美國電力 (AEP) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the American Electric Power Second Quarter 2023 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded.

女士們、先生們，感謝大家的支持，並歡迎參加美國電力公司 2023 年第二季度電話會議。 （操作員說明）此通話正在錄音。

I'd now like to turn the conference over to our host, Vice President of Investor Relations, Ms. Darcy Reese. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給我們的東道主、投資者關係副總裁 Darcy Reese 女士。請繼續。

Thank you, Brad. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call for American Electric Power. We appreciate you taking time today to join us. Our earnings release, presentation slides and related financial information are available on our website at aep.com. Today, we will be making forward-looking statements during the call. There are many factors that may cause future results to differ materially from these statements. Please refer to our SEC filings for a discussion of these factors.

謝謝你，布拉德。大家早上好，歡迎參加美國電力公司 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議。我們感謝您今天抽出時間加入我們。我們的收益發布、演示幻燈片和相關財務信息可在我們的網站 aep.com 上獲取。今天，我們將在電話會議中發表前瞻性聲明。有許多因素可能導致未來結果與這些陳述存在重大差異。請參閱我們向 SEC 提交的文件，了解對這些因素的討論。

Joining me this morning for opening remarks are Julia Sloat, our President and Chief Executive Officer; and Ann Kelly, our Chief Financial Officer. We will take your questions following their remarks.

今天早上與我一起致開幕詞的是我們的總裁兼首席執行官 Julia Sloat；和我們的首席財務官安·凱利。我們將根據他們的發言回答您的問題。

I will now turn the call over to Julie.

我現在將把電話轉給朱莉。

Thanks, Darcy. Welcome, everyone, to American Electric Power's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. It's good to be with everyone this morning. It's a rapid time of change in our industry with new opportunities resulting from federal policy shifts and evolving state and customer priorities. We also continue to navigate a dynamic environment with rising interest rates and supply chain constraints. In short, it's definitely an exciting time to be at AEP as we make significant progress on our important stakeholder commitments and strategic objectives including delivering on our 2023 operating earnings guidance and 6% to 7% annual operating earnings growth, providing dividend growth in line with earnings, strengthening our balance sheet as we move through the next few quarters, actively managing our portfolio, achieving net-zero by 2045 and central to our purpose, keeping our customer rates affordable.

謝謝，達西。歡迎大家參加美國電力公司 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議。今天早上能和大家在一起真是太好了。這是我們行業快速變革的時期，聯邦政策的轉變以及不斷變化的州和客戶優先事項帶來了新的機遇。我們還繼續應對利率上升和供應鏈限制的動態環境。簡而言之，對於 AEP 來說絕對是一個激動人心的時刻，因為我們在重要的利益相關者承諾和戰略目標方面取得了重大進展，包括實現 2023 年營業利潤指導和 6% 至 7% 的年度營業利潤增長，提供符合收益，在接下來的幾個季度中加強我們的資產負債表，積極管理我們的投資組合，到 2045 年實現淨零排放，這是我們目標的核心，使我們的客戶價格保持在可負擔的範圍內。

We recently made some organizational adjustments such as the restructuring of our federal affairs function, the realignment of our regulatory team and the refreshment of some of our operating company presidents. These changes will help us to operate more effectively and facilitate our success in this ever-changing environment. As always, we keep the customer at the center of every decision we make. This is why we engage with our federal and state regulators, so we know how to best support our operating companies while we balance investor preferences as we grow the business and invest $40 billion over the next 5 years in new generation resources and our energy delivery infrastructure. This morning, I'll provide a brief overview of our second quarter financial performance before getting into our measured and disciplined approach to simplifying and derisking our business profile through our portfolio management activities.

我們最近進行了一些組織調整，例如聯邦事務職能的重組、監管團隊的重組以及一些運營公司總裁的更新。這些變化將幫助我們更有效地運作，並促進我們在這個不斷變化的環境中取得成功。一如既往，我們將客戶置於我們做出的每一個決策的中心。這就是我們與聯邦和州監管機構合作的原因，這樣我們就知道如何最好地支持我們的運營公司，同時在業務發展過程中平衡投資者的偏好，並在未來 5 年內投資 400 億美元用於新一代資源和能源輸送基礎設施。今天早上，我將簡要概述我們第二季度的財務業績，然後介紹我們通過投資組合管理活動簡化和降低業務狀況的謹慎和嚴格的方法。

Related to this, I'll share some updates regarding our unregulated contractor renewables portfolio, retail and distributed resources businesses and the status of our strategic review of our noncore transmission joint ventures. While we still have a lot of work to do on the regulatory front, I'll conclude by providing insight into the recent successes related to our renewables execution and development on our regulatory and legislative initiatives as we keep our customers' needs top of mind.

