Pinnacle West Capital (PNW)

Risks

• Our financial condition depends upon APS’s ability to recover costs in a timely manner from customers through regulated rates and otherwise execute its business strategy.
• APS’s ability to conduct its business operations and avoid negative operational and financial impacts depends in part upon compliance with federal, state and local laws, judicial decisions, statutes, regulations and ACC requirements, which may be revised from time to time by legislative or other action, and obtaining and maintaining certain regulatory permits, approvals, and certificates.
• The operation of APS’s nuclear power plant exposes it to substantial regulatory oversight and potentially significant liabilities and capital expenditures.
• APS is subject to numerous environmental laws and regulations, and changes in, or liabilities under, existing or new laws or regulations may increase APS’s cost of operations or impact its business plans.
• APS faces potential financial risks resulting from climate change litigation and legislative and regulatory efforts to limit GHG emissions, as well as physical and operational risks related to climate effects.
• Co-owners of our jointly owned generation facilities may have unaligned goals and positions due to the effects of legislation, regulations, economic conditions, or changes in our industry, which could have a significant impact on our ability to continue operations of such facilities.
• Deregulation or restructuring of the electric industry may result in increased competition, which could have a significant adverse impact on APS’s business and its results of operations.
• APS’s results of operations can be adversely affected by various factors impacting demand for electricity.
• The impact of wildfires could negatively affect APS’s results of operations.
• The inability to successfully develop, acquire or operate generation resources to meet reliability requirements and other new or evolving standards or regulations could adversely impact our business.
• The lack of access to sufficient supplies of water could have a material adverse impact on APS’s business and results of operations.
• The ownership and operation of power generation and transmission facilities on Indian lands could result in uncertainty related to continued leases, easements, and rights-of-way, which could have a significant impact on our business.
• There are inherent risks in the ownership and operation of nuclear facilities, such as environmental, health, fuel supply, spent fuel disposal, regulatory and financial risks and the risk of terrorist attack that could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
• Changes in technology could create challenges for APS’s existing business.
• We are subject to employee workforce factors that could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
• COVID-19 could negatively affect our business.
• A downgrade of our credit ratings could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
• Investment performance, changing interest rates, new rules or regulations and other economic, social, and political factors could decrease the value of our benefit plan assets, nuclear decommissioning trust funds and other special use funds or increase the valuation of our related obligations, resulting in significant additional funding requirements. We are also subject to risks related to the provision of employee healthcare benefits and healthcare reform legislation. Any inability to fully recover these costs in our utility rates would negatively impact our financial condition.
• Our cash flow depends on the performance of APS and its ability to make distributions.
• Pinnacle West’s ability to meet its debt service obligations could be adversely affected because its debt securities are structurally subordinated to the debt securities and other obligations of its subsidiaries.
• The use of derivative contracts in the normal course of our business could result in financial losses that negatively impact our results of operations.
• Proposals to change policy in Arizona or other states made through ballot initiatives or referenda may increase the Company’s cost of operations or impact its business plans.
• The market price of our common stock may be volatile.
• Financial market disruptions or new rules or regulations may increase our financing costs or limit our access to various financial markets, which may adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to implement our financial strategy.
• Certain provisions of our articles of incorporation and bylaws and of Arizona law make it difficult for shareholders to change the composition of our board and may discourage takeover attempts.