Lièvre Power Financing Corporation: Rating Report

On June 17, 2021, DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) confirmed the Issuer Rating and the Series 1 Senior Bonds (the Bonds) rating of Lièvre Power Financing Corporation (the Issuer) at BBB (low). Both trends remain Stable. The interest-only (IO) bonds of $225 million mature on October 6, 2025, subject to refinancing risk. The Issuer is a single-purpose funding vehicle established to finance Lièvre Power L.P.'s (ProjectCo) operations of four hydroelectric generating facilities on the Lièvre River in Québec (the Project or Lièvre). Starting in 2020, approximately 95% of ProjectCo's total power generation is sold to ISO New England (ISO-NE) and/or New York ISO (NYISO) markets, introducing market price exposure. DBRS Morningstar notes that ProjectCo has the flexibility to sell the power in either market with higher power prices, which is typically ISO-NE. The rest of the generation is sold to Hydro-Québec (rated AA (low) with a Stable trend by DBRS Morningstar) under a fixed-price power purchase agreement, expiring in December 2030.