01:11 Power Overseer Appointed in Puerto Rico A federal board that oversees the power authority in Puerto Rico has appointed an emergency manager to oversee the authority’s work. This comes amid widespread of efforts to restore power in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and a controversial contract awarded by the authority.

At a Glance An emergency manager will now oversee the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), which awarded a $300 million contract to untested Whitefish Energy without any federal input.

“PREPA has made clear it is not equipped for the enormous task of quickly restoring the island’s power,” one lawmaker says.

Whitefish is getting paid $309 an hour for each journeyman line worker, almost 10 times the average rate of such worker in the United States.

Whitefish, which has been combating criticism of its contract, got into a sniping match on Twitter with San Juan Major Carmen Yulin Cruz.

With Congress expressing concern about a key contract to restore power in Puerto Rico, the federal board overseeing debt-ridden Puerto Rico’s finances has appointed an emergency manager for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), which awarded the $300 million contract without any federal input.

The uproar over the Whitefish contract and the appointment of an emergency manager for PREPA are part of a long-running power struggle between the oversight board and Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. He is expected to resist the appointment of an overseer for the power authority, perhaps in court.

The federal oversight board announced it will appoint Noal Zamot, a retired Air Force colonel who was born and raised in Puerto Rico, as chief transformation officer to oversee and the rebuilding of the electricity sector on the island ravaged by Hurricane Maria.

“The appointment of Noel is an essential step in achieving the goals of reliable, competitively priced electricity and attracting the private capital we need to revitalize the economy of Puerto Rico,” said Natalie Jaresko, executive director of the oversight board.

Lawmakers welcomed the move. Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released a statement Wednesday, saying it was appropriate for the oversight board to step in.

“PREPA has made clear it is not equipped for the enormous task of quickly restoring the island’s power,” Velázquez said. “The authority’s dubious decision to contract with a small, inexperienced and obscure company further underscored the need for intervention.”

After Hurricane Maria destroyed most of the U.S. territory’s power a month ago, PREPA turned to a politically connected, two-person energy company based in Montana to perform critical work restoring transmission lines.

(MORE: Lawmakers Want Answers About Whitefish Contract )

In doing so, it acted without serious vetting of the 2-year-old company or a significant bidding process. It didn’t consult with the fiscal control board appointed by Congress last year to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances and debt restructuring. And despite its reliance on federal funds to do the work, PREPA did not consult with the federal agencies overseeing hurricane relief efforts there, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

PREPA officials have said the dire conditions in the hours and days after Maria ripped up the island’s power grid, tore down its cell phone networks, cut off drinking water and blew away homes gave it little choice but to sign a quick contract with virtually the only vendor immediately available, which happened to be Whitefish Energy Holdings LLC.

Whitefish, which has been combating criticism of its contract with the help of a high-priced public relations firm, got into a sniping match on Twitter Wednesday with San Juan Major Carmen Yulin Cruz, who has also had heated exchanges on Twitter with President Trump over the pace of relief efforts.

After Yulin Cruz said in an interview that the Whitefish contract should be “voided right away and a proper process which is clear, transparent, legal, moral and ethical should take place,” Whitefish used its Twitter feed to strike back, calling her comments “misplaced.”

Then it added, “We’ve got 44 linemen rebuilding power lines in your city & 40 more men just arrived. Do you want us to send them back or keep working?”

Yulin Cruz’s reply: “They are threatening not to do their job which frankly is quite irregular for a company hired to the work for the public sector.”

Under the contract, Whitefish will be paid $309 an hour for each journeyman line worker and a daily reimbursement of $332 for housing and $79 for food for each worker. That hourly rate is almost 10 times the average rate for a journeyman line worker in the United States, according to the website Payscale.com.

Whitefish is having to recruit a workforce of 1,000 to do the job and transport heavy equipment to the island through clogged maritime ports. The workers are being deployed far from home and working under arduous conditions.

The owner of Whitefish, Andrew Techmanski, grew up in the same small town as Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the two know each other. Zinke reportedly assisted Techmanski in an entrepreneurial venture last year and Techmanski reached out to Zinke to help execute the Puerto Rico contract. Zinke said he didn’t help. Additionally, one of the key investors in Whitefish – Texas private-equity financier Joe Colonnetta – and his wife Kimberly are longtime heavy GOP donors.

– Kevin Hayes contributed to this report.