Standard&Poor's today noted that on Aug. 19, 2002, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW; 'BBB'/Negative) negotiated the removal of a ratings trigger in the course of renewing the letter of credit that backs its commercial paper program. The renewal of the letter of credit is positive for PGW. In April 2002, Standard&Poor's identified PGW as a company exposed to a potential credit cliff due to terms of the then-existing letter of credit. The ratings trigger allowed JP Morgan Chase, as agent for the banks providing the letter of credit, to terminate the agreement if PGW's ratings were lowered to below investment grade by any two of three rating agencies for a period of six months, requiring PGW to
