On September 22, 2022, The Bond Buyer quoted FTLF Senior Counsel Phillip A. Escoriaza on billion-dollar debt adjustment plan negotiations between the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and its creditors.

The mediation team overseeing negotiations in the PREPA bankruptcy asked the New York federal District Court to order a new round of talks after the electric power utility, its bondholders and the Oversight Board failed to resolve their differences over a plan to restructure $9 billion of debt.

When asked about the case, Phillip Escoriaza said he agreed with the mediators’ proposal. Mr. Escoriaza explained that time is running up, “This case has been going for over five years, there’s a private operator of distribution and transmission services whose contract is intertwined with the outcomes of the negotiations and the litigation itself, and there still are billions in federal assistance dollars waiting to be invested in rebuilding PREPA from the ground up.”

Mr. Escoriaza emphasized the urgency of resolving PREPA’s bankruptcy since millions of Puerto Ricans who do not have reliable electric service now have to recover from the destruction Hurricane Fiona unleashed on the island earlier this week.

The Bond Buyer is a national trade publication covering the municipal bond industry. Read the full article here.

Phillip A. Escoriaza works with clients in the firm’s Federal Grants Practice Group. He also provides commentary on breaking world news and legal matters as well as new developments on the island.

For more information, contact Mr. Escoriaza at pescoriaza@feldesman.com.