PG&E 2011 Annual Report Download - page 12

CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains forward-looking statements that are necessarily subject to various risks and uncertainties.
These statements reflect management’s judgment and opinions which are based on current estimates, expectations,
and projections about future events and assumptions regarding these events and management’s knowledge of facts as
of the date of this report. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other matters, estimated capital
expenditures; estimated environmental remediation, tax, and other liabilities; estimates and assumptions used in
PG&E Corporation’s and the Utility’s critical accounting policies; anticipated outcomes of various regulatory,
governmental, and legal proceedings; estimated losses and insurance recoveries associated with the San Bruno
accident; estimated additional costs the Utility will incur related to its natural gas transmission and distribution
business; estimated future cash flows; and the level of future equity or debt issuances. These statements are also
identified by words such as ‘‘assume,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘forecast,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’
‘‘target,’’ ‘‘predict,’’ ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘aim,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘might,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘would,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘goal,’’ ‘‘potential,’’ and similar
expressions. PG&E Corporation and the Utility are not able to predict all the factors that may affect future results.
Some of the factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements, or from historical results, include, but are not limited to:
• the outcomes of pending and future investigations and regulatory proceedings related to the San Bruno
accident, and the safety of the Utility’s natural gas pipelines in its service territory; the ultimate amount of
costs the Utility incurs for natural gas matters that are not recovered through rates; the ultimate amount of
third-party claims associated with the San Bruno accident that are not recovered through insurance; and the
amount of any civil or criminal penalties, or punitive damages the Utility may incur related to these matters,
including the amount of penalties that the CPSD may impose on the Utility for violations of natural gas safety
regulations;
• the outcome of future investigations or proceedings that may be commenced by the CPUC or other regulatory
authorities relating to the Utility’s compliance with law, rules, regulations, or orders applicable to the
operation, inspection, and maintenance of its electric and gas facilities (in addition to investigations or
proceedings related to the San Bruno accident and natural gas matters);
• whether PG&E Corporation and the Utility are able to repair the reputational harm that they have suffered
which, in part, will depend on their ability to adequately and timely respond to the findings and
recommendations made by the NTSB and CPUC’s independent review panel and cure the deficiencies that
have been identified in the Utility’s operating practices and procedures and corporate culture; developments
that may occur in the various investigations of the San Bruno accident and natural gas matters; the decisions,
findings, or orders issued in connection with these investigations, including the amount of civil or criminal
penalties that may be imposed on the Utility; developments that may occur in the civil litigation related to the
San Bruno accident; and the extent of service disruptions that may occur due to changes in pipeline pressure
as the Utility continues to inspect and test pipelines;
• the adequacy and price of electricity and natural gas supplies, the extent to which the Utility can manage and
respond to the volatility of electricity and natural gas prices, the ability of the Utility and its counterparties to
post or return collateral in connection with price risk management activities; and the availability and price of
nuclear fuel used in the two nuclear generation units at Diablo Canyon;
• explosions, fires, accidents, mechanical breakdowns, equipment failures, human errors, labor disruptions, and
similar events, as well as acts of terrorism, war, or vandalism, including cyber-attacks, that can cause
unplanned outages, reduce generating output, disrupt the Utility’s service to customers, or damage or disrupt
the facilities, operations, or information technology and systems owned by the Utility, its customers, or third
parties on which the Utility relies; and subject the Utility to third-party liability for property damage or
personal injury, or result in the imposition of civil, criminal, or regulatory penalties on the Utility;
• the impact of storms, tornadoes, floods, drought, earthquakes, tsunamis, wildland and other fires, pandemics,
solar events, electromagnetic events, and other natural disasters, or that affect customer demand or that
damage or disrupt the facilities, operations, or information technology and systems owned by the Utility, its
customers, or third parties on which the Utility relies;
• the potential impacts of climate change on the Utility’s electricity and natural gas businesses, the impact of
environmental laws and regulations aimed at the reduction of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
(‘‘GHG’’) on the Utility’s electricity and natural gas businesses, and whether the Utility is able to recover
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