UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Commission |
Exact name of registrant as specified in its |
IRS Employer |
||
|
700 Universe Boulevard Juno Beach, Florida 33408 (561) 694-4000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SECTION 2 - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 2.03 Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant
On December 19, 2006, Lone Star Wind, LLC (Lone Star Wind), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of FPL Energy, LLC (FPL Energy), entered into a credit facility consisting of a $600 million limited-recourse senior secured variable rate term loan maturing in January 2022 and a $100 million ten year letter of credit facility. FPL Energy is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (FPL Group). Principal and interest on the loan are payable semi-annually. Substantially all of the net proceeds from the loan will be distributed to FPL Energy in return for a portion of the capital contributions that it made to certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries for their investment in the development, acquisition and/or construction of three wind power projects located in Texas. The loan is secured by liens on the wind projects' assets and certain other assets of, and the ownership interest in, Lone Star Wind. The loan agreement contains default provisions relating to failure to make required payments, certain events in bankruptcy and other covenants applicable to Lone Star Wind. FPL Group Capital Inc (FPL Group Capital), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FPL Group, has guaranteed certain payments with respect to production tax credits and renewable energy credits generated by the projects, and certain contingent payment obligations related to the projects. Pursuant to its 1998 guarantee agreement with FPL Group Capital, FPL Group guarantees these FPL Group Capital payment guarantees. The letter of credit facility serves as security for certain obligations under commodity hedge agreements entered into at closing by Lone Star Wind pursuant to the terms of the loan agreement.
SECTION 5 - CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
On December 15, 2006, the Board of Directors of FPL Group appointed James L. Robo, age 44, as President and Chief Operating Officer of FPL Group. Mr. Robo had served as President of FPL Energy since July 2002 and as Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy of FPL Group since March 2002. Prior to joining FPL Group, Mr. Robo was President and Chief Executive Officer of TIP, a GE Capital company that provides trailer and storage equipment services, and GE Capital Modular Space, a supplier of mobile and modular buildings. No changes were made to Mr. Robo's compensation for 2006 in connection with the December 15 appointment. The elements of 2007 compensation for Mr. Robo that have thus far been determined are described below. Other elements of his 2007 compensation are expected to be determined by FPL Group's Compensation Committee in 2007.
Effective December 15, 2006, the employment agreement dated as of February 25, 2005 between Lewis Hay, III and FPL Group, as amended on December 15, 2005 (employment agreement), was further amended in connection with the appointment of James L. Robo to President and Chief Operating Officer of FPL Group. Pursuant to the amendment, FPL Group is no longer required to appoint Mr. Hay as President of FPL Group and Mr. Hay may no longer terminate his employment for "good reason" (as defined in the employment agreement) if he is not appointed as President of FPL Group.
On December 15, 2006, FPL Group's Compensation Committee (i) approved base salary levels for the named executive officers of FPL Group and its subsidiaries for the year beginning January 1, 2007 and (ii) approved corporate net income goals, corporate performance indicators and target award percentages for 2007 for those officers under FPL Group's Annual Incentive Plan, as more fully described below:
(1) Executive Compensation: The Compensation Committee approved 2007 base salaries for the executive officers named in FPL Group's 2006 proxy statement as follows:
Name |
2007 Annual Base Salary |
|||
Lewis Hay, III |
$ |
1,207,500 |
||
James L. Robo |
700,000 |
|||
Armando J. Olivera |
567,758 |
|||
Moray P. Dewhurst |
556,394 |
|||
John A. Stall |
508,040 |
(2) Annual Incentive Plan actions: Annual incentive compensation is based on the attainment of net income goals for FPL Group, which are established by the Compensation Committee at the beginning of the year, and adjusted for specified items including any regulatory or legislative changes or changes in accounting principles, any changes in the mark-to-market value of non-qualifying hedges, extraordinary items, discontinued operations, acts of God, labor disruptions and certain charges or gains (adjusted net income). The amounts earned on the basis of this performance measure are subject to reduction based on the degree of achievement of other corporate and subsidiary performance measures, and at the discretion of the Compensation Committee. For 2007, the Compensation Committee approved adjusted net income goals for FPL Group and the following corporate performance indicators for Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) and FPL Energy. For FPL, the performance measures are financial indicators and operating indicators. The financial indicators are operations and maintenance costs, capital expenditure levels, adjusted net income and regulatory return on equity. The operating indicators are service reliability as measured by the frequency and number of service interruptions and service unavailability; system reliability as measured by availability factors for the fossil power plants and an industry composite performance index for the nuclear power plants; employee safety; number of significant environmental violations; and customer satisfaction survey results. For FPL Energy, the performance measures are a financial indicator, operating indicators and growth indicators. The financial indicators are FPL Energy adjusted net income and the attainment of budgeted cost targets; the operating indicators are employee safety; number of significant environmental violations; an industry composite performance index for the nuclear power plants, equivalent forced outage rate, and level of hedged margin; and the growth indicators include the attainment of targets for wind development or acquisition, new growth opportunities and growth in power marketing.
The target awards (as a percent of base salary) for Messrs. Hay, Olivera, Dewhurst and Stall remain the same as for 2006. The target award (as a percent of base salary) for Mr. Robo was increased from 70% to 80% in connection with his promotion to President and Chief Operating Officer of FPL Group.
