PPL 10-K 2020-12-31
Filed 2021-02-18. 21 sections, 1238K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown · JSON
Cover and table of contents
| UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 | |||||
| FORM 10-K | |||||
| ☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 | ||||
| OR | |||||
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 for the transition period from _________ to ___________ |
| Commission File Number | Registrant; State of Incorporation; Address and Telephone Number | IRS Employer Identification No. | ||||||
| 1-11459 | PPL Corporation (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) Pennsylvania Two North Ninth Street Allentown, PA 18101-1179 (610) 774-5151 | 23-2758192 | ||||||
| 1-905 | PPL Electric Utilities Corporation (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) Pennsylvania Two North Ninth Street Allentown, PA 18101-1179 (610) 774-5151 | 23-0959590 | ||||||
| 333-173665 | LG&E and KU Energy LLC (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) Kentucky 220 West Main Street Louisville, KY 40202-1377 (502) 627-2000 | 20-0523163 | ||||||
| 1-2893 | Louisville Gas and Electric Company (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) Kentucky 220 West Main Street Louisville, KY 40202-1377 (502) 627-2000 | 61-0264150 | ||||||
| 1-3464 | Kentucky Utilities Company (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) Kentucky and Virginia One Quality Street Lexington, KY 40507-1462 (502) 627-2000 | 61-0247570 |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s): | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
| Common Stock of PPL Corporation | PPL | New York Stock Exchange | ||||||
| Junior Subordinated Notes of PPL Capital Funding, Inc. | ||||||||
| 2007 Series A due 2067 | PPL/67 | New York Stock Exchange | ||||||
| 2013 Series B due 2073 | PPX | New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
| Common Stock of PPL Electric Utilities Corporation |
Indicate by check mark if the registrants are a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
| PPL Corporation | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| PPL Electric Utilities Corporation | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| LG&E and KU Energy LLC | Yes | ☐ | No | ☒ | |||||||||||||
| Louisville Gas and Electric Company | Yes | ☐ | No | ☒ | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Utilities Company | Yes | ☐ | No | ☒ |
Indicate by check mark if the registrants are not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.
| PPL Corporation | Yes | ☐ | No | ☒ | |||||||||||||
| PPL Electric Utilities Corporation | Yes | ☐ | No | ☒ | |||||||||||||
| LG&E and KU Energy LLC | Yes | ☐ | No | ☒ | |||||||||||||
| Louisville Gas and Electric Company | Yes | ☐ | No | ☒ | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Utilities Company | Yes | ☐ | No | ☒ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrants (1) have 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 registrants were required to file such reports), and (2) have been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
| PPL Corporation | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| PPL Electric Utilities Corporation | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| LG&E and KU Energy LLC | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| Louisville Gas and Electric Company | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Utilities Company | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrants have submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrants were required to submit such files).
| PPL Corporation | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| PPL Electric Utilities Corporation | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| LG&E and KU Energy LLC | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| Louisville Gas and Electric Company | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ | |||||||||||||
| Kentucky Utilities Company | Yes | ☒ | No | ☐ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrants are large accelerated filers, accelerated filers, non-accelerated filers, smaller reporting companies or emerging growth companies. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | Accelerated filer | Non-accelerated filer | Smaller reporting company | Emerging growth company | |||||||||||||
| PPL Corporation | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||||||||
| PPL Electric Utilities Corporation | ☐ | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||||||||
| LG&E and KU Energy LLC | ☐ | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||||||||
| Louisville Gas and Electric Company | ☐ | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ | ||||||||||||
| Kentucky Utilities Company | ☐ | ☐ | ☒ | ☐ | ☐ |
If emerging growth companies, indicate by check mark if the registrants have 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.
| PPL Corporation | ☐ | ||||||||||||||||
| PPL Electric Utilities Corporation | ☐ | ||||||||||||||||
| LG&E and KU Energy LLC | ☐ | ||||||||||||||||
| Louisville Gas and Electric Company | ☐ | ||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky Utilities Company | ☐ |
Indicate by check mark whether each registrant has filed a r
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Item 1. BUSINESS
General
(All Registrants)
PPL Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a utility holding company, incorporated in 1994, in connection with the deregulation of electricity generation in Pennsylvania, to serve as the parent company to the regulated utility, PPL Electric, and to generation and other unregulated business activities. PPL Electric was founded in 1920 as Pennsylvania Power & Light Company. PPL, through its regulated utility subsidiaries, delivers electricity to customers in the U.K., Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky.
PPL's principal subsidiaries at December 31, 2020 are shown below (* denotes a Registrant).
| PPL Corporation* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PPL Capital Funding Provides financing for the operations of PPL and certain subsidiaries | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PPL Global Engages in the regulated distribution of electricity in the U.K. | LKE* | PPL Electric* Engages in the regulated transmission and distribution of electricity in Pennsylvania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LG&E* Engages in the regulated generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity and the regulated distribution and sale of natural gas in Kentucky | KU* Engages in the regulated generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity, primarily in Kentucky | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.K. Regulated Segment | Kentucky Regulated Segment | Pennsylvania Regulated Segment |
PPL Global is not a registrant. Unaudited annual consolidated financial statements for the U.K. Regulated Segment are furnished contemporaneously with this report on a Form 8-K with the SEC.
In addition to PPL, the other Registrants included in this filing are as follows.
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a wholly owned subsidiary of PPL organized in Pennsylvania in 1920 and a regulated public utility that is an electricity transmission and distribution service provider in eastern and central Pennsylvania. PPL Electric is subject to regulation as a public utility by the PUC, and certain of its transmission activities are subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC under the Federal Power Act. PPL Electric delivers electricity in its Pennsylvania service area and provides electricity supply to retail customers in that area as a PLR under the Customer Choice Act.
LG&E and KU Energy LLC, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a wholly owned subsidiary of PPL and a holding company that owns regulated utility operations through its subsidiaries, LG&E and KU, which constitute substantially all of LKE's assets. LG&E and KU are engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. LG&E also engages in the distribution and sale of natural gas. LG&E and KU maintain separate corporate identities and serve customers in Kentucky under their respective names. KU also serves customers in Virginia under the Old Dominion Power name. LKE, formed in 2003, is the successor to a Kentucky entity incorporated in 1989.
Louisville Gas and Electric Company, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a wholly owned subsidiary of LKE and a regulated utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity and distribution and sale of natural gas in Kentucky. LG&E is subject to regulation as a public utility by the KPSC, and certain of its transmission activities are subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC under the Federal Power Act. LG&E was incorporated in 1913.
Kentucky Utilities Company, headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, is a wholly owned subsidiary of LKE and a regulated utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity in Kentucky and Virginia. KU is subject to regulation as a public utility by the KPSC and the VSCC, and certain of its transmission and wholesale power activities are subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC under the Federal Power Act. KU serves its Kentucky customers under the KU name and its Virginia customers under the Old Dominion Power name. KU was incorporated in Kentucky in 1912 and in Virginia in 1991.
Segment Information
(PPL)
PPL is organized into three reportable segments as depicted in the chart above: U.K. Regulated, Kentucky Regulated, and Pennsylvania Regulated. The U.K. Regulated segment has no related subsidiary Registrants. PPL's other reportable segments' results primarily represent the results of its related subsidiary Registrants, except that the reportable segments are also allocated certain corporate level financing costs that are not included in the results of the applicable subsidiary Registrants. PPL also has corporate and other costs, primarily including financing costs incurred at the corporate level that have not been allocated or assigned to the segments, as well as certain other unallocated costs. The financial results of Safari Energy are also reported within Corporate and Other.
A comparison of PPL's three regulated segments is shown below.
| Kentucky | Pennsylvania | ||||||||||||||||
| U.K. Regulated | Regulated | Regulated |
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Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
The Registrants face various risks associated with their businesses. Our businesses, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. In addition, this report also contains forward-looking and other statements about our businesses that are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. See "Forward-Looking Information," "Item 1. Business," "Item 7. Combined Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and Note 14 to the Financial Statements for more information concerning the risks described below and for other risks, uncertainties and factors that could impact our businesses and financial results.
As used in this Item 1A., the terms "we," "our" and "us" generally refer to PPL and its consolidated subsidiaries taken as a whole, or PPL Electric and its consolidated subsidiaries taken as a whole within the Pennsylvania Regulated segment discussion, or LKE and its consolidated subsidiaries taken as a whole within the Kentucky Regulated segment discussion.
Order of Subsection Presentation
**A.**Risks Related to Our U.K. Regulated Segment
**B.**Risks Related to Registrant Holding Companies
**C.**Risks Related to Domestic Regulated Utility Operations
**D.**Risks Specific to Kentucky Regulated Segment
**E.**Risks Specific to Pennsylvania Regulated Segment
**F.**Risks Related to All Segments
(PPL)
A. Risks Related to Our U.K. Regulated Segment
Our U.K. distribution business contributes a significant amount of PPL's earnings and exposes us to the following additional risks related to operating outside the U.S., including risks associated with changes in U.K. laws and regulations, taxes, economic conditions and political conditions and policies of the U.K. government and the European Union. These risks may adversely impact the results of operations of our U.K. distribution business or affect our ability to access U.K. revenues for payment of distributions or for other corporate purposes in the U.S.
