Puerto Rico needed electricity. That urgency was real. Years of generation shortages and repeated blackouts made additional power a public priority. Against that backdrop, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority pursued a contract for up to 400 megawatts of temporary generation at the Aguirre Power Plant — a deal potentially worth nearly $5.9 billion over 10 years.

Urgency, however, does not eliminate the need for basic due diligence. A government can move quickly and still know who its contractors are, whether they can perform, who has authority to bind them, and why they were selected.