Moody’s affirms rating assigned to Guam Power Authority bonds, changes outlook to stable

May 21, 2021

by APPA News
May 21, 2021

Moody’s Investors Service on May 13 affirmed the Baa2 rating assigned to the Guam Power Authority’s (GPA) senior revenue bonds and changed the outlook to stable from negative.

The affirmation of the Baa2 rating and outlook change to stable follows Moody’s rating action on the Government of Guam’s general obligation bonds rating which was affirmed at Ba1 with a stable outlook on May 4, 2021, GPA noted in a news release.

Moody’s also stated GPA’s Baa2 rating reflects its strong position as the sole provider of electricity to residential customers on the island of Guam and to the US military in the report.  

 “We welcome this positive affirmation and improved rating of GPA’s credit-worthiness, which is good news for all ratepayers,” said GPA General Manager John M. Benavente, P.E., in a statement.

“As Moody’s has noted, there are many concurrent challenges facing GPA today. We will continue our work across all utility areas, and with governing leadership and bodies to bring the energy solutions for Guam forward, so GPA remains financially strong,” he said.  “This affirmation of bond rating will translate to optimal interest rates, as GPA heads to the bond market to refinance and lower its borrowed costs,” Benavente concluded.

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Month – commemorated each May – the American Public Power Association’s Public Power Current newsletter recently spotlighted the leadership roles our API colleagues have at public power utilities across the United States and at our U.S. territories in the Western Pacific. We kicked off our coverage by sharing updates from Guam.

Benavente is a member of APPA’s Board of Directors.