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changes in laws or regulations relating to U.K. operations, including rate regulations beginning in April 2023 under RIIO-ED2, ability to recover previously incurred costs, operational performance and tax laws and regulations;
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changes in government policies, personnel or approval requirements;
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changes in general economic conditions affecting the U.K.;
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regulatory reviews of tariffs for DNOs;
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changes in labor relations;
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limitations on foreign investment or ownership of projects and returns or distributions to foreign investors;
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limitations on the ability of foreign companies to borrow money from foreign lenders and lack of local capital or loans;
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changes in U.S. tax law applicable to taxation of foreign earnings;
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compliance with U.S. foreign corrupt practices laws; and
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prolonged periods of low inflation or deflation.
PPL's earnings may be adversely affected by the U.K. withdrawal from the European Union.
The U.K. formally left the EU on January 31, 2020 and entered into a transition period that ended on December 31, 2020 through which the U.K. sought to negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU and new trade terms with countries outside of the EU. Successively, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement was agreed on December 24, 2020 and ratified by the U.K. Parliament on December 30, 2020 and was provisionally applied by the EU from December 31, 2020. While significant progress has been made, uncertainty continues to surround the economic impact of Brexit. PPL believes that its greatest risks relate to any extended period of depressed value of the GBP or the potential further decline in the value of the GBP compared to the U.S. dollar.
We are subject to foreign currency exchange rate risks because a significant portion of our cash flows and reported earnings are currently generated by our U.K. business operations.
These risks relate primarily to changes in the relative value of the British pound sterling and the U.S. dollar between the time we initially invest U.S. dollars in our U.K. businesses, and our strategy to hedge against such changes, and the time that cash is
repatriated to the U.S. from the U.K., including cash flows from our U.K. businesses that may be distributed to PPL or used for repayments of intercompany loans or other general corporate purposes. In addition, PPL's consolidated reported earnings on a GAAP basis may be subject to earnings translation risk, which results from the conversion of earnings as reported in our U.K. businesses on a British pound sterling basis to a U.S. dollar basis in accordance with GAAP requirements.
Our U.K. segment's earnings are subject to variability based on fluctuations in RPI, which is a measure of inflation.
In RIIO-ED1, WPD's base revenue was established by Ofgem based on 2012/13 prices. Base revenue is subsequently adjusted to reflect any increase or decrease in RPI for each year to determine the amount of revenue WPD can collect in tariffs. The RPI is forecasted annually by HM Treasury and subject to true-up in subsequent years. Consequently, fluctuations between forecasted and actual RPI can result in variances in base revenue. Although WPD also has debt indexed to RPI and certain components of operations and maintenance expense are affected by inflation, these may not offset changes in base revenue and timing of such offsets would likely not be correlated precisely with the calendar year in which the variance in demand revenue was initially incurred. Further, as RAV is indexed to RPI under U.K. rate regulations, a reduction in RPI could adversely affect a borrower's debt-to-RAV ratio, potentially limiting future borrowings at WPD's holding company.
Our U.K. delivery business is subject to revenue variability based on operational performance.
Our U.K. delivery businesses operate under an incentive-based regulatory framework. Managing operational risk and delivering agreed-upon performance are critical to the U.K. Regulated segment's financial performance. Disruption to these distribution networks could reduce profitability both directly by incurring costs for network restoration and also through the system of penalties and rewards that Ofgem administers relating to customer service levels.
A failure by any of our U.K. regulated businesses to comply with the terms of a distribution license may lead to the issuance of an enforcement order by Ofgem that could have an adverse impact on PPL.
Ofgem has powers to levy fines of up to ten percent of revenue for any breach of a distribution license or, in certain circumstances, such as insolvency, the distribution license itself may be revoked. Ofgem also has formal powers to propose modifications to each distribution license and there can be no assurance that a restrictive modification will not be introduced in the future, which could have an adverse effect on the operations and financial condition of the U.K. regulated businesses and PPL.
(PPL and LKE)
B. Risk Related to Registrant Holding Companies
PPL and LKE are holding companies and their cash flows and ability to meet their obligations with respect to indebtedness and under guarantees, and PPL's ability to pay dividends, largely depends on the financial performance of their respective subsidiaries and, as a result, is effectively subordinated to all existing and future liabilities of those subsidiaries.
PPL and LKE are holding companies and conduct their operations primarily through subsidiaries. Substantially all of the consolidated assets of these Registrants are held by their subsidiaries. Accordingly, these Registrants' cash flows and ability to meet debt and guaranty obligations, as well as PPL's ability to pay dividends, are largely dependent upon the earnings of those subsidiaries and the distribution or other payment of such earnings in the form of dividends, distributions, loans, advances or repayment of loans and advances. The subsidiaries are separate legal entities and have no obligation to pay dividends or distributions to their parents or to make funds available for such a payment. The ability of the Registrants' subsidiaries to pay dividends or distributions in the future will depend on the subsidiaries' future earnings and cash flows and the needs of their businesses, and may be restricted by their obligations to holders of their outstanding debt and other creditors, as well as any contractual or legal restrictions in effect at such time, including the requirements of state corporate law applicable to payment of dividends and distributions, and regulatory requirements, including restrictions on the ability of PPL Electric, LG&E and KU to pay dividends under Section 305(a) of the Federal Power Act.
Because PPL and LKE are holding companies, their debt and guaranty obligations are effectively subordinated to all existing and future liabilities of their subsidiaries. Although certain agreements to which certain subsidiaries are parties limit their ability to incur additional indebtedness, PPL and LKE and their subsidiaries retain the ability to incur substantial additional indebtedness and other liabilities. Therefore, PPL's and LKE's rights and the rights of their creditors, including rights of debt holders, to participate in the assets of any of their subsidiaries, in the event that such a subsidiary is liquidated or reorganized, will be subject to the prior claims of such subsidiary's creditors.
(PPL Electric, LG&E and KU)
C. Risks Related to Domestic Regulated Utility Operations
Our domestic regulated utility businesses face many of the same risks, in addition to those risks that are unique to each of the Kentucky Regulated and Pennsylvania Regulated segments. Set forth below are risk factors common to both domestic regulated segments, followed by sections identifying separately the risks specific to each of these segments.
Our profitability is highly dependent on our ability to recover the costs of providing energy and utility services to our customers and earn an adequate return on our capital investments. Regulators may not approve the rates we request and existing rates may be challenged.
The rates we charge our utility customers must be approved by one or more federal or state regulatory commissions, including the FERC, KPSC, VSCC and PUC. Although rate regulation is generally premised on the recovery of prudently incurred costs and a reasonable rate of return on invested capital, there can be no assurance that regulatory authorities will consider all of our costs to have been prudently incurred or that the regulatory process by which rates are determined will always result in rates that achieve full or timely recovery of our costs or an adequate return on our capital investments. Federal or state agencies, intervenors and other permitted parties may challenge our current or future rate requests, structures or mechanisms, and ultimately reduce, alter or limit the rates we receive. Although our rates are generally regulated based on an analysis of our costs incurred in a base year or on future projected costs, the rates we are allowed to charge may or may not match our costs at any given time. Our domestic regulated utility businesses are subject to substantial capital expenditure requirements over the next several years, which will likely require rate increase requests to the regulators. If our costs are not adequately recovered through rates, it could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Our domestic utility businesses are subject to significant and complex governmental regulation.
In addition to regulating the rates we charge, various federal and state regulatory authorities regulate many aspects of our domestic utility operations, including:
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the terms and conditions of our service and operations;
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financial and capital structure matters;
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siting, construction and operation of facilities;
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mandatory reliability and safety standards under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and other standards of conduct;
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accounting, depreciation and cost allocation methodologies;
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tax matters;
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affiliate transactions;
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acquisition and disposal of utility assets and issuance of securities; and
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various other matters, including energy efficiency.
Such regulations or changes thereto may subject us to higher operating costs or increased capital expenditures and failure to comply could result in sanctions or possible penalties which may not be recoverable from customers.
Our domestic regulated businesses undertake significant capital projects and these activities are subject to unforeseen costs, delays or failures, as well as risk of inadequate recovery of resulting costs.
The domestic regulated utility businesses are capital intensive and require significant investments in energy generation (in the case of LG&E and KU) and transmission, distribution and other infrastructure projects, such as projects for environmental compliance and system reliability. The completion of these projects without delays or cost overruns is subject to risks in many areas, including:
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approval, licensing and permitting;
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land acquisition and the availability of suitable land;
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skilled labor or equipment shortages;
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construction problems or delays, including disputes with third-party intervenors;
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increases in commodity prices or labor rates; and
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contractor performance.
Failure to complete our capital projects on schedule or on budget, or at all, could adversely affect our financial performance, operations and future growth if such expenditures are not granted rate recovery by our regulators.
We are or may be subject to costs of remediation of environmental contamination at facilities owned or operated by our former subsidiaries.
We may be subject to liability for the costs of environmental remediation of property now or formerly owned by us with respect to substances that we may have generated regardless of whether the liabilities arose before, during or after the time we owned or operated the facilities. We also have current or previous ownership interests in sites associated with the production of manufactured gas for which we may be liable for additional costs related to investigation, remediation and monitoring of these sites. Remediation activities associated with our former manufactured gas plant operations are one source of such costs. Citizen groups or others may bring litigation regarding environmental issues including claims of various types, such as property damage, personal injury and citizen challenges to compliance decisions on the enforcement of environmental requirements, which could subject us to penalties, injunctive relief and the cost of litigation. We cannot predict the amount and timing of future expenditures (including the potential or magnitude of fines or penalties) related to such environmental matters, although they could be material.
D. Risks Specific to Kentucky Regulated Segment
(PPL, LKE, LG&E and KU)
We are subject to financial, operational, regulatory and other risks related to requirements, developments and uncertainties in environmental regulation, including those affecting coal-fired generation facilities.
