Research Update: Edison International And Subsidiary Outlooks Revised To Negative On Adverse Wildfire Conditions; 'BBB' Ratings Affirmed

Unprecedented wildfire activity throughout California at just the beginning of the wildfire season, in our view, could be indicative of a worsening environment that is more susceptible to frequent wildfires. This could increase the probability that a California investor-owned electric utility causes a catastrophic wildfire at a more regular occurrence than our prior base case assumptions. These deteriorating conditions may also adversely affect the utility's ability to effectively manage regulatory risk. As such we are revising our outlooks of Edison International and subsidiary Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) to negative from stable. We are affirming our ratings on Edison and SCE, including our 'BBB' issuer credit ratings, the 'BBB-' rating on Edison's senior unsecured debt, and the 'A-' rating on

...- Unprecedented wildfire activity throughout California at just the beginning of the wildfire season, in our view, could be indicative of a worsening environment that is more susceptible to frequent wildfires. This could increase the probability that a California investor-owned electric utility causes a catastrophic wildfire at a more regular occurrence than our prior base case assumptions. These deteriorating conditions may also adversely affect the utility's ability to effectively manage regulatory risk. - As such we are revising our outlooks of Edison International and subsidiary Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) to negative from stable. - We are affirming our ratings on Edison and SCE, including our '###' issuer credit ratings, the '###-' rating on Edison's senior unsecured debt, and the 'A-' rating on SCE's senior secured debt. - The negative outlook reflects the increased probability for a downgrade incorporating the accelerated rate of adverse wildfire activity as demonstrated...

Research Update