Moody's on Sept. 6 upgraded Long Island Power Authority's senior lien revenue bonds to A2 from A3 and revised its outlook to stable from positive.
"The upgrade and rating assignment reflects the economic strength of LIPA's service territory along with the continued improvement in LIPA's financial performance," the rating agency said in a report. "Moreover, it considers our expectation for execution on the company's strategic goal focused on continual improvement on the company's financial position and operating performance."
Moody's also assigned an A2 rating to LIPA's planned issuance of up to $540 million in electric system general revenue bonds series 2019A and series 2019B.
The issuance will fund part the authority's $869 million capital budget for 2019. The rest of the budget will be provided by cash from operation and grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Long Island Power Authority's capital spending for the 2019 to 2020 time frame is expected to be about $1.6 billion, exceeding historical levels, according to the report.
