Allegheny Power 2010 Annual Report Download - page 11

Forward-Looking Statement
This annual report includes forward-looking statements based on
information currently available to management. Such statements
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. These statements
include declarations regarding management’s intents, beliefs and
current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not
limited to, the terms “anticipate,” “potential,” “expect,” “believe,”
“estimate” and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve
estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-
looking statements. Actual results may differ materially due to the
speed and nature of increased competition in the electric utility
industry, the impact of the regulatory process on the pending
matters in the various states in which we do business including, but
not limited to, matters related to rates, the status of the Potomac-
Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) project in light of PJM
Interconnection, LLC’s efforts to determine whether the need for
PATH should be re-evaluated and the related suspension of work on
the project, PATH’s rate of recovery at FERC, business and regulatory
impacts from American Transmission Systems, Incorporated’s
realignment into PJM Interconnection, LLC, economic or weather
conditions affecting future sales and margins, changes in markets
for energy services, changing energy and commodity market prices
and availability, financial derivative reforms that could increase our
liquidity needs and collateral costs, replacement power costs being
higher than anticipated or inadequately hedged, the continued ability
of FirstEnergy’s regulated utilities to collect transition and other
costs, operation and maintenance costs being higher than anticipated,
other legislative and regulatory changes, and revised environmental
requirements, including possible greenhouse gas emission and coal
combustion residual regulations, the potential impacts of any laws,
rules or regulations that ultimately replace the Clean Air Interstate
Rules, the uncertainty of the timing and amounts of the capital
expenditures needed to complete, among other things, the PATH
project as a result of its current suspension status, the uncertainty
of the timing and amounts of the capital expenditures needed to
resolve any New Source Review litigation or other potential similar
regulatory initiatives or rulemakings (including that such expenditures
could result in our decision to shut down or idle certain generating
units), adverse regulatory or legal decisions and outcomes (including,
but not limited to, the revocation of necessary licenses or operating
permits and oversight by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission),
adverse legal decisions and outcomes related to Metropolitan Edison
Company’s and Pennsylvania Electric Company’s transmission service
charge appeal at the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, any
impact resulting from the receipt by Signal Peak of the Department of
Labor’s notice of a potential pattern of violations at Bull Mountain
Mine No. 1, the continuing availability of generating units and their
ability to operate at or near full capacity, the ability to comply with
applicable state and federal reliability standards and energy efficiency
mandates, changes in customers’ demand for power, including but
not limited to, changes resulting from the implementation of state
and federal energy efficiency mandates, the ability to accomplish or
realize anticipated benefits from strategic goals (including employee
workforce initiatives), the ability to improve electric commodity
margins and the impact of, among other factors, the increased cost
of coal and coal transportation on such margins and the ability to
experience growth in the distribution business, the changing market
conditions that could affect the value of assets held in FirstEnergy’s
nuclear decommissioning trusts, pension trusts and other trust funds,
and cause FirstEnergy to make additional contributions sooner, or
in amounts that are larger than currently anticipated, the ability
to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets
in accordance with FirstEnergy’s financing plan and the cost of
such capital, changes in general economic conditions affecting the
company, the state of the capital and credit markets affecting the
company, interest rates and any actions taken by credit rating agencies
that could negatively affect FirstEnergy’s access to financing or its
costs and increase its requirements to post additional collateral to
support outstanding commodity positions, letters of credit and other
financial guarantees, the continuing uncertainty of the national and
regional economy and its impact on the company’s major industrial
and commercial customers, issues concerning the soundness of
financial institutions and counterparties with which FirstEnergy
does business, issues arising from the recently completed merger of
FirstEnergy and Allegheny Energy, Inc. and the ongoing coordination
of their combined operations, including FirstEnergy’s ability to
maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers as well
as the ability to successfully integrate the businesses and realize cost
savings and any other synergies and the risk that the credit ratings of
the combined company or its subsidiaries may be different from what
the companies expect and the risks and other factors discussed from
time to time in FirstEnergy’s Securities and Exchange Commission
filings, and other similar factors. Dividends declared from time to
time on FirstEnergy’s common stock during any annual period may
in aggregate vary from the indicated amount due to circumstances
considered by FirstEnergy’s Board of Directors at the time of the
actual declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to
buy or hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any
time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be evaluated
independently of any other rating. The foregoing review of factors
should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from
time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such
factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy’s
business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors,
may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any
current intention to update any forward-looking statements contained
herein as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.