Diversity of geography, fuel, and economy; Fully regulated utilities strategy; Credit-supportive regulation; and, Strengthened financial profile. Aggressive capital spending; Dependence on supportive cost recovery; and, Free operating cash flow negative. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services bases its rating on Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. on the consolidated credit profile that includes what we consider to be an "excellent" business risk profile and "significant" financial risk profile (as our criteria define the terms). The outlook is stable. The excellent business risk profile assessment incorporates Xcel's strategy as a geographically and economically diverse public utility holding company that owns four utilities, serving about 3.5 million electric and 2 million natural-gas customers in eight states from the upper Midwest, over to Colorado, and down
