Moody's cuts Washington Gas

Moody's Investors Service said it downgraded the ratings of Washington Gas Light Co. including its senior unsecured rating to A3 from A2. The outlook for Washington Gas is stable. Moody's affirmed the ratings of parent WGL Holdings, Inc., including its Baa1 senior unsecured rating and changed its outlook to stable from negative.

“Washington Gas' plans to rely more heavily on debt to finance its capital spending will keep key financial credit metrics lower for longer, which is the primary rationale behind the rating downgrade,” said Nana Hamilton, a Moody’s assistant vice president and analyst, in a press release. “Thanks to the asset divestitures at parent WGL, and subsequent reduction of holding company debt, we have narrowed the notching between WGL and Washington Gas to one notch.”

The stable outlooks reflect an expectation Washington Gas' regulatory jurisdictions will remain credit supportive and that both Washington Gas and WGL will produce a ratio of CFO pre-WC to debt in the high teens range at both issuers, Moody’s said.

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