Reject new charges on Puerto Rico’s electric bill

The board’s proposal in the State Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) Debt Resolution Plan filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court reflects the insufficient reductions in favor of bondholders, apart from a proposal to impose two new fees, for 35 and 50 years, that would destroy the Puerto Rican economy.

The Citizens Front for Debt Review and the Citizens Committee for Public Credit Audit confirmed that the body imposed by Washington on the island government is continuing its plans, this time with two charges that, if accepted, would be held for the next 35 to 50 years to pay off PREPA debts.

The council insists on imposing new fees on the electricity bill to pay off the authority’s unaudited debts; Planner Jose Rivera Santana said it proposes, without the support of bondholders, to repay more than $5.4 billion in debt, but that the reduction is insufficient.

A spokesperson for the Citizens Committee for Public Credit Audit indicated that in order to comply with this payment proposal, it would have to set two charges, one flat for everyone and one linked to individual energy consumption, which would be devastating for families and merchants.

Meanwhile, attorney Eva Prados, of the Citizens’ Debt Audit Front, explained that if the board’s proposal is approved, the two new positions will be valid for the next five decades.

“More seriously, the Board does not include in this plan the exact amount of the increases, which is worrisome, because the state cannot support another increase; we are the second-highest cost electricity jurisdiction in the United States, which is already an unsustainable economic burden in Puerto Rico,” Prados added.

He stressed that further increases will only lead to closures of businesses and hospitals, evictions and more poverty for our families.

The Debt Audit Front, as well as many organizations and sectors, have indicated that this bond debt should be substantially cut and even cancelled, and that there is no economic analysis or any indication in that plan that defines the debt proposal. Board of Directors, which may lead to a new stumbling block in the future.

The organizations warn that despite the fact that Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who is hearing Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy, has stated that price increases cannot exceed the country’s economic growth rate, the adjustment plan presented by the board does not include any economic projections that address this aspect. .

“It is disgraceful that the board publishes a plan without the slightest level of transparency about the sustainability of the payment, the number of increases that will be imposed on people, or any analysis of the impact on the economy,” Rivera Santana said.

lam / nrm