Exhibit 99.3
Cautionary Statement for Purposes of the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
A “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements is provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (Reform Act of 1995). The Reform Act of 1995 was adopted to encourage such forward-looking statements without the threat of litigation, provided those statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statement. Certain matters described in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management’s beliefs, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. When used in this filing, the words “believe”, “anticipate”, “endeavor”, “estimate”, “expect”, “objective”, “projection”, “forecast”, “goal”, “likely”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition to any assumptions and other factors referred to specifically in connection with such forward-looking statements, factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:
| ● | Factors affecting utility operations such as unusual weather conditions; catastrophic weather-related damage; unusual maintenance or repairs; unanticipated changes to fossil fuel costs; unanticipated changes to gas transportation and storage costs, or availability due to higher demand, shortages, transportation problems or other developments; environmental or pipeline incidents; transmission or distribution incidents; unanticipated changes to electric energy supply costs, or availability due to demand, shortages, transmission problems or other developments; or electric transmission or gas pipeline system constraints. |
| · | Catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, floods, ice storms, tornados, terrorist acts or other similar occurrences could adversely affect Vectren’s facilities, operations, financial condition and results of operations. |
| · | Increased competition in the energy industry, including the effects of industry restructuring and unbundling. |
| · | Regulatory factors such as unanticipated changes in rate-setting policies or procedures, recovery of investments and costs made under traditional regulation, and the frequency and timing of rate increases. |
| · | Financial, regulatory or accounting principles or policies imposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board; the Securities and Exchange Commission; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; state public utility commissions; state entities which regulate electric and natural gas transmission and distribution, natural gas gathering and processing, electric power supply; and similar entities with regulatory oversight. |
| · | Economic conditions including the effects of inflation rates, commodity prices, and monetary fluctuations. |
| · | Economic conditions surrounding the current economic uncertainty, including significantly lower levels of economic activity; uncertainty regarding energy prices and the capital and commodity markets; volatile changes in the demand for natural gas, electricity, coal, and other nonutility products and services; impacts on both gas and electric large customers; lower residential and commercial customer counts; higher operating expenses; and further reductions in the value of certain nonutility real estate and other legacy investments. |
| · | Volatile natural gas and coal commodity prices and the potential impact on customer consumption, uncollectible accounts expense, unaccounted for gas and interest expense. |
| · | Changing market conditions and a variety of other factors associated with physical energy and financial trading activities including, but not limited to, price, basis, credit, liquidity, volatility, capacity, interest rate, and warranty risks. |
| · | Direct or indirect effects on the Company’s business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations resulting from changes in credit ratings, changes in interest rates, and/or changes in market perceptions of the utility industry and other energy-related industries. |
| · | The performance of projects undertaken by the Company’s nonutility businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities, including but not limited to, the Company’s infrastructure, energy services, coal mining, and energy marketing strategies. |
| · | Factors affecting coal mining operations including MSHA guidelines and interpretations of those guidelines, as well as additional mine regulations and more frequent and broader inspections that could result from the recent mining incidents at coal mines of other companies; geologic, equipment, and operational risks; the ability to execute and negotiate new sales contracts and resolve contract interpretations; volatile coal market prices and demand; supplier and contract miner performance; the availability of key equipment, contract miners and commodities; availability of transportation; and the ability to access/replace coal reserves . |
| · | Employee or contractor workforce factors including changes in key executives, collective bargaining agreements with union employees, aging workforce issues, work stoppages, or pandemic illness. |
| · | Legal and regulatory delays and other obstacles associated with mergers, acquisitions and investments in joint ventures. |
| · | Costs, fines, penalties and other effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations, claims, including, but not limited to, such matters involving compliance with state and federal laws and interpretations of these laws. |
| · | Changes in or additions to federal, state or local legislative requirements, such as changes in or additions to tax laws or rates, environmental laws, including laws governing greenhouse gases, mandates of sources of renewable energy, and other regulations. |
The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changes in actual results, changes in assumptions, or other factors affecting such statements.
