Judge grants $300M loan for Puerto Rico power company
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A federal judge on Monday approved a $300 million loan for Puerto Rico’s power company that officials say will help keep the troubled agency operating until late March.
The ruling comes just days after the judge had rejected an initial $1 billion loan request made by a federal control board overseeing the U.S. territory’s finances. The judge had said officials did not provide sufficient evidence proving Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority needed the money, so the board submitted a revised request for $300 million on Friday.
Hours before the judge approved the request, Gov. Ricardo Rossello maintained that the company still needed a $1 billion loan to keep operating in the months ahead.
“There’s no money,” he said. “We’re in a precarious situation.”