The lower quarterly results were due largely to real estate impairment charges of $32.5 million, net of tax, for SunCor, real estate subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital.
Arizona Public Service Company (APS), the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital, reported a 2008 fourth-quarter net loss of $16.4 million, compared with net income of $0.3 million for the same period a year ago. The utility’s 2008 results were negatively impacted by higher expenditures for continuing infrastructure additions and improvements and lower mark-to-market valuations of fuel and purchased power contracts.
“Our fourth-quarter results reflect the need to continue to meet our customers’ electric demand in the future,” said Chairman Bill Post. “While our growth rate has dropped significantly, we still ended the year with more than 10,000 new customers.”
Earlier in 2009, APS filed a comprehensive long-term resource plan with the Arizona Corporation Commission to address the future energy needs of Arizona. “Although our economy has been damaged by the real estate downturn and national recession, we must stay diligent in our focus to ensure Arizonahas the energy resources to meet our future needs,” said APS chief executive officer, Don Brandt. “We are working aggressively to minimize our costs while maintaining our electric reliability.”
