What Happened?

If your electric bill in Puerto Rico feels higher than the rest of the country's, you're not imagining it, and the fight over who pays for the island's power debt is still far from over. The roughly $9 billion debt restructuring for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority remains unresolved more than nine years after entering federal, court-supervised proceedings, while the island's average residential electricity rate stood at about 24.4 cents per kWh in March 2026, roughly 31% above the U.S. average of 18.6 cents. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report on the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and its finances, published a report on the utility's history and finances. ​

PREPA's roughly $9 billion debt restructuring is still in a federal, court-supervised process, and an August mediation report describes negotiations as "at a standstill." The Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) proposed a restructuring plan in June 2026 that creditors rejected, and how bondholders would be compensated remains unclear.

Puerto Rico's average residential electricity rate stood at about $0.244 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in March 2026, roughly 31 percent above the U.S. average of $0.186 per kWh at the same time.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

On April 16, 2025, a power failure shut down generation across Puerto Rico, leaving all 1.4 million electric customers without electricity, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

As of July 8, only $2.7 billion of the $10.7 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance set aside for PREPA's permanent reconstruction had been paid out. That leaves $8.0 billion in promised federal reconstruction money still unspent, a pace the CRS report calls "much slower than expected."

Petroleum and diesel still account for 62 percent of Puerto Rico's generation capacity, while wind and solar supplied only 4 percent of power in 2025.

Both Sides, Now

Opponents warn that a restructuring financed through higher electricity rates would unfairly burden Puerto Rican households and businesses while leaving the island's unreliable power system unresolved. In June 2023, two members of Congress introduced a resolution opposing the proposed restructuring plan, citing projections that it could contribute to more than 12,000 small-business closures and 25,000 lost jobs, according to a statement from Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez.

Supporters of a structured plan argue it would give PREPA a path to rebuild its grid and attract investment in cleaner energy.

On Aug. 1, 2025, President Trump sent dismissal notices to five of the seven FOMB members. A district court issued a temporary restraining order that was later converted to a permanent injunction on Sept. 1, 2026, about 13 months after the board members received their dismissal notices. The board now has only four voting members. Congress created the FOMB through a 2016 law and would need to act to fill the vacant seats or change the board's structure.

What Happens Next?

Oral arguments on net revenues are scheduled for mid-November 2026, and the bondholders' original claim of roughly $8.5 billion remains in litigation. A November 2025 third-party review commissioned by the FOMB found that spending on Genera PR, a private energy company based in San Juan, had not improved reliability and called for "total plant teardowns and full unit replacement."

The FOMB holds the power to propose a revised restructuring plan, but any plan must win court approval and creditor agreement before it can take effect. Will Puerto Rico's electric customers see lower rates before the debt fight is settled?

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