H2O AMERICA 10-Q

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” in SJW Group’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and our other public filings, which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results. Other than the risk factor below, there has been no material changes from risk factors previously disclosed in “Risk Factors” in SJW Group’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Fluctuations in customer demand for water due to seasonality, restrictions of use, weather, and lifestyle can adversely affect operating results. Water Utility Services are seasonal, thus quarterly fluctuation in results of operations may be significant. Rainfall and other weather conditions also affect Water Utility Services. Water consumption typically increases during the third quarter of each year when weather tends to be warm and dry. In periods of drought, if customers are encouraged or required to conserve water due to a shortage of water supply or restriction of use, revenue tends to be lower. Similarly, in unusually wet periods, water supply tends to be higher and customer demand tends to be lower, again resulting in lower revenues. Furthermore, certain lifestyle choices made by customers can affect demand for water. For example, a significant portion of residential water use is for outside irrigation of lawns and landscaping. If there is a decreased desire by customers to maintain landscaping for their homes or restrictions are placed on outside irrigation, residential water demand would decrease, which would result in lower revenues. Conservation efforts and construction codes, which require the use of low-flow plumbing fixtures, could diminish water consumption and result in reduced revenue. In addition, in time of drought, water conservation may become a regulatory requirement that impacts the water usage of our customers. Weather conditions can also affect the sources of water supply, including the need to use more purchased water than surface water during a drought, which may increase our operating expenses. For example, in response to the current drought in California, on June 9, 2021, the Valley Water declared a drought emergency and requested retailers conserve 15% of their 2019 consumption. On July 8, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation declaring a drought emergency in fifty California Counties, including Santa Clara County. San Jose Water Company has activated our Water Shortage Contingency Plan to achieve the 15% conservation target. The implementation of mandatory or voluntary conservation measures during the current drought has resulted and is expected to result in lower water usage by our customers which may adversely affect our results of operation. If the current conservation measures continue, or if new measures are imposed in response to drought conditions in the future, we may experience fluctuations in the timing of or a reduction in customer revenue. In addition, the current drought reduced the amount of available surface water, which required us to incur more costs to extract groundwater or obtain purchased water, which can significantly impact our results of operations. Furthermore, the CPUC may approve memorandum accounts, such as a Water Conservation Memorandum Account (“WCMA”), to allow companies to recover revenue reductions due to water conservation activities and certain conservation related costs. However, collection of such memorandum accounts are subject to a review and approval process by CPUC, which can be lengthy, and there is no assurance that we will be able to recover in a timely manner all or some of the revenue and costs recorded in the memorandum accounts. When drought conditions ease and the California State Water Board and Valley Water no longer mandate water conservation, the company may no longer be allowed to recover revenue lost due to continued conservation activities under the WCMA account and would therefore be exposed to differences between actual and authorized usage. This could result in lower revenues. Our business, financial condition, and results of operations have been and will continue to be negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are subject to risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 and early parts of 2021, numerous governmental jurisdictions, including the States of California, Connecticut, Maine and Texas where we operate our water utility services, imposed “shelter-in-place” orders, quarantines, executive orders and similar governmental orders and restrictions for their residents to control the spread of COVID-19 disease. Such orders and restrictions resulted in business closures, work stoppages, slowdowns and delays in commercial activities, unprecedented and widespread unemployment, travel restrictions 32 and cancellation of events, among other effects, thereby negatively impacting our suppliers, employees and customers, among others. Since the start of the second quarter of 2021, there has been increased availability and administration of vaccines against COVID-19, as well as an easing of restrictions on social, business, travel, and government functions, which resulted in gradual resumption of economic and commercial activities. On the other hand, infection rates continue to fluctuate in various regions and new strains of the virus remain a risk. Accordingly, federal and state governments may reinstate restrictions or reverse their prior orders to lift restrictions in response to rising infection rates, which will have a negative effect on our business operations and results of operations. In response to the pandemic, federal and state governments have and may continue to take actions to impose utility termination moratoriums which prohibit water companies from turning off water supplies for nonpayment of water bills. These and other events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced the incentive and ability of certain of our residential and commercial customers to pay their water services bills on time, if at all, which could negatively impact our result of operations. Recently, state governments have acted to end existing utility termination moratoriums. For example, Governor Newsom in California issued Executive Order N-08-21 which was anticipated to end the suspension on customer disconnection activities on September 30, 2021. The CPUC also directed its regulated water utilities to extend the suspension on customer disconnection activities through September 30, 2021, in response to the Governor’s order. The required transition plan regarding shutoffs and terminations with customers once the moratorium end was filed and approved by the CPUC through Advice Letter 560. On September 24, 2021, the moratorium on customer disconnections in California was extended to December 31, 2021. In Connecticut, the March 12, 2020, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority of Connecticut (“PURA”) moratorium ruling to halt shutoff for nonpayment expired on October 1, 2020. However, all public service utilities were required to submit for PURA approval their termination process, including customer communications, before resuming shutoffs for nonpayment. Connecticut Water received PURA approval of our plan for terminations on September 30, 2021, subject to the filing of specific revised customer communications. The company submitted the revised communications to PURA on October 14, 2021 and expects to resume terminations in the fourth quarter of 2021. However, if COVID-19 infection rates rise and health officials recommend more stringent measures to stop spread of the disease, state governments may decide to reverse these actions which may prolong our inability to collect fully water services bills from customers. Furthermore, a significant portion of our revenue is derived from water usage by commercial customers. As many of these customers have suspended, altered or terminated their business operations, their water usage may decline significantly or cease, which could adversely affect our revenue. Even though many of these legal restrictions have been eased and lifted in certain jurisdictions, including California, some of our commercial customers may decide not to open fully or at all due to their ongoing concerns with health and safety of employees at the workplace, in which case their water usage may remain at a lower level and continue to adversely impact our revenue. The regulators in states we operate have approved mechanisms to either record a regulatory asset or track, in a memorandum account, expenses and savings related to COVID-19. If a state regulator disagrees with our calculation of recorded COVID-19 account balances, we may be required to make adjustments that could adversely affect our results of operations. While we expect to recover some of the revenue loss and costs through the rate-making processes, there is no guarantee that such recovery will be approved by the regulated utility authorities in a timely manner, or at all. In addition to loss of revenue, we are subject to the following risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and related events: • if governments impose or reinstate “shelter-in-place” orders and quarantines, our planned infrastructure improvement projects could be temporarily interrupted by supply shortages, lack of sufficient workforce and disruption in transportation. This may negatively impact our ability to maintain and improve our infrastructure and provide reliable services to customers. In addition, our expenditures on capital improvements could be reduced, which may in turn impact rate decisions by state regulators. • wide-spread COVID-19 disease could impact the health of our employees and management team, which may disrupt our business operations; • a recession, stock market correction, or debt market disruptions resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business, results of operations, cash flow, and the value of our common stock, which may make it more difficult for us to raise capital in equity or debt markets; • we may experience higher uncollectible accounts receivables and increased costs from COVID-19 related prevention activities. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in widespread global supply chain disruptions to vendors and suppliers, which may negatively affect our business operations, including delays in procuring materials and supplies that are required for capital additions and operations. The full extent of the future impact of COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance is uncertain and will depend on many factors, many of which are outside our control, including, without limitation the timing, extent, trajectory and duration of the pandemic; the availability, distribution and effectiveness of vaccines; the imposition of protective public safety measures; and the impact of the pandemic on state and local economy and customer 33 behaviors. Any of these factors may continue to adversely affect our business and financial conditions, and there is no guarantee that we will be able to quickly return to our normal operations.