Moody's rates FirstEnergy Baa3

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Baa3 issuer rating to FirstEnergy Transmission (FET), a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (FE; Baa3 senior unsecured/negative outlook) that in turn is the sole parent of FirstEnergy's transmission operating companies American Transmission Systems Inc. (ATSI) and Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co. (TrailCo).

The agency also raised the senior unsecured rating of Trans-Allegheny Interstate to A3 from Baa1. American Transmission's senior unsecured rating was affirmed at Baa2.

The outlooks are stable.

"FET's Baa3 Issuer Rating reflects the fact that FET's sole business consists of serving as the holding company for ATSI and TrailCo operating under the credit supportive regulatory environment for transmission companies that provides for predictable cash flows and a solid financial profile," Moody's vice president and senior credit officer Swami Venkataraman said in a news release.

"Balancing these strengths is the structural subordination of FET's debt relative to ATSI and TrailCo, with debt at FET accounting for over 35% of the total consolidated debt in FE's transmission business for the next few years."

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