SECTION 7 - REGULATION FD
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure
On December 20, 2006, FPL Energy issued a press release announcing that it reached an agreement to purchase a two-unit, 1,033-megawatt nuclear power plant located near Two Rivers, Wisconsin from Wisconsin Electric Power Company, a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation. The transaction is subject to, among other things, the receipt of approvals from various federal and state regulatory agencies and FPL Energy expects to close the acquisition in the third quarter of 2007. A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99, which is incorporated herein by reference.
SECTION 8 - OTHER EVENTS
Item 8.01 Other Events
On December 20, 2006, FPL Energy entered into an agreement to purchase the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant (Point Beach), a two-unit, 1,033-megawatt nuclear power plant located near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, from Wisconsin Electric Power Company (Wisconsin Electric), a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation.
Under the terms of the agreement, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FPL Energy will purchase Point Beach for a total of approximately $998 million, including nuclear fuel, inventory and other items. All of the power from Point Beach will be sold under a long-term contract to Wisconsin Electric through the current license terms of 2030 for Unit 1 and 2033 for Unit 2. FPL Energy will assume responsibility for decommissioning of the nuclear facility and will receive no less than $360 million in decommissioning funds at the time of closing. Wisconsin Electric has the option to transfer additional decommissioning funds to FPL Energy for an additional purchase price adjustment. Also upon closing, FPL Energy will assume management and operation of Point Beach.
The transaction is subject to, among other things, the receipt of approvals from various federal and state regulatory agencies and FPL Energy expects to close the acquisition in the third quarter of 2007.
SECTION 9 - FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
ITEM 9.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
(d) Exhibits.
The following exhibit is being furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 herein.
Exhibit |
|
||||||
99 |
FPL Energy, LLC Press Release dated December 20, 2006 |
In connection with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (Reform Act), FPL Group, Inc. (FPL Group) and Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) are hereby providing cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause FPL Group's or FPL's actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Reform Act) made by or on behalf of FPL Group and FPL in this Form 8-K, on their respective websites, in response to questions or otherwise. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as will likely result, are expected to, will continue, is anticipated, believe, could, estimated, may, plan, potential, projection, target, outlook) are not statements of historical facts and may be forward-looking. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to, and are accompanied by, the following important factors (in addition to any assumptions and other factors referred to specifically in connection with such forward-looking statements) that could cause FPL Group's or FPL's actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of FPL Group and FPL.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and FPL Group and FPL undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances, including unanticipated events, after the date on which such statement is made. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
The following are some important factors that could have a significant impact on FPL Group's and FPL's operations and financial results, and could cause FPL Group's and FPL's actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements:
FPL Group and FPL are subject to complex laws and regulations and to changes in laws and regulations as well as changing governmental policies and regulatory actions, including initiatives regarding deregulation and restructuring of the energy industry and environmental matters. FPL holds franchise agreements with local municipalities and counties, and must renegotiate expiring agreements. These factors may have a negative impact on the business and results of operations of FPL Group and FPL.
The operation and maintenance of power generation facilities, including nuclear facilities, involve significant risks that could adversely affect the results of operations and financial condition of FPL Group and FPL.
The construction of, and capital improvements to, power generation facilities involve substantial risks. Should construction or capital improvement efforts be unsuccessful, the results of operations and financial condition of FPL Group and FPL could be adversely affected.
The use of derivative contracts by FPL Group and FPL in the normal course of business could result in financial losses that negatively impact the results of operations of FPL Group and FPL.
FPL Group's competitive energy business is subject to risks, many of which are beyond the control of FPL Group, that may reduce the revenues and adversely impact the results of operations and financial condition of FPL Group.
FPL Group's ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate acquisitions is subject to significant risks, including the effect of increased competition for acquisitions resulting from the consolidation of the power industry.
Because FPL Group and FPL rely on access to capital markets, the inability to maintain current credit ratings and access capital markets on favorable terms may limit the ability of FPL Group and FPL to grow their businesses and would likely increase interest costs.
Customer growth in FPL's service area affects FPL Group's results of operations.
Weather affects FPL Group's and FPL's results of operations.
FPL Group and FPL are subject to costs and other effects of legal proceedings as well as changes in or additions to applicable tax laws, rates or policies, rates of inflation, accounting standards, securities laws and corporate governance requirements.
Threats of terrorism and catastrophic events that could result from terrorism may impact the operations of FPL Group and FPL in unpredictable ways.
The ability of FPL Group and FPL to obtain insurance and the terms of any available insurance coverage could be affected by national, state or local events and company-specific events.
FPL Group and FPL are subject to employee workforce factors that could affect the businesses and financial condition of FPL Group and FPL.
The risks described herein are not the only risks facing FPL Group and FPL. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to FPL Group or FPL, or that are currently deemed to be immaterial, also may materially adversely affect FPL Group's or FPL's business, financial condition and/or future operating results.
SIGNATURE
FPL GROUP, INC.
(Registrant)
Date: December 21, 2006
EDWARD F. TANCER |
||
Edward F. Tancer |
||
Vice President & General Counsel of FPL Group, Inc. |
||
|