There was a flurry of activity at 6 a.m. this morning as Douglas County PUD sold $76.1 million worth of revenue bonds. The Electric Distribution System bonds raised new money for capital projects and allowed the District to refinance some older debt for savings. The Wells System bonds are entirely to refinance older debt for savings.
The Electric Distribution System bonds had an average interest rate of just over 3.5% ranging from 0.41% to 4% with a net present value savings on the refinanced debt of $917,155. The Wells System bonds have an even lower interest rate at a 1.383% average, ranging from 0.40% to 1.75%. The net present value savings on the Wells System refunding was $3,175,809.
“We are very pleased at the interest rate and refunding savings from this bond sale. The financing team did a great job putting together a solid offering that was attractive to investors. The strong interest in our bonds provided slightly lower interest rates and better savings than we had anticipated,” said Bill Dobbins, Douglas County PUD General Manager.
A variety of institutions expressed interest in and purchased the bonds, including local retail investors, municipalities, banks and insurance companies.
“The success of the District’s bond sale was a product of strong District leadership and investor recognition of solid credit fundamentals.” said Jeb Spengler of Seattle-Northwest Securities, the District’s bond underwriter.
Earlier this week, Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s Investor Service both confirmed the District’s excellent credit rating of AA and Aa3 respectively.
