NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 12, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the impairment charge taken by Cleco Corp. (BBB/Negative/A-2) in connection with the Perryville power plant will not immediately affect the credit ratings of the company. The write-down stems from the recent bankruptcy filing of the plant's tolling counterparty, Mirant Corp. The ratings impact of the Perryville situation is tied to its potential for disrupting the sale of the 725 MW power plant to a subsidiary of Entergy Corp. The sale of the wholly owned plant is an important part of the company's efforts to improve credit quality by reducing exposure to the merchant power market. The transaction would also strengthen the company's credit protection measures
