events on operations and capital; (6) state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments affecting various aspects of CenterPoint Energy’s and Enable’s businesses, including, among others, energy deregulation orre-regulation, pipeline integrity and safety and changes in regulation and legislation pertaining to trade, health care, finance and actions regarding the rates charged by our regulated businesses; (7) CenterPoint Energy’s expected timing, likelihood and benefits of completion of CenterPoint Energy’s pending merger with Vectren Corporation (Vectren), including the timing, receipt and terms and conditions of any required approvals by regulatory agencies that could reduce anticipated benefits or cause the parties to delay or abandon the pending transactions, as well as the ability to successfully integrate the businesses and realize anticipated benefits and the risk that the credit ratings of the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what CenterPoint Energy expects; (8) tax legislation, including the effects of the comprehensive tax reform legislation informally referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (which includes any potential changes to interest deductibility) and uncertainties involving state commissions’ and local municipalities’ regulatory requirements and determinations regarding the treatment of excess deferred income taxes and CenterPoint Energy’s rates; (9) CenterPoint Energy’s ability to mitigate weather impacts through normalization or rate mechanisms, and the effectiveness of such mechanisms; (10) the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices, particularly natural gas, and the effects of geographic and seasonal commodity price differentials; (11) actions by credit rating agencies, including any potential downgrades to credit ratings; (12) changes in interest rates and their impact on CenterPoint Energy’s costs of borrowing and the valuation of its pension benefit obligation; (13) problems with regulatory approval, construction, implementation of necessary technology or other issues with respect to major capital projects that result in delays or in cost overruns that cannot be recouped in rates; (14) local, state and federal legislative and regulatory actions or developments relating to the environment, including those related to global climate change; (15) the impact of unplanned facility outages; (16) any direct or indirect effects on CenterPoint Energy’s or Enable’s facilities, operations and financial condition resulting from terrorism, cyber-attacks, data security breaches or other attempts to disrupt CenterPoint Energy’s businesses or the businesses of third parties, or other catastrophic events such as fires, earthquakes, explosions, leaks, floods, droughts, hurricanes, pandemic health events or other occurrences; (17) CenterPoint Energy’s ability to invest planned capital and the timely recovery of CenterPoint Energy’s investments; (18) CenterPoint Energy’s ability to control operation and maintenance costs; (19) the sufficiency of CenterPoint Energy’s insurance coverage, including availability, cost, coverage and terms and ability to recover claims; (20) the investment performance of CenterPoint Energy’s pension and postretirement benefit plans; (21) commercial bank and financial market conditions, CenterPoint Energy’s access to capital, the cost of such capital, and the results of CenterPoint Energy’s financing and refinancing efforts, including availability of funds in the debt capital markets; (22) changes in rates of inflation; (23) inability of various counterparties to meet their obligations to CenterPoint Energy;(24) non-payment for CenterPoint Energy’s services due to financial distress of its customers; (25) the extent and effectiveness of CenterPoint Energy’s risk management and hedging activities, including but not limited to, its financial and weather hedges and commodity risk management activities; (26) timely and appropriate regulatory actions, which include actions allowing securitization, for any future hurricanes or natural disasters or other recovery of costs, including costs associated with Hurricane Harvey; (27) CenterPoint Energy’s or Enable’s potential business strategies and strategic initiatives, including restructurings, joint ventures and acquisitions or dispositions of assets or businesses (including a reduction of interests in Enable, if any, whether through CenterPoint Energy’s decision to sell all or a portion of the Enable common units it owns in the public equity markets or otherwise, subject to certain limitations), which CenterPoint Energy cannot assure will be completed or will have the anticipated benefits to CenterPoint Energy or Enable; (28) acquisition and merger activities involving CenterPoint Energy or its competitors, including the ability to successfully complete merger, acquisition or divestiture plans; (29) CenterPoint Energy’s or Enable’s ability to recruit, effectively transition and retain management and key employees and maintain good labor relations; (30) the outcome of litigation; (31) the ability of retail electric providers (REPs), including REP affiliates of NRG and Vistra Energy Corp., formerly known as TCEH Corp., to satisfy their obligations to CenterPoint Energy and its subsidiaries; (32) the ability of GenOn Energy, Inc. (formerly known as RRI Energy, Inc., Reliant Energy and RRI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG), and its subsidiaries, currently the subject of bankruptcy proceedings, to satisfy their obligations to CenterPoint Energy, including indemnity obligations, which may be contested by GenOn; (33) changes in technology, particularly with respect to efficient battery storage or the emergence or growth of new, developing or alternative sources of generation; (34) the timing and outcome of any audits, disputes and other proceedings related to taxes; (35) the effective tax rates; (36) the effect of changes in and application of accounting standards and pronouncements; and (37) other factors discussed in CenterPoint Energy’s Annual Report on Form10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, CenterPoint Energy’s Quarterly Report on Form10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Risks Related to the Merger
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the provided forward-looking information include risks and uncertainties relating to: (1) the risk that CenterPoint Energy or Vectren may be unable to obtain regulatory approvals required for the proposed transactions, or that required regulatory approvals or agreements with other parties interested therein may delay the proposed transactions or may be subject to or impose adverse conditions or costs, (2) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the proposed transactions or could otherwise cause the failure of the proposed transactions to close, (3) the risk that a condition to the closing of the proposed transactions may not be satisfied, (4) the outcome of any legal proceedings, regulatory proceedings or enforcement matters that may be instituted relating to the proposed transactions, (5) the receipt of an unsolicited offer from another party to acquire assets or capital stock of Vectren that could interfere with the proposed transactions, (6) the timing to consummate the proposed transactions, (7) the costs incurred to consummate the proposed transactions, (8) the possibility that the expected cost savings,