Jan 11, 2018
R&I Affirms AA/a-1+, Stable: The Okinawa Electric Power Co., Inc.
Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) has announced the following:
ISSUER:
The Okinawa Electric Power Co., Inc.
Issuer Rating: AA, Affirmed
Rating Outlook: Stable
Commercial Paper: a-1+, AffirmedRATIONALE:
The Okinawa Electric Power Co., Inc. (OEPC) supplies electricity to Okinawa Prefecture. With no nuclear plant, it is insulated from risks that could arise directly from a nuclear power business. Partly because serving many remote islands makes facilities utilization somewhat inefficient, supportive measures including preferential tax treatments are in place for OEPC. Since it launched a liquefied natural gas (LNG) thermal power plant, the company has not revised electricity rates, failing to pass higher fuel costs resulting from the change of the energy mix on to rates. Its LNG sale and purchase agreement stipulates that OEPC will ultimately increase its LNG purchase to 400,000 tonnes per year. It will be essential to build a solid revenue/expenditure structure by that time through rate revisions that have reflected the changed energy mix.
There is no power exchange in the Okinawa region, and customers who switched their electricity suppliers as a result of Electric Power Development Co., Ltd.'s move to supply electricity to power producers and suppliers, for example, account for a very small proportion of OEPC's total sales. Moreover, OEPC is exempt from the legal unbundling of the transmission/distribution sector. The competitive environment for the company will therefore likely change at a modest pace compared to that for major power utilities. With large investment projects completed, the debt-equity structure is at a relatively sound level for an electricity company. Because OEPC's creditworthiness is underpinned by the country's institutional framework, including preferential tax treatments and other supportive measures, its rating is constrained by Japan's sovereign creditworthiness.
The primary rating methodologies applied to this rating are provided at "R&I's Basic Methodology for Corporate Credit Ratings" and "Electricity". The methodologies are available at the web site listed below, together with other rating methodologies that are taken into consideration when assigning the rating.
https://www.r-i.co.jp/en/rating/about/rating_method.html
R&I RATINGS:
ISSUER: | The Okinawa Electric Power Co., Inc. (Sec. Code: 9511) |
Issuer Rating | |
RATING: | AA, Affirmed |
RATING OUTLOOK: | Stable |
■Contact : Sales and Marketing Division, Customer Service Dept. ■Media Contact : Corporate Planning Division (Public Relations)TEL.+81-(0)3-6273-7471 E-mail.infodept@r-i.co.jpTEL.+81-(0)3-6273-7273
Rating and Investment Information, Inc.
TERRACE SQUARE, 3-22 Kanda Nishikicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0054, Japanhttps://www.r-i.co.jp
Shelf Registration (Bonds)
ISSUE AMOUNT (mn): ISSUE PERIOD: RATING:
JPY 30,000
From Apr 01, 2017 to Mar 31, 2019
AA, Affirmed (Preliminary)
Sec. Str. Bonds No.9
Issue Date May 22, 2003
Maturity Date Mar 20, 2018
Issue Amount (mn)
JPY 10,000
RATING:
AA, Affirmed
Sec. Str. Bonds No.18
Issue Date Dec 18, 2008
Maturity Date Dec 20, 2018
Issue Amount (mn)
JPY 10,000
RATING:
AA, Affirmed
Sec. Str. Bonds No.19
Issue Date Apr 13, 2010
Maturity Date Apr 24, 2020
Issue Amount (mn)
JPY 10,000
RATING:
AA, Affirmed
Sec. Str. Bonds No.21
Issue Date Jun 17, 2011
Maturity Date Jun 18, 2021
Issue Amount (mn)
JPY 10,000
RATING:
AA, Affirmed
Sec. Str. Bonds No.22
Issue Date Jun 22, 2012
Maturity Date Jun 24, 2022
Issue Amount (mn)
JPY 10,000
RATING:
AA, Affirmed
Sec. Str. Bonds No.23
Issue Date Mar 10, 2015
Maturity Date Mar 25, 2025
Issue Amount (mn)
JPY 5,000
RATING:
AA, Affirmed
Sec. Str. Bonds No.24
Issue Date Jun 22, 2016
Maturity Date Jun 25, 2026
Issue Amount (mn)
JPY 10,000
RATING:
AA, Affirmed
Sec. Str. Bonds No.25
Issue Date Jun 16, 2017
Maturity Date Jun 25, 2027
Issue Amount (mn)
JPY 10,000
RATING:
AA, Affirmed
■Contact : Sales and Marketing Division, Customer Service Dept. ■Media Contact : Corporate Planning Division (Public Relations)TEL.+81-(0)3-6273-7471 E-mail.infodept@r-i.co.jpTEL.+81-(0)3-6273-7273
Rating and Investment Information, Inc.
TERRACE SQUARE, 3-22 Kanda Nishikicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0054, Japanhttps://www.r-i.co.jp
Commercial Paper
ISSUE LIMIT (mn): SUPPORT: RATING:
JPY 40,000
Unsecured a-1+, Affirmed
A preliminary rating is assigned when a provisional credit rating is needed for an individual obligation on which final terms have not been determined. A credit rating finally assigned may differ from the preliminary rating depending on, among others, the details of the actual contract of the individual obligation.
■Contact : Sales and Marketing Division, Customer Service Dept. ■Media Contact : Corporate Planning Division (Public Relations)TEL.+81-(0)3-6273-7471 E-mail.infodept@r-i.co.jpTEL.+81-(0)3-6273-7273
Rating and Investment Information, Inc.
TERRACE SQUARE, 3-22 Kanda Nishikicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0054, Japanhttps://www.r-i.co.jp
R&I - Rating and Investment Information Inc. published this content on 11 January 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 January 2018 06:04:07 UTC.
Original documenthttps://www.r-i.co.jp/en/news_release_cfp/2018/01/news_release_cfp_20180111_1711300601_eng.pdf
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