Pinnacle West Capital 10-Q 2024-09-30

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2024

OR

For the transition period from to

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether each registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

PINNACLE WEST CAPITAL CORPORATION

ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether each registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

Arizona Public Service Company meets the conditions set forth in General Instruction H(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-Q and is therefore filing this form with the reduced disclosure format allowed under that General Instruction.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

This combined quarterly report on Form 10-Q is separately provided by Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (“Pinnacle West”) and Arizona Public Service Company (“APS”). Any use of the words “Company,” “we,” and “our” refer to Pinnacle West. Each registrant is providing on its own behalf all of the information contained in this Form 10-Q that relates to such registrant and, where required, its subsidiaries. Except as stated in the preceding sentence, neither registrant is providing any information that does not relate to such registrant, and therefore makes no representation as to any such information. The information required with respect to each company is set forth within the applicable items. Item 1 of this report includes Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of Pinnacle West and Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of APS. Item 1 of this report also includes Combined Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations. These forward-looking statements are often identified by words such as “estimate,” “predict,” “may,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “require,” “intend,” “assume,” “project,” “anticipate,” “goal,” “seek,” “strategy,” “likely,” “should,” “will,” “could,” and similar words. Because actual results may differ materially from expectations, we caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements. A number of factors could cause future results to differ materially from historical results, or from outcomes currently expected or sought by Pinnacle West or APS. In addition to the Risk Factors described in Part I, Item 1A of the Pinnacle West/APS Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (“2023 Form 10-K”), Part II, Item 1A of this report and in Part I, Item 2 — “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this report, these factors include, but are not limited to:

• uncertainties associated with the current and future economic environment, including economic growth rates, labor market conditions, inflation, supply chain delays, increased expenses, volatile capital markets, or other unpredictable effects;

• our ability to manage capital expenditures and operations and maintenance costs while maintaining reliability and customer service levels;

• variations in demand for electricity, including those due to weather, seasonality (including large increases in ambient temperatures), the general economy or social conditions, customer and sales growth (or decline), the effects of energy conservation measures and distributed generation, and technological advancements;

• the potential effects of climate change on our electric system, including as a result of weather extremes, such as prolonged drought and high temperature variations in the area where APS conducts its business;

• power plant and transmission system performance and outages;

• competition in retail and wholesale power markets;

• regulatory and judicial decisions, developments, and proceedings;

• new legislation, ballot initiatives, and regulation or interpretations of existing legislation or regulations, including those relating to environmental requirements, regulatory and energy policy, nuclear plant operations, and potential deregulation of retail electric markets;

• fuel and water supply availability;

• our ability to achieve timely and adequate rate recovery of our costs through our rates and adjustor recovery mechanisms, including returns on and of debt and equity capital investment;

• the ability of APS to meet renewable energy and energy efficiency mandates and recover related costs;

• the ability of APS to achieve its clean energy goals (including a goal by 2050 of 100% clean, carbon-free electricity) and, if these goals are achieved, the impact of such achievement on APS, its customers, and its business, financial condition, and results of operations;

• risks inherent in the operation of nuclear facilities, including spent fuel disposal uncertainty;

• current and future economic conditions in Arizona;

• the direct or indirect effect on our facilities or business from cybersecurity threats or intrusions, data security breaches, terrorist attack, physical attack, severe storms, or other catastrophic events, such as fires, explosions, pandemic health events, or similar occurrences;

• the development of new technologies which may affect electric sales or delivery, including as a result of delays in the development and application of new technologies;

• the cost of debt, including increased cost as a result of rising interest rates, and equity capital and our ability to access capital markets when required;

• environmental, economic, and other concerns surrounding coal-fired generation, including regulation of greenhouse gas emissions (“GHG”);

• volatile fuel and purchased power costs;

• the investment performance of the assets of our nuclear decommissioning trust, pension, and other postretirement benefit plans, and the resulting impact on future funding requirements;

• the liquidity of wholesale power markets and the use of derivative contracts in our business;

• potential shortfalls in insurance coverage;

• new accounting requirements or new interpretations of existing requirements;

• generation, transmission, and distribution facilities and system conditions and operating costs;

• our ability to meet the anticipated future need for additional generation and associated transmission facilities in our region;

• the willingness or ability of our counterparties, power plant participants, and power plant landowners to meet contractual or other obligations or extend the rights for continued power plant operations; and

• restrictions on dividends or other provisions in our credit agreements and Arizona Corporation Commission (“ACC”) orders.