與此相關，我將分享一些有關我們不受監管的承包商可再生能源投資組合、零售和分佈式資源業務以及我們對非核心輸電合資企業的戰略審查狀況的最新信息。雖然我們在監管方面還有很多工作要做，但我將通過深入了解最近與我們的可再生能源執行和監管和立法舉措的發展相關的成功來總結，因為我們始終將客戶的需求放在首位。

A summary of our second quarter 2023 business highlights and a high-level overview of our financial results can be found on Slide 6 of today's presentation. AEP delivered second quarter 2023 operating earnings of $1.13 per share or $582 million compared to $1.20 per share or $618 million last year. The year-over-year decline reflects the timing of higher interest rates and the reversal of last year's second quarter 2022 favorable weather. Today, we're pleased to reaffirm our 2023 full year operating earnings guidance range of $5.19 to $5.39 with a $5.29 midpoint and long-term earnings growth rate of 6% to 7%.

我們的 2023 年第二季度業務亮點摘要和財務業績的高級概述可在今天演示文稿的第 6 張幻燈片中找到。 AEP 2023 年第二季度營業利潤為每股 1.13 美元，即 5.82 億美元，而去年為每股 1.20 美元，即 6.18 億美元。同比下降反映了利率上升的時機以及去年第二季度2022年有利天氣的逆轉。今天，我們很高興重申 2023 年全年營業利潤指導範圍為 5.19 美元至 5.39 美元，中點為 5.29 美元，長期收益增長率為 6% 至 7%。

Given our line of sight at this point in the year, I believe we have the operational flexibility and levers to pull to ensure that we will deliver on our commitments. Later on, Ann is going to talk or walk through our second quarter 2023 performance drivers and share some perspectives on our load outlook as we drive economic development within our service territory. She'll also share some details supporting our targeted 14% to 15% FFO to debt range. While our FFO to debt is 11.1% this quarter, our forecast show material improvement in this metric as we approach year-end, and we fully expect to be in our targeted range in early 2024.

考慮到我們今年此時的視線，我相信我們擁有運營靈活性和槓桿來確保我們兌現我們的承諾。稍後，Ann 將討論或介紹我們 2023 年第二季度的績效驅動因素，並分享我們在推動服務領域內經濟發展時對負荷前景的一些看法。她還將分享一些支持我們 14% 至 15% FFO 債務範圍目標的細節。雖然我們本季度的 FFO 債務比率為 11.1%，但我們的預測顯示，隨著年底的臨近，這一指標將出現實質性改善，我們完全預計 2024 年初將達到我們的目標範圍。

As we continue to execute on our strategic objectives, we remain focused on simplifying and derisking our business profile. To that end, you'll recall that in February of this year, we announced the signed agreement with IRG Acquisition Holdings for the sale of our 1,365 megawatt unregulated renewables portfolio.

在我們繼續執行我們的戰略目標的同時，我們仍然專注於簡化我們的業務並降低其風險。為此，您可能還記得，今年 2 月，我們宣布與 IRG Acquisition Holdings 簽署協議，出售我們 1,365 兆瓦的不受監管的可再生能源投資組合。

A summary of the renewable sale can be found on Slide 7. In the second quarter, we received FERC 203 approval and clearance from antitrust authorities. The only remaining approval is from the committee on foreign investment in the U.S., which we expect to receive in the near term and subsequently closed on the sale in August. As we've said, the proceeds from this transaction will be directed to our core regulated businesses and strengthening of our balance sheet.

可再生能源銷售摘要請參見幻燈片 7。第二季度，我們收到了反壟斷機構的 FERC 203 批准和許可。唯一剩下的批准來自美國外國投資委員會，我們預計將在短期內收到該批准，並隨後於 8 月份完成出售。正如我們所說，此次交易的收益將用於我們的核心監管業務和加強我們的資產負債表。

Turning to Slide 8. Let's touch on some other asset sales that we have in progress. In May 2023, we also announced the sale of our New Mexico Renewable Development solar portfolio, also known as NMRD. We are currently on track with our 50/50 joint venture partner, PNM Resources to close on this transaction by the end of 2023. The sales of our retail and distributed resources businesses are also on schedule to close in the first half of 2024, as previously announced.

