Company: AWK
Filing Date: 2025-02-19
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001410636-25-000022
Chunk: 71

Company: American Water Works Company, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-19
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 71
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 to continue to seek regulatory PUC approval of practices or mechanisms to mitigate or reduce regulatory lag, our efforts may not be successful in whole or in part, and even to the extent successful, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity may be materially and adversely affected by regulatory lag.

Changes in laws and regulations can significantly and materially affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity.

The impact of any future revisions or changes in interpretations of existing regulations or the adoption of new laws and regulations applicable to our Regulated Businesses is uncertain. Changes in laws or regulations, the imposition of additional laws and regulations, changes in enforcement practices of regulators, government policies or court decisions can materially affect our operations, results of operations and cash flows. Certain of the individuals who serve as regulators are elected or political appointees. Therefore, elections which result in a change of political administration or new appointments may also result in changes of the individuals who serve as regulators and changes in the policies of the regulatory agencies that they serve. New laws or regulations, new interpretations of existing laws or regulations, changes in agency policy, including those made in response to shifts in public opinion, or conditions imposed during the regulatory hearing process could have the following consequences, among others:

•making it more difficult for us to increase our rates and, as a consequence, to recover our costs or earn our expected rates of return;

•changing the determination of the costs, or the amount of costs, that would be considered recoverable in rate cases and other regulatory proceedings;

•restricting our ability to terminate our services to customers who owe us money for services previously provided or limiting our bill collection efforts;

•requiring us to provide water or wastewater services at reduced rates to certain customers;

•limiting or restricting our ability to acquire water or wastewater systems, purchase or dispose of assets, or issue long-term debt or equity, or making it less cost-effective for us to do so;

•negatively impacting, among other things: (i) tax rates or positions or the deductibility of expenses under federal or state tax laws, (ii) the availability or amount of, or our ability to comply with the terms and conditions of, tax credits or tax abatement benefits, (iii) the amount of taxes owed or paid, including as a result of the CAMT provisions, (iv) the timing of tax effects on rates or (v) the ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards;

•increasing the associated costs of, and/or of