NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 15, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that Duke Energy Corp.'s (BBB/Stable/A-2) announcement that it has reached an agreement to sell its Australian and New Zealand assets to Alinta Ltd. (BBB/Watch Neg/A-2) is a favorable event for Duke Energy's credit quality. This is because Duke Energy plans on using all of the asset sale proceeds of $1.238 billion to reduce debt during 2004. This asset sale will form the first part of the company's 2004 debt reduction strategy, which includes total debt reduction of $3.5 billion to $4.0 billion. The asset sale is scheduled to close by the second quarter of 2004. Alinta will acquire all of Duke Energy's Australian and New Zealand
