Fitch Rates Colorado Springs Utilities System's (Colorado) $25M Rfdg Revs 2007C 'AA'; Outlook Stable.NEW YORK New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. assigns an 'AA' to Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, city (1990 pop. 281,140), seat of El Paso co., central Colo., on Monument and Fountain creeks, at the foot of Pikes Peak; inc. 1886. It is a year-round resort and a booming military, technological, and commercial city. , Colorado's (the city) $25.3 million series 2007C utilities system refunding revenue bonds. The proceeds will refund the city utilities system's remaining 1997A (senior lien senior lien n. the first security interest (lien or claim) placed upon property at a time before other liens, which are called "junior" liens. (See: mortgage, deed of trust, lien, UCC-1) ) bonds outstanding. The senior lien obligation is closed. Following this issuance, the 2007C bonds will be on parity with $1.5 billion outstanding subordinate lien lien, claim or charge held by one party, on property owned by a second party, as security for payment of some debt, obligation, or duty owed by that second party. obligations, which Fitch affirms at 'AA'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. The bonds are secured by a net revenue pledge Net Revenue Pledge A provision in a municipal bond issue that requires the issuing municipality to use net revenues (revenues left after expenses) from the project being financed to pay first the debt service costs of the issue. of the city's combined utilities system. The 2007C bonds, with a final maturity of Nov. 15, 2022, are scheduled to price via competitive bid, on Oct. 16, 2007, with George K. Baum & Company as their financial advisor. Colorado Springs Utilities System (CSU See DSU/CSU. 1. CSU - California State University. 2. CSU - Cleveland State University. 3. CSU - Channel Service Unit. ) is one of Fitch's highest rated public power entities. The 'AA' rating reflects the CSU's diverse revenue stream as a combined utility system with four major business segments (electric, natural gas, water and wastewater), competitive retail rates, solid financial performance, and a vibrant service area economy. In addition, CSU's rating is further supported by its low-cost power supply portfolio, which includes mostly reliable coal-fired generation (nearly 70% of total energy sold), plus long-term hydropower hy·dro·pow·er n. Hydroelectric power. and natural gas purchases. CSU's management has also developed solid business practices particularly in the areas of capital planning, management succession and risk assessment. Credit risks center on the combined utilities' substantial capital improvement program (estimated at $1.7 billion for 2008-2012), which will essentially double the utilities' system debt obligations. A key component of CSU's rating is the ability to implement planned rate increases (rate increases require City Council approval) in a timely manner, in order to maintain historical margins and liquidity. For fiscal year end 2006, debt service coverage is a healthy 2.45x (or 1.82x excluding contributions in aid of construction which will vary with customer growth). Liquidity is solid at 145 days operating liquidity, in-line with the Fitch medians for 'AA' rated self-generating public power utilities. Going forward, with reasonably projected load growth and moderate planned rate increases, CSU should maintain debt service coverage of approximately 2.0x (including capital aid), which is consistent with comparable utilities in the 'AA' rating category. CSU is a combined utility system serving customers in the city of Colorado Springs and surrounding suburban communities. Revenues consist of a mix of electric (45%), natural gas (29%), water (12%), wastewater (7%), and other sources (7%). CSU is owned by the City of Colorado and constitutes an enterprise fund of the City. More information on the City of Colorado Springs' recently issued 2007A variable rate bonds (rated by Fitch on Aug. 29, 2007) or 2007B variable rate bonds (rated by Fitch on Sept. 21, 2007), is available on the Fitch Ratings web site www.fitchratings.com. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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