On August 22, 2022, FTLF Senior Counsel Phillip A. Escoriaza was quoted in The Bond Buyer concerning Puerto Rico’s electricity crisis. A native of Puerto Rico, Mr. Escoriaza has been an attorney for more than 25 years, as well as a television and radio commentator for legal and world news.

The article covers significant criticism of LUMA Energy over constant power outages and frequent rate hikes stemming from a lack of infrastructure improvements to Puerto Rico’s electric power grid. Protesters and elected officials are demanding the cancellation of LUMA’s contract to operate power transmission island-wide, which was awarded starting June 1, 2021, after the public utility Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) filed to restructure debt exceeding $9 billion.

Responding to reports that PREPA bondholders are potentially seeking additional utility rate increases in debt restructuring negotiations, Escoriaza observed that “any parties insisting on higher electricity costs do not see that their proposal is an economic impossibility” and explained that “lower, not higher, energy costs is what the island needs if it ever is to return to a modicum of growth sufficient to support bond payments.” In addition, Escoriaza stated that, while the private operator’s future in Puerto Rico lies with the governor and his administration, and the Oversight Board, it is a matter of public record that LUMA and PREPA’s efforts to improve the power grid’s reliability have been “dismal.”

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

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