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For immediate release
December 27, 2005 at 3:20pm
For more information, contact
Mike Cunningham CFO, 762-4778 or Carol Heyman, 762-4707, 240-7754 cell

Chugach Electric announces Standard & Poor's rating outlook revised to "Stable A -"

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services provided a great holiday gift to Chugach Electric's members. Standard & Poor’s upgraded the rating outlook from "negative" to "stable" while maintaining the bond rating at A -.

Standard & Poor's primary credit analyst, Leo Carillo said, "Chugach has delivered improved financial metrics that are now sufficiently strong to warrant a stable outlook." The previous negative rating was a result of an unfavorable rate order from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska in 2003. Mr. Carrillo went on to say, "Solid retail sales growth appears to be behind Chugach's recovery, although the utility has also reduced its debt leverage by avoiding new debt. Regulatory support will likely become increasingly important as Chugach pursues additional generation and replacement gas supplies to offset production declines at the critically important Beluga field."

Mike Cunningham, CFO at Chugach said, "We are pleased that Standard and Poor’s revised the rating outlook to "stable". We have always worked with the RCA and will continue to as we pursue solutions on future gas supplies, generation and debt management. Chugach Electric is committed to operating with the greatest efficiency for the benefit of its members."

Chugach is the largest electric utility in Alaska, providing power for Alaskans throughout the Railbelt through retail, wholesale and economy energy sales.