FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except for the historical statements contained herein and therein, the matters discussed in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference are forward-looking statements that are not historical fact and constitute “forward-looking statements.” Such forward-looking statements are intended to be identified in this document by the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “objective,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “project,” “target” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our future results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. These statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others:
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general economic conditions, including the availability of credit, access to existing lines of credit, access to the commercial paper markets, actions of rating agencies and their impact on capital expenditures;
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our ability and the ability of our parent company, OGE Energy Corp., to access the capital markets and obtain financing on favorable terms as well as inflation rates and monetary fluctuations;
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the ability to obtain timely and sufficient rate relief to allow for recovery of items such as capital expenditures, fuel costs, operating costs, transmission costs and deferred expenditures;
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prices and availability of electricity, coal and natural gas;
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business conditions in the energy industry;
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competitive factors including the extent and timing of the entry of additional competition in the markets we serve;
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the impact on demand for our services resulting from cost-competitive advances in technology, such as distributed electricity generation and customer energy efficiency programs;
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technological developments, changing markets and other factors that result in competitive disadvantages and create the potential for impairment of existing assets;
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factors affecting utility operations such as unusual weather conditions; catastrophic weather-related damage; unscheduled generation outages, unusual maintenance or repairs; unanticipated changes to fossil fuel, natural gas or coal supply costs or availability due to higher demand, shortages, transportation problems or other developments; environmental incidents; or electric transmission or gas pipeline system constraints;
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availability and prices of raw materials for current and future construction projects;
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the effect of retroactive pricing of transactions in the Southwest Power Pool markets or adjustments in market pricing mechanisms by the Southwest Power Pool;
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federal or state legislation and regulatory decisions and initiatives that affect cost and investment recovery, have an impact on rate structures or affect the speed and degree to which competition enters our markets;
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environmental laws, safety laws or other regulations that may impact the cost of operations or restrict or change the way our facilities are operated;
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changes in accounting standards, rules or guidelines;
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the discontinuance of accounting principles for certain types of rate-regulated activities;
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the cost of protecting assets against, or damage due to, terrorism or cyber-attacks and other catastrophic events;
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creditworthiness of suppliers, customers and other contractual parties;
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social attitudes regarding the utility industry;
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identification of suitable investment opportunities to enhance shareholder returns and achieve long-term financial objectives through business acquisitions and divestitures;