Puerto Rico in Distress

ABI Analysis

Puerto Rico’s junk-rated power authority got a two-week extension from creditors that will give it more time to sort out its finances, Bloomberg News reported today. The accord allows the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to negotiate with bondholders, banks and debt insurers outside of court on ways to revamp its operations and finances. Talks have been going on since August.

Puerto Rico’s publicly owned electric monopoly presented creditors with a restructuring plan, a month before a roughly $400 million payment comes due that analysts say the utility can’t pay, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

Rather than pass a bill that bears directly on ongoing negotiations between Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and its bondholders, Congress should use this opportunity to reconsider every aspect of the U.S. relationship with Puerto Rico, according to a Forbes.com commentary today.

A consortium of York Capital Management, NRG Energy Inc and ITC Holdings Corp have proposed investing as much as $3.5 billion in Puerto Rico's electrical infrastructure, Reuters reported yesterday. The island's electricity is supplied by struggling electric power authority PREPA, which has debt of around $9 billion and is due to present creditors with a business plan on Monday.