Moody's Is Looking at These Risks When Rating Utility Credit

Utility bonds that are popular among pension funds for their steady and reliable returns face a growing threat in the not-too-distant future from batteries paired with rooftop solar to fuel cells.

Moody’s Investors Service is looking into how new technologies threaten to disrupt the electric grid of the future as it analyzes the industry’s credit risk. This so-called death spiral scenario, as it’s know in the industry, is now being seen as a risk factor for assessing long-term bonds.