SAN FRANCISCO (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Jan. 9, 2001--Standard&Poor's has affirmed its single-'A' rating on Austin Energy, Texas' senior lien combined revenue bonds, while the junior lien combined revenue bonds are affirmed at single-'A'-minus. The outlook revision to positive from stable reflects the expectation that once Austin Energy completes its unbundling and debt restructuring process in anticipation of deregulation, the utility will be able to offer competitively priced generation to customers while maintaining its strong historical financial position. Bonds are secured by the net revenues of the electric, water and wastewater systems. The electric system accounted for 76% of combined revenues in fiscal 1999, although the city has decided to separate the liens of the two utilities. All
