
GOVERNMENT WAS ON THE ISLAND AND SECURING THE DEBT WHICH IS MUCH
LATER. THIS PROCESS HAS LED TO OTHER
CONTRACTORS AND OTHERS NOT BEING ON THE ISLAND YET AND THE
DECISION BY PREPPA TO LET THE CONTRACT WITH WHITE FISH HAS LED
TO WORK BEING DONE ON THE ISLAND.
>> SIR, GOOD FAITH QUESTIONS ARE NOT NECESSARILY CONSPIRACY
THEORIES, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE TALKING ABOUT LARGE SUMS OF
MONEY LIKE $300 MILLION. >> WELL, STEPHANIE --
>> HOLD ON, SIR. THIS $300 MILLION CONTRACT, HOW
MUCH BIGGER IS IT OR THE SIZE OF THIS CONTRACT, CAN YOU COMPARE
IT TO YOUR NEXT LARGEST PROJECT THAT WHITE FISH HAS DONE?
>> ANDY HAS WORKED ON CONTRACTS AND MANAGED CONTRACTS BETWEEN
250 -- 200 AND $250 MILLION. >> SO THIS WOULD BE THE LARGEST?
>> STEPHANIE, YOU BUY EXPERIENCE.
THAT IS WHY WHITEFISH IS THERE AND WHITEFISH IS GETTING WORK
DONE. THAT'S ALL I'M SAYING.
>> BUT THIS WOULD BE -- SO YOU SAID YOU'VE DONE 200 TO $250
MILLION PROJECTS, NOT IN PUERTO RICO AND YOU'RE SAYING THIS
WOULD BE THE BIGGEST DEAL YOU'VE EVER DONE?
>> NO, I AM -- YOUR QUESTION WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF CONTRACTS THAT
SIZE. ANDY HAS LED CONTRACTS OF THAT
SIZE. SO THE QUESTION OF CAN YOU
HANDLE A CONTRACT OF THAT SIZE, THE ANSWER IS YES, BASED ON
EXPERIENCE. DO WE WORK IN MOUNTAINOUS
REGIONS? YES.
AND AFTER THAT THE QUESTION SHOULD BE HOW DOES A SMALL FIRM
RAMP UP. IT'S VERY COMMON IN THE
INDUSTRY, IN ALL INDUSTRIES, TO HIRE AND TO RAMP UP.
WE HAVE 325 PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND.
SO THERE IS -- SHOULD BE NO CONSIDERATION AS TO THE WORK
GETTING DONE. >> THERE'S NOT.
MY QUESTION IS NOT DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE THERE NOW, THE
QUESTION IS HOW DID YOU GET THE CONTRACT?
NOT TO SAY THAT YOU DON'T HAVE EXPERIENCE BUT BUT SO DOES FLOR
POWER AND LIGHT AND THE AGENCY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.
SO THE QUESTIONS ARE AROUND HOW DOES A COMPANY WITH NOT A
CONNECTION TO PUERTO RICO WHEN THERE WERE OTHER POTENTIAL BIDS
OUT THERE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES WEREN'T TAKEN?
>> WELL, STEPHANIE, THEY HAD TALKED TO PREPPA AND THE OTHERS
AND THE OTHERS ON THE ISLAND BETWEEN IRMA AND HARVEY.
SO THE CAPABILITIES WERE WELL KNOWN.
THE INFERENCE IS THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON HERE OTHER
THAN AN ENTREPRENEUR AT A SMALL COMPANY GOT OFF HIS BUTT, WENT
TO PUERTO RICO WHEN OTHERS WOULD NOT AND THOSE OTHER COMPANIES
DID NOT REACH OUT TO PREPPA IS MY UNDERSTANDING AND EVEN IF
THEY DID, THE MONEY WAS AN ISSUE WORKING WITH PREPPA, THE OTHER
COMPANY THAT WAS INTERESTED IT HAS BEEN STATED PUBLICLY WANTED
10 TO 15 TIMES MORE. >> THEN WE ARE GOING TO DISAGREE
BECAUSE THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC UTILITIES DID NOT HAVE
STRINGS ATTACHED AND DID NOT ASK FOR MONEY UP FRONT.
I DID WANT TO ASK THE CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF
PUERTO RICO, DOES ELIAS HAVE ANY TIES TO YOUR COMPANY?
>> NO. ALL RIGHT.
FAIR. AND THE CONTRACT THAT WAS LEAKED
THAT WE SAW YESTERDAY HAS TWO THINGS IN IT, WHITEFISH CONTRACT
STATES IN NO EVENT SHALL GOVERNMENT BODIES HAVE THE RIGHT
TO AUDIT OR REVIEW THE COST AND PROFIT ELEMENTS.
