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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
October 19, 2000 October 19, 2000
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(Date of earliest
event reported)
PUGET SOUND ENERGY, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Commission File Number 1-4393
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Washington 91-0374630
(State or other jurisdiction of (IRS Employer
incorporation or organization) Identification No.)
411 - 108th Avenue N.E., Bellevue, Washington 98004-5515
(Address of principal executive offices)
(425) 454-6363
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
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<PAGE>
ITEM 5. Other Events
On October 19, 2000, the Company issued the following press release.
PUGET SOUND ENERGY REPORTS THIRD-QUARTER RESULTS
Bellevue, Wash. (Oct. 19, 2000) -- Puget Sound Energy (NYSE: PSD) today
reported income for common stock for the third quarter of 2000 of $16.8 million,
or 20 cents per diluted share. Earnings for the third quarter of 2000 were in
line with, or slightly ahead of, analysts' expectations, in spite of an extended
outage at the company's Colstrip Unit 4 generating plant. Income for common
stock for the third quarter of 1999 was $22.1 million, or 26 cents per diluted
share. Earnings per share for the 1999 third quarter included a net gain of 4
cents per share related to sale and assignment of certain non-core assets and
gas supply transportation contracts.
Income for common stock for the twelve months ended Sept. 30, 2000 was
$175.3 million, or $2.05 per diluted share, down slightly from income of $175.9
million, or $2.08 per diluted share for the same period a year ago.
"We had a strong third quarter, even with the negative impact of the
unscheduled outage of one of our major generating units, Colstrip Unit 4,"(see
discussion below) said President and CEO William S. Weaver. "The quarter's
earnings benefited from good energy margins resulting primarily from increased
prices and volumes in the wholesale electric markets. Being relatively long on
resources in a time of volatile energy markets again served us well.
"The third quarter also saw the completion of a second acquisition by our
unregulated subsidiary, InfrastruX Group, which we founded in June of this year
to provide construction and maintenance services to the utility industry. With
that acquisition, InfrastruX now has annualized revenue of over $125 million and
employs more than 1,000 people," Weaver said. InfrastruX is continuing with
further acquisitions of companies in that industry.
-more-
<PAGE>
Puget Sound Energy - 2
FACTORS IN THIRD-QUARTER RESULTS
Operating revenues for the third quarter were $979.0 million, up $567.6
million from the same period a year ago. Energy margins for the quarter were up,
reflecting continued growth in the number of customers served and increased
wholesale sales to utilities and others.
Third-quarter utility operations and maintenance expenses of $55.9 million
were $4.5 million less than in 1999. (The higher 1999 expenses primarily reflect
costs associated with Y2K readiness and electric service restoration.)
The Colstrip Unit 4 generating plant, located in eastern Montana, went out
of service on Sept. 3, 2000, because of cracks discovered in the generator
shaft. The unit, which provides 225 megawatts of power to the company, is
expected to be back in service later today (Oct. 19, 2000). Loss of power from
this unit increased the company's cost of power and reduced energy margins.
FACTORS IN 12-MONTH RESULTS
Operating revenues for the 12-month period were $2.8 billion, up from $2.0
billion for the same period in 1999. Twelve-month results were affected by the
same factors as quarterly results.
As in the quarter, utility operations and maintenance expenses for the 12
months were lower compared to 1999. Utility operations and maintenance expenses
for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1999 include costs associated with Y2K
readiness and restoring electric service following a number of fierce storms
which occurred early in 1999.
In addition, the results for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1999 were
positively impacted by favorable hydroelectric conditions and a second-quarter
10-cent per share benefit, the result of a gain from the sale of the Company's
investment in common stock of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp, offset in part by costs
associated with a wholly-owned subsidiary's exiting certain product lines.
The number of electric and natural gas customers served by the company
increased 1.7 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively, over the 12-month period
ended September 30, 2000.
THIRD-QUARTER EARNINGS ANALYST TELECONFERENCE
Puget Sound Energy will hold an analyst conference call on third quarter
earnings results on Thursday, Oct. 19, 7 a.m. PDT (10 a.m. EDT). The call will
be broadcast live through a webcast at: www.pugetsoundenergy.com. To access the
teleconference, go to Investor Relations and click on the Webcast icon. A replay
of the conference call also will be available on the web site for later access.
