TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums US VI and Puerto Rico PR aid flights from US

Been interesting watching aid aircraft. Daily Russian/Ukranian AN-124 and IL-76 have been making flights in from various US airports, usually Jacksonville. The AN-124 is the 2nd largest aircraft in the world.

As I type this 2 AN-124 and 1 IL-76 are in the air, heading to the old Roosevelt Roads airfield. Someone is flying A LOT of cargo in. Not really possible to link, but if you are a plane geek, you can go to Flightaware and search by type A124 or IL76

So glad to hear how much is being done to help! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Doing research into these flights. It has been Whitefish bringing in massive amounts of equipment to restore the power. The contract has been cancelled but runs until Dec 1 when they will rebid the contract. Just a guess, but the new bids will delay work by a few months but perhaps they can buy equipment from Whitefish cheap once Fema pays them for it. I don't know the good or bad of the contract, but the political BS on cancelling it will probably cost PR more time and money in the long run.

Contract should never have been given to Whitefish to begin with..

Perhaps. But it might be a tad early to make that call. Maybe we should wait a year, after the current hullabaloo dies down and Washington gets involved, and compare the actual project completion date and total cost to the cancelled Whitefish contract schedule and $300M.

Everything about the way that contract was done was wrong. No bidding, obviously no due diligence done by the PR government in vetting the company.

. Oh Carol, "No Politics"?? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Yes, you're right there..

At the risk of violating the Mark Twain adage about ink in barrels:

Government competitive bidding is typically a long and complicated process, measured in months, for issuance of an RFP, receipt and evaluation of bids, and award of a contract. Under FEMA rules, PREPA was not required to award emergency reconstruction contracts by competitive bid in order to qualify for federal reimbursement. Few would argue that PR's island-wide lack of electrical power was / is not an emergency.

Maria hit Peurto Rico on September 20. A Whitefish principal flew to Puerto Rico on September 26 to meet with PREPA officials to discuss how and when electricity could be restored. I am not aware of reports that representatives of any other company did so.

Most news outlets have reported that there were only two potential contractors interested in the PREPA contract, Power Secure and Whitefish. That is not surprising, given that in July 2017, PREPA, with $9B in debt, filed for bankruptcy. Power Secure reportedly demanded $25M in up-front mobilization expenses. Whitefish asked for $3.7M in up-front payments.

When a pipe bursts, the water is rising and there is a plumber at the door with tools in hand, most folks would not start shopping around for an alternative. PREPA entered into a no-bid-required emergency services contract with the only company in the room, at the lowest up-front cost. Whitefish started work a week later, now has had its contract cancelled, and will pull out after completing work currently underway.

No one knows how long it will be before a new "right" contract is entered into, with another company and at what price, or how long it will take that company to mobilize and complete the work.

Aarpskier, you are dead on, the details of how the got the contract seem to have been lost to most people.

Are they the best/worst choice? Was there politics involved, who knows?

But are they getting the job done?

I have heard that doing a new contract will add 2 to 3 months, I'm sure the people without power will be willing to wait.

I've seen very few utility crews working long route 3 and 66. Perhaps three sets of crews last Tues/Wed and then nothing for five days straight. I don't care who they contract, as long as they show up in force and get the job done. $300 per labor hour.....

Electric has been restored in Old San Juan and Islaverde areas.

The fault for all the power issues PRE & POST hurricanes falls squarely on the slippery shoulders of PREPA. No upkeep, no due diligence , no preparations or contingency plans. Not surprising.