Extensive federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations are applicable to LG&E's and KU's generation supply, including its air emissions, water discharges (ELGs) and the management of hazardous and solid wastes (CCRs), among other business-related activities, and the costs of compliance or alleged non-compliance cannot be predicted and could be material. In addition, our costs may increase significantly if the requirements or scope of environmental laws, regulations or similar rules are expanded or changed as the environmental standards governing LG&E’s and KU’s businesses, particularly as applicable to coal-fired generation and related activities, continue to be subject to uncertainties due to rulemaking and other regulatory developments, legislative activities and litigation, administrative and permit challenges. The new U.S. presidential administration is considering a wide range of potential policies, executive orders, rules, legislation and other initiatives in connection with climate change that may affect these costs. Depending on the extent, frequency and timing of such changes, the companies may face higher risks of unsuccessful implementation of environmental-related business plans, noncompliance with applicable environmental rules, delayed or incomplete rate recovery or increased costs of implementation. Costs may take the form of increased capital expenditures or operating and maintenance expenses, monetary fines, penalties or forfeitures, operational changes, permit limitations or other restrictions. At some of our older generating facilities it may be uneconomic for us to install necessary pollution control equipment, which could cause us to retire those units. Market prices for energy and capacity also affect this cost-effectiveness analysis. Many of these environmental law considerations are also applicable to the operations of our key suppliers or customers, such as coal producers, power producers and industrial power users, and may impact the costs of their products and demand for our services.
(PPL, LKE and LG&E)
We are subject to operational, regulatory and other risks regarding natural gas supply infrastructure.
A natural gas pipeline explosion or associated incident could have a significant impact on LG&E’s natural gas operations or result in significant damages and penalties that could have an adverse impact on LG&E’s financial position and results of operations. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration enforces regulations that govern the design, construction, operation and maintenance of pipeline facilities. Failure to comply with these regulations could result in the assessment of fines or penalties against LG&E. These regulations require, among other things, that pipeline operators take certain measures with respect to pipeline integrity. Depending on the results of integrity tests and other integrity program activities, we could incur significant and unexpected costs to perform remedial activities on our natural gas infrastructure to ensure our continued safe and reliable operation. Recent pipeline incidents in the U.S. have also led to the introduction of proposed rules and possible federal legislative actions which could impose restrictions on LG&E’s operations or require more stringent testing to ensure pipeline integrity. Implementation of these regulations could increase our costs to comply with pipeline integrity and safety regulations.
E. Risks Specific to Pennsylvania Regulated Segment
(PPL and PPL Electric)
We face competition for transmission projects, which could adversely affect our rate base growth.
FERC Order 1000, issued in July 2011, establishes certain procedural and substantive requirements relating to participation, cost allocation and non-incumbent developer aspects of regional and inter-regional electricity transmission planning activities. The PPL Electric transmission business, operating under a FERC-approved PJM Open Access Transmission Tariff, is subject to competition pursuant to FERC Order 1000 from entities that are not incumbent PJM transmission owners with respect to the construction and ownership of transmission facilities within PJM. Increased competition can result in lower rate base growth.
We could be subject to higher costs and/or penalties related to Pennsylvania Conservation and Energy Efficiency Programs.
PPL Electric is subject to Act 129, which contains requirements for energy efficiency and conservation programs and for the use of smart metering technology, imposes PLR electricity supply procurement rules, provides remedies for market misconduct, and made changes to the existing Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. The law also requires electric utilities to meet specified goals for reduction in customer electricity usage and peak demand. Utilities not meeting these Act 129 requirements are subject to significant penalties that cannot be recovered in rates. Numerous factors outside of our control could prevent compliance with these requirements and result in penalties to us.
F. Risks Related to All Segments
(All Registrants)
The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant impact on business and economic conditions could negatively affect our business.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the U.S. and global economies and continues to present extraordinary challenges to businesses, communities, workforces and markets. In the U.S. and throughout the world, governmental authorities have taken urgent and extensive actions to contain the spread of the virus and mitigate known or foreseeable impacts. In the Registrants’ service territories, mitigation measures have included quarantines, stay-at-home orders, travel restrictions, reduced operations or closures of businesses, schools and governmental agencies, and executive, legislative or regulatory actions to address health or other pandemic-related concerns.
Until the COVID-19 virus is contained, it poses significant risks to the health and welfare of the Registrants’ customers, employees, contractors and suppliers, and to the conduct of their business. Mandates to stay at home, shelter in place, or quarantine and resulting lock-down or closures of non-essential businesses could reduce demand for electricity and gas, and continue to cause shifts in demand between residential, commercial and industrial customers that could negatively impact the Registrants’ financial condition. Customers experiencing financial strain from unemployment, furloughs, or reduced work hours may not be able to pay their bills on a timely basis, which could negatively impact our liquidity. Continued economic disruption may further depress the GBP to U.S. dollar exchange rate and increase PPL's foreign exchange exposure. New or changing legislation or regulatory orders may unfavorably impact the Registrants or the utility industry generally.
All of these factors have the potential to materially and adversely affect the Registrants’ business and operations, especially if they remain in effect for a prolonged period of time. At this time, the Registrants’ cannot predict the extent to which these or other pandemic-related factors may affect their business, earnings or other financial results, as it depends on the duration and scope of the outbreak, the measures undertaken in response and other future developments, all of which are highly uncertain. In addition to the factors discussed above, investors should be aware that other COVID-19-related risks may emerge in the future and may prove to be significant. Investors should carefully consider the discussion of COVID-19 related items presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, especially to the extent that the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate or increase those risks.
The operation of our businesses is subject to cyber-based security and data integrity risks.
Numerous functions affecting the efficient operation of our businesses are dependent on the secure and reliable storage, processing and communication of electronic data and the use of sophisticated computer hardware and software systems. The operation of our transmission and distribution systems, as well as our generation plants, are all reliant on cyber-based technologies and, therefore, subject to the risk that these systems could be the target of disruptive actions by terrorists or criminals or otherwise be compromised by unintentional events. As a result, operations could be interrupted, property could be damaged and sensitive customer information lost or stolen, causing us to incur significant losses of revenues, other substantial
liabilities and damages, costs to replace or repair damaged equipment and damage to our reputation. In addition, under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, users, owners and operators of the bulk power transmission system, including PPL Electric, LG&E and KU, are subject to mandatory reliability standards promulgated by NERC and enforced by the FERC. As an operator of natural gas distribution systems, LG&E is also subject to mandatory reliability standards of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Failure to comply with these standards could result in the imposition of fines or civil penalties, and potential exposure to third party claims for alleged violations of the standards.
We are subject to risks associated with federal and state tax laws and regulations.
Changes in tax law as well as the inherent difficulty in quantifying potential tax effects of business decisions could negatively impact our results of operations and cash flows. We are required to make judgments in order to estimate our obligations to taxing authorities. These tax obligations include income, property, gross receipts, franchise, sales and use, employment-related and other taxes. We also estimate our ability to utilize deferred tax assets and tax credits. Dependent upon the revenue needs of the jurisdictions in which our businesses operate, various tax and fee increases may be proposed or considered. We cannot predict changes in tax law or regulation or the effect of any such changes on our businesses. Any such changes could increase tax expense and could have a significant negative impact on our results of operations and cash flows. The effects of the TCJA have been reflected in our financial statements, and we continue to evaluate the application of the law in calculating income tax expense.
Increases in electricity prices and/or a weak economy, can lead to changes in legislative and regulatory policy, including the promotion of energy efficiency, conservation and distributed generation or self-generation, which may adversely impact our business.
Energy consumption is significantly impacted by overall levels of economic activity and costs of energy supplies. Economic downturns or periods of high energy supply costs can lead to changes in or the development of legislative and regulatory policy designed to promote reductions in energy consumption and increased energy efficiency, alternative and renewable energy sources, and distributed or self-generation by customers. This focus on conservation, energy efficiency and self-generation may result in a decline in electricity demand, which could adversely affect our business.
We could be negatively affected by rising interest rates, downgrades to our credit ratings, adverse credit market conditions or other negative developments in our ability to access capital markets.
Our businesses are capital-intensive and, in the ordinary course of business, we are reliant upon adequate long-term and short-term financing to fund our significant capital expenditures, debt service and operating needs. As a result, we are sensitive to developments in interest rates, credit rating considerations, insurance, security or collateral requirements, market liquidity and credit availability and refinancing opportunities necessary or advisable to respond to credit market changes. Changes in these conditions could result in increased costs and decreased availability of credit. In addition, certain sources of debt and equity capital have expressed reservations about investing in companies that rely on fossil fuels. If sources of our capital are reduced, capital costs could increase materially.
A downgrade in our credit ratings could negatively affect our ability to access capital and increase the cost of maintaining our credit facilities and any new debt.
Credit ratings assigned by Moody's and S&P to our businesses and their financial obligations have a significant impact on the cost of capital incurred by our businesses. A ratings downgrade could increase our short-term borrowing costs and negatively affect our ability to fund liquidity needs and access new long-term debt at acceptable interest rates. See "Item 7. Combined Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Ratings Triggers" for additional information on the financial impact of a downgrade in our credit ratings.
Our operating revenues could fluctuate on a seasonal basis, especially as a result of extreme weather conditions.
Our businesses are subject to seasonal demand cycles. For example, in some markets demand for, and market prices of, electricity peak during hot summer months, while in other markets such peaks occur in cold winter months. As a result, our overall operating results may fluctuate substantially on a seasonal basis if weather conditions diverge adversely from seasonal norms.
Operating expenses could be affected by weather conditions, including storms, as well as by significant man-made or accidental disturbances, including terrorism or natural disasters.
