DISCLOSURE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain statements that do not directly or exclusively relate to historical facts. These statements are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements can typically be identified by the use of forward-looking words, such as “will,” “may,” “could,” “project,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “continue,” “intend,” “potential,” “plan,” “forecast” and similar terms. These statements are based upon our current intentions, estimates, assumptions, expectations and beliefs and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other important factors. Many of these factors are outside our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others:
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general economic, political and business conditions, as well as changes in, and compliance with, laws and regulations, including income tax reform, initiatives regarding deregulation and restructuring of the utility industry, and reliability and safety standards, affecting our operations or related industries;
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changes in, and compliance with, environmental laws, regulations, decisions and policies, whether directed towards protection of environmental resources, present and future climate considerations or social justice concerns, that could, among other items, increase operating and capital costs, reduce facility output, accelerate facility retirements or delay facility construction or acquisition;
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the outcome of regulatory rate reviews and other proceedings conducted by regulatory agencies or other governmental and legal bodies and our ability to recover costs through rates in a timely manner;
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changes in economic, industry, competition or weather conditions, as well as demographic trends, new technologies and various conservation, energy efficiency and private generation measures and programs, that could affect customer growth and usage, electricity and natural gas supply or our ability to obtain long term contracts with customers and suppliers;
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performance, availability and ongoing operation of our facilities, including facilities not operated by us, due to the impacts of market conditions, outages and associated repairs, transmission constraints, weather, including wind, solar and hydroelectric conditions, and operating conditions;
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the effects of catastrophic and other unforeseen events, which may be caused by factors beyond our control or by a breakdown or failure of our operating assets, including severe storms, floods, fires, extreme temperature events, wind events, earthquakes, explosions, landslides, an electromagnetic pulse, mining incidents, costly litigation, wars, terrorism, pandemics, embargoes, and cyber security attacks, data security breaches, disruptions, or other malicious acts;
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the risks and uncertainties associated with wildfires that have occurred, are occurring or may occur in our service territory; the damage caused by such wildfires; the extent of our liability in connection with such wildfires (including the risk that we may be found liable for damages regardless of fault); investigations into such wildfires; the outcomes of any legal proceedings, demands or similar actions initiated against us; the risk that we are not able to recover losses from insurance or through rates; and the effect of such wildfires, investigations and legal proceedings on our financial condition and reputation;
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our ability to reduce wildfire threats and improve safety, including the ability to comply with the targets and metrics set forth in our wildfire mitigation plans; to retain or contract for the workforce necessary to execute our wildfire mitigation plans; the effectiveness of our system hardening; ability to achieve vegetation management targets; and the cost of these programs and the timing and outcome of any proceeding to recover such costs through rates;
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the ability to economically obtain insurance coverage, or any insurance coverage at all, sufficient to cover losses arising from catastrophic events, such as wildfires;
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a high degree of variance between actual and forecasted load or generation that could impact our hedging strategy and the cost of balancing our generation resources with our retail load obligations;
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changes in prices, availability and demand for wholesale electricity, coal, natural gas, other fuel sources and fuel transportation that could have a significant impact on generating capacity and energy costs;