轉向幻燈片 8。讓我們談談我們正在進行的其他一些資​​產銷售。 2023 年 5 月，我們還宣佈出售新墨西哥州可再生能源開發太陽能產品組合（也稱為 NMRD）。目前，我們正與我們 50/50 的合資夥伴 PNM Resources 在 2023 年底前完成這項交易。我們的零售和分佈式資源業務的銷售也按計劃於 2024 年上半年完成，因為之前宣布的。

Please keep in mind that other than the unregulated renewables portfolio proceeds of $1.2 billion, no other sales proceeds are reflected in our 5-year cash flow outlook. We will first obtain the signed sales agreements for NMRD and our retail and distributed resources businesses and then incorporate the related proceeds into our cash flow outlook. As part of our commitment to portfolio management, I'm pleased to share some additional news with you today. We're announcing that we've completed the strategic review of 2 of our 3 noncore transmission joint ventures and have determined that the sale of AEP's interest in Prairie Wind Transmission and Pioneer Transmission is our preferred path forward.

請記住，除了不受監管的可再生能源投資組合收益 12 億美元外，我們的 5 年現金流展望中沒有反映其他銷售收益。我們將首先獲得 NMRD 以及我們的零售和分銷資源業務已簽署的銷售協議，然後將相關收益納入我們的現金流前景。作為我們對投資組合管理承諾的一部分，我很高興今天與您分享一些其他消息。我們宣布，我們已經完成了對 3 個非核心變速器合資企業中的 2 個的戰略審查，並確定出售 AEP 在 Prairie Wind Transmission 和 Pioneer Transmission 中的權益是我們的首選前進道路。

We expect to launch the sales processes soon, and we'll keep you updated on our progress. In the meantime, we continue our strategic review of Transource Energy and expect to complete that review by year-end.

我們預計很快就會啟動銷售流程，並且我們將隨時向您通報我們的進展情況。與此同時，我們繼續對 Transsource Energy 進行戰略審查，並預計在年底前完成審查。

Now let's switch gears to AEP's regulated renewables execution and recent successes. Through our 5-year $8.6 billion regulated renewables capital plan, we now have a total of $5.2 billion approved and an additional $1.7 billion currently before our commissions for approval. You can find more detail on activities to acquire additional generation resources in the appendix on Slides 31 through 33.

現在讓我們來談談 AEP 受監管的可再生能源執行情況和最近取得的成功。通過我們為期 5 年的 86 億美元受監管可再生能源資本計劃，我們目前已批准總額為 52 億美元的資金，另有 17 億美元目前正在等待我們的委員會批准。您可以在幻燈片 31 至 33 的附錄中找到有關獲取額外發電資源的活動的更多詳細信息。

In May 2023, the Oklahoma Commission approved PSO's 995.5-megawatt renewables portfolio for $2.5 billion, which includes 3 wind and 3 solar projects. These projects are projected to be in service towards the end of 2025. For SWEPCO's 999 megawatt renewables portfolio totaling $2.2 billion of investments. I'm happy to report that last month, both the Arkansas and Louisiana Commissions approved the full portfolio containing 2 wind projects and 1 solar project. We expect the projects will be going into service by the 2025 timeframe. Since the Texas Commission denied SWEPCO's application related to these projects, Arkansas will move forward with the 20% of the portfolio total and Louisiana will flex up with 70%, giving FERC wholesale customers the remaining 10%. We're excited to deliver the benefits of lowest reasonable cost and reliable energy to these communities we serve in Arkansas and Louisiana.

2023 年 5 月，俄克拉荷馬州委員會批准了 PSO 價值 25 億美元的 995.5 兆瓦可再生能源投資組合，其中包括 3 個風能和 3 個太陽能項目。這些項目預計將於 2025 年底投入使用。SWEPCO 的 999 兆瓦可再生能源投資組合的投資總額為 22 億美元。我很高興地向大家報告，上個月，阿肯色州和路易斯安那州委員會都批准了包含 2 個風能項目和 1 個太陽能項目的完整投資組合。我們預計這些項目將在 2025 年投入使用。由於得克薩斯州委員會拒絕了 SWEPCO 與這些項目相關的申請，阿肯色州將向前推進投資組合總額的 20%，路易斯安那州將增加 70%，將剩餘的 10% 交給 FERC 批發客戶。我們很高興能為我們在阿肯色州和路易斯安那州服務的這些社區提供最低合理成本和可靠能源的好處。

We're also currently waiting for commission decisions expected as early as in the third quarter of 2023 for 151 megawatts of owned wind and energy storage at APCo, 469 megawatts of owned solar at I&M and 154 megawatts of owned wind at PSO. Importantly, our regulated renewables goals are aligned and supported by our integrated resources plans. Accordingly, we've issued a request for proposals for generation resources at APCo and I&M with more to come from operating companies soon.

