Moody's ups Westar Energy

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded all ratings for Westar Energy, Inc. and its subsidiary, Kansas Gas and Electric Co. The upgraded ratings include the senior unsecured issuer rating of both companies by one notch to Baa2 from Baa3, as well as all senior secured ratings to A3 from Baa1.

At the same time, Moody's assigned a Prime-2 short-term rating for commercial paper to Westar in conjunction with the institution of a new $1 billion commercial paper program at the company.

Moody's said the upgrade acknowledges Westar's positive credit qualities, including its improved financial profile in recent years; the constructive regulatory jurisdiction in Kansas, which provides the availability of various cost recovery riders; and the significant low-cost generating capacity, which minimizes the near-term necessity to build base-load generation.

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