Standard & Poor’s Rating Services dropped the credit rating of CMP’s Spain-based parent company, Iberdrola, as a result of Spain’s faltering economy.
The ratings service reported in October that it began reviewing Iberdrola’s credit rating because approximately 47% of the company’s revenue was generated from Spain in 2011.
The Associated Press reported that the rating fell from BBB-plus to BBB, two notches above “junk” status. The rating service caps ratings of subsidiaries at the level of its parent company.
However, Iberdrola’s short-term rating stayed at A-2, signifying that it has enough cash to meet short-term financial obligations.
CMP’s short-term rating remains at A-2 as well, which an October report said “reflect(s) CMP’s low-risk business strategy and excellent business profile and [is] tempered by an aggressive financial position that may come under pressure since the company has begun expanding its transmission system and increased its short-term financing needs.”
Iberdrola owns two other U.S. utilities, Rochester Gas & Electric Corp and New York State Electric & Gas.