我們目前還在等待委員會的決定，預計最早將於 2023 年第三季度做出有關 APCo 151 兆瓦自有風能和儲能、I&M 469 兆瓦自有太陽能和 PSO 154 兆瓦自有風能的決定。重要的是，我們的監管可再生能源目標與我們的綜合資源計劃相一致並得到支持。因此，我們已向 APCo 和 I&M 發出了發電資源徵求建議書，運營公司很快就會提供更多建議書。

I'll turn now to updates on several of our ongoing regulatory and legislative initiatives. More detail on our regulatory activities can be found in the appendix on Slides 34 through 36. We are unquestionably focused on closing the gap between our authorized versus earned ROEs. While our second quarter ROE came in at 8.6%, this measure was depressed by 40 basis points due to mild weather. Closing this gap is going to take a little longer than we had anticipated in our 2023 guidance, which you may recall included a 9.4% ROE, but I'm confident that we'll reduce this gap by year-end and still meet our earnings guidance.

我現在將介紹我們正在進行的幾項監管和立法舉措的最新情況。有關我們監管活動的更多詳細信息，請參閱幻燈片 34 至 36 的附錄。毫無疑問，我們致力於縮小授權與賺取的 ROE 之間的差距。雖然我們第二季度的 ROE 為 8.6%，但由於天氣溫和，這一指標下降了 40 個基點。縮小這一差距所需的時間比我們在 2023 年指導中預期的時間要長一些，您可能還記得其中包括 9.4% 的股本回報率，但我相信我們將在年底前縮小這一差距，並仍能達到我們的盈利目標指導。

As we make needed progress in this regard, we are continuing to prioritize federal, state and customer preferences to meet the needs of our communities that we serve. We look forward to building on our constructive relationships with all of our stakeholders and clearing the path for our operating companies to be effective and successful in their respective service territories.

隨著我們在這方面取得必要的進展，我們將繼續優先考慮聯邦、州和客戶的偏好，以滿足我們所服務的社區的需求。我們期待與所有利益相關者建立建設性關係，並為我們的運營公司在各自的服務領域取得有效和成功掃清道路。

In fact, while being mindful of any ex parte restrictions, I'm personally meeting with many commissioners across AEP's footprint to engage in discussions about our company and what is top of mind for them in the way of priorities and expectations as we work together to do our best to provide this product that is the fundamental enabler for society.

事實上，在註意任何單方面限制的同時，我親自會見了 AEP 業務範圍內的許多專員，以討論我們公司的情況以及他們在我們共同努力時最關心的優先事項和期望是什麼盡我們最大的努力提供這個產品，它是社會的根本推動力。

In June 2023, we filed a new base case in Kentucky to address the financial health of the company and establish a path for future investment. The application incorporated a comprehensive rate review and a proposed 9.9% ROE with a request to allow for the securitization of $471 million of regulatory assets. This will help to ensure that Kentucky Power is best positioned to provide safe and reliable service while managing costs to provide affordable service to our customers. We expect that the new rates will be in effect in early 2024.

2023 年 6 月，我們在肯塔基州提交了一個新的基本案例，以解決公司的財務健康問題並為未來的投資建立路徑。該申請納入了全面的利率審查和擬議的 9.9% 的 ROE，並請求允許將 4.71 億美元的監管資產證券化。這將有助於確保 Kentucky Power 處於最佳位置，能夠提供安全可靠的服務，同時管理成本，為我們的客戶提供負擔得起的服務。我們預計新費率將於 2024 年初生效。

In May 2023, we settled PSO's base case with the commission staff, Attorney General and other parties in Oklahoma, providing a path for approval for more efficient cost recovery mechanisms with continuation of the transmission tracker and reestablishment of a distribution tracker. While we await a commission decision expected in the third quarter of 2023, we implemented interim rates starting in early June. For APCo, Virginia's 2020 to 2022 Triennial filed in March of 2023, we're working through regulatory -- the regulatory calendar and expect an order later this year.

2023 年 5 月，我們與俄克拉荷馬州的委員會工作人員、總檢察長和其他各方解決了 PSO 的基本案例，通過繼續傳輸跟踪器和重新建立分配跟踪器，為更有效的成本回收機制提供了批准途徑。在我們等待預計於 2023 年第三季度做出的委員會決定的同時，我們從 6 月初開始實施了臨時費率。對於弗吉尼亞州 APCo 於 2023 年 3 月提交的 2020 至 2022 年三年展，我們正在製定監管日曆，預計今年晚些時候會收到訂單。

In Texas, legislation was passed last month, which permits utilities to file the Distribution Cost Recovery Factor, or DCRF, twice per year instead of once per year. The bill also allows DCRF to be used by a utility even if it has a pending base case review proceeding. This important legislation will help improve AEP's regulatory lag in Texas as we make needed distribution investments to bolster the grid in this region. AEP's management of fuel cost recovery remains a top priority with a deferred fuel balance at $1.4 billion as of the second quarter 2023. We've adapted fuel cost recovery mechanisms across most of our jurisdictions with a focus on balancing customer impacts.

