The ratings on Cleco Corp. reflect the company's excellent business risk profile and aggressive financial risk profile. Cleco Corp. owns Cleco Power LLC, a regulated electric utility, and Cleco Midstream Resources LLC, a merchant generation subsidiary. Cleco Power is Cleco Corp.'s largest subsidiary, serving about 279,000 customers, mainly in western and central Louisiana, a service territory demonstrating only modest customer growth. The company has been able to achieve constructive regulatory outcomes that generally support the consolidated credit profile. Cleco Power currently operates under a four-year settlement agreement, entered into in October 2009, which increased base rates by $173.3 million, effective from February 2010, to account for the inclusion of the new Madison Unit 3 generation facility, in rate base. Somewhat
