From NAN

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. July 13, 2018: A Caribbean CEO in a hurricane ravaged US island has been hired at a salary that has left some in stunned disbelief.

The salary of the new Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Prepa) CEO, was set at $750,000 a year, according to Caribbean Business. The news comes as the U.S. territory as 1,500 still remain without power in Puerto Rico after last year’s Hurricane Maria and as the island grapples with rebuilding efforts following the storm which devastated its power grid last September.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday said it plans to begin removing mega-generators providing backup power at Puerto Rico’s power plants as soon as next week.

Rafael Díaz Granados, a retired General Electric executive and energy entrepreneur, was appointed Wednesday as CEO during a meeting held by Prepa’s Governing Board, of which he is a member.

He had been appointed by Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to a five-year term on July 29, 2017, as an independent member.

The Colombian-born Díaz Granados replaced Walter Higgins, III, who resigned Wednesday. Higgins, according to the CaribbeanBusiness.com, was making $400,000 when he stepped down.

The paper and site quoted the president of the Irrigation & Electrical Workers Union, Ángel Figueroa Jaramillo, as tweeting: “What brazenness! And what lack of respect for the country and the workers of Prepa. While they take away our rights, they threaten our Health Plan and Retirement System. They grant these salaries never seen in the Government, to the businessmen who want to steal from the country.”

But Prepa said the incoming CEO’s $750,000 a year salary is consistent with the compensation paid to power industry professionals in companies of similar “size, complexity and scope” to the public corporation, it assured.

Gov. Ricardo Rosselló had, however, threatened to take action Thursday if the amount was not lowered.

“The salary granted by the Governing Board of the Electric Power Authority (Prepa) to the new executive director is not proportional to the financial condition of PREPA, the fiscal situation of the Government, or to the feeling of a People who are making sacrifices to lift Puerto Rico up.

And so the story gets more interesting.

Amid the criticism and within hours of taking the post, Díaz Granados abruptly resigned Thursday. According to Caribbean Business, he and five other members of the board, who also resigned, claimed political forces want to control the public utility. He had also stated on Thursday that y that it was a sacrifice for him to assume that position for $750,000 because he has earned much more in other jobs.

“It’s a sacrifice. It’s a sacrifice … I’m sacrificing for the people of Puerto Rico because every day that I’m in Puerto Rico is a day I’m not anywhere else, where I would earn a lot more money,” Díaz Granados said during a WKAQ radio interview.

Prepa revenues amount to $3.2 billion a year.

IMAGE: Rafael Díaz Granados, the new Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Prepa) CEO.

For more on this story go to: https://www.newsamericasnow.com/this-caribbean-ceos-salary-will-shock-you/