The 'A-' long-term corporate credit rating on ETSA Utilities Finance Pty Ltd., the financing arm of SA Power Networks (collectively SA Power), reflects our view of the group's "excellent" business risk profile underpinned by its natural monopoly electricity-distribution business and the benefits of an established regulatory framework that provides a high level of cash flow certainty and stability. Partly offsetting these factors are: our opinion of the group's exposure to electricity demand risk, its significant ongoing capital expenditure, and relatively high level of gearing. SA Power is 51% owned by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. (CKI; A-/Stable/--) and CKI's affiliate Power Assets Holdings Ltd. (Power Assets; A+/Stable/--), with the remaining 49% held by Spark Infrastructure Group (Spark; not rated). We
