APPENDIX A
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and can often be identified by terms and phrases that include “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “continue,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “will,” “potential,” “forecast,” “target,” “guidance,” “outlook” or other similar terminology. Various factors may cause actual results to be materially different than the suggested outcomes within forward-looking statements; accordingly, there is no assurance that such results will be realized. These factors include, but are not limited to:
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;
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State, federal, and foreign legislative and regulatory initiatives, including costs of compliance with existing and future environmental requirements, including those related to climate change, as well as rulings that affect cost and investment recovery or have an impact on rate structures or market prices;
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The extent and timing of costs and liabilities to comply with federal and state laws, regulations and legal requirements related to coal ash remediation, including amounts for required closure of certain ash impoundments, are uncertain and difficult to estimate;
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The ability to recover eligible costs, including amounts associated with coal ash impoundment retirement obligations, asset retirement and construction costs related to carbon emission reductions, and costs related to significant weather events, and to earn an adequate return on investment through rate case proceedings and the regulatory process;
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The costs of decommissioning nuclear facilities could prove to be more extensive than amounts estimated and all costs may not be fully recoverable through the regulatory process;
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Costs and effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations, and claims;
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Industrial, commercial, and residential growth or decline in service territories or customer bases resulting from sustained downturns of the economy and the economic health of our service territories or variations in customer usage patterns, including energy efficiency efforts, natural gas building and appliance electrification, and use of alternative energy sources, such as self-generation and distributed generation technologies;
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Federal and state regulations, laws and other efforts designed to promote and expand the use of energy efficiency measures, natural gas electrification, and distributed generation technologies, such as private solar and battery storage, in Duke Energy service territories could result in a reduced number of customers, excess generation resources, as well as stranded costs;
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Advancements in technology;
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Additional competition in electric and natural gas markets and continued industry consolidation;
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The influence of weather and other natural phenomena on operations, including the economic, operational and other effects of severe storms, hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes, and tornadoes, including extreme weather associated with climate change;
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Changing investor, customer and other stakeholder expectations and demands, including heightened emphasis on environmental, social, and governance concerns;
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The ability to successfully operate electric generating facilities and deliver electricity to customers, including direct or indirect effects to the Company resulting from an incident that affects the United States electric grid or generating resources;
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Operational interruptions to our natural gas distribution and transmission activities;
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The availability of adequate interstate pipeline transportation capacity and natural gas supply;
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The impact on facilities and business from a terrorist attack, cybersecurity threats, data security breaches, operational accidents, information technology failures, or other catastrophic events, such as fires, explosions, pandemic health events, or other similar occurrences;
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The inherent risks associated with the operation of nuclear facilities, including environmental, health, safety, regulatory and financial risks, including the financial stability of third-party service providers;
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The timing and extent of changes in commodity prices and interest rates and the ability to recover such costs through the regulatory process, where appropriate, and their impact on liquidity positions and the value of underlying assets;
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The results of financing efforts, including the ability to obtain financing on favorable terms, which can be affected by various factors, including credit ratings, interest rate fluctuations, compliance with debt covenants and conditions, an individual utility’s generation mix, and general market and economic conditions;
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Credit ratings may be different from what is expected;
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Declines in the market prices of equity and fixed-income securities and resultant cash funding requirements for defined benefit pension plans, other post-retirement benefit plans and nuclear decommissioning trust funds;