NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) March 6, 2012--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services has assigned its 'AA' rating to City of Colorado Springs, Colo.'s utilities system revenue bonds series 2012A. The bonds will be variable-rate and are secured by a pledge of net revenues of Colorado Springs Utilities' (CSU) electric, gas, water, wastewater, and streetlight systems. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'AA', 'AA/A-1+', and 'AA/A-1' ratings on the utilities' parity debt outstanding. The outlook is stable. Including these bonds, debt outstanding will total about $2.3 billion. The 'A-1' short-term rating reflects a standby purchase agreement from US Bank N.A. (A+/Stable/A-1). "The 'AA' rating reflects our view of the city council's willingness to set rates that provide generally
