NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 26, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it views Aquila Inc.'s (B/Negative/--) announcement that it has terminated the sale agreement of its 79.9% interest in Midlands Electricity PLC to Scottish&Southern Energy PLC as a credit negative; however, the announcement does not affect the ratings or outlook on Aquila. The sale agreement, which was announced in May 2003, was terminated due to a failed bond redemption, which was a required condition of the sale. The sale of Midlands would not have generated significant cash proceeds to ease Aquila's strained liquidity position. Nevertheless, if Aquila does not sell Midlands, the company is obligated through a funding agreement to continue payments to FirstEnergy
