On April 6th, the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) received notice from Fitch Ratings, one of the three national credit rating agencies that review the overall credit quality of its bonds, that the agency had once again affirmed the “AA- with a Stable Outlook” rating. This news is well received by IMEA membership and staff, and consistent with the agency's investment grade credit ratings from the other two national agencies, Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Global Ratings.
IMEA's revenue defensibility is listed as very strong due to long-term power supply contracts with members, autonomous rate-setting authority, and strong underlying credit quality of the members. Operating Risk is listed as strong and is attributed to IMEA's low operating cost burden and access to a diverse mix of available purchased power and owned generation resources. Fitch states that the final rating driver, IMEA's financial profile, is “very strong” and credits IMEA's consistently healthy operating performance, robust liquidity levels, and very low leverage.
“I am proud of the long-held top-tier ratings from all three credit rating agencies,” said IMEA President and CEO Doug Brown. “The fact that our agency has maintained this exemplary rating from Fitch since a 2021 upgrade speaks to the sound decisions made by the IMEA Board of Directors through the years.”
IMEA, a nonprofit joint action agency, was formed over forty years ago by a group of Illinois municipalities that operated their electric distribution systems. The Board of Directors for the agency is comprised of a representative from each of IMEA's 32 member municipalities who make all major decisions about their community's wholesale power supply resources and services.