Standard and Poor’s Rating Service (S&P) on Thursday warned in a report titled “Risky Business: Selling Retail Electricity in the U.S.” that many retail marketers are in the same boat as wholesalers with significant market risk because of volatile prices and switching customers, operational challenges such as mass billing and collections, and weak credit.
Poor
Articles from Poor
S&P Drops Mirant’s Rating on Debt Restructuring Plan
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) dropped Mirant Corp. ratings lower into junk territory Tuesday, following on the company’s announcement late Monday of a debt restructuring plan that it said also could serve as a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing if lenders did not cooperate. S&P cut the corporate credit rating and senior unsecured debt ratings on Mirant and its subsidiaries to ‘CCC’ from ‘B’.
June 4, 2003
S&P Removes Williams from CreditWatch
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Service (S&P) on Friday affirmed its “B+ long-term corporate credit rating on The Williams Cos. Inc., and removed the company and its subsidiaries from CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed July 23, 2002. S&P kept its negative outlook on the company.
May 27, 2003
S&P, Fitch See Improvements for Energy Merchants
As the myriad of regulatory issues continues to be resolved, a Standard & Poor’s (S&P) natural gas analyst predicted last week that there will be increasingly positive interest from creditors and investors toward energy merchants. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings Thursday upgraded Dynegy Inc.’s outlook to “stable,” and S&P Friday removed The Williams Cos. Inc. from its CreditWatch list.
May 26, 2003
S&P Sees Improved Outlook for Energy Merchants
As the myriad of regulatory issues continues to be resolved, a Standard & Poor’s (S&P) natural gas analyst predicted Wednesday increasingly positive interest from creditors and investors toward energy merchants.
May 22, 2003
Dynegy Drops Bid to Raise Money Through MLP
Dynegy Energy Partners LP, a master limited partnership (MLP) formed last year to raise money for its cash-poor parent, on Friday canceled plans to go public.
May 5, 2003
S&P Says CMS Showing Signs of Improvement
With “moderate” improvement in its liquidity and a lengthened debt repayment plan, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) on Wednesday assigned a “BB” rating to CMS Energy Corp.’s new $925 million credit facilities.
April 24, 2003
S&P Believes Dynegy Making Progress on Liquidity, Strategy
Dynegy Inc. is making progress on two fronts: liquidity and reshaping its business strategy, according to a report issued by Standard & Poor’s RatingsDirect (S&P). The former energy merchant also has moved forward in the board room, after naming three new directors Thursday.
April 21, 2003
Aquila Refinancing Fails to Allay S&P’s Concerns
While a $630 million refinancing package on Friday is a step in the right direction for Aquila Inc., Standard and Poor’s said it’s certainly not enough to offset the significant asset sales risks and desperate cash flow needs of the company. S&P cut Aquila’s corporate credit rating Friday to “B” from “B+.” It assigned a “B+” rating to Aquila’s new three-year $430 million senior secured credit facility. Aquila got a one-year $200 million loan for its Australian subsidiary, UtiliCorp Australia Inc.
April 14, 2003
S&P: Next Few Weeks ‘Crucial’ For Aquila
Aquila Inc.’s financial struggles are far from over, according to a report published Thursday by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). Analysts noted that the Kansas City-based utility has several serious concerns ahead, including the maturity of its credit facility in mid-April and a cash drain from natural gas prepay contracts and tolling agreements.
March 31, 2003
Listen to the latest episode of our newest podcast NGI's Hub and Flow via:
