KeySpan Gas East Co. (KeySpan Gas East) has been less effective in managing regulatory risk than in the past, as manifested by rates that have not been updated since 2008 and returns that remain below the authorized levels. We are revising our assessment of the company's financial risk profile to "significant" from "intermediate" because of KeySpan Gas East's less-effective management of regulatory risk and reduced ability to earn close to its authorized return. We are lowering the issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on KeySpan Gas East to 'A-' from 'A'. The outlook is stable. Our ratings on parent National Grid North America Inc. are unchanged. The stable outlook on KeySpan Gas East reflects our base-case scenario that the
