EXHIBIT 35 

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Puerto Rico power restoration: Why it is taking so long Page 1 of 3 

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$16.95 

Puerto Rico power restoration: Why it is taking so long 

A Inn om�1. nnd Rick .len•i.,. USA TODAY Published 3:09 p.m. ET Oct. 30, 20171 Updated 3:46 p.m. ET Oct. 31, 2017 

(Photo: Joe Raed/e, Getty Images) 

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of the story mischaracterized the Edison Electric Institute. The 

story also misstated the payment status of workers from Jacksonville Electric Authority for work performed. 

When hurricanes Harvey and Irma hit Texas and Florida back to back, utility companies from other states spent 

just a few hours finalizing contracts to dispatch linemen and bucket trucks to help restore power. 

But when Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, simply clearing that first step to provide 

assistance became a complicated process that significantly delayed deploying power crews. The result: 70% of 

the island remains without power nearly six weeks later. 

Lakeland Electric, a utility in Central Florida, has both sent and received assistance after multiple storms in recent years, a now-standardized process 

that allows fleets of trucks to roll out quickly across the country after a disaster. But Lakeland's general manager, Joel Ivy, said he's never gone through a 

process like the one after Maria. 

Ivy spent the first few days after the storm just figuring out exactly who was in charge. His team spent another week negotiating a contract with Whitefish 

Energy Holdings, the small Montana company hired by Puerto Rico's electric authority to oversee the restoration of the island's power grid. 

Lakeland's first linemen finally arrived in San Juan on Saturday - 36 days after Maria made landfall. 

"It's been difficult," Ivy said. 

By Sunday, Puerto Rican officials had seen enough and decided to cancel the $300 million contract with Whitefish. 

The decision by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) followed a growing list of officials from Washington to San Juan who voiced 

concern over the way the Montana company won its contract and its ability to handle the monumental task of rebuilding the island's electrical grid. 

Those raising concerns included Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselle, Democrats and Republicans in Congress, the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency and, according to (https:/fwww.wsj.com/artictes/fbi-is-probing-puerto-rico-power-contract-1509379394) the Wall Street Journal and CNN, the FBI. 

Whitefish is located in Whitefish, Mont., the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The company is backed by a private equity firm, HBC 

Investments, which is headed by Joe Colonnetta, a major donor to President Trump's election campaign, the Trump Victory PAC and other Republican 

candidates. 

The company defended its work in Puerto Rico, pointing to the 350 workers and 600 pieces of heavy electrical equipment it has sent to the island since 

Maria made landfall. That compares to more than 10,000 power workers who responded to Irma in Florida and Harvey in Texas. 

"We are very proud of our contributions to the island's recovery and proud of the tremendous work that our team has done under very challenging 

conditions," read a statement from the company. 

More: Puerto Rico's Gov. Rosselle orders audit of Whitefish contract to fix power grid (lstory/newslworldl2017/10126/puerto-rlcos-qov-rossello-ordershttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017 /10/30/puerto-rico-power-restoration-why-taking-so-lo... 9/7/2018 

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