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We welcomed Walter M. Higgins III, retired President & CEO of Ascendant Group Ltd and former CEO of Puerto Rico Power Authority (PREPA), the bankrupt, devastated electric utility company providing electric service to all of Puerto Rico. PREPA's electric system was destroyed by Hurricane Irma and Maria in September 2017. The company was already in bankruptcy proceedings when the hurricanes struck as a result of years of mismanagement and political interference Our speaker led the company through the final stages of emergency power restoration and the beginning of the transformation to a new model for electricity service in Puerto Rico. He departed PREPA in July 2018. Mr. Higgins graduated with a nuclear science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis MD and post graduate degrees from Stanford U, U of Idaho and George Washington U. He served as an officer on nuclear submarines. We learned that among the people who do not have power, many are not there to receive it, or their homes were destroyed. He itemized what it will take to have PREPA conform with U.S. standard technologies. Get off oil and use liquified natural gas. Use the merit basis and get rid of corruption; frequent internal audits; no politics inside the agency. And, not to fix, replace but completely rebuild as a modern facility. Mr. Higgins fielded many questions from the floor and willingly stayed after adjournment to hear from the many Rotarians for whom this subject is so vital. |
