Moody's affirms Westar Energy

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the ratings of Westar Energy and its wholly owned subsidiary, Kansas Gas & Electric. The individual company outlooks have been changed to positive.

Westar's $900 million shelf registration has been assigned a prospective Ba1 rating for first mortgage debt and a prospective Ba2 rating for unsecured debt. Additionally the company's speculative grade liquidity rating is raised to SGL-2.

Moody's said the outlook changes reflect the success the company has demonstrated in meeting the goals of its debt reduction plan. This includes the sale of its Oneok stock ownership and more recently the successful closing of the sale of its Protection One subsidiary and its $240 million common equity offering.

The business restructuring effort has not only allowed the company to benefit from a reduction in business risk profile but also to significantly lower debt levels.

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