NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Jan. 25, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the closure of Detroit Edison Co.'s (BBB/Stable/A-2) Fermi 2 nuclear plant does not affect the rating or outlook on DTE Energy Co. (BBB/Stable/A-2). The closure is related to a cooling system leak that is nonradioactive in nature. The company is investigating the cause of the leak and developing a plan for repair. Although the rating on the company remains unchanged by the plant's closure, Standard&Poor's is concerned that repercussions from the event, such as an unexpected prolonged outage or associated replacement power that is unrecoverable, could lead to a weaker financial profile and affect ratings.
