(Editor's note: The last sentence of the fifth paragraph of this news release, which was originally published earlier today, has been amended for greater clarity. A corrected version of the article follows.) PARIS (Standard&Poor's) July 19, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that a downward adjustment of its ratings on France-based Electricité de France (EDF; AA-/Negative/A-1+), Europe's largest electric utility, is not excluded in the short-to-medium term. "The ratings on EDF currently still factor in a degree of support from the French state, but as this support declines, we will adjust our ratings to more closely reflect EDF's stand-alone credit quality, which is presently below the 'AA-' rating level," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Karl Nietvelt.
