London -- Standard & Poor's CreditWire 9/9/98 -- Standard & Poor's today assigned its double-'B'-plus local currency and its double-'B'-minus foreign currency issuer credit ratings to the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (JSC Kegoc), the state-owned operator of the national transmission grid in Kazakhstan. The ratings reflect the supportive regulatory framework, the beneficial cost-plus tariff regime as well as the monopoly position of the company in the country. The rating also incorporates the difficulties of operating in a double-'B'-plus transition economy, which has suffered from underinvestment in the past in its infrastructure, including its electricity grid. In addition, and in common with several other transition countries, arrears in and demonitization of the economy are significant. Such investment catch-up and modernization