Weather and other factors can significantly affect our profitability or operations by causing outages, damaging infrastructure and requiring significant repair costs. Storm outages and damage often directly decrease revenues and increase expenses, due to reduced usage and restoration costs.
Our businesses are subject to physical, market and economic risks relating to potential effects of climate change.
Climate change may produce changes in weather or other environmental conditions, including temperature or precipitation levels, and thus may impact consumer demand for electricity. In addition, the potential physical effects of climate change, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, floods, and other climatic events, could disrupt our operations and cause us to incur significant costs to prepare for or respond to these effects. These or other meteorological changes could lead to increased operating costs, capital expenses or power purchase costs. Greenhouse gas regulation could increase the cost of electricity, particularly power generated by fossil fuels, and such increases could have a depressive effect on regional economies. Reduced economic and consumer activity in our service areas -- both generally and specific to certain industries and consumers accustomed to previously lower cost power -- could reduce demand for the power we generate, market and deliver. Also, demand for our energy-related services could be similarly lowered by consumers' preferences or market factors favoring energy efficiency, low-carbon power sources or reduced electricity usage.
We cannot predict the outcome of legal proceedings or investigations related to our businesses in which we are periodically involved. An unfavorable outcome or determination in any of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
We are involved in legal proceedings, claims and litigation and periodically are subject to state and federal investigations arising out of our business operations, the most significant of which are summarized in Item 1. Business and "Regulatory Matters" in Note 7 to the Financial Statements and in "Legal Matters" and "Regulatory Issues" in Note 14 to the Financial Statements. We cannot predict the ultimate outcome of these matters, nor can we reasonably estimate the costs or liabilities that could potentially result from a negative outcome in each case.
Significant increases in our operation and maintenance expenses, including health care and pension costs, could adversely affect our future earnings and liquidity.
We continually focus on limiting and reducing our operation and maintenance expenses. However, we expect to continue to face increased cost pressures in our operations. Increased costs of materials and labor may result from general inflation, increased regulatory requirements (especially in respect of environmental regulations), the need for higher-cost expertise in the workforce or other factors. In addition, pursuant to collective bargaining agreements, we are contractually committed to provide specified levels of health care and pension benefits to certain current employees and retirees. These benefits give rise to significant expenses. Due to general inflation with respect to such costs, the aging demographics of our workforce and other factors, we have experienced significant health care cost inflation in recent years, and we expect our health care costs, including prescription drug coverage, to continue to increase despite measures that we have taken and expect to take to require employees and retirees to bear a higher portion of the costs of their health care benefits. In addition, we expect to continue to incur significant costs with respect to the defined benefit pension plans for our employees and retirees. The measurement of our expected future health care and pension obligations, costs and liabilities is highly dependent on a variety of assumptions, most of which relate to factors beyond our control. These assumptions include investment returns, interest rates, health care cost trends, inflation rates, benefit improvements, salary increases and the demographics of plan participants. If our assumptions prove to be inaccurate, our future costs and cash contribution requirements to fund these benefits could increase significantly.
We may incur liabilities in connection with divestitures.
In connection with various divestitures, and certain other transactions, we have indemnified or guaranteed parties against certain liabilities. These indemnities and guarantees relate, among other things, to liabilities which may arise with respect to the period during which we or our subsidiaries operated a divested business, and to certain ongoing contractual relationships and entitlements with respect to which we or our subsidiaries made commitments in connection with the divestiture. See "Guarantees and Other Assurances" in Note 14 to the Financial Statements.
We are subject to liability risks relating to our generation, transmission and distribution operations.
The conduct of our physical and commercial operations subjects us to many risks, including risks of potential physical injury, property damage or other financial liability, caused to or by employees, customers, contractors, vendors, contractual or financial counterparties and other third parties.
Our facilities may not operate as planned, which may increase our expenses and decrease our revenues and have an adverse effect on our financial performance.
Operation of power plants, transmission and distribution facilities, information technology systems and other assets and activities subjects us to a variety of risks, including the breakdown or failure of equipment, accidents, security breaches, viruses or outages affecting information technology systems, labor disputes, obsolescence, delivery/transportation problems and disruptions of fuel supply and performance below expected levels. These events may impact our ability to conduct our businesses efficiently and lead to increased costs, expenses or losses. Operation of our delivery systems below our expectations may result in lost revenue and increased expense, including higher maintenance costs, which may not be recoverable from customers. Planned and unplanned outages at our power plants may require us to purchase power at then-current market prices to satisfy our commitments or, in the alternative, pay penalties and damages for failure to satisfy them.
Although we maintain insurance coverage for certain of these risks, we do not carry insurance for all of these risks and no assurance can be given that such insurance coverage will be sufficient to compensate us in the event losses occur.
We are required to obtain, and to comply with, government permits and approvals.
We are required to obtain, and to comply with, numerous permits, approvals, licenses and certificates from governmental agencies. The process of obtaining and renewing necessary permits can be lengthy and complex and sometimes result in the establishment of permit conditions that make the project or activity for which a permit was sought unprofitable or otherwise unattractive. In addition, such permits or approvals may be subject to denial, revocation or modification under circumstances. Failure to obtain or comply with the conditions of permits or approvals, or failure to comply with any applicable laws or regulations, may result in delay or temporary suspension of our operations and electricity sales or the curtailment of our power delivery and may subject us to penalties and other sanctions. Although various regulators routinely renew existing licenses, renewal could be denied or jeopardized by various factors, including failure to provide adequate financial assurance for closure; failure to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations or permit conditions; local community, political or other opposition; and executive, legislative or regulatory action.
Our cost or inability to obtain and comply with the permits and approvals required for our operations could have a material adverse effect on our operations and cash flows. In addition, new environmental legislation or regulations, if enacted, or changed interpretations of existing laws may elicit claims that historical routine modification activities at our facilities violated applicable laws and regulations. In addition to the possible imposition of fines in such cases, we may be required to undertake significant capital investments in pollution control technology and obtain additional operating permits or approvals, which could have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
War, other armed conflicts or terrorist attacks could have a material adverse effect on our business.
War, terrorist attacks and unrest have caused and may continue to cause instability in the world's financial and commercial markets. In addition, unrest could lead to acts of terrorism in the United States, the United Kingdom or elsewhere, and acts of terrorism could be directed against companies such as ours. Armed conflicts and terrorism and their effects on us or our markets may significantly affect our business and results of operations in the future. In addition, we may incur increased costs for security, including additional physical plant security and security personnel or increased capability following a terrorist incident.
We are subject to counterparty performance, credit or other risk in the provision of goods or services to us, which could adversely affect our ability to operate our facilities or conduct business activities.
We purchase from a variety of suppliers energy, capacity, fuel, natural gas, transmission service and certain commodities used in the physical operation of our businesses, as well as goods or services, including information technology rights and services, used in the administration of our businesses. Delivery of these goods and services is dependent on the continuing operational performance and financial viability of our contractual counterparties and also the markets, infrastructure or third parties they use to provide such goods and services to us. As a result, we are subject to risks of disruptions, curtailments or increased costs in the operation of our businesses if such goods or services are unavailable or become subject to price spikes or if a
counterparty fails to perform. Such disruptions could adversely affect our ability to operate our facilities or deliver services and collect revenues, which could result in lower sales and/or higher costs and thereby adversely affect our results of operations. The performance of coal markets and producers may be the subject of increased counterparty risk to LKE, LG&E and KU currently due to weaknesses in such markets and suppliers. The coal industry is subject to increasing competitive pressures from natural gas markets, political pressures and new or more stringent environmental regulation, including regulation of combustion byproducts and water inputs or discharges.
We are subject to the risk that our workforce and its knowledge base may become depleted in coming years.
We experience attrition due primarily to retiring employees, with the risk that critical knowledge will be lost and that it may be difficult to replace departed personnel, and to attract and retain new personnel, with appropriate skills and experience.
Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
None.
Item 2. PROPERTIES
U.K. Regulated Segment (PPL)
For a description of WPD's service territory, see "Item 1. Business - General - Segment Information - U.K. Regulated Segment." WPD has electric distribution lines in public streets and highways pursuant to legislation and rights-of-way secured from property owners. At December 31, 2020, WPD's distribution system in the U.K. includes 1,895 substations with a total capacity of 74 million kVA, 55,637 circuit miles of overhead lines and 85,333 underground cable miles.