德克薩斯州上個月通過了立法，允許公用事業公司每年提交兩次配電成本回收係數（DCRF），而不是每年一次。該法案還允許公用事業公司使用 DCRF，即使該公用事業公司有待決的基本案例審查程序。這項重要的立法將有助於改善 AEP 在德克薩斯州的監管滯後，因為我們進行了必要的配電投資以加強該地區的電網。 AEP 的燃料成本回收管理仍然是重中之重，截至 2023 年第二季度，遞延燃料餘額為 14 億美元。我們已在大多數轄區調整了燃料成本回收機制，重點是平衡客戶影響。

Notably, we are awaiting a decision on our fuel case in West Virginia. Through this spring, we were active at the state legislature and collaborated on a new securitization bill to provide an effective path forward on fuel recovery and other legacy costs while mitigating customer bill impacts. In April 2023 fuel recovery application, we filed 2 options for consideration, one which amortizes the fuel balance over 3 years and alternatively, in an effort to even further minimize cost impacts to customers. We requested West Virginia Commission approval to use securitization to manage our $553 million deferred fuel balance.

值得注意的是，我們正在等待西弗吉尼亞州燃油案例的決定。今年春天，我們積極參與州立法機構的工作，合作制定了一項新的證券化法案，為燃料回收和其他遺留成本提供有效的解決途徑，同時減輕客戶賬單的影響。在 2023 年 4 月的燃料回收申請中，我們提交了 2 種選擇供考慮，一種是在 3 年內攤銷燃料餘額，另一種是為了進一步最大限度地減少對客戶的成​​本影響。我們請求西弗吉尼亞州委員會批准使用證券化來管理我們 5.53 億美元的遞延燃料餘額。

We also proposed an opportunity within that second option to apply the securitization mechanism to $88 million of deferred storm costs and $1.2 billion of legacy coal plant balances with the intention of offering a solution that would essentially have a neutral impact on customer rates. Keep in mind, securitization is the mechanism we can use to address affordability in West Virginia. While it's important that we address fuel and storm cost recovery in the state, let me be clear that the possible securitization of $1.2 billion for our Amos and Mountaineer coal plant balances is not required to hit our credit metrics nor does it suggest that there's a change in our current plant retirement schedule at 2040 for these units, whether this is entirely driven by the desire to consider all options to mitigate impact to customer bills.

我們還在第二種選擇中提出了一個機會，將證券化機制應用於 8800 萬美元的遞延風暴成本和 12 億美元的遺留燃煤電廠餘額，目的是提供一種基本上對客戶費率產生中性影響的解決方案。請記住，證券化是我們可以用來解決西弗吉尼亞州負擔能力問題的機制。雖然我們解決該州燃料和風暴成本回收問題很重要，但請允許我明確一點，我們的 Amos 和 Mountaineer 燃煤電廠餘額可能進行 12 億美元的證券化，這並不需要達到我們的信用指標，也不意味著會發生變化。在我們當前的 2040 年工廠退役計劃中，這是否完全是出於考慮所有選項以減輕對客戶賬單影響的願望。

The West Virginia Commission subsequently issued a procedural schedule in the fuel case, including the April 2023 prudency report, which will be addressed in an evidentiary hearing beginning on September 5. This schedule provides an opportunity to ensure focus on cost concerns in a constructive future in West Virginia, balancing customer and financial impacts. Pending the commission's decision later this year, we could issue bonds to securitize a possible combination of the deferred fuel balance, deferred storm costs and legacy coal plant balances in the first half of 2024.

西弗吉尼亞州委員會隨後發布了燃料案件的程序時間表，包括 2023 年 4 月的審慎報告，該報告將在 9 月 5 日開始的證據聽證會上得到解決。該時間表提供了一個機會，以確保在建設性的未來中關注成本問題。西弗吉尼亞州，平衡客戶和財務影響。在委員會今年晚些時候做出決定之前，我們可以發行債券，將 2024 年上半年遞延燃料餘額、遞延風暴成本和遺留燃煤電廠餘額的可能組合證券化。

I'm pleased with the progress we've made so far. We still have a lot of work to do as we execute on our plans to meet our commitments, overcome challenges, reach our strategic objectives, engage with stakeholders and keep customers a top priority. Together, we deliver safe, clean, reliable and affordable energy to our communities while creating value for our investors.

我對我們迄今為止所取得的進展感到滿意。在執行計劃以履行我們的承諾、克服挑戰、實現我們的戰略目標、與利益相關者合作並將客戶放在首位的過程中，我們仍然有很多工作要做。我們共同為我們的社區提供安全、清潔、可靠和負擔得起的能源，同時為我們的投資者創造價值。

With that, Ann will now walk you through our second quarter 2023 performance drivers and details supporting our financial targets. Ann?

