On Sept. 30, 2005, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BBB' corporate credit ratings on diversified energy company Cleco Corp. and its utility subsidiary, Cleco Power LLC. The outlook remains negative. Pineville, La.-based Cleco has about $530 million of recourse debt. The rating affirmation follows a review of the company, which included an assessment of the effect of the damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the company. The negative outlook reflects serious concerns regarding Cleco's plans to build a 600 MW solid-fuel plant as the company works to recover from the two hurricanes that hit its service area. Standard&Poor's views the storm recovery costs as weakening the company's ability to fund the construction of the
