Bangkok--14 Jul--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA-' rating to San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (the SFPUC or the PUC), Calif.'s $46.3 million series 2010D water revenue and refunding bonds and $409.6 million series 2010E water revenue bonds (federally taxable -- Build America Bonds -- direct payment). In addition, Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'AA-' underlying rating (SPUR) on the SFPUC's outstanding water revenue bonds. The outlook on all ratings is stable.
"The ratings reflect our view of the PUC's competitive rates and willingness to increase rates to support rising capital and debt service costs, plentiful and stable water supply, strong debt service coverage, and strong liquidity," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Paul Dyson.
We understand that the bonds are being issued to finance a portion of the capital projects associated with the PUC's water system improvement program, and series D may include a refunding component. According to management, bond proceeds will also fund capitalized interest on series A and B for three years and the reserve requirement, equal to 50% of maximum annual debt service.
The PUC is a department of the City of San Francisco responsible for the maintenance, operation, and development of the water enterprise, wastewater enterprise, and the Hetch Hetchy water and power project. About 2.5 million customers in and around San Francisco rely on water from the commission. For the retail system, 87% of the total 172,481 accounts are residential, representing 58% of retail water usage.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
USPF Criteria: Standard & Poor's Revises Criteria For Rating Water, Sewer, And Drainage Utility Revenue Bonds, Sept. 15, 2008
Complete ratings information is available to RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal subscribers at www.globalcreditportal.com and RatingsDirect subscribers at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left column.
Media Contact:
Ana Sandoval, New York (1) 212-438-5095,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Paul Dyson, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5079
Ian Carroll, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5060