PPL Corp. doesn’t expect utilities to suffer in light of U.K. referendum to exit EU

The PPL Corp. recently said that it does not expect last week’s referendum regarding Britain’s decision to exit the European Union to impact its U.K.-based utilities, unless the value of the British pound sterling continues to fall.

PPL CEO, Chairman and President William H. Spence said that the company does not know the extent to which the value of the British pound sterling will fall in relation to the U.S. dollar, but does not expect the referendum to significantly impact U.K. operations. The company, however, has created steps to ensure that its investments in the U.K. continue to produce.

“We have implemented an effective hedging program that substantially protects us against fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates through 2017,” Spence said. “In addition, any negative exposure to long-term changes in foreign currency exchange rates could be partially offset by other factors, including increases to U.K. inflation and interest rates that may occur as a result of actions taken in response to the referendum vote.”

Consumers Energy has four high-performing utilities based in the U.K. that service approximately eight million customers. PPL said that it will continue to monitor the market fluctuations closely, and if the value of the British pound sterling continues to fall, it will reassess its earning growth rate.