The Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority, the public corporation that's negotiating a new business plan with creditors, replaced its executive director, general counsel, chief financial officer, generation director customer service director.
The authority, which many analysts expect to default on its July 1 debt payment, announced Tuesday that Carlos Castro, who had been the PREPA director of generation, had been named interim executive director. He will be replacing Juan Alicea Flores, who resigned.
PREPA, which has been operating under a forbearance agreement with its creditors since August, has about $8.3 billion in bond debt and $700 million in bank debt, according to PREPA chief restructuring officer Lisa Donahue.
Ernesto Ramos will serve as interim financial director, Rafael Perez Jimenez will serve as interim generation director, Nelida Ayala will serve as interim legal director, and Carmen Flores will serve as interim customer service director.
On Monday the El Nuevo Día news website reported that insiders were saying Alicea Flores would leave because he found it difficult to accept the fiscal and operational changes introduced by Donahue.
"The new interim management team has been with PREPA for a significant number of years, which will allow for a seamless transition," PREPA said in an official statement. "They are highly qualified to take over their new roles as interim leaders of PREPA as we search for longer term management."
Harry Rodriquez, chairman of the PREPA board of directors, said the departing management team had "started us down the transformation path that will ultimately result in a first class utility."
