Santee Cooper Announces Bond Sale
May 14, 2009
MONCKS CORNER, SC – May 10, 2009 – Santee Cooper’s Board of Directors approved the sale of $366,195,000 in refunding and new money bonds in a telephonic board meeting earlier today.
The sale includes $115,025,000 in tax-exempt refunding Series A bonds, $164,130,000 tax-exempt Series B bonds, and $87,040,000 taxable Series C bonds. Maturities range from 2010 through 2039. The all-in true interest cost was calculated at 5.04 percent.
Santee Cooper is pleased with the market’s response to our bond issue this week, especially in light of continuing difficulties in many areas of the financial sector, said Elaine Peterson, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Bond issues help Santee Cooper meet the state’s growing energy needs. We work hard to maintain our strong financial reputation, and once again that has served our customers well.
Fitch assigned an AA rating to the bond, saying the rating reflects Santee Cooper’s reliable and low-cost power supply. Fitch also said the rating takes into account Santee Cooper’s strong financial position, due in part to its timely cost-recovery mechanisms in the rate structure and sufficient liquidity, strong operating performance of its diverse generating fleet, and a competitive cost structure.
Bond proceeds will be used to meet current capital needs and to refinance a portion of Santee Cooper’s outstanding debt.
Lead underwriter for this transaction was Citigroup Global Markets Inc. The underwriting team also included Goldman Sachs & Co., Merrill Lynch & Co., and Morgan Stanley & Co.
Santee Cooper
Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility, and the state’s largest power producer, supplying electricity to more than 163,000 retail customers in Berkeley, Georgetown, and Horry counties, as well as to 31 large industrial facilities, the cities of Bamberg and Georgetown, and the Charleston Air Force Base. Santee Cooper also generates the power distributed by the state’s 20 electric cooperatives to more than 700,000 customers in all 46 counties. Approximately 2 million South Carolinians receive their power directly or indirectly from Santee Cooper. The utility also provides water to 137,000 consumers in Berkeley and Dorchester counties, and the town of Santee. For more information, visit www.santeecooper.com. For information on how Santee Cooper lives green and how you can go green, visit www.santeecoopergreen.com.