These and other factors are discussed in the Risk Factors described in Part I, Item 1A of our 2023 Form 10-K, Part II, Item 1A of this report, and in Part I, Item 2 — “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this report, which readers should review carefully before placing any reliance on our financial statements or disclosures. Neither Pinnacle West nor APS assumes any obligation to update these statements, even if our internal estimates change, except as required by law.

PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

Showing the first 8K of 290K characters. Open the full section

INTRODUCTION

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Pinnacle West’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and APS’s Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the related Combined Notes that appear in Item 1 of this report. For information on factors that may cause our actual future results to differ from those we currently seek or anticipate, see “Forward-Looking Statements” at the front of this report and “Risk Factors” in Part 1, Item 1A of the 2023 Form 10-K and Part II, Item 1A of this report.

OVERVIEW

Business Overview

Pinnacle West is an investor-owned electric utility holding company based in Phoenix, Arizona with consolidated assets of approximately $26 billion. Since 1886, Pinnacle West and our affiliates have provided energy and energy-related products to people and businesses throughout Arizona.

Pinnacle West derives essentially all of our revenues and earnings from our principal subsidiary, APS. APS is Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electric company that generates safe, affordable and reliable electricity for approximately 1.4 million retail customers in 11 of Arizona’s 15 counties. APS is also the operator and co-owner of Palo Verde Generating Station (“Palo Verde”) — a primary source of electricity for the southwestern United States.

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”) significantly expands the availability of tax credits for investments in clean energy generation technologies and energy storage. Key provisions that are relevant to APS’s clean energy commitment include (i) an extension of tax credits for solar and wind generation, including a new option for solar investments to claim a Production Tax Credit (“PTC”) in lieu of the Investment Tax Credit (“ITC”) beginning in 2022; (ii) expansion of the ITC to cover stand-alone energy storage technology beginning in 2023; (iii) introduction of technology neutral clean energy ITCs and PTCs beginning in 2025; and (iv) introduction of a new PTC for nuclear energy produced by existing nuclear energy plants, available from 2024 through 2032. The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury Department have issued preliminary guidance related to various provisions of the IRA that have enabled APS to claim credits related to its solar and energy storage investments. The Company continues to await regulations and other guidance, including with respect to the nuclear PTC, which will provide additional details and clarifications regarding how the Company may be able to claim IRA tax credits. See Note 17 for more information.

Strategic Overview

Our strategy is to create a sustainable energy future for Arizona that delivers shareholder value and shared value by serving our customers with reliable, affordable, and clean energy.

Customer-Focused

Recognizing that creating customer value is inextricably linked to increasing shareholder value, APS’s focus remains on its customers and the communities it serves. Accordingly, it is APS’s goal to achieve an industry-leading, best-in-class customer experience. In furtherance of a customer-centric culture, APS

employees have delivered an enhanced customer experience in recent years through a number of past and ongoing initiatives, such as improving the ease-of-use of APS’s automated phone system, improving the speed of answering customer calls, advancing phone advisor soft skill development through updated training curriculum, and adding 1,100-plus in-person payment locations, as well as introducing new customer payment channels. APS also implemented numerous enhancements to its website, including improving page-loading speeds, adding user-friendly dashboards, and making content more simple, relevant, and useful. APS enhanced other customer touchpoints, such as communications throughout outages and the online outage center in addition to continuing to communicate with customers in their preferred channels about topics that matter most to them, such as reliability, energy-efficiency, financial assistance, the environment, and programs that enable them to design their own personalized energy experience. To further improve customer communications, APS expanded the use of email and text alerts, notifications, and communications to customers related to outages and their account and service status. Finally, APS continues to focus on employee learning, training, tools, and resources to ensure all employees understand their role in APS customers’ experiences.

