NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 24, 2002--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its double-'B'-plus rating to the second mortgage bonds securing Tucson Electric Power Co.'s new $400 million bank facility that will replace the $441 million facility expiring on Dec. 31, 2002. The outlook is stable. The Tucson, Ariz.-based electric utility has about $1.4 billion in outstanding debt. The rating is one notch higher than the double-'B' corporate credit rating and one notch below the triple-'B'-minus rating on the first mortgage bonds. "The notching up from the corporate credit rating reflects the overcollateralization of the maximum amount of second mortgage bonds that could be outstanding under the terms of the bank facilities by the company's pledged
