Otter Tail (OTTR) Risk Analysis

The markets for our manufacturing businesses are characterized by changing technology and evolving process development. The continued success of our business will depend on our ability to: - maintain technological leadership in our industry;- implement new and expand on current robotics, automation and tooling technologies; and - anticipate or respond to changes in manufacturing processes in a cost-effective and timely manner. We may be unable to develop the capabilities required by our customers in the future. The emergence of new technologies, industry standards or customer requirements may render our equipment, inventory or processes obsolete or noncompetitive. We may be required to acquire new technologies and equipment to remain competitive. The acquisition and implementation of new technologies and equipment may require us to incur significant expense and capital investment, which could reduce our margins and affect our operating results. Failure to anticipate and adapt to customers' changing technological needs and requirements and to maintain manufacturing, engineering and technological expertise may have material adverse effects on our financial condition, operating results and liquidity.

The financial obligations and related costs of our pension and other postretirement benefit plans are affected by numerous factors, including interest rates, investment returns, future employee compensation levels, healthcare cost trends and mortality rates. Changes in any, or a combination, of these factors could have a significant effect on our funding obligations and the costs recognized for these plans. In addition, our funding requirements could be impacted by changes to the Pension Protection Act.

PVC resin is a commodity product. Its market price is impacted by global supply and demand conditions along with feedstock component pricing. Both of these factors can create volatile pricing for PVC resin, the primary material input used in manufacturing our PVC pipe products. Changes in the cost of PVC resin directly impact our profit margins. In addition, changes in PVC resin cost can impact the pricing of PVC pipe price. We may be unable to fully, or in a timely manner, adjust the pricing of PVC pipe in response to changing PVC resin costs. Accordingly, our operating results and liquidity could be materially impacted.

Our manufacturing businesses are subject to intense competition from domestic and foreign manufacturers, some of which have broader product lines, greater distribution capabilities, greater capital resources, greater marketing and research and development capabilities, or lower cost structures. Our ability to compete on product performance, competitive pricing, technological innovation and customer service is critical to our ongoing success. If we are unable to compete in these and potentially other areas, our business and financial condition, operating results and liquidity could be adversely impacted.

Our PVC pipe products, sold through distributors, are primarily used in municipal and rural water projects, wastewater projects, storm drainage systems and reclamation systems. External factors beyond our control can cause volatility in demand for our products and sales prices impacting our operating margins. These factors can magnify the impact of economic cycles on our business and results of operations. Examples of external factors include: - general economic conditions including housing and construction markets which can be cyclical;- increases in interest rates;- severe weather and natural disasters;- governmental regulation; and - funding shortages for municipal water and wastewater projects. Sales prices for PVC pipe began to significantly increase in 2021, reaching a peak level in mid-2022. Pipe prices have since retreated from the peak but remain elevated compared to historic levels. Elevated pipe prices led to a significant expansion in our operating margins and cash generation. We expect sales prices for PVC pipe to continue to decline, which will cause a decline in operating margins and cash generation prospectively. The pace and magnitude of the decline in product pricing could materially impact our operating results and liquidity.

We rely on access to debt and equity capital markets as a source of liquidity to fund our strategic investment initiatives. Capital markets are impacted by global and domestic economic conditions, monetary policy, commodity prices, geopolitical events and other factors. If we are unable to access capital on acceptable terms and at reasonable costs, our ability to implement our business plans may be adversely affected. In addition, higher market interest rates on outstanding variable-rate indebtedness could also impact our operating results.

Longer-term shifts in climate patterns may impact our customers' demand for electricity; interrupt our business operations and damage our facilities; reduce the availability of natural resources, such as water; and cause disruptions in our supply chains. Climate change may increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, such as prolonged periods of extreme cold or heat, and natural disasters, such as severe snow and ice storms, tornadoes, flooding and wildfires. These acute events could result in the interruption of our business operations and damage to our facilities. We may not have sufficient insurance coverage to avoid adverse impacts to our operating results or financial condition from damage to our facilities or an interruption in our business. An extreme weather event within our utility service area could directly affect our capital assets, causing disruption in service to customers, and result in reduced operating revenues and additional repair or replacement costs. In the past, severe weather events in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. have disrupted the supply of PVC resin, the primary material input of our Plastics segment businesses. As most U.S. PVC resin production plants are located in the Gulf Coast region, an area prone to seasonal hurricane activity and other extreme weather events, our access to PVC resin may be impacted by the volume and magnitude of hurricane and storm activity in this region, which could impact our Plastics segment businesses. Increased risk of natural disasters, such as wildfires and severe convective storms, could have negative financial consequences, including limiting our ability to secure sufficient insurance coverage, or leading to increased insurance costs. While we carry liability insurance, given an extreme event, if we were found to be liable for damages caused by the event, amounts that exceed our coverage limit could negatively impact our financial condition, operating results and liquidity. These risks may also negatively impact our credit ratings, which may limit our access to capital markets and increase our borrowing costs. In addition, to the extent investors view climate change, fossil fuel combustion and GHG emissions as a financial risk, our stock price or our ability to access capital markets on favorable terms and conditions could be adversely impacted. We may experience transition risks in moving towards low carbon generation and manufacturing. For example, we may face challenges with the adoption of new technologies, meeting changing customer expectations, ensuring reliability of electric service, and committing to voluntary GHG emissions reduction goals, as well as complying with evolving local, state or federal regulatory requirements intended to reduce GHG emissions.

OTP owns electric transmission, distribution and generation facilities subject to mandatory and enforceable standards advanced by the NERC. These bulk electric system facilities provide the framework for the electrical infrastructure of OTP's service territory and interconnected systems, the operation of which is dependent on information technology (IT) systems. Further, the information systems that operate OTP's electric system are interconnected to external networks. Parties that wish to disrupt the U.S. bulk power system or OTP's operations could view OTP's computer systems, software or networks as attractive targets for cyber attack. In addition, OTP's generation and transmission facilities are spread throughout a large service territory. These facilities could be subject to physical attack or vandalism that could disrupt OTP's operations or conceivably the regional or U.S. bulk power system. OTP is subject to mandatory cybersecurity and physical security regulatory requirements. OTP implements the NERC standards for operating its transmission and generation assets and remains abreast of best practices within the business and the utility industry to protect its computers and computer-controlled systems from outside attack. We rely on industry-accepted security measures and technology to securely maintain confidential and proprietary information necessary for the operation of our systems. In an effort to reduce the likelihood and severity of cyber intrusions, we have cybersecurity processes and controls, and disaster recovery plans designed to protect and preserve the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and systems. We also take prudent and reasonable steps to protect the physical security of our transmission, distribution and generation facilities. However, all these measures and technology may not adequately prevent security breaches, ransomware attacks or other cyber attacks, or enable us to recover effectively from such a breach or attack. Any significant interruption or failure of our information systems or any significant breach of security due to cyber attacks, hacking or internal security breaches or physical attacks on our generation or transmission facilities could adversely affect our business and our financial condition, operating results and liquidity.