S&P: Duke settlement favorable

Standard & Poor's said Tuesday that Duke Energy Corp.'s (BBB/stable/A-2) settlement agreement in principle with California, Washington, and Oregon, as well as federal regulators, and California's three largest utilities, is a favorable event for credit quality.

This is because the agreement significantly eliminates legal and regulatory uncertainty for the company as it attempts to reduce business risk and to carry on selling electricity in California without any limitation. Furthermore, the settlement eliminates the associated time and costs to defend the company against these allegations.

Duke Energy estimates that the total cash impact of the settlement will be about $85 million, which, while not insignificant, can easily be met with the company's available liquidity, either cash on hand or available credit facilities, S&P noted.

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