Kentucky Regulated Segment (PPL, LKE, LG&E and KU)
LG&E's and KU's properties consist primarily of regulated generation facilities, electricity transmission and distribution assets and natural gas transmission and distribution assets in Kentucky. The capacity of generation units is based on a number of factors, including the operating experience and physical condition of the units, and may be revised periodically to reflect changed circumstances. The electricity generating capacity at December 31, 2020 was:
| LKE | LG&E | KU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Fuel/Plant | Total MW Capacity Summer | Ownership or Other Interest in MW | % Ownership or Other Interest | Ownership or Other Interest in MW | % Ownership or Other Interest | Ownership or Other Interest in MW | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ghent - Units 1- 4 | 1,919 | 1,919 | 100.00 | 1,919 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mill Creek - Units 1- 4 | 1,465 | 1,465 | 100.00 | 1,465 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E.W. Brown - Unit 3 | 412 | 412 | 100.00 | 412 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trimble County - Unit 1 (a) | 493 | 370 | 75.00 | 370 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trimble County - Unit 2 (a) | 732 | 549 | 14.25 | 104 | 60.75 | 445 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5,021 | 4,715 | 1,939 | 2,776 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Natural Gas/Oil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E.W. Brown Unit 5 (b) | 130 | 130 | 53.00 | 69 | 47.00 | 61 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E.W. Brown Units 6 - 7 | 292 | 292 | 38.00 | 111 | 62.00 | 181 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E.W. Brown Units 8 - 11 (b) | 484 | 484 | 100.00 | 484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trimble County Units 5 - 6 | 318 | 318 | 29.00 | 92 | 71.00 | 226 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trimble County Units 7 - 10 | 636 | 636 | 37.00 | 235 | 63.00 | 401 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paddy's Run Units 11 - 12 | 35 | 35 | 100.00 | 35 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paddy's Run Unit 13 | 147 | 147 | 53.00 | 78 | 47.00 | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Haefling - Units 1 - 2 | 24 | 24 | 100.00 | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zorn Unit | 14 | 14 | 100.00 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cane Run Unit 7 | 662 | 662 | 22.00 | 146 | 78.00 | 516 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2,742 | 2,742 | 780 | 1,962 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hydro | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio Falls - Units 1-8 | 64 | 64 | 100.00 | 64 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dix Dam - Units 1-3 | 32 | 32 | 100.00 | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 96 | 96 | 64 | 32 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Solar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E.W. Brown Solar (c) | 8 | 8 | 39.00 | 3 | 61.00 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 7,867 | 7,561 | 2,786 | 4,775 |
(a)Trimble County Unit 1 and Trimble County Unit 2 are jointly owned with Illinois Municipal Electric Agency and Indiana Municipal Power Agency. Each owner is entitled to its proportionate share of the units' total output and funds its proportionate share of capital, fuel and other operating costs. See Note 13 to the Financial Statements for additional information.
(b)There is an inlet air cooling system attributable to these units. This inlet air cooling system is not jointly owned; however, it is used to increase production on the units to which it relates, resulting in an additional 12 MW of capacity for LG&E and an additional 86 MW of capacity for KU.
(c)This unit is a 10 MW facility and achieves such production. The 8 MW solar facility summer capacity rating is reflective of an average expected output across the peak hours during the summer period based on average weather conditions at the solar facility.
For a description of LG&E's and KU's service areas, see "Item 1. Business - General - Segment Information - Kentucky Regulated Segment." At December 31, 2020, LG&E's and KU's electricity transmission and distribution systems and LG&E's natural gas transmission and distribution systems were:
| LKE | LG&E | KU | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distribution | Transmission | Distribution | Transmission | Distribution | Transmission | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electricity System | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Substations (a) | 556 | 289 | 96 | 76 | 460 | 213 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity (in millions of kVA) | 13 | 22 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overhead lines (circuit miles) | 17,892 | 4,728 | 3,883 | 669 | 14,009 | 4,059 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Underground lines (circuit miles) | 5,354 | — | 2,706 | — | 2,648 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Natural Gas System | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distribution mains (miles) | 4,398 | — | 4,398 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transmission pipeline (miles) | — | 234 | — | 234 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Transmission storage lines (miles) | — | 117 | — | 117 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Combustion turbine lines (miles) | — | 30 | — | 19 | — | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Storage fields | — | 5 | — | 5 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Storage field capacity (Bcf) | — | 15 | — | 15 | — | — |
(a)192 substations (62 at LG&E and 130 at KU) are shared between the distribution and transmission systems.
Substantially all of LG&E's and KU's respective real and tangible personal property located in Kentucky and used or to be used in connection with the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and, in the case of LG&E, the storage and distribution of natural gas, is subject to the lien of either the LG&E 2010 Mortgage Indenture or the KU 2010 Mortgage Indenture. See Note 8 to the Financial Statements for additional information.
LG&E and KU continuously reexamine development projects based on market conditions and other factors to determine whether to proceed with the projects, sell, cancel or expand them or pursue other options. See Item 1. Business for a discussion related to LG&E's and KU's Solar Share program.
Pennsylvania Regulated Segment (PPL and PPL Electric)
For a description of PPL Electric's service area, see "Item 1. Business - General - Segment Information - Pennsylvania Regulated Segment." PPL Electric has electric transmission and distribution lines in public streets and highways pursuant to franchises and rights-of-way secured from property owners. At December 31, 2020, PPL Electric's transmission system includes 51 substations with a total capacity of 31 million kVA and 5,470 circuit miles in service. PPL Electric's distribution system includes 352 substations with a total capacity of 14 million kVA, 36,453 circuit miles of overhead lines and 8,610 underground circuit miles. All of PPL Electric's facilities are located in Pennsylvania. Substantially all of PPL Electric's distribution properties and certain transmission properties are subject to the lien of the PPL Electric 2001 Mortgage Indenture. See Note 8 to the Financial Statements for additional information.
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
See Notes 6, 7 and 14 to the Financial Statements for information regarding legal, tax and regulatory matters and proceedings.
Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY,
RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND
ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
See "Item 7. Combined Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Forecasted Uses of Cash" for information regarding certain restrictions on the ability to pay dividends for all Registrants.
PPL Corporation
Additional information for this item is set forth in the sections entitled "Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters" and "Shareowner and Investor Information" of this report. At January 31, 2021, there were 50,548 common stock shareowners of record.
There were no purchases by PPL of its common stock during the fourth quarter of 2020.
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation
There is no established public trading market for PPL Electric's common stock, as PPL owns 100% of the outstanding common shares. Dividends paid to PPL on those common shares are determined by PPL Electric's Board of Directors. PPL Electric paid common stock dividends to PPL of $400 million in 2020 and $486 million in 2019.
LG&E and KU Energy LLC
There is no established public trading market for LKE's membership interests. PPL owns all of LKE's outstanding membership interests. Distributions on the membership interests are paid as determined by LKE's Board of Directors. LKE made cash distributions to PPL of $283 million in 2020 and $308 million in 2019.
Louisville Gas and Electric Company
There is no established public trading market for LG&E's common stock, as LKE owns 100% of the outstanding common shares. Dividends paid to LKE on those common shares are determined by LG&E's Board of Directors. LG&E paid common stock dividends to LKE of $161 million in 2020 and $182 million in 2019.
Kentucky Utilities Company
There is no established public trading market for KU's common stock, as LKE owns 100% of the outstanding common shares. Dividends paid to LKE on those common shares are determined by KU's Board of Directors. KU paid common stock dividends to LKE of $200 million in 2020 and $229 million in 2019.
Item 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
Omitted as permitted in SEC Release No. 33-10890.
Item 7. Combined Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
(All Registrants)
This "Item 7. Combined Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" is separately filed by PPL, PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU. Information contained herein relating to any individual Registrant is filed by such Registrant solely on its own behalf, and no Registrant makes any representation as to information relating to any other Registrant. The specific Registrant to which disclosures are applicable is identified in parenthetical headings in italics above the applicable disclosure or within the applicable disclosure for each Registrant's related activities and disclosures. Within combined disclosures, amounts are disclosed for individual Registrants when significant.
The following should be read in conjunction with the Registrants' Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes. Capitalized terms and abbreviations are defined in the glossary. Dollars are in millions, except per share data, unless otherwise noted.
"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" includes the following information:
-
"Overview" provides a description of each Registrant's business strategy and a discussion of important financial and operational developments.
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"Results of Operations" for all Registrants includes a "Statement of Income Analysis," which discusses significant changes in principal line items on the Statements of Income, comparing 2020 with 2019. For PPL, "Results of Operations" also includes "Segment Earnings" and "Adjusted Gross Margins," which provide a detailed analysis of earnings by reportable segment. These discussions include non-GAAP financial measures, including "Earnings from Ongoing Operations" and "Adjusted Gross Margins" and provide explanations of the non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure.
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"Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources" provides an analysis of the Registrants' liquidity positions and credit profiles. This section also includes a discussion of forecasted sources and uses of cash and rating agency actions.
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"Financial Condition - Risk Management" provides an explanation of the Registrants' risk management programs relating to market and credit risk.
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"Application of Critical Accounting Policies" provides an overview of the accounting policies that are particularly important to the results of operations and financial condition of the Registrants and that require their management to make significant estimates, assumptions and other judgments of inherently uncertain matters.
For comparison of the Registrants’ results of operations and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2019 to December 31, 2018, refer to “Item 7. Combined Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the 2019 Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on February 14, 2020.
Overview
For a description of the Registrants and their businesses, see "Item 1. Business."
Business Strategy
(All Registrants)
PPL operates seven fully regulated high-performing utilities. These utilities are located in the U.K., Pennsylvania and Kentucky, constructive regulatory jurisdictions with distinct regulatory structures and customer classes.
PPL's strategy, and that of the other Registrants, is to deliver best-in-sector operational performance, invest in a sustainable energy future, provide superior customer service, maintain a strong financial foundation, and engage and develop its people. PPL's business plan is designed to achieve growth by providing efficient, reliable and safe operations and strong customer service, maintaining constructive regulatory relationships and achieving timely recovery of costs. These businesses are expected to achieve long-term growth in rate base in the U.S. and RAV in the U.K. Rate base growth is being driven by planned significant capital expenditures to maintain existing assets and improve system reliability and, for LKE, LG&E and KU, to comply with federal and state environmental regulations related to coal-fired electricity generation facilities.