接下來，Ann 現在將向您介紹我們 2023 年第二季度的業績驅動因素以及支持我們財務目標的詳細信息。安？

Thank you, Julie and Darcy. It's good to be with you all this morning. Thanks for dialing in. I'm going to walk us through our second quarter and year-to-date results, share some updates on our service territory load and finish with commentary on credit metrics and liquidity as well as some thoughts on our guidance, financial targets and portfolio management activities underway.

謝謝你們，朱莉和達西。今天早上能和大家在一起真是太好了。感謝您撥通電話。我將向我們介紹第二季度和年初至今的業績，分享我們服務區域負載的一些最新情況，最後對信用指標和流動性進行評論，以及對我們的指導的一些想法，財務目標和投資組合管理活動正在進行中。

Let's go to Slide 9, which shows the comparison of GAAP to operating earnings. GAAP earnings for the second quarter were $1.01 per share compared to $1.02 per share in 2022. Year-to-date GAAP earnings through June were $1.78 per share compared to $2.43 per share in 2022. In our year-to-date comparison of GAAP to operating earnings, we have reflected the expected loss on the sale of the contracted renewables business as a nonoperating cost as well as an adjustment to true-up costs related to the terminated Kentucky transaction, in addition to our typical mark-to-market adjustments.

讓我們看幻燈片 9，它顯示了 GAAP 與營業利潤的比較。第二季度的 GAAP 收益為每股 1.01 美元，而 2022 年為每股 1.02 美元。截至 6 月份的年初至今 GAAP 收益為每股 1.78 美元，而 2022 年為每股 2.43 美元。運營收益中，除了我們典型的按市價調整之外，我們還反映了出售合同可再生能源業務的預期損失作為非運營成本，以及對與終止的肯塔基州交易相關的調整成本的調整。

Also, due to new legislation in Texas allowing the recovery of incentive compensation, a favorable entry was booked in the second quarter to capitalize previously incurred costs, which was almost entirely reflected as nonoperating earnings. There is a detailed reconciliation of GAAP to operating earnings on Pages 16 and 17 of the presentation today.

此外，由於德克薩斯州的新立法允許收回激勵補償，第二季度登記了有利的條目，以資本化之前發生的成本，這幾乎完全反映為營業外收入。今天演示文稿的第 16 頁和第 17 頁有 GAAP 與運營收益的詳細調節表。

So let's walk through our quarterly operating earnings performance by segment on Slide 10. Operating earnings for the second quarter totaled $1.13 per share or $582 million, compared to $1.20 per share or $618 million in 2022. The lower performance compared to last year was primarily driven by weather, interest and O&M, partially offset by rate increases in our utilities and transmission revenue growth in both our utilities and the Transmission Holding Company segment.

因此，讓我們在幻燈片 10 上按細分市場了解我們的季度營業利潤表現。第二季度營業利潤總計為每股 1.13 美元，即 5.82 億美元，而 2022 年為每股 1.20 美元，即 6.18 億美元。業績與去年相比較低的主要原因是受天氣、利息和運營維護的影響，部分被我們的公用事業費率上漲以及公用事業和輸電控股公司部門的輸電收入增長所抵消。

The unfavorable weather was largely due to positive weather we saw in the second quarter of 2022. While weather was mild beginning in the second quarter of 2023, and the unfavorable impact was less significant in comparison to the first quarter of this year. Interest continues to be unfavorable versus the prior year, and that is primarily driven by higher debt balances as well as the higher interest rates. The higher debt balance also has resulted in an increase in interest expense as compared to our guidance, but we continue to adjust in other areas to offset this impact.

不利天氣很大程度上是由於我們在2022年第二季度看到的積極天氣造成的。雖然從2023年第二季度開始天氣溫和，但與今年第一季度相比，不利影響較小。與上一年相比，利息仍然不利，這主要是由於債務餘額增加以及利率上升所致。與我們的指導相比，較高的債務餘額也導致利息支出增加，但我們繼續在其他領域進行調整以抵消這種影響。

Again, we were expecting this variance to be more pronounced in the first half of 2023 as interest rates have somewhat stabilized. We also expect the announced sale of our contracted renewables business to close this quarter and the conversion of the $850 million equity units in August to lessen the burden in the second half of the year.

同樣，隨著利率有所穩定，我們預計這種差異在 2023 年上半年會更加明顯。我們還預計，已宣布的合同可再生能源業務出售將於本季度完成，8 月將完成 8.5 億美元股權單位的轉換，以減輕下半年的負擔。

Finally, I'd like to note as well that we still expect to see favorable O&M in the second half of the year compared to the prior year. Reflecting the timing of O&M spending and near-term actions that we are taking to help offset the unfavorable weather, such as holding positions open, reducing travel and adjusting the timing and of discretionary spending. These actions are in addition to our ongoing efficiency efforts that we target to offset the impact of inflation each year.

