NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Dec. 14, 2000--Standard&Poor's today assigned its triple-'B'-plus rating to the $600 million unsecured notes issued by Xcel Energy (A-/Stable/A-2). Xcel Energy is the parent company of Northern States Power Co., Northern States Power Wisconsin, Public Service Co. of Colorado, Southwestern Public Service Co., and other smaller subsidiaries. The outlook is stable. The ratings on Xcel Energy reflect a moderately strong consolidated financial profile and business position. The company enjoys geographic diversity, relatively low-cost operations, fairly supportive regulation, minimal exposure to nuclear power, and generally good growth prospects led by Colorado. However, the strong financial profiles of the Northern States Power and Northern States Power Wisconsin are offset by Public Service of Colorado's
