On average, residential bills would increase by nearly $9 a month and commercial bills by $35.
Some 1.4 million customers would not pay the new charge if they consume less than 425 kilowatt-hours a month, the plan states. The average monthly power consumption for a U.S. residential customer is about 886 kilowatt-hours, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Recent electric bill increases have been criticized by many on the island of 3.2 million people hit by power outages ever since the grid was razed byThe newest debt restructuring plan is backed by companies that hold more than 40% of uninsured bonds issued by Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, according to the board. Those companies agreed to buy new bonds issued by the power authority, which would then use that money to pay some creditors in cash.
Friday’s filing comes more than eight years after Puerto Rico announced that it was unable to pay its more than $70 billion public debt, which was accumulated through decades of corruption, mismanagement and excessive borrowing.