This week S&P Global Ratings (Standard & Poor’s) and Moody’s have reaffirmed our strong credit ratings. This benefits our customers because our favorable “credit score” allows us to keep borrowing costs low, resulting in competitive rates.
Our rating with Moody’s is Aa2, and our Standard & Poor’s rating is AA+. These ratings are high for the utility industry and highlight our strong financial position.
Each rating agency also provides comments on the outlook. A stable outlook indicates a low likelihood of a rating change. A negative outlook indicates the possibility of a downward rating.
Moody’s outlook is stable, based on our ability to manage capital projects while maintaining high financial metrics in a stable regional economy. S&P’s outlook similarly highlighted our ability to be agile and proactive in rate setting while maintaining strong financial metrics.
S&P’s outlook moved from “negative” to “stable” this year due to strong operational and financial resilience in the face of fuel price volatility.
We are very pleased with this result and believe it demonstrates the immense amount of effort by Utilities staff, leadership and Board towards being good financial stewards on behalf of our customers. A strong credit rating is a critical requirement in keeping our borrowing costs as low as possible.