Puerto Rico bond guarantors are seeking to replace the leaders of the island’s electric-power monopoly with a receiver and shift control over the bankrupt public corporation ahead of a planned privatization, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Assured Guaranty Corp., MBIA Inc. and Syncora Guarantee Inc. filed court papers on Wednesday denouncing the “chronic dysfunction” under current management at the public power utility known as Prepa. The request would take day-to-day management away from Prepa’s board and put it in the hands of a receiver who could be more friendly to creditors. It would also result in the sixth leadership change at Prepa since Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló took office last year. Prepa, with $9 billion in debt, is soliciting outside investments for its power generation and distribution systems while rebuilding from the damage wrought by Hurricane Maria more than a year ago. This planned privatization is intertwined with a court-supervised bankruptcy where Prepa, the sole electricity provider for most of Puerto Rico’s 3.3 million residents, is trying to reduce its debt.
