PG&E 2010 Annual Report Download - page 18

• the impact of federal or state laws or regulations, or their
interpretation, on energy policy and the regulation of
utilities and their holding companies;
• whether the Utility can successfully complete its program
to install advanced meters for its electric and natural gas
customers, allay customer concerns about the new
metering technology, and integrate the new meters with
its customer billing and other systems while also
implementing the system design changes necessary to
accommodate retail electric rates based on dynamic
pricing (i.e., electric rates that can vary with the
customer’s time of use and are more closely aligned with
wholesale electricity prices) by the CPUC’s due dates;
• how the CPUC interprets and enforces the financial and
other conditions imposed on PG&E Corporation when it
became the Utility’s holding company and the extent to
which the interpretation or enforcement of these
conditions has a material impact on PG&E Corporation;
• the extent to which PG&E Corporation or the Utility
incurs costs in connection with third-party claims or
litigation, including those arising from the San Bruno
accident, that are not recoverable through insurance,
rates, or from other third parties;
• the ability of PG&E Corporation, the Utility, and
counterparties to access capital markets and other sources
of credit in a timely manner on acceptable terms;
• the impact of environmental laws and regulations
addressing the reduction of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases (“GHG”), water, the remediation of
hazardous waste, and other matters, and whether the
Utility is able to recover the costs of compliance with
such laws, including the cost of emission allowances and
offsets that the Utility may incur under federal or state
cap-and-trade regulations;
• the loss of customers due to various forms of bypass and
competition, including municipalization of the Utility’s
electric distribution facilities, increasing levels of “direct
access” by which consumers procure electricity from
alternative energy providers, and implementation of
“community choice aggregation,” which permits cities
and counties to purchase and sell electricity for their local
residents and businesses; and
• the outcome of federal or state tax audits and the impact
of changes in federal or state tax laws, policies, or
regulations, such as The Tax Relief, Unemployment
Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
(the “Tax Relief Act”).
For more information about the significant risks that
could affect the outcome of these forward-looking
statements and PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s
future financial condition and results of operations, see the
discussion in the section entitled “Risk Factors” below.
PG&E Corporation and the Utility do not undertake an
obligation to update forward-looking statements, whether
in response to new information, future events, or
otherwise.
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