Why is the utility concerned about its bond rating?
A. Bond ratings are a lot like your personal credit score. The better our credit rating, the less interest the utility pays on money borrowed to pay for necessary capital improvements, such as expanding and upgrading existing plants, or building new facilities as needed. If WRS does not take action to keep the utility in good financial standing, bond agencies could lower our credit ratings, leading to millions of dollars more in additional interest. That in turn would lead to even larger rate increases for customers. Q. What is rate indexing? A.An independent financial company recommended indexing as a tool for WRS to set its rates to keep up with inflation. Rate adjustments can be made only once per calendar year, and will be tied to a factor set by the Florida Public Service Commission. Although WRS is not regulated by this authority, their standards are specific to Florida utilities. This makes their inflation factor more applicable to WRS, unlike the Consumer Price Index, which inc
