...S&P Global Ratings has assigned its 'A-' rating to Cleveland, Ohio's proposed $47.415 million series 2018 public power revenue refunding bonds issued for Cleveland Public Power (CPP). At the same time, we affirmed our 'A-' ratings on the utility's $202 million of existing revenue bonds as of Dec. 31, 2017. The outlook is stable. These credit factors support our assessment of the rating: + CPP exhibits what we believe is less revenue stream predictability than is normally associated with public power utilities because it and its principal competitor, Cleveland Electric Illuminating Co. (CEI), engage in door-to-door competition for customers. The two utilities' customers can readily switch without paying exit fees. + CPP's direct competition with CEI for customers limits financial flexibility, as evidenced by the absence of implementing a base-rate increase over the past roughly 30 years. In setting rates, the utility needs to be mindful of its competitor's rates because the two compete for...
