Austin, Texas; Retail Electric

S&P Global Ratings' 'AA' long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on Austin, Texas' electric utility system revenue debt remain on CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on March 3, 2021. The 'AA' rating reflects our view of Austin Energy's robust liquidity position that provides significant resilience, strong projected coverage levels, and the performance of its generation fleet during the February 2021 North American winter storm that enabled the utility to generate significant unbudgeted net revenue of $101 million. Austin Energy experienced limited generation outages during the storm and its generation output exceeded its customers' demand for energy, enabling it to fully recoup high natural gas fuel costs it incurred by selling energy into the market. In our view,

...S&P Global Ratings' '##' long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on Austin, Texas' electric utility system revenue debt remain on CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on March 3, 2021. The '##' rating reflects our view of Austin Energy's robust liquidity position that provides significant resilience, strong projected coverage levels, and the performance of its generation fleet during the February 2021 North American winter storm that enabled the utility to generate significant unbudgeted net revenue of $101 million. Austin Energy experienced limited generation outages during the storm and its generation output exceeded its customers' demand for energy, enabling it to fully recoup high natural gas fuel costs it incurred by selling energy into the market. In our view, Austin Energy's current plans to change its power supply, by closing 405 megawatt (MW) of natural gas fired generation in October 2021 and 570 MW of coal by the end of 2022, introduces additional...

Full Report