Additionally, APS has implemented a variety of financial assistance programs to support customers struggling to pay their energy bills. Among these assistance programs are discounts for qualified limited-income customers, including a new tier with larger discounts for APS’s lowest income customers added in the second quarter of 2024 and other non-income-based assistance programs, such as flexible payment arrangements and emergency utility bill assistance. To ensure our most vulnerable customers are connected to these programs, we train and partner with more than one hundred community action agencies across our service territory.

Reliable

While our energy mix evolves, APS’s commitment to deliver reliable service to our customers remains. APS is managing through significant growth in the Phoenix metropolitan area while experiencing supply chain issues similar to those experienced in other industries.

Planned investments will support operating and maintaining the grid, updating technology, accommodating customer growth, and enabling more renewable energy resources. To prioritize reliability and meet substantial growth in customer energy needs, APS has developed a future-focused, strategic transmission plan (the “Ten-Year Transmission Plan”). The Ten-Year Transmission Plan includes five critical transmission projects that comprise the APS strategic transmission portfolio, which represent a significant upgrade to our transmission system. These five projects, along with other projects included in the Ten-Year Transmission Plan, will support growing energy needs, strengthen reliability, and allow for the connection of new resources.

Our advanced distribution management system allows operators to locate outages and control line devices remotely and helps them coordinate more closely with field crews to safely maintain an increasingly dynamic grid. The system will also integrate a new meter data management system that will increase grid visibility and give customers access to more of their energy usage data.

Wildfire safety remains a critical focus for APS and other utilities. We have increased investment in fire mitigation efforts to clear defensible space around our infrastructure, continue ongoing system upgrades, build partnerships with government entities and first responders and educate customers and communities. We also increased spend on mitigating the risk associated with trees that could cause hazards, resulting in more of these trees being removed before they could cause outages or wildfires. These programs contribute to customer reliability, responsible forest management and safe communities. With recent wildfire events in Hawaii and across North America, we have been devoting and will continue to devote substantial efforts to analyzing and developing enhancements to our systems and processes to mitigate fire risk within our service territory and communities, including by hardening our infrastructure, deploying new technologies where

appropriate, increasing our awareness, implementing operational changes, and enhancing our wildfire response capabilities. APS completed implementation of best-in-class fire modelling software that we are utilizing to more surgically identify and calculate risk and target future system improvement investments such as fire-resistant pole wrapping, wood to steel pole conversions, and additional remote-controllable field devices like reclosers and switches. APS a

Showing the first 8K of 105K characters. Open the full section

See “Key Financial Drivers” and “Market and Credit Risks” in Item 2 above for a discussion of quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risks.

(a) Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The term “disclosure controls and procedures” means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to a company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Pinnacle West’s management, with the participation of Pinnacle West’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, have evaluated the effectiveness of Pinnacle West’s disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2024. Based on that evaluation, Pinnacle West’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of that date, Pinnacle West’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

APS’s management, with the participation of APS’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of APS’s disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30,

2024. Based on that evaluation, APS’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of that date, APS’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

(b) Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

The term “internal control over financial reporting” (defined in SEC Rule 13a-15(f)) refers to the process of a company that is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP.

No change in Pinnacle West’s or APS’s internal control over financial reporting occurred during the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2024, that materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, Pinnacle West’s or APS’s internal control over financial reporting.

PART II — OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

See “Business of Arizona Public Service Company — Environmental Matters” in Item 1 of the 2023 Form 10-K with regard to pending or threatened litigation and other matters.

See Note 4 for ACC and FERC-related matters.

See Note 8 for information regarding environmental matters, Superfund-related matters and other disputes.

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A — Risk Factors in the 2023 Form 10-K, which could materially affect the business, financial condition, cash flows or future results of Pinnacle West and APS. The risks described in the 2023 Form 10-K are not the only risks facing Pinnacle West and APS. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect the business, financial condition, cash flows and/or operating results of Pinnacle West and APS.

Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plans

During the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2024, none of our directors or executive officers adopted or terminated any contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of our securities to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) or any “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement.”

(a) Exhibits

*Furnished herewith as an Exhibit.

In addition, Pinnacle West and APS hereby incorporate the following Exhibits pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 12b-32 and Regulation §229.10(d) by reference to the filings set forth below:

(1) Reports filed under File Nos. 1-4473 and 1-8962 were filed in the office of the Securities and Exchange Commission located in Washington, D.C.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.