ORLANDO, Fla. — When a hurricane hits Central Florida, utility companies scramble to get crews in place. And there are no expenses off limits to keep you safe and get your power back on, quickly.
The Orlando Utilities Commission turns off what it calls an “approval process” to purchase needed items, and they’re not required to follow procurement protocol to get it done.
“This was not an emergency situation obviously this was a situation where it was misused,” said OUC Spokesperson Tim Trudell.
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The misuse alleged is outlined in an investigative report obtained by 9 Investigates. OUC had solicited bids to rent cranes all over the area. The idea is that the utility company has the equipment readily available for quick repairs.
The 14 companies responding companies went through a rigorous approval process. They were added to the approved vendor list for a total cost to ratepayers of $4.1 million.
According to the investigation, a fleet manager and one of its buyers then added another unapproved vendor to the list to start doing operational crane work that was needed, prompting a complaint because it took away work from approved vendors.
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“We did a thorough investigation and when the investigation was complete, we took corrective actions,” Trudell said.
The buyer who signed off was fired and another employee resigned during the investigation. The outside investigator noted something that may be of concern to ratepayers.
OUC has over 70 employees with roles allowing them to create purchase orders with approvals turned off. About 900 employees have purchasing power authority.
Investigative Reporter Daralene Jones asked if there were similar infractions found that contributed to the termination.
“We won’t go into great detail on personnel matters, but there were other infractions that this employee was involved with prior to the decision-making process,” Trudell said.
Neither employee received a severance prior to their department, according to OUC.
Cox Media Group
