NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 15, 2002--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today lowered the corporate credit ratings of Cleco Corp. and its utility subsidiary, Cleco Power LLC, to 'BBB' from 'BBB+' to reflect the worsening credit quality of the company resulting from its merchant energy operations and doubts as to Cleco's ability to successfully manage the challenges arising from the faltering merchant strategy. The ratings remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on July 26, 2002. Pinevile, La.-based electricity provider Cleco has about $1.1 billion in outstanding debt. "The ratings downgrade reflects the deterioration in Cleco's creditworthiness, as major counterparties have experienced financial distress and Cleco's assurances about the refinancing of power project debt on a
