KENTUCKY UTILITIES CO

Environmental Matters(All Registrants)

Extensive federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations are applicable to the Registrants' air emissions, water discharges and the management of hazardous and solid waste, as well as other aspects of the Registrants' businesses. The costs of compliance or alleged non-compliance cannot be predicted with certainty but could be significant. In addition, costs may increase significantly if the requirements or scope of environmental laws or regulations, or similar rules, are expanded or changed. Costs may take the form of increased capital expenditures or operating and maintenance expenses, monetary fines, penalties or other restrictions. Many of these environmental law considerations are also applicable to the operations of key suppliers, or customers, such as coal producers and industrial power users, and may impact the costs for their products or their demand for the Registrants' services. Increased capital and operating costs are expected to be subject to rate recovery. The Registrants can provide no assurances as to the ultimate outcome of future environmental or rate proceedings before regulatory authorities.

See "Environmental Matters" in Item 1. "Business" in the Registrants' 2024 Form 10-K for information about environmental laws and regulations affecting the Registrants' business. See "Financial Condition - Liquidity and Capital Resources - Forecasted Uses of Cash - Capital Expenditures" in "Item 7. Combined Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Registrants' 2024 Form 10-K for information on projected environmental capital expenditures for 2025 through 2027. See "Legal Matters" in Note 10 to the Financial Statements for a discussion of the more significant environmental claims. See Note 15 to the Financial Statements for information related to the impacts of CCRs on AROs.

The information below represents an update to “Item 1. Business – Environmental Matters” in the Registrants' 2024 Form 10-K.

EPA Deregulatory Initiative

On March 12, 2025, the EPA announced a plan to reconsider 31 environmental rules including the Section 111 performance standards and emissions limits for greenhouse gases, the endangerment finding for greenhouse gases, the Good Neighbor Plan, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, revisions to the fine particulate matter standard, the ELGs, and the CCRs Rule. Supplementing previous Executive Orders directing various regulatory changes, on April 9, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum directing review of existing rules, repeal of unlawful rules, and initiation of a zero-based budgeting process by which certain rules would automatically expire unless extended. While the administration may seek to implement some regulatory changes outside of the rulemaking process, changes to existing rules are generally expected to require formal rulemaking proceedings. Any final EPA actions repealing or revising current rules will likely result in legal challenges. PPL, LG&E, and KU are unable to predict future regulatory changes, if any, that may result from the EPA’s deregulatory plan or the outcome of any associated legal challenges. PPL, LG&E, and KU are closely monitoring the ongoing EPA initiative and any related litigation for the impact to our business including planned capital expenditures to comply with the EPA rules.

Air

NAAQS

The Clean Air Act has a significant impact on the operation of fossil fuel generation plants. The Clean Air Act requires the EPA periodically to establish and review NAAQS for six pollutants including ozone (contributed to by nitrogen oxide emissions) and particulate matter, which are particularly relevant for fossil fuel generation plants. On February 2, 2024, the D.C. Circuit Court granted the EPA’s motion for voluntary remand, without vacatur, of the ozone rule, which was under legal challenge. The EPA will complete a new review to incorporate new studies and updated analyses to determine the adequacy of the existing ozone standard. On March 6, 2024, the EPA finalized revisions to the particulate matter standard that lowers the primary standard for fine particulates. Several states and trade groups challenged the EPA’s finalized revisions to the particulate matter standard in the D.C. Circuit Court. In March 2025, the EPA announced that it would reconsider the revised fine particulate standard. Nonattainment designations for counties in which LG&E and KU generation is located, including Jefferson County, Kentucky, could potentially require additional particulate matter and nitrogen oxide reductions from sources including LG&E’s Mill Creek Station, and more stringent requirements for new generation. PPL, LG&E, and KU are unable to predict future implementation actions or the outcome of future evaluations by the EPA and the states with respect to the NAAQS standards.