For the U.S. businesses, central to PPL's strategy is recovering capital project costs efficiently through various rate-making mechanisms, including periodic base rate case proceedings using forward test years, annual FERC formula rate mechanisms and other regulatory agency-approved recovery mechanisms designed to limit regulatory lag. In Kentucky, the KPSC has adopted a series of regulatory mechanisms (ECR, DSM, GLT, fuel adjustment clause and gas supply clause) and recovery on construction work-in-progress that reduce regulatory lag and provide timely recovery of and return on, as appropriate, prudently incurred costs. In addition, the KPSC requires a utility to obtain a CPCN prior to constructing a facility, unless the construction is an ordinary extension of existing facilities in the usual course of business or does not involve sufficient capital expenditures to materially affect the utility's financial condition. Although such KPSC proceedings do not directly address cost recovery issues, the KPSC, in awarding a CPCN, concludes that the public convenience and necessity require the construction of the facility on the basis that the facility is the lowest reasonable cost alternative to address the need. In Pennsylvania, the FERC transmission formula rate, DSIC mechanism, Smart Meter Rider and other recovery mechanisms operate to reduce regulatory lag and provide for timely recovery of and a return on, as appropriate, prudently incurred costs.
To manage financing costs and access to credit markets, and to fund capital expenditures, a key objective of the Registrants is to maintain their investment grade credit ratings and adequate liquidity positions. In addition, the Registrants have financial and operational risk management programs that, among other things, are designed to monitor and manage exposure to earnings and cash flow volatility, as applicable, related to changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and counterparty credit quality. To manage these risks, PPL generally uses contracts such as forwards, options and swaps. See "Financial Condition - Risk Management" below for further information.
Earnings generated by PPL's U.K. subsidiaries are subject to foreign currency translation risk. Because WPD's earnings represent such a significant portion of PPL's consolidated earnings, PPL enters into foreign currency contracts to economically hedge the value of the GBP versus the U.S. dollar. These hedges do not receive hedge accounting treatment under GAAP.
The U.K. subsidiaries also have currency exposure to the U.S. dollar to the extent of their U.S. dollar denominated debt. To manage these risks, PPL generally uses contracts such as forwards, options and cross-currency swaps that contain characteristics of both interest rate and foreign currency exchange contracts.
As discussed above, a key component of this strategy is to maintain constructive relationships with regulators in all jurisdictions in which the Registrants operate (U.K., U.S. federal and state). This is supported by a strong culture of integrity and delivering on commitments to customers, regulators and shareowners, and a commitment to continue to improve customer service, reliability and operational efficiency.
Financial and Operational Developments
Initiation of Formal Process to Sell U.K. Utility Business (PPL)
On August 10, 2020, PPL announced that it initiated a formal process to sell its U.K. utility business. There can be no assurance of any specific outcome, including whether the sale process will result in the completion of any potential transaction, the timing or terms thereof, the value or benefits that may be realized or the effect that any potential transaction will have on future financial results.
As a result of the po
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Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
Reference is made to "Risk Management" for the Registrants in "Item 7. Combined Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareowners and the Board of Directors of PPL Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of PPL Corporation and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 18, 2021, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Regulatory Assets and Liabilities – Impact of Rate-Regulation on Various Account Balances and Disclosures – Refer to Notes 1 and 7 to the Financial Statements
Critical Audit Matter Description
As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, PPL Corporation owns and operates three cost-based rate-regulated utilities in the United States (U.S.) for which rates are set by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Kentucky Public Service Commission (KPSC), the Virginia State Corporation Commission (VSCC) and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to enable the regulated utilities to recover the costs of providing electric or gas service, as applicable, and to provide a reasonable return to shareholders. Base rates are generally established based on a future test period. As a result, the financial statements are subject to the accounting for certain types of regulation as prescribed by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and reflect the effects of regulatory actions. Regulatory assets are recognized for the effect of transactions or events where future recovery of underlying costs is probable in regulated customer rates. The effect of such accounting is to defer certain or qualifying costs that would otherwise currently be charged to expense. Regulatory liabilities are recognized for amounts expected to be returned through future regulated customer rates.
The accounting for regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities is based on specific ratemaking decisions or precedent for each transaction or event as prescribed by the FERC, KPSC, VSCC and PUC. The accounting for the economics of rate regulation also impacts other financial statement line items, including regulated utility plant, operating revenues, depreciation, and income taxes and impacts multiple note disclosures. As of December 31, 2020, PPL Corporation had a recorded regulatory assets balance of $1,361 million and regulatory liabilities balance of $2,609 million.
PPL Corporation’s U.S. regulated utilities’ rates are subject to cost-based rate-setting processes and annual earnings oversight. Rates are established based on an analysis of the costs incurred and the regulated utility’s capital structure and must be approved by one or more federal or state regulatory commissions, including the FERC, KPSC, VSCC and PUC. Regulatory decisions can have an impact on the recovery of costs, the rate earned on invested capital, and the timing and amount of assets to be recovered by rates. The FERC, KPSC, VSCC and PUC regulation of rates is premised on the full recovery of prudently incurred costs and an adequate return on capital investments. Decisions to be made by the FERC, KPSC, VSCC and PUC in the future will impact the accounting for regulated operations, including decisions about the amount of allowable costs and return on invested capital included in rates and any refunds that may be required. While PPL Corporation’s U.S. utilities have indicated that they expect to recover costs from customers through regulated rates, there is a risk that the FERC, KPSC, VSCC or PUC will not approve full recovery of such costs or approve recovery on a timely basis in future regulatory decisions.
We identified the impact of rate regulation as a critical audit matter due to the significant judgments made by management in continually assessing whether the regulatory assets are probable of future recovery by considering factors, such as changes in the applicable regulatory and political environments, the ability to recover costs through regulated rates, recent rate orders and the status of any pending legislation. Auditing these judgments required specialized knowledge of accounting for rate regulation and the rate-setting process due to its inherent complexities.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit
Our audit procedures related to the uncertainty of future decisions by the FERC, KPSC, VSCC and PUC included the following, among others:
- We tested the effectiveness of management’s internal controls over evaluating the likelihood of recovery in future rates of costs deferred as regulatory assets. We teste
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Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31,
PPL Corporation and Subsidiaries
(Millions of Dollars, except share data)
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Operating Revenues | $ | 7,607 | $ | 7,769 | $ | 7,785 | |||||||||||
| Operating Expenses | |||||||||||||||||
| Operation | |||||||||||||||||
| Fuel | 632 | 709 | 799 | ||||||||||||||
| Energy purchases | 634 | 723 | 745 | ||||||||||||||
| Other operation and maintenance | 1,944 | 1,985 | 1,983 | ||||||||||||||
| Depreciation | 1,287 | 1,199 | 1,094 | ||||||||||||||
| Taxes, other than income | 307 | 313 | 312 | ||||||||||||||
| Total Operating Expenses | 4,804 | 4,929 | 4,933 | ||||||||||||||
| Operating Income | 2,803 | 2,840 | 2,852 | ||||||||||||||
| Other Income (Expense) - net | 169 | 309 | 396 | ||||||||||||||
| Interest Expense | 1,001 | 994 | 963 | ||||||||||||||
| Income Before Income Taxes | 1,971 | 2,155 | 2,285 | ||||||||||||||
| Income Taxes | 502 | 409 | 458 | ||||||||||||||
| Net Income | $ | 1,469 | $ | 1,746 | $ | 1,827 | |||||||||||
| Earnings Per Share of Common Stock: | |||||||||||||||||
| Net Income Available to PPL Common Shareowners: | |||||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | 1.91 | $ | 2.39 | $ | 2.59 | |||||||||||
| Diluted | $ | 1.91 | $ | 2.37 | $ | 2.58 | |||||||||||
| Weighted-Average Shares of Common Stock Outstanding (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Basic | 768,590 | 728,512 | 704,439 | ||||||||||||||
| Diluted | 769,384 | 736,754 | 708,619 |
The accompanying Notes to Financial Statements are an integral part of the financial statements.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31,
PPL Corporation and Subsidiaries
(Millions of Dollars)
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 1,469 | $ | 1,746 | $ | 1,827 | |||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss): | |||||||||||||||||
| Amounts arising during the period - gains (losses), net of tax (expense) benefit: | |||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax of $0, $0, ($2) | 267 | 108 | (444) | ||||||||||||||
| Qualifying derivatives, net of tax of $5, 2, ($9) | (19) | (11) | 36 | ||||||||||||||
| Defined benefit plans: | |||||||||||||||||
| Prior service costs, net of tax of $0, $0, $3 | (1) | (1) | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| Net actuarial gain (loss), net of tax of $74, $119, $44 | (341) | (592) | (187) | ||||||||||||||
| Reclassifications from AOCI - (gains) losses, net of tax expense (benefit): | |||||||||||||||||
| Qualifying derivatives, net of tax of ($8), $(5), $6 | 24 | 13 | (29) | ||||||||||||||
| Defined benefit plans: | |||||||||||||||||
| Prior service costs, net of tax of ($1), $(1), $0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Net actuarial (gain) loss, net of tax of ($51), $(22), ($36) | 205 | 87 | 142 | ||||||||||||||
| Total other comprehensive income (loss) | 138 | (394) | (491) | ||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income | $ | 1,607 | $ | 1,352 | $ | 1,336 |
The accompanying Notes to Financial Statements are an integral part of the financial statements.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31,
PPL Corporation and Subsidiaries
(Millions of Dollars)
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | |||||||||||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 1,469 | $ | 1,746 | $ | 1,827 | |||||||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation | 1,287 | 1,199 | 1,094 | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization | 72 | 81 | 78 | ||||||||||||||
| Defined benefit plans - (income) | (201) | (263) | (192) | ||||||||||||||
| Deferred income taxes and investment tax credits | 402 | 309 | 355 | ||||||||||||||
| Unrealized (gains) losses on derivatives, and other hedging activities | 280 | 73 | (186) | ||||||||||||||
| Stock compensation expense | 29 | 36 | 26 | ||||||||||||||
| Other | (12) | (22) | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| Change in current assets and current liabilities | |||||||||||||||||
| Accounts receivable | (82) | 4 | 28 | ||||||||||||||
| Accounts payable | 10 | (77) | 78 | ||||||||||||||
| Unbilled revenues | 10 | (5) | 41 | ||||||||||||||
| Fuel, materials and supplies | (17) | (26) | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| Regulatory assets and liabilities, net | (63) | (88) | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| Other current liabilities | (23) | (73) |
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Item 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
None.