最後，我還想指出的是，與去年相比，我們仍然預計下半年的運維情況會更好。反映了運營和維護支出的時機以及我們為幫助抵消不利天氣而採取的近期行動，例如持有未平倉頭寸、減少旅行以及調整可自由支配支出的時機和時間。這些行動是我們持續努力提高效率的補充，我們的目標是每年抵消通貨膨脹的影響。

Operating earnings for our vertically integrated utilities were $0.51 per share, down $0.08. Favorable drivers included rate changes across multiple jurisdictions, depreciation and office on sales. These items were more than offset by the unfavorable weather, interest expense, O&M and lower retail and wholesale loads.

我們垂直整合的公用事業公司的營業利潤為每股 0.51 美元，下降 0.08 美元。有利的驅動因素包括多個司法管轄區的利率變化、折舊和辦公樓銷售。這些項目被不利的天氣、利息支出、運營和維護以及較低的零售和批發負荷所抵消。

I will touch on our retail load trends in a couple of minutes. Consistent with our first quarter results, depreciation is favorable at the vertically integrated utility segment, primarily due to the expiration of the Rockport Unit 2 lease in December of 2022. I&M should continue to see about $0.055 of net favorable depreciation in each of the first 3 quarters of 2023, plus an additional $0.035 in Q4. Including the impact of the Rockport lease, depreciation was $0.04 favorable in Q2. However, if we exclude the impact of the lease, depreciation would have been about $0.02 unfavorable, which is consistent with the incremental investment in this segment.

我將在幾分鐘內討論我們的零售負載趨勢。與我們第一季度的業績一致，垂直一體化公用事業領域的折舊是有利的，這主要是由於羅克波特 2 號機組的租約將於 2022 年 12 月到期。I&M 應該會繼續看到前 3 個單元的淨折舊約為 0.055 美元2023 年季度，另加第四季度 0.035 美元。包括羅克波特租賃的影響，第二季度折舊為 0.04 美元。然而，如果我們排除租賃的影響，折舊約為 0.02 美元，這與該部門的增量投資一致。

I also want to mention that the favorable op system sales showing up again in the second quarter is due to the fact that Rockport Unit 2 margins are no longer shared with our retail customers. The Transmission & Distribution Utilities segment earned $0.30 per share, down $0.02 compared to last year. Favorable drivers in this segment, including transmission revenue and rate changes largely due to the distribution investment rider in Ohio and the distribution cost recovery factor rider in Texas. Offsetting these favorable items were unfavorable weather, lower retail loads, depreciation, O&M and interest.

我還想提一下，第二季度再次出現良好的操作系統銷售是因為 Rockport Unit 2 的利潤不再與我們的零售客戶分享。輸配電公用事業部門每股盈利 0.30 美元，比去年下降 0.02 美元。該領域的有利驅動因素，包括輸電收入和費率變化，很大程度上歸因於俄亥俄州的配電投資附加因素和德克薩斯州的配電成本回收因素附加因素。不利的天氣、較低的零售負載、折舊、運營和維護以及利息抵消了這些有利因素。

The AEP Transmission Holdco segment contributed $0.38 per share, up $0.11 compared to last year. The main drivers here include favorable investment growth and a favorable year-over-year change in the true-up. You'll recall that we had a negative true-up in 2022. Generation & Marketing produced $0.13 per share, down $0.05 from last year. The negative variance is primarily due to the development asset sale and other onetime favorable items in 2022 as well as higher interest expense in 2023. These unfavorable items were partially offset by higher retail power margins in 2023.

AEP Transmission Holdco 部門每股貢獻 0.38 美元，比去年增加 0.11 美元。這裡的主要驅動因素包括有利的投資增長和有利的同比變化。您可能還記得，我們​​在 2022 年進行了負面調整。Generation & Marketing 每股收益為 0.13 美元，比去年下降 0.05 美元。負差異主要是由於 2022 年開發資產銷售和其他一度有利的項目以及 2023 年較高的利息支出造成的。這些不利項目被 2023 年較高的零售電力利潤率部分抵消。

Finally, Corporate and Other was down $0.03 per share, driven primarily by higher interest expense in O&M. These unfavorable items were partially offset by a favorable change in investment gain and income taxes. The favorable change in investment gain is primarily due to an investment loss incurred in the second quarter of 2022.