In March 2021, the EPA released final revisions to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), aimed at ensuring compliance with the 2008 ozone NAAQS and providing for reductions in ozone season nitrogen oxide emissions for 2021 and subsequent years. In March 2023, the EPA released a final Federal Implementation Plan under the Good Neighbor provisions of the Clean Air Act providing for significant additional nitrogen oxide emission reductions for compliance with the revised 2015 ozone NAAQS. The reductions in Kentucky state-wide nitrogen oxide budgets were scheduled to commence in 2023, with the largest reductions planned for 2026. The rules provide for reduced availability of nitrogen oxide allowances that have historically permitted operational flexibility for fossil units and could potentially result in constraints that may require implementation of additional emission controls or accelerate implementation of lower emission generation technologies. In June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of the Good Neighbor Plan while the D.C. Circuit Court considers legal challenges to the rule. On December 10, 2024, EPA published in the Federal Register a supplement to the record. On December 6, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated and remanded the EPA’s disapproval of Kentucky’s state implementation plan for the ozone NAAQS. In March 2025, the EPA announced that it would reconsider the Good Neighbor Plan. PPL, LG&E, and KU are monitoring ongoing legal and regulatory developments.

PPL, LG&E, and KU are unable to predict the ultimate outcome of pending litigation or future emission reductions that may be required by future federal rules or state implementation actions. Compliance with the NAAQS, CSAPR, Good Neighbor Plan, and related requirements may require installation of additional pollution controls or other compliance actions, inclusive of retirements, the costs of which PPL, LG&E and KU believe would be subject to rate recovery.

Modification of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

In 2012, the EPA issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule requiring reductions in mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from fossil fuel-fired power plants. LG&E and KU installed significant controls to achieve compliance with MATS and other rules. On May 7, 2024, the EPA issued a final rule increasing the stringency of MATS and further reducing emissions of certain hazardous air pollutants to reflect perceived developments in control technologies. Legal challenges to the rule have been filed in the D.C. Circuit Court. PPL, LG&E, and KU have reviewed the final rule and do not expect significant operational changes or additional controls to be required. On June 17, 2025, the EPA proposed in the Federal Register to repeal the 2024 MATS revisions except for the Particulate Matter Continuous Emission Monitoring System testing criteria. The EPA intends to finalize the rule revisions by the end of the 2025 calendar year.

Greenhouse Gas Standards

On May 9, 2024, the EPA issued a final rule under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, which establishes performance standards and emissions limits aimed at reducing GHG emissions from certain new, existing, and modified fossil fuel-fired electric generating units (EGUs). In the final rule, the EPA announced it would set performance standards for existing natural gas-fired turbines in a future rule. The standards require phased implementation of carbon mitigation technologies including state-of-the-art efficiency requirements, carbon capture and sequestration, and natural gas co-firing. New natural gas EGUs would be immediately subject to the stricter efficiency standard. Legal challenges to the rule have been filed in the D.C. Circuit Court. PPL, LG&E, and KU are unable to predict the impact of new GHG reduction requirements until completion of a comprehensive review and resolution of related legal and regulatory proceedings. While the impact of new GHG reduction requirements on operations and financial results of operations could potentially be substantial, the cost of complying with such requirements is expected to be subject to rate recovery. On June 17, 2025, the EPA proposed in the Federal Register two options for repeal of the 2024 standard. In the first proposal, the EPA would determine that EGU emissions of greenhouse gases do not pose an endangerment to the health and welfare of the public and repeal the 2024 and 2015 standards for EGUs. Under an alternate proposal, the EPA would repeal the 2024 standards for existing coal, natural-gas and oil-fired steam generating units along with most standards for new combustion turbines. On July 29, 2025, the EPA proposed revocation of the 2009 endangerment finding which provides the basis for regulating GHG emissions. This proposal would leave in place efficiency standards for new combustion turbines. The EPA intends to finalize the rule changes by the end of the 2025 calendar year.