NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 26, 2001--Standard&Poor's today lowered its ratings on FPL Group Inc. and its affiliates Florida Power&Light Co. and FPL Group Capital Inc. and removed the entities from CreditWatch (see list below), where they were placed with negative implications on July 31, 2000. The rating action reflects Standard&Poor's comprehensive review of FPL Group's strategic direction after the termination of its merger agreement with Entergy Corp., as well as the risk assessment and cash flow potential of FPL Group as a stand-alone entity. Driving factors in the current ratings determination include increasing business risk for the consolidated enterprise attributable to the growing nonregulated independent power producer (IPP) portfolio, regulatory challenges in