Item 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
(a)Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures.
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
The Registrants' principal executive officers and principal financial officers, based on their evaluation of the Registrants' disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) or 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) have concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, the Registrants' disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that material information relating to the Registrants and their consolidated subsidiaries is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC's rules and forms, particularly during the period for which this annual report has been prepared. The aforementioned principal officers have concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures are also effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed in reports filed under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including the principal executive officers and principal financial officers, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
(b)Changes in internal control over financial reporting.
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company, and Kentucky Utilities Company
The Registrants' principal executive officers and principal financial officers have concluded that there were no changes in the Registrants' internal control over financial reporting during the Registrants' fourth fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrants' internal control over financial reporting.
Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
PPL Corporation
PPL's management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f). PPL's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance to PPL's management and Board of Directors regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in "Internal Control - Integrated Framework" (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation under the framework in "Internal Control - Integrated Framework" (2013), our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective December 31, 2020. The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting has been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report contained on page 85.
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
Management of PPL's non-accelerated filer companies, PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU, are responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f). Each of the aforementioned companies' internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to
provide reasonable assurance to management and Board of Directors of these companies regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including the principal executive officers and principal financial officers of the companies listed above, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in "Internal Control - Integrated Framework" (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation under the framework in "Internal Control - Integrated Framework" (2013), management of these companies concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020. This annual report does not include an attestation report of Deloitte & Touche LLP, the companies' independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting for these non-accelerated filer companies. The effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting for the aforementioned companies was not subject to attestation by the companies' registered public accounting firm pursuant to rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission that permit these companies to provide only management's report in this annual report.
Item 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
None.
PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
PPL Corporation
Additional information for this item will be set forth in the sections entitled "Nominees for Directors" and "Board Committees - Board Committee Membership" in PPL's 2021 Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the SEC not later than 120 days after December 31, 2020, and which information is incorporated herein by reference. There have been no changes to the procedures by which shareowners may recommend nominees to PPL's board of directors since the filing with the SEC of PPL's 2020 Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement.
PPL has adopted a code of ethics entitled "Standards of Integrity" that applies to all directors, managers, trustees, officers (including the principal executive officers, principal financial officers and principal accounting officers (each, a "principal officer")), employees and agents of PPL and PPL's subsidiaries for which it has operating control (PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU). The "Standards of Integrity" are posted on PPL's Internet website: www.pplweb.com/governance. A description of any amendment to the "Standards of Integrity" (other than a technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendment) will be posted on PPL's Internet website within four business days following the date of the amendment. In addition, if a waiver constituting a material departure from a provision of the "Standards of Integrity" is granted to one of the principal officers, a description of the nature of the waiver, the name of the person to whom the waiver was granted and the date of the waiver will be posted on PPL's Internet website within four business days following the date of the waiver.
PPL also has adopted its "Guidelines for Corporate Governance," which address, among other things, director qualification standards and director and board committee responsibilities. These guidelines, and the charters of each of the committees of PPL's board of directors, are posted on PPL's Internet website: www.pplweb.com/governance.
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
Item 10. is omitted as PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU meet the conditions set forth in General Instruction (I)(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-K.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANTS
Officers of the Registrants are elected annually by their Boards of Directors to serve at the pleasure of the respective Boards. There are no family relationships among any of the executive officers, nor is there any arrangement or understanding between any executive officer and any other person pursuant to which the officer was selected.
There have been no events under any bankruptcy act, no criminal proceedings and no judgments or injunctions material to the evaluation of the ability and integrity of any executive officer during the past five years.
Listed below are the executive officers at December 31, 2020.
PPL Corporation
| Name | Age | Positions Held During the Past Five Years | Dates | |||||||||||||||||
| Vincent Sorgi | 49 | President and Chief Executive Officer | June 2020 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| President and Chief Operating Officer | July 2019 - May 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | January 2019 - June 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | June 2014 - January 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Joanne H. Raphael | 61 | Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | January 2019 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | June 2015 - January 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Joseph P. Bergstein, Jr. | 50 | Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | July 2019 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| Vice President-Investor Relations and Corporate Development & Planning | January 2018 - June 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Vice President-Investor Relations and Treasurer | January 2016 - December 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Gregory N. Dudkin (a) | 63 | President-PPL Electric | March 2012 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| Paul W. Thompson (a) | 63 | President and Chief Executive Officer - LKE | July 2020 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President-LKE | March 2018 - July 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||
| President and Chief Operating Officer | January 2017 - March 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chief Operating Officer | February 2013 - December 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Philip Swift (a) | 53 | Chief Executive-WPD | November 2018 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| Operations Director | July 2013 - November 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Marlene C. Beers | 49 | Vice President and Controller | March 2019 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| Vice President-Finance and Regulatory Affairs and Controller-PPL Electric | August 2018 - February 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Controller-PPL Electric | February 2016 - July 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tadd J. Henninger | 45 | Vice President-Finance and Treasurer | July 2019 - present | |||||||||||||||||
| Vice President and Treasurer | January 2018 - July 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant Treasurer | December 2015 - December 2017 |
(a)Designated an executive officer of PPL by virtue of their respective positions at a PPL subsidiary.
Item 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
PPL Corporation
Information for this item will be set forth in the sections entitled "Compensation of Directors," "The Board's Role in Risk Oversight" and "Executive Compensation" in PPL's 2021 Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the SEC not later than 120 days after December 31, 2020, and which information is incorporated herein by reference.
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
Item 11 is omitted as PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU meet the conditions set forth in General Instructions (I)(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-K.
Item 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
PPL Corporation
Information for this item will be set forth in the section entitled "Stock Ownership" in PPL's 2021 Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the SEC not later than 120 days after December 31, 2020, and which information is incorporated herein by reference. In addition, provided below in tabular format is information as of December 31, 2020, with respect to compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which equity securities of PPL are authorized for issuance.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
| Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights (3) | Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (3) | Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (4) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Equity compensation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| plans approved by | 56,185 | – ICP | $ | 24.37 | – ICP | 1,447,924 | – DDCP | |||||||||||||
| security holders (1) | 55,153 | – SIP | $ | 26.59 | – SIP | 10,210,002 | – SIP | |||||||||||||
| 991,678 | – ICPKE | $ | 26.30 | – ICPKE | 988,231 | – ICPKE | ||||||||||||||
| 1,103,016 | – Total | $ | 26.22 | – Combined | 12,646,157 | – Total | ||||||||||||||
| Equity compensation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| plans not approved by | ||||||||||||||||||||
| security holders (2) |
(1)Includes (a) the ICP, under which stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance units, dividend equivalents and other stock-based awards were awarded to executive officers of PPL and no awards remain for issuance under this plan; (b) the ICPKE, under which stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance units, dividend equivalents and other stock-based awards may be awarded to non-executive key employees of PPL and its subsidiaries; (c) the SIP approved by shareowners in 2017 under which stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance units, dividend equivalents and other stock-based awards may be awarded to executive officers of PPL and its subsidiaries; and (d) the DDCP, under which stock units may be awarded to directors of PPL. See Note 11 to the Financial Statements for additional information.
(2)All of PPL's current compensation plans under which equity securities of PPL are authorized for issuance have been approved by PPL's shareowners.
(3)Relates to common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options awarded under the ICP, SIP and ICPKE as of December 31, 2020. In addition, as of December 31, 2020, the following other securities had been awarded and are outstanding under the ICP, SIP, ICPKE and DDCP: 127,902 restricted stock units, 421,532 TSR performance awards and 504,914 ROE performance awards under the SIP; 768,434 restricted stock units 204,722 TSR performance awards and 223,750 ROE performance awards under the ICPKE; and 647,832 stock units under the DDCP.
(4)Based upon the following aggregate award limitations under the ICP, SIP, ICPKE and DDCP: (a) under the ICP, 15,769,431 awards (i.e., 5% of the total PPL common stock outstanding as of April 23, 1999) granted after April 23, 1999; (b) under the SIP, 15,000,000 awards; (c) under the ICPKE, 16,573,608 awards (i.e., 5% of the total PPL common stock outstanding as of January 1, 2003) granted after April 25, 2003, reduced by outstanding awards for which common stock was not yet issued as of such date of 2,373,812 resulting in a limit of 14,199,796; and (d) under the DDCP, the number of stock units available for issuance was reduced to 2,000,000 stock units in March 2012. In addition, each of the ICP and ICPKE includes an annual award limitation of 2% of total PPL common stock outstanding as of January 1 of each year.
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
Item 12 is omitted as PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU meet the conditions set forth in General Instructions (I)(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-K.
Item 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
PPL Corporation
Information for this item will be set forth in the sections entitled "Transactions with Related Persons" and "Independence of Directors" in PPL's 2021 Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the SEC not later than 120 days after December 31, 2020 and is incorporated herein by reference.
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
Item 13 is omitted as PPL Electric, LKE, LG&E and KU meet the conditions set forth in General Instructions (I)(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-K.
