PFA approves contract extension with legal firm

The Public Finance Authority voted Wednesday to approve a third contract extension with the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs, which has been helping the V.I. Water and Power Authority negotiate with fuel supplier Vitol since late 2022.

Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. led the meeting as PFA chairman, and PFA General Counsel Kye Walker recounted the history of the contract with the law firm. The PFA member ultimately voted to approve the three-month extension, increasing the not-to-exceed amount from $800,000 to $1.1 million.

Vitol cut off fuel shipments to the territory in November 2022 because of WAPA’s failure to pay infrastructure and fuel costs under a contract executed in 2014 under former Executive Director Hugo Hodge Jr. An Inspector General’s Report found that WAPA officials rushed the project and failed to properly oversee expenditures, and the original $87 million contract price ballooned to more than $200 million with fees and penalties.

The PFA hired Squire Patton Boggs to help negotiate a resumption of fuel deliveries, and their legal and public policy teams continued facilitating subsequent agreements, Walker explained.