Puerto Rico senate approves bill to restructure utility PREPA

The bill now moves to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, which would need to approve it before it could become law.

"This legislation provides PREPA with critical tools to make PREPA the modern utility that Puerto Rico needs and deserves," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

PREPA, with more than $8 billion in debt, reached a restructuring deal in December with about 70 percent of its creditors.

That deal hit a roadbump in January when Puerto Rico's lawmakers failed to meet a Jan. 22 deadline to pass necessary legislation. However, the agency and bondholders agreed to extend a crucial deadline to Feb. 16.

(Reporting by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)