GHG Monitor
11/13/2015
IN INDUSTRY
Mississippi Power, developer of the Kemper County Energy Facility carbon capture and storage project, has again had its credit rating downgraded. Moody’s Investors Service announced late last week that the company has been downgraded from Baa2 to Baa3. "The downgrade of Mississippi Power’s ratings is prompted by the election of what we expect to be a less credit supportive Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) at a time when the utility will be pursuing important rate recovery proceedings on the Kemper IGCC plant in 2016," said Michael Haggarty, associate managing director at Moody’s, said in a release. Cecil Brown and Sam Britton were elected earlier this month to the MPSC. Both have expressed reservations about the Kemper project and have suggested they would not approve a requested electricity rate increase. The election could have come out worse for Mississippi Power, however, as Tom Blanton, a local businessman who has filed several lawsuits against the company, was defeated in his attempt to join the commission. Fitch Ratings announced in June that Mississippi Power’s credit rating had been downgraded one point to BBB+ from A- with a continued outlook rating of “negative.”