Item 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
PPL Corporation
Information for this item will be set forth in the section entitled "Fees to Independent Auditor for 2020 and 2019" in PPL's 2021 Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the SEC not later than 120 days after December 31, 2020, and which information is incorporated herein by reference.
PPL Electric Utilities Corporation
For the fiscal years ended 2020 and 2019, Deloitte & Touche LLP (Deloitte) served as PPL Electric's independent auditor. The following table presents an allocation of fees billed, including expenses, by the independent auditor to PPL Electric, for professional services rendered for the audits of PPL Electric's annual financial statements and for fees billed for other services rendered by Deloitte.
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Audit fees (a) | $ | 1,737 | $ | 1,308 | |||||||
| Audit-related fees (b) | 16 | ||||||||||
(a)Includes estimated fees for audit of annual financial statements and review of financial statements included in PPL Electric's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and for services in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements, including comfort letters and consents for financings and filings made with the SEC.
(b)Fees for agreed-upon procedures related to annual EPA filings.
LG&E and KU Energy LLC
For the fiscal years ended 2020 and 2019, Deloitte served as LKE's independent auditor. The following table presents an allocation of fees billed, including expenses, by the independent auditor to LKE, for professional services rendered for the audits of LKE's annual financial statements and for fees billed for other services rendered by Deloitte.
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Audit fees (a) | $ | 1,806 | $ | 1,973 | |||||||
| Other | 11 | — |
(a)Includes estimated fees for audit of annual financial statements and review of financial statements included in LKE's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and for services in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements, including comfort letters and consents for financings and filings made with the SEC.
Louisville Gas and Electric Company
For the fiscal years ended 2020 and 2019, Deloitte served as LG&E's independent auditor. The following table presents an allocation of fees billed, including expenses, by the independent auditor to LG&E, for professional services rendered for the audits of LG&E's annual financial statements and for fees billed for other services rendered by Deloitte.
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||
| Audit fees (a) | $ | 832 | $ | 935 | |||||||
| Other | 5 | — |
(a)Includes estimated fees for audit of annual financial statements and review of financial statements included in LG&E's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and for services in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements, including comfort letters and consents for financings and filings made with the SEC.
Kentucky Utilities Company
For the fiscal years ended 2020 and 2019, Deloitte served as KU's independent auditor. The following table presents an allocation of fees billed, including expenses, by the independent auditor to KU, for professional services rendered for the audits of KU's annual financial statements and for fees billed for other services rendered by Deloitte.
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||
| Audit fees (a) | $ | 955 | $ | 1,021 | ||||||||||
| Other | 6 | — |
(a)Includes estimated fees for audit of annual financial statements and review of financial statements included in KU's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and for services in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements, including comfort letters and consents for financings and filings made with the SEC.
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
Approval of Fees. The Audit Committee of PPL has procedures for pre-approving audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditor. These procedures are designed to ensure the continued independence of the independent auditor. More specifically, the use of the independent auditor to perform either audit or non-audit services is prohibited unless specifically approved in advance by the Audit Committee of PPL. As a result of this approval process, the Audit Committee of PPL has pre-approved specific categories of services and authorization levels. All services outside of the specified categories and all amounts exceeding the authorization levels are approved by the Chair of the Audit Committee of PPL, who serves as the Committee designee to review and approve audit and non-audit related services during the year. A listing of the approved audit and non-audit services is reviewed with the full Audit Committee of PPL no later than its next meeting.
The Audit Committee of PPL approved 100% of the 2020 and 2019 services provided by Deloitte.
PART IV
Item 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
PPL Corporation, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this report:
1.Financial Statements - Refer to the "Table of Contents" for an index of the financial statements included in this report.
2.Supplementary Data and Supplemental Financial Statement Schedule - included in response to Item 8.
Schedule I - LG&E and KU Energy LLC Condensed Unconsolidated Financial Statements.
All other schedules are omitted because of the absence of the conditions under which they are required or because the required information is included in the financial statements or notes thereto.
3.Exhibits
See Exhibit Index immediately following the signature pages.
SHAREOWNER AND INVESTOR INFORMATION
Annual Meeting**:** The 2021 annual meeting of shareowners of PPL will be held on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 in a virtual meeting format.
Proxy Statement Material**:** A proxy statement and notice of PPL's annual meeting will be provided to all shareowners who are holders of record as of February 26, 2021. The latest proxy statement can be accessed at www.pplweb.com/PPLCorpProxy.
PPL Annual Report**:** The report will be published in the beginning of April and will be provided to all shareowners who are holders of record as of February 26, 2021. The latest annual report can be accessed at www.pplweb.com/PPLCorpProxy.
Dividends**:** Subject to the declaration of dividends on PPL common stock by the PPL Board of Directors or its Executive Committee, dividends are paid on the first business day of April, July, October and January. The 2021 record dates for dividends are expected to be March 10, June 10, September 10 and December 10.
PPL's Website (www.pplweb.com): Shareowners can access PPL publications such as annual and quarterly reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Forms 10-K and 10-Q), other PPL filings, corporate governance materials, news releases, stock quotes and historical performance. Visitors to our website can subscribe to receive automated email alerts for SEC filings, earnings releases, daily stock prices or other financial news.
Financial reports which are available at www.pplweb.com will be mailed without charge upon request.
By mail:
PPL Treasury Dept.
Two North Ninth Street
Allentown, PA 18101
By email: invserv@pplweb.com
By telephone:
610-774-5151 or Toll-free at 1-800-345-3085
Online Account Access**:** Registered shareowners can activate their account for online access by visiting shareowneronline.com.
Direct Stock Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans (Plan): PPL offers investors the opportunity to acquire shares of PPL common stock through its Plan. Through the Plan, participants are eligible to invest up to $25,000 per calendar month in PPL common stock. Shareowners may choose to have dividends on their PPL common stock fully or partially reinvested in PPL common stock or can receive full payment of cash dividends by check or electronic funds transfer. Participants in the Plan may choose to have their common stock certificates deposited into their Plan account.
Direct Registration System: PPL participates in the Direct Registration System (DRS). Shareowners may choose to have their common stock certificates converted to book entry form within the DRS by submitting their certificates to PPL's transfer agent.
Listed Securities:
New York Stock Exchange
PPL Corporation:
Common Stock (Code: PPL)
PPL Capital Funding, Inc.:
2007 Series A Junior Subordinated Notes due 2067 (Code: PPL/67)
2013 Series B Junior Subordinated Notes due 2073 (Code: PPX)
Fiscal Agents:
Transfer Agent and Registrar; Dividend Disbursing Agent; Plan Administrator
Equiniti Trust Company
Shareowner Services
1110 Centre Pointe Curve, Suite 101
Mendota Heights, MN 55120
Toll Free: 1-800-345-3085
Outside U.S.: 651-450-4064
Website: shareowneronline.com
Indenture Trustee
The Bank of New York Mellon
Corporate Trust Administration
500 Ross Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15262
EXHIBIT INDEX
The following Exhibits indicated by an asterisk preceding the Exhibit number are filed herewith. The balance of the Exhibits has heretofore been filed with the Commission and pursuant to Rule 12(b)-32 are incorporated herein by reference. Exhibits indicated by a [_] are filed or listed pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iii) of Regulation S-K.
| 1(a) | - | Securities Purchase and Registration Rights Agreement, dated March 5, 2014, among PPL Capital Funding, Inc., PPL Corporation, and the several purchasers named in Schedule B thereto (Exhibit 1.1 to PPL Corporation Form 8-K Report (File No. 1-11459) dated March 10, 2014) | ||||||||||||
| 1(b) | - | Final Terms, dated November 14, 2017, of Western Power Distribution (South West) plc £250,000,000 2.375% Notes due May 2029 (Exhibit 1.1 to PPL Corporation Form 8-K Report (File No. 1-11459) dated November 16, 2017) | ||||||||||||
| 1(c) | - | Distribution Agreement, dated February 23, 2018, by and among PPL Corporation and J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC, Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, London Branch, Barclays Bank PLC and Citibank N.A. (Exhibit 1.1 to PPL Corporation Form 8-K Report (File No. 1-11459) dated February 23, 2018) | ||||||||||||
| 1(d) | - | Final Terms, dated March 23, 2018, of Western Power Distribution (South Wales) plc £30,000,000 RPI Index Linked Senior Unsecured Notes due March 2036 (Exhibit 1(b) to PPL Corporation Form 10-Q Report (File No. 1-11459) for the quarter ended March 31, 2018) | ||||||||||||
| 1(e) | - | Final Terms, dated May 11, 2018, of Western Power Distribution (West Midlands) plc £30,000,000 RPI Index Linked Senior Unsecured Notes due March 2028 (Exhibit 1(a) to PPL Corporation Form 10-Q Report (File No. 1-11459) for the quarter ended June 30, 2018) | ||||||||||||
| 1(f) | - | Final Terms, dated September 5, 2019, of Western Power Distribution (East Midlands) plc £250,000 Fixed Rate Notes due 2031 under the £4,000,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme (Exhibit 1(a) to PPL Corporation Form 10-Q Report (File No. 1-11459) for the quarter ended September 30, 2019) | ||||||||||||
| 1(g) | - | Final Terms, dated October 5, 2020, of Western Power Distribution (South Wales) plc £250,000,000 1.625 per cent Fixed Rate Note due 2035 under the £400,000,000 Euro Medium Term Note Programme (Exhibit 1.1 to PPL Corporation Form 8-K Report (File No. 1-11459) dated October 8, 2020) | ||||||||||||
| 2(a) | - | Separation Agreeme |
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