The creditors of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority extended their forbearance to the authority by 15 days on Wednesday.
"The creditors' agreement to our forbearance proposal demonstrates that we are making progress and there is merit to continuing conversations to find feasible solutions that will transform PREPA," said Lisa Donahue, PREPA's chief restructuring officer in an official statement.
Additionally, PREPA announced that Lisa Donahue's company, AlixPartners, will receive roughly an additional $3.9 million for three more months of service. Donahue and a small team from AlixPartners are working for PREPA on a temporary basis overseeing the restructuring process.
The payment amount is consistent with the monthly cost of AlixPartners to PREPA up to now. PREPA hired the AlixPartners team in August 2014.
In the new agreement, the authority has authorized up to an additional $300,000 for a transmission and distribution study and an information technology system study.
The authority said it anticipates it may need to extend the AlixPartners contract beyond July 15.
According to the forbearing bondholders, PREPA has agreed to provide a formal response to the bondholders' proposed revitalization plan for PREPA by April 24, an information session between the authority's rate consultant and creditors' advisors by May 4, and present a formal comprehensive plan by early June.
This plan will be given to the bondholders. A full comprehensive plan for the public is not anticipated until July 15.
As a condition for extending the forbearance, the bondholders had asked PREPA to transfer some funds into an escrow account and to pay amendment fees to them, the authority said. The 15 day forbearance extension does not include either of these steps.
