Moody's affirms ratings for Basin Electric
Moody's revises rating outlook to stable.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
- December 14, 2012
Moody's Investors Service affirmed Dec. 13 all of the existing ratings of Basin Electric, and more importantly, changed its ratings outlook to stable from negative, said Paul Sukut, Basin Electric chief financial officer and senior vice president of Financial Services.
“This is great news,” Sukut said. “Moody’s recognition of the measures taken over the course of the past several months to bolster the cooperative’s financial condition will continue to lead to savings to the membership through lower interest costs.”
The ratings affirmed include Basin Electric’s A2 issuer rating, its A1 rating for senior secured Pollution Control Revenue Bonds and first mortgage bonds, and the P-1 rating for its commercial paper in both the taxable and tax-exempt modes.
“The affirmation of BEPC’s ratings and the change to a stable rating outlook reflect Moody’s view that the cooperative’s trend of weakening credit metrics that occurred during 2009-2010 due to debt financing of a large capital program has reversed course,” said Kevin Rose, Moody’s lead analyst for Basin Electric in a news release issued Dec. 13. “Moody’s believes that improvement of key credit metrics that began in fiscal year 2011 and continue through 2012, is likely to be sustained going forward thanks to wholesale power rate increases implemented in 2011 and another planned rate increase approved by the board to take effect Jan. 1, 2013,” Rose added.
Headquarters
1717 E. Interstate Ave.
Bismarck, ND 58503-0564 USA
701.557.4400
Great Plains Synfuels Plant
420 County Road 26
Beulah, ND 58523-9400 USA
701.873.2100
