���������ֳ�

���������ֳ�-New York-09 April 2019: ���������ֳ� has placed the following U.S. Public Power ratings Under Criteria Observation (UCO) following the publication on April 3, 2019 of ���������ֳ�'s revised rating criteria entitled 'U.S. Public Power Rating Criteria.' ���������ֳ� will review all the ratings designated as UCO as soon as practical but no later than six months from the date of criteria release.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

The revised criteria include the introduction and assessment of three key rating factors - revenue defensibility, operating risk, and financial profile - for each issuer, as well as the alignment of an issuer's financial profile with its business profile in the rating assessment. The revised criteria also includes forward looking consideration of the impact of existing or needed capital investments on financial leverage facilitated by the introduction of FAST - Public Power, an issuer specific scenario analysis tool measuring the effect of demand stress on revenue, operating expenses, cash flow and leverage.

Rating changes will most likely reflect the criteria's heightened emphasis on leverage through the normal business cycle. Issuers exhibiting or anticipating relatively low leverage in the context of their key rating factor assessments through the forward-looking business cycle will potentially be upgraded, typically by one notch. Conversely, issuers exhibiting or anticipating higher leverage will potentially be downgraded, typically by one notch.

Certain of the debt ratings listed below have been designated as UCO because additional new information required under the revised criteria is currently unavailable and further analysis is necessary to assess the effect of the criteria on the rating. While these ratings could potentially be affected by the changes in criteria, not all of the rating designated as UCO will necessarily experience rating changes.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

The key rating sensitivity with respect to the resolution of the UCO status will be ���������ֳ�'s assessment of each issuer's key rating factors, the alignment of its financial profile with its business profile and the review of forward performance through scenario analysis.

For each rating, existing Rating Sensitivities defined in the previously published rating action commentaries and/or published issuer research also continue to apply to the rating more generally and should be referenced by interested parties.

FULL LIST OF RATING ACTIONS

���������ֳ� has placed the following ratings Under Criteria Observation:

American Municipal Power, Inc.
--Prairie State Energy Campus project revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Ohio Municipal Electric Generation Agency (OMEGA) Joint Venture 5's (JV5) Belleville Hydroelectric Project 2001 beneficial interest certificates 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Combined Hydroelectric project revenue bonds 'A-'; Outlook Stable;
--Greenup Hydroelectric project revenue bonds 'A-'; Outlook Stable;
--Meldahl Hydroelectric project revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Fremont Energy Center project revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative
--Mercer County, North Dakota Pollution Control refunding revenue notes, 2009 CP series One (tax-exempt) 'F1';
--Commercial paper notes (taxable) 'F1';
--First mortgage notes, 'A'; Outlook Negative.

Benton County Public Utility District No. 1
--Electric System revenue bonds 'A+'; Outlook Stable.

Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation
--Wind project revenue bonds 'A+'; Outlook Positive;

Bonneville Power Administration
--Idaho Energy Resources Authority transmission facilities revenue bonds 'AA'; Outlook Negative;
--Port of Morrow transmission facilities revenue bonds 'AA'; Outlook Negative;
--Lewis County Public Utility District No. 1 Cowlitz Falls hydroelectric project revenue refunding bonds 'AA'; Outlook Negative;
--Implied revenue obligations 'AA'; Outlook Negative.

Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.
--Implied senior secured obligations 'A'; Outlook Stable.

Colorado Springs Utilities, Co.
--Utility system revenue bonds 'AA'; Outlook Stable.

Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation
--Electric utility revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable;

East Kentucky Power Cooperative
--Pulaski County, KY solid waste disposal revenue bonds 'A-'; Outlook Stable;
--Implied senior unsecured obligations 'A-'; Outlook Stable.

Energy Northwest
--Columbia Generating Station electric revenue refunding bonds 'AA'; Outlook Negative;
--Project 3 electric revenue refunding bonds 'AA'; Outlook Negative;
--ENW Project 1 revenue bonds 'AA'; Outlook Negative;

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc.
--Secured notes 'A'; Outlook Stable.

Indiana Municipal Power Agency
--Power supply revenue bonds 'A+'; Outlook Stable.

Klickitat County Public Utility District No. 1
--Electric system revenue bonds 'A-'; Outlook Stable.

Louisiana Energy & Power Authority
--Power project revenue bonds (LEPA Unit #1) 'A-'; Outlook Stable.

Lower Colorado River Authority
--Revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable.

Marquette Board of Light & Power
--Electric utility system revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable.

Massachusetts Clean Energy Cooperative Corporation
--Revenue bonds 'A+'; Outlook Stable.

Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission
--Power project revenue bonds (Iatan 2 Project) 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Power project revenue bonds (Plum Point Project) 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Power project revenue refunding bonds (Prairie State Project) 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Power project revenue bonds (Power Supply System Revenues) 'A'; Outlook Stable.

North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency
--Revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable.

North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation
--York County, SC pollution control revenue refunding bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable.

North Carolina Municipal Power Agency No. 1
--Catawba electric revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable.

Northern Illinois Municipal Power Agency
--Power project revenue bonds 'A-'; Outlook Stable.

Piedmont Municipal Power Agency
--Electric revenue bonds 'A-'; Outlook Stable.

San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc.
--Atascosa County Industrial Development Corporation variable rate pollution control refunding revenue bonds (San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Inc. Project) 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Implied senior unsecured obligations 'A'; Outlook Stable.

South Texas Electric Cooperative
--Implied senior secured obligations 'A'; Outlook Stable.

Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency
--Power supply system revenue bonds 'A+'; Outlook Stable.

Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association, Inc.
--Commercial paper notes 'F1';
--First mortgage bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Gallup County (NM) secured pollution control revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Springerville pass-through certificates 'A-'; Outlook Stable.

Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City
--Utility system improvement bonds 'A+'; Outlook Negative.

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems
--Horse Butte Wind Project revenue refunding bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Veyo Heat Recovery Project (VHRP) revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Stable;
--Payson Power Project refunding revenue bonds 'A'; Outlook Positive.

Utah Municipal Power Agency
--Power supply system bonds 'A+'; Outlook Stable.

Contact:

Primary Analyst
Dennis Pidherny
Managing Director
+1-212-908-0738
���������ֳ�, Inc.
300 W. 57th Street
New York, NY 10019

Secondary Analyst
Kathy Masterson
Senior Director
+1-512-215-3730

Committee Chairperson
Amy Laskey
Managing Director
+1-212-908-0568

A January 2018 district court ruling, affirmed in March 2019 by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, that dismissed claims regarding payment of Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority debt has raised questions about the scope of protections provided by Chapter 9 of the U.S. bankruptcy code to bonds secured by pledged special revenues. ���������ֳ�'s rating criteria treat special revenue obligations as independent from the related municipality's general credit quality. The outcome of the litigation could result in modifications to ���������ֳ�'s approach. For more information, see "What Investors Want to Know: The Impact of the Puerto Rico Ruling on Special Revenue Debt" available at .


Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212 908 0278, Email: sandro.scenga@thefitchgroup.com

Additional information is available on
Applicable Criteria
Rating Criteria for Public-Sector, Revenue-Supported Debt (pub. 26 Feb 2018)
U.S. Public Power Rating Criteria (pub. 03 Apr 2019)

Additional Disclosures
Solicitation Status
Endorsement Policy