SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s new governor has announced that she is suspending a pending $450,000 contract that is part of the program to rebuild and strengthen the island’s power grid, which was wrecked by Hurricane Maria.
Sunday’s announcement is one of Wanda Vázquez’s first moves as governor. She did not explain why she was suspending the deal.
Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority had been expected to sign the contract with Canadian consulting firm Stantec. A Stantec official did not immediately respond to a message asking for comment.
It is unclear whether Vázquez’s move will delay efforts to bolster the power grid, which remains fragile and is prone to outages.
Vázquez became Puerto Rico’s third governor in a week following popular protests, and anger is still simmering over government corruption and mismanagement.