Letters: Puerto Rico could have been better served by Whitefish

Re “Puerto Rico utility moves to scrap $300M Whitefish contract” (sacbee.com, Oct. 29): As one who has worked with consultants, let me pose an alternate view to the hiring of Whitefish Energy Holdings. Just because it was a two-employee firm doesn’t mean it was a bad deal. By being small, the firm can move quickly to hire people with specific skill sets. These people are paid high per diem but do not carry the overhead that would be required by permanent employees for vacation, family leave, sick pay, and health care. Experts can be hired and let go as the job requires. Emergency work such as is involved in repairing Puerto Rico's electrical infrastructure is so complex that it necessitates the ability to quickly change workers when new needs arise as the job progresses. It makes much more sense for Puerto Rico to work with a firm such as Whitefish. As to whether there was something underhanded in the selection of the firm, that is another question.

This story was originally published October 30, 2017 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Letters: Puerto Rico could have been better served by Whitefish."