Sparking Credit: October Ratings Agency Webinar Series; TLN Upsized Repurchase Program; 2026 YTD Utilities Supply Recap; Weekly Briefing

J.P. Morgan North America Credit Research publishes its Electric Utilities credit insight weekly. Key highlights: Talen (TLN) announced an upsized share repurchase program from $1.5B to $3.0B through YE28, funded by monetizing $1.5B of cleared capacity revenues for the PJM '27/'28 and '28/'29 auctions through a TL with Citi at SOFR+200bps. Fitch subsequently downgraded Talen to B+ from BB-, and Moody's revised its outlook to negative. JPM sees no material change to operations, expects the AWS PPA to ramp up and delever the structure organically, and maintains its OW on TLN on attractive relative value and supportive long-term fundamentals, with risks including commodity volatility and any de-prioritization of the balance sheet. On supply, 2026 YTD utilities issuance stands at about $114B, 79% of the $145B FY26 forecast and ~2% lower y/y, with issuance expected to pick up in 4Q;