WHY WOULD THAT MAKE SENSE KNOWING HOW DIFFICULT THESE
SITUATIONS ARE, KNOWING THAT EVEN PUERTO RICO IF YOU GO BACK
TO 1998 THERE HAS BEEN MISUSE OF FUNDS, THERE HAS BEEN
CORRUPTION. WHY ENTER INTO A CONTRACT THAT'S
NOT OFFERING COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY AT A DESPERATE
TIME? >> STEPHANIE, THE CONTRACT WAS
DONE IN GOOD FAITH WITH PREPPA ANDAND THE PROCUREMENT PEOPLE A
PREPPA. THE CONTRACT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
AS THE ABILITY TO GET THE WORK DONE.
>> IN IT THE CONTRACT ALSO HAS THAT IT WAIVES ANY CLAIM AGAINST
THE CONTRACTOR RELATED TO DELAYED COMPLETION OF WORK.
SO I'M SAYING IF THIS IS ABOUT A GOOD FAITH CONTRACT, IF THIS IS
ABOUT SAVING THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO, DOING IT IN A
TIMELY AND COST EFFICIENT BASIS, WHY HAVE THIS KIND OF LANGUAGE
IN THE CONTRACT? >> WELL, WHITEFISH IN THIS
PARTICULAR CASE WITH THE CONTRACT AND, AGAIN, KNOWING THE
ISLAND, OUR JOB IS NOT THE COMPLETE GRID.
OUR JOB IS ONLY 100 MILES OF TRANSMISSION LINE.
WE CAN'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THE OTHERS MIGHT DO.
THAT'S VERY SIMPLE. >> WELL, WHY, THEN -- THEN THE
ONLY THING I GUESS THAT'S NOT SIMPLE TO ME, WHY WOULD YOU NEED
TO HAVE IN THERE THAT THERE IS NO RIGHT TO AUDIT OR REVIEW THE
COST AND PROFIT ELEMENTS? WHY SHOULDN'T WE BE ABLE TO DO
THAT? >> STEPHANIE, THAT'S IN MANY
CONTRACTS. >> OKAY.
WELL, I'M NOT A LAWYER. I'M ASKING YOU WHY WOULDN'T WE
BE ABLE TO DO THAT? WHY WOULDN'T WE -- WHEN I HAVE A
CONTRACTOR COME TO MY HOUSE, I SURE AS HELL WANT THE ABILITY TO
WALK THROUGH EXACTLY WHAT THE PROFIT MARGINS SHOULD BE.
>> STEPHANIE, WHOA, THOSE WERE ALL NEGOTIATED, THE RIGHTS ARE
ALL THERE, THE CONTRACT WAS GIVEN OUT.
THERE IS NOTHING THERE. YOU'RE, AGAIN -- EVERYONE WANTS
TO SAY THAT THERE IS A CONSPIRACY THEORY.
>> NO, I'M NOT. >> YES, YOU ARE.
>> LISTEN, I THINK THEY ABSOLUTELY SIGNED THE CONTRACT.
I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE THAT THEY SIGNED IT IN GOOD FAITH WITH YOU
AND MY QUESTION IS WHY? WHY SIGN A CONTRACT THAT WOULD
HAVE THIS KIND OF LANGUAGE IN THERE?
HOW DOES THAT SERVE THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO AND THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE? >> WELL, THE CITIZENS OF PUERTO
RICO ARE BEING SERVED RIGHT NOW BY US WORKING ON THE ISLAND WHEN
NO ONE ELSE IS. THE POINT HERE IS WE'RE GETTING
WORK DONE AND OTHERS AREN'T EVEN THERE BECAUSE CONTRACTS AREN'T
BEING LET. >> THE OTHERS AREN'T THERE --
>> THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON. >> OTHERS AREN'T THERE BECAUSE
WHITEFISH WON THE CONTRACT AND IF I WAS A CITIZEN --
>> STEPHANIE, NO, THAT'S NOT ACCURATE.
THERE ARE OTHER CONTRACTS AND OTHER CONTRACTS BEING LET BY
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO COME TO THE ISLAND.
THOSE TOOK OVER FOUR OR FIVE WEEKS, THAT IS WHY MORE WORK IS
NOT BEING DONE ON THE ISLAND. THE FACTS ARE THE OTHERS ARE NOT
THERE YET BECAUSE THE CONTRACTS WERE SLOW BY THE CORPS OF
ENGINEERS IN GETTING DONE. THAT'S A FACT.
>> WELL, WE SINCERELY APPRECIATE THAT THOSE 300 PEOPLE ARE THERE
WORKING TO GET THE ELECTRICAL GRID BACK UP AND RUNNING AND FOR
THOSE WHO DO HAVE QUESTIONS THERE IS AN AUDIT GOING ON SO
THAT WILL HELP PUT THEIR MINDS AT REST.
>> AND WE WELCOME THAT