FILE - A brigade from the Electric Power Authority repairs distribution lines damaged by Hurricane Maria in the Cantera community of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Oct. 19, 2017. A federal judge overseeing a drawn-out debt-restructuring process for the power company ordered all parties to mediation on Wednesday, July 10, in the latest attempt to break an impasse that has sparked widespread anger and frustration.
, crippling the island’s ability to attract investors and leaving residents who already pay some of the highest electric bills in a U.S. jurisdiction in limbo.“Movement is necessary to resolve this,” said District Judge Laura Taylor Swain during the two-hour hearing held in New York. “I need response with alacrity.”
Shortly before Wednesday’s ruling, lead mediator Judge Shelley Chapman said it was impossible not to feel “immense frustration and disappointment” that a compromise has not been reached. She noted an ongoing lack of proposals or solutions as she urged all sides to make “modest moves.” “The electrical system urgently needs maintenance and billions of dollars of investment, beyond the federal funds available, just to provide adequate service. Diverting billions of dollars to pay bondholders will perpetuate a dysfunctional electrical system,” stated a letter from dozens of civil society groups in Puerto Rico issued Tuesday to Swain.
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