###
<PAGE>
<TABLE>
PUGET SOUND ENERGY -- SUMMARY INCOME STATEMENT
(In thousands, except per-share amounts)
<CAPTION>
3 months ended 9/30 (1) 12 months ended 9/30
---------------------------- ------------------------------
2000 1999 2000 1999
---------------------------- ------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Operating revenues
Electric $ 886,696 $ 345,257 $ 2,237,589 $ 1,527,268
Gas 72,798 57,705 539,051 464,744
Other 19,487 8,429 33,468 31,563
------------ ------------ ------------- ------------
Total operating revenues 978,981 411,391 2,810,108 2,023,575
------------ ------------ ------------- ------------
Operating expenses
Purchased electricity 660,249 178,815 1,334,631 774,354
Purchased gas 35,885 22,185 271,019 197,369
Electric generation fuel 55,381 11,531 132,887 52,741
Residential exchange (7,983) (7,554) (40,385) (44,099)
Utility operations & maintenance 55,947 60,407 230,281 244,989
Other operations & maintenance 19,393 5,218 31,803 33,787
Depreciation & amortization 49,677 43,191 191,876 171,281
Conservation Amortization 1,188 1,814 7,559 7,380
Other taxes 42,556 36,434 196,048 173,794
Federal income taxes 9,090 7,906 113,749 110,859
------------ ------------ ------------- ------------
Total operating expenses 921,383 359,947 2,469,468 1,722,455
------------ ------------ ------------- ------------
Operating income 57,598 51,444 340,640 301,120
Other income 5,273 9,805 13,528 32,502
------------- ------------ ------------- ------------
Income before interest charges 62,871 61,249 354,168 333,622
Interest charges 43,876 36,337 169,778 145,797
------------- ------------
------------ ------------
Net Income 18,995 24,912 184,390 187,825
Less pref. stock dividend accruals 2,229 2,800 9,137 11,907
------------ ------------ ------------- ------------
Income for common stock $ 16,766 $ 22,112 $ 175,253 $ 175,918
Common shares outstanding 85,502 84,561 85,145 84,561
------------ ------------ ------------- ------------
Basic earnings per common share $ 0.20 $ 0.26 $ 2.06 $ 2.08
Diluted earnings per common share (2) $ 0.20 $ 0.26 $ 2.05 $ 2.08
<FN>
(1) Partial-year results may not accurately predict full-year performance, as earnings are significantly affected by weather.
(2) Diluted earnings per common share include the dilutive effect of securities related to employee compensation plans.
</FN>
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
<TABLE>
PUGET SOUND ENERGY -- UTILITY OPERATING DATA
<CAPTION>
3 months ended 9/30 12 months ended 9/30
------------------------------ -----------------------------------
2000 1999 2000 1999
------------------------------ -----------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Energy sales revenues
($ in thousands)
Electricity
Residential $ 112,095 $ 110,373 $ 608,838 $ 601,622
Commercial 119,644 109,803 487,753 468,133
Industrial 100,643 37,601 244,997 175,916
Other1 13,298 846 36,497 (15,146)
-------------- ------------ --------------- -------------
Subtotal, retail sales 345,680 258,623 1,378,085 1,230,525
Sales to other utilities 541,016 86,634 859,504 296,743
-------------- --------------- --------------- ----------------
Total electricity sales 886,696 345,257 2,237,589 1,527,268
Gas
Residential 35,582 29,515 321,451 285,606
Commercial 24,897 17,466 160,873 128,454
Industrial 6,567 4,799 33,367 25,824
Transportation 2,997 3,192 12,086 13,612
Other (1) 2,755 2,733 11,274 11,248
-------------- --------------- --------------- ----------------
Total gas sales 72,798 57,705 539,051 464,744
-------------- --------------- --------------- ----------------
Total energy sales revenues $ 959,494 $ 402,962 $ 2,776,640 $ 1,992,012
-------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Energy sales volumes
Electricity (in mWh)
Residential 1,829,843 1,822,254 9,722,088 9,800,734
Commercial 1,927,699 1,842,764 7,606,809 7,448,670
Industrial 1,037,047 1,018,430 3,979,399 4,031,362
Other1 5,303 41,804 286,944 90,409
-------------- ------------ --------------- -------------
Subtotal, retail sales 4,799,892 4,725,252 21,595,240 21,371,175
Sales to other utilities 5,538,824 2,889,922 14,198,041 11,567,839
-------------- ------------ --------------- -------------
Total mWh 10,338,716 7,615,174 35,793,281 32,939,014
Gas (in 000's of therms)
Residential 39,641 44,603 491,822 508,094
Commercial 38,420 40,439 306,781 289,180
Industrial 11,497 13,436 69,101 62,008
Transportation 46,655 50,774 214,118 239,343
-------------- ------------ --------------- ----------------
Total gas volumes 136,213 149,252 1,081,822 1,098,625
-------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Customers served (2)
Electricity
Total electricity customers 918,412 903,062 911,848 895,682
Gas
Total gas customers 582,446 559,860 575,488 550,342
-------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Weather
Actual heating degree days 269 284 4,781 5,043
Normal heating degree days 279 279 4,928 4,909
<FN>
(1) Includes change in unbilled revenues, Conservation Trust collection and
Encogen non-energy sales.
(2) Quarterly data represents average served during September; 12-month data
represents average for the year.
</FN>
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
PUGET SOUND ENERGY, INC.
Date: October 19, 2000
James W.Eldredge
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James W. Eldredge
Corporate Secretary & Controller
