NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Feb. 7, 2006--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the recent shutdown of Xcel Energy Inc.'s (BBB/Stable/A-2) Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Station unit 2 does not affect the rating on the company. The shutdown is a result of parts replacement at one of two backup diesel-powered generators, and is not related to any failure at the nuclear plant itself. The diesel generators provide backup power to run safety systems if electricity becomes unavailable. Prairie Island is expected to return to full power within the next few weeks. Customer demand in Minnesota is low at this time of year, so replacement power costs should not have a financial impact on Xcel Energy.
