Whitefish Energy apologizes after arguing with San Juan mayor

Whitefish Energy is apologizing after the company feuded with the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, over Twitter and threatened to pull out of recovery efforts on the island.

“Mayor Cruz and everyone in Puerto Rico — on behalf of our employees, we would like to apologize for our comments earlier today, which did not represent who we are and how important this work is to help Puerto Rico’s recovery,” the company said in a statement posted on Twitter.

“We have a strong team on the ground, we are working hard and making good progress. Our goal is to continue to do all we can to help everyone in Puerto Rico in this time of need.”

.@CarmenYulinCruz and everyone in Puerto Rico… pic.twitter.com/XHIwgQjYvh

— Whitefish Energy (@WhitefishEnergy) October 26, 2017

{mosads}Whitefish Energy, which is based in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s hometown in Montana, signed a $300 million contract to help overhaul the island’s grid following Hurricane Maria. 

The company is only two years old and had just two employees when the territory’s utility, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, signed the contract.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz called Wednesday for the contract to fix the island’s hurricane-ravaged electrical grid to be “voided” after it was awarded to the small Montana firm.

Cruz told Yahoo News the contract is “alarming.”

“The contract should be voided right away and a proper process which is clear, transparent, legal, moral and ethical should take place,” she told the publication.

The company responded, saying Cruz’s comments were “misplaced.”

Cruz then questioned what Whitefish Energy is “afraid we will find” if officials think asking for more transparency is “misplaced.” 

“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?” Whitefish Energy responded on Twitter.

Cruz shot back, saying the company is threatening not to do its job.

The governor of Puerto Rico this week requested an audit into how the company won a multimillion-dollar contract to restore power to Puerto Rico.

Cruz has in the past feuded with President Trump over Twitter and has accused the administration of not doing enough to help Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria.