What the changes say
- Fuel and purchased-power cost recovery is newly tied to customer arrearages, bad debt, inflation, and government-policy changes.
- Leverage and capital-market access risks now emphasize high rates, inflation, fossil-fuel financing restrictions, climate events, and subsidy changes.
- Regulatory, nuclear, environmental, data-center, counterparty, and tax risks remain central, with several reordered or narrowed.
What changed since the prior 10-K
New
- New
prolonged increases in fuel and purchased power costs could lead to increased customer arrearages or bad debt expenses
Sudden or prolonged fuel and purchased-power cost increases may cause customer arrearages, bad debt, regulatory disallowances, or refunds.
- NewBusiness Risks
leverage. Material leverage increases could negatively affect the credit ratings of Entergy, the Utility operating companies, and System Energy, which in turn could negatively affect access to the capital markets
Higher leverage, interest rates, inflation, climate-related financing restrictions, or subsidy changes could weaken credit ratings and capital-market access.
Dropped
- Dropped
The Utility operating companies recover fuel, purchased power, and associated costs through rate mechanisms that are subject to risks of delay or disallowance in regulatory proceedings, and sudden or prolonged increases in fuel and purchased power costs could lead to increased customer arrearages or bad debt expenses
- Dropped
negatively impact Entergy’s and the Utility operating companies’ financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows
- Dropped
whether an Entergy nuclear generating unit or not, it could materially affect the financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity of Entergy, certain of the Utility operating companies, or System Energy
- Dropped
Fuel Disposal” section of Management’s Financial Discussion and Analysis for Entergy, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, and System Energy and Note 8 to the financial statements
- DroppedBusiness Risks
The effect of higher purchased gas cost charges to customers taking gas service may adversely affect Entergy New Orleans’s results of operations and liquidity
Rate-recovery delays or disallowances for fuel and purchased power, including replacement power costs.
- DroppedBusiness Risks
were deemed to violate market behavior rules, the FERC can impose potential penalties of up to $1.544 million per day for each violation by any such entity of market-based rate rules and regulations
Reworded
- 99% rewritten
(Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)
The risk now focuses on lengthy, appealable rate proceedings and possible cost-recovery disallowances instead of capital-market access and commodity-price liquidity.
- 99% rewrittenBusiness Risks
(Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)
The prior rate-regulation risk now covers capital-market dependence, liquidity constraints, natural-disaster and fuel-price contingencies, and borrowing costs.
Was: (Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)
- 88% rewrittenBusiness Risks
Entergy’s non-utility operations are subject to substantial governmental regulation and may be adversely affected by legislative, regulatory, or market design changes, as well as liability under, or any future inability to comply with, existing or future regulations or requirements
The risk now specifically adds FERC penalties of up to $1.544 million per day for each market-based-rate violation.
- 86% rewritten
Certain of the Utility operating companies and System Energy face the risk that the NRC will change or modify its regulations, suspend or revoke their licenses, or increase oversight of their nuclear plants, which could materially affect Entergy’s and their results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity
The revised risk omits potential higher capital, operating, and decommissioning costs from NRC changes, retaining licensing, shutdown, penalties, and intervention risks.
- 60% rewrittenBusiness Risks
The Utility operating companies and Entergy’s non-utility business are exposed to the risk that counterparties may not meet their obligations, which may materially affect the Utility operating companies and Entergy’s non-utility business, including the ability to meet debt obligations
The counterparty-default risk is substantively unchanged and still covers large customer contracts, hedges, and unsuccessful contractual remedies.
Was: The Utility operating companies and Entergy’s non-utility business are exposed to the risk that counterparties may not meet their obligations, which may materially affect the Utility operating companies and Entergy’s non-utility business
- 50% rewrittenBusiness Risks
Entergy and its subsidiaries may not be successful in managing these or any other significant risks that they may encounter in acquiring or divesting a business, or engaging in other strategic transactions, which could have a material effect on their business, financial condition, or results of operations
The data-center investment risk now says projects are being made or planned, rather than only planned subject to approvals.
- 42% rewrittenBusiness Risks
Entergy and its subsidiaries, including the Utility operating companies and System Energy, may incur substantial costs to fulfill their obligations related to environmental and other matters
The environmental-compliance risk is substantively unchanged, covering emissions, water, wetlands, waste, cooling-water, species, and hazardous-material requirements.
- 41% rewrittenBusiness Risks
U.S. tax legislation may materially adversely affect Entergy’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows
The tax risk adds the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act changes.
Was: Recent U.S. tax legislation may materially adversely affect Entergy’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows
- 39% rewrittenBusiness Risks
Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries are subject to risks associated with their ability to obtain adequate insurance at acceptable costs
- 37% rewrittenBusiness Risks
Failure to attract, retain and manage an appropriately qualified workforce could negatively affect Entergy or its subsidiaries’ results of operations
- 37% rewritten
Changes to state or federal legislation or regulation affecting electric generation, electric transmission, distribution, and related activities could adversely affect Entergy and the Utility operating companies’ financial position, results of operations, or cash flows and their utility businesses
Was: Changes to state or federal legislation or regulation affecting electric generation, electric and natural gas transmission, distribution, and related activities could adversely affect Entergy and the Utility operating companies’ financial position, results of operations, or cash flows and their utility businesses
- 36% rewrittenBusiness Risks
Entergy and its subsidiaries may not be adequately hedged against changes in commodity prices or interest rates, which could materially affect Entergy’s and its subsidiaries’ results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity
Was: Entergy and its subsidiaries may not be adequately hedged against changes in commodity prices, which could materially affect Entergy’s and its subsidiaries’ results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity
- 35% rewritten
Weather, economic conditions, technological developments, and other factors may have a material impact on electricity sales and otherwise materially affect the Utility operating companies’ results of operations and system reliability
Was: Weather, economic conditions, technological developments, and other factors may have a material impact on electricity and gas sales and otherwise materially affect the Utility operating companies’ results of operations and system reliability
- 33% rewrittenBusiness Risks
See Note 2 to the financial statements for further discussion of the litigation proceedings that have been settled at the FERC. System Energy agreed to implement certain protocols for providing retail regulators with information regarding rates billed under the Unit Power Sales Agreement
- 32% rewrittenBusiness Risks
The tax rate decrease included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act required Entergy to record a regulatory liability for income taxes payable to customers. Such regulatory liability for income taxes is described in Note 3 to the financial statements
- 29% rewrittenBusiness Risks
(Entergy Corporation and System Energy)
- 29% rewrittenBusiness Risks
Significant increases in commodity prices, the prices of other materials and supplies, and operation and maintenance expenses may adversely affect Entergy's results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity
- 22% rewrittenBusiness Risks
The business, results of operations and financial condition of Entergy and these Utility operating companies could be materially adversely affected as a result of any or all of these factors
All 35 risk factors
Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.
Other
- 01See “RISK FACTORS SUMMARY” in Part I, Item 1 for a summary of Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ risk factors
- 02(Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)99% rewritten
- 03Entergy Corporation, Utility operating companies, and System Energy
- 04Changes to state or federal legislation or regulation affecting electric generation, electric transmission, distribution, and related activities could adversely affect Entergy and the Utility operating companies’ financial position, results of operations, or cash flows and their utility businesses37% rewritten
- 05prolonged increases in fuel and purchased power costs could lead to increased customer arrearages or bad debt expensesnew
- 06A delay or failure in recovering amounts for storm restoration costs incurred as a result of severe weather, the impact on customer bills of permitted storm cost recovery, or the inability to securitize future storm restoration costs could have material effects on Entergy and its Utility operating companies
- 07Weather, economic conditions, technological developments, and other factors may have a material impact on electricity sales and otherwise materially affect the Utility operating companies’ results of operations and system reliability35% rewritten
- 08Certain of the Utility operating companies and System Energy are expected to consistently operate their nuclear power plants at high capacity factors in order to be successful, and lower capacity factors could materially affect Entergy’s and their results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity
- 09Certain of the Utility operating companies and System Energy face risks related to the purchase of uranium fuel (and its conversion, enrichment, and fabrication). These risks could materially affect Entergy’s and their results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity
- 10Certain of the Utility operating companies and System Energy face the risk that the NRC will change or modify its regulations, suspend or revoke their licenses, or increase oversight of their nuclear plants, which could materially affect Entergy’s and their results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity86% rewritten
