The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has terminated its ratings relationship with Standard & Poor’s (S&P) effective June 30.

The move follows an internal review of the new ratings methodology for Government-Related Entities (GRE) published by S&P, said a statement from Taqa, a publicly listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

Peter Barker-Homek, chief executive officer of Taqa, said: “Following our review of the new methodology published by S&P on June 30, we do not believe these criteria will result in a rating that will accurately reflect the credit-worthiness of Taqa. The underlying fundamentals of our business have not changed. Taqa is the majority owner of the plants that supply 98 per cent of the power and water needs for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. We have strong ties to the Government of Abu Dhabi through both ownership and the membership of our board of directors; the implicit support of the Government is unchanged and has consistently been confirmed in both word and deed.”

S&P promulgated new methodology that will affect Government Related Entities (GRE) worldwide.  “This new methodology affects GREs regardless of whether their relationship with the sovereign or their economic viability remains unchanged since they were first given a rating by S&P,” said the statement.

“S&P formally confirmed our rating in May 2009. In summary, Taqa has not changed, but S&P has,” said Barker-Homek. – TradeArabia News Service