NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Jan. 5, 2000--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its ratings of Duke Energy Corp. and related entities (see list below) following the announcement that the company reached a definitive agreement with El Paso Energy Corp. to acquire East Tennessee Natural Gas Co. from El Paso for $386 million. Duke also announced that The Williams Cos. Inc. agreed to buy Duke's 9.8% share in the Alliance Pipeline and the associated Aux Sable gas liquids extraction plant for an undisclosed amount. The outlook on Duke and its affiliates is negative. Ratings of Duke Energy Trading and Marketing L.L.C., however, remain on CreditWatch with developing implications given the uncertain impact of the ExxonMobil Corp. merger. The East Tennessee
