The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority extended its contract with restructuring consulting firm AlixPartners to mid-November.
AlixPartners will add staff to provide specialized guidance on upcoming initiatives as part of the extension, the authority said Wednesday. PREPA will pay an additional $7,325,000 to keep the contract until Nov. 15, 2015.
PREPA's troubles became openly visible on July 10, 2014 when it announced that it had drawn on its debt service reserve to make a debt payment on July 1. In August it reached forbearance agreements with its bondholders and insurers, its bank creditors, and the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico.
In September PREPA hired Lisa Donahue, a global co-leader at AlixPartners, and a small AlixPartners team on a temporary basis to guide a comprehensive transformation of the authority. The extension means that Donahue will continue as PREPA's chief restructuring officer.
"We have made significant progress and have a solid working relationship with our creditors, so extending the AlixPartners' contract is important to maintain our forward momentum," Harry Rodriguez, chairman of PREPA's governing board, said according to a press release. "The AlixPartners' team and PREPA are not going to stop until we have completed our task of transforming this utility for the benefit of the people of Puerto Rico."
PREPA has said it expects for both creditors and the authority to agree to a restructuring plan, known as the Restructuring Support Agreement, by Sept. 1.
