WEC WEC Energy Group, Inc.

Risks

• Our business is significantly impacted by governmental regulation and oversight.
• We face significant costs to comply with existing and future environmental laws and regulations.
• We may face significant costs to comply with the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Changes in federal income tax policy may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows, as well as our or our subsidiaries’ credit ratings.
• We may fail to maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
• Our electric utilities could be subject to higher costs and penalties as a result of mandatory reliability standards.
• Provisions of the Wisconsin Utility Holding Company Act limit our ability to invest in non-utility businesses and could deter takeover attempts by a potential purchaser of our common stock that would be willing to pay a premium for our common stock.
• Our operations are subject to risks arising from the reliability of our electric generation, transmission, and distribution facilities, natural gas infrastructure facilities, and other facilities, as well as the reliability of third-party transmission providers.
• Our operations are subject to various conditions that can result in fluctuations in energy sales to customers, including customer growth and general economic conditions in our service areas, varying weather conditions, and energy conservation efforts.
• We are actively involved with several significant capital projects, which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect project costs and completion of construction projects.
• Our operations are subject to risks beyond our control, including but not limited to, cyber security intrusions, terrorist attacks, acts of war, or unauthorized access to personally identifiable information.
• Advances in technology could make our electric generating facilities less competitive.
• We transport, distribute, and store natural gas, which involves numerous risks that may result in accidents and other operating risks and costs.
• We are a holding company and rely on the earnings of our subsidiaries to meet our financial obligations.
• We may fail to attract and retain an appropriately qualified workforce.
• Our counterparties may fail to meet their obligations, including obligations under power purchase, natural gas supply, and transportation agreements.
• We may not be able to fully use tax credits, net operating losses, and/or charitable contribution carryforwards.
• We have recorded goodwill that could become impaired.
• Our business is dependent on our ability to successfully access capital markets.
• A downgrade in our or any of our subsidiaries' credit ratings could negatively affect our or our subsidiaries' ability to access capital at reasonable costs and/or require the posting of collateral.
• Fluctuating commodity prices could negatively impact our electric and natural gas utility operations.
• We may not be able to obtain an adequate supply of coal, which could limit our ability to operate our coal-fired facilities.
• Our use of derivative contracts could result in financial losses.
• Restructuring in the regulated energy industry and competition in the retail and wholesale markets could have a negative impact on our business and revenues.
• We may experience poor investment performance of benefit plan holdings due to changes in assumptions and market conditions.
• We may be unable to obtain insurance on acceptable terms or at all, and the insurance coverage we do obtain may not provide protection against all significant losses.