- 11New or existing safety concerns regarding operating nuclear power plants and nuclear fuel could lead to restrictions upon the operation and decommissioning of Entergy’s nuclear power plants
Business Risks
- 12(Entergy Corporation, Entergy Arkansas, Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Mississippi, Entergy New Orleans, Entergy Texas, and System Energy)99% rewritten
- 13leverage. Material leverage increases could negatively affect the credit ratings of Entergy, the Utility operating companies, and System Energy, which in turn could negatively affect access to the capital marketsnew
- 14Entergy’s and the Utility operating companies’ business, results of operations, and financial condition could be adversely affected by events beyond their control, such as public health crises, natural disasters, wildfires, geopolitical tensions, or other catastrophic events
- 15The reputation of Entergy or its Registrant Subsidiaries may be materially adversely affected by negative publicity or the inability to meet its stated goals or commitments, among other potential causes
- 16U.S. tax legislation may materially adversely affect Entergy’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows41% rewritten
- 17The tax rate decrease included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act required Entergy to record a regulatory liability for income taxes payable to customers. Such regulatory liability for income taxes is described in Note 3 to the financial statements32% rewritten
- 18Changes in taxation as well as the inherent difficulty in quantifying potential tax effects of business decisions could negatively impact Entergy’s and the Registrant Subsidiaries’ results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity
- 19Entergy and its subsidiaries may not be successful in managing these or any other significant risks that they may encounter in acquiring or divesting a business, or engaging in other strategic transactions, which could have a material effect on their business, financial condition, or results of operations50% rewritten
- 20The business, results of operations and financial condition of Entergy and these Utility operating companies could be materially adversely affected as a result of any or all of these factors22% rewritten
- 21Failure to attract, retain and manage an appropriately qualified workforce could negatively affect Entergy or its subsidiaries’ results of operations37% rewritten
- 22Entergy and its subsidiaries, including the Utility operating companies and System Energy, may incur substantial costs to fulfill their obligations related to environmental and other matters42% rewritten
- 23The physical effects of climate change could materially affect the financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity of Entergy and its subsidiaries
- 24A decline in the continued and future availability and quality of water for cooling, process, and sanitary uses could materially affect the financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity of Entergy, its subsidiaries, and industrial customers
- 25The Utility operating companies, System Energy, and Entergy’s non-utility operations may incur substantial costs related to reliability standards
- 26Entergy and its subsidiaries may not be adequately hedged against changes in commodity prices or interest rates, which could materially affect Entergy’s and its subsidiaries’ results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity36% rewritten
- 27The Utility operating companies and Entergy’s non-utility business are exposed to the risk that counterparties may not meet their obligations, which may materially affect the Utility operating companies and Entergy’s non-utility business, including the ability to meet debt obligations60% rewritten
- 28Market performance and other changes may decrease the value of benefit plan assets, which then could require additional funding and result in increased benefit plan costs
- 29The litigation environment in the states in which the Registrant Subsidiaries operate poses a significant risk to those businesses
- 30Entergy and the Registrant Subsidiaries are subject to risks associated with their ability to obtain adequate insurance at acceptable costs39% rewritten
- 31Significant increases in commodity prices, the prices of other materials and supplies, and operation and maintenance expenses may adversely affect Entergy's results of operations, financial condition, and liquidity29% rewritten
- 32(Entergy Corporation and System Energy)29% rewritten
- 33See Note 2 to the financial statements for further discussion of the litigation proceedings that have been settled at the FERC. System Energy agreed to implement certain protocols for providing retail regulators with information regarding rates billed under the Unit Power Sales Agreement33% rewritten
- 34Entergy’s non-utility operations are subject to substantial governmental regulation and may be adversely affected by legislative, regulatory, or market design changes, as well as liability under, or any future inability to comply with, existing or future regulations or requirements88% rewritten
- 35The hazardous activities associated with power generation could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition
Other Entergy 10-Ks
- 2025 10-K risk factors
39 risks. Regulatory approvals and cost recovery dominate, especially for utility rates, fuel, storm restoration, and nuclear operations.
Filed Feb 18, 2025
About this page
Item 1A of the 10-K on EDGAR was split into its risk factors and, where the company's previous 10-K is on file, each heading was matched to last year's and the text compared word for word. The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview were written by a language model from the text of the new, dropped, and rewritten risks; they refer to risks by position and cannot misquote a heading.