最後，企業及其他業務每股下跌 0.03 美元，主要是由於運營和維護方面的利息支出增加。這些不利因素被投資收益和所得稅的有利變化部分抵消。投資收益的有利變化主要是由於2022年第二季度發生的投資損失。

Before we move on to the next slide to give an update on load, I want to briefly mention that the details of our year-to-date operating earnings performance will be shown in the appendix of supplemental information going forward. You can find these details on Slide 15 of the presentation today.

在我們進入下一張幻燈片以提供負載更新之前，我想簡單提一下，我們今年迄今為止的運營盈利表現的詳細信息將顯示在後續補充信息的附錄中。您可以在今天演示文稿的幻燈片 15 中找到這些詳細信息。

Turning to Slide 11, I'll provide an update on our normalized load performance for the quarter. Overall load continues to come in ahead of budget, but we are closely monitoring key components of our retail sales in the context of slowing economy, and we are seeing different trends between our retail customer classes. As we discussed last quarter, our projections already assume that economic conditions will slow in the second half of the year. Recent positive economic data on inflation supports that any slowdown will be in line with our previous expectations.

轉向幻燈片 11，我將提供本季度標準化負載性能的最新信息。總體負荷繼續超出預算，但在經濟放緩的背景下，我們正在密切監控零售銷售的關鍵組成部分，並且我們看到零售客戶類別之間存在不同的趨勢。正如我們上季度討論的那樣，我們的預測已經假設經濟狀況將在今年下半年放緩。最近有關通脹的積極經濟數據表明任何放緩都將符合我們之前的預期。

Beginning in the upper left-hand quadrant of the slide, we see a slowing in our residential load compared to a year ago. Our residential customer counts continue to grow, but we are seeing usage decline as many of our customers return to the office and even more are squeezed by the relationship between inflation and income growth. That relationship is a key driver of residential usage, and we expect to see it stabilize in the second half of the year. This month's CPI data point was an encouraging sign that inflationary pressures on our residential customers are continuing to lessen into the fall.

從幻燈片的左上象限開始，我們看到住宅負荷與一年前相比有所放緩。我們的住宅客戶數量持續增長，但我們看到使用量下降，因為許多客戶返回辦公室，甚至更多客戶受到通貨膨脹和收入增長之間關係的擠壓。這種關係是住宅使用量的關鍵驅動因素，我們預計這種關係將在下半年趨於穩定。本月的消費者物價指數數據點是一個令人鼓舞的跡象，表明我們的住宅客戶的通脹壓力在秋季繼續減輕。

Moving to the lower left-hand quadrant of the slide, we can see a noticeable slowing in the industrial class. Though still ahead of year-end budget projections, industrial load is beginning to reflect the expected slowdown in the outlook for manufacturing across the country. This slowing has been broad-based across industries and operating companies but would have been even worse without our ongoing commitment to economic development. We estimate that total industrial load for the quarter would have actually declined by 1.2%, if not for growth tied to our economic development efforts.

移動到幻燈片的左下象限，我們可以看到工業類的增長明顯放緩。儘管仍領先於年底預算預測，但工業負荷已開始反映出全國製造業前景預期放緩的情況。這種放緩在各個行業和運營公司中都有廣泛的基礎，但如果沒有我們對經濟發展的持續承諾，情況會更糟。我們估計，如果不是與我們的經濟發展努力相關的增長，本季度的工業總負荷實際上會下降 1.2%。

Even with these efforts, however, we do expect industrial load growth to remain subdued due to the tighter financial conditions and selling levels of demand for finished goods through the end of the year. Offsetting this slowing is a significant boost to our normalized commercial sales that you can see in the upper right corner. Driven by new large customer volumes from our ongoing economic development efforts year-to-date commercial load has grown almost 8% year-over-year in each of the last 2 quarters.

然而，儘管做出了這些努力，但由於金融狀況趨緊和年底成品需求銷售水平收緊，我們預計工業負荷增長仍將保持低迷。抵消這種放緩是我們正常化商業銷售的顯著推動，您可以在右上角看到。在我們持續的經濟發展努力帶來的新的大客戶量的推動下，過去兩個季度迄今為止的商業負載同比增長了近 8%。

We expect our commercial load to continue to outperform through the end of the year, thanks to ongoing technology development across our operating footprint. Gains in AEP Texas and AEP Ohio should continue to be especially robust with several new projects scheduled to come online through the end of the year. The June CPI data, we've now seen a material deceleration in key components of inflation that the economy has been waiting to see. We think this progress on inflation coupled with continued resilience in the labor market, dramatically reduces the probability of a severe economic contraction in 2023.

由於我們運營範圍內持續的技術開發，我們預計我們的商業負載將在今年年底繼續表現出色。德克薩斯州 AEP 和俄亥俄州 AEP 的收益應該會繼續特別強勁，幾個新項目計劃在今年年底上線。從 6 月份消費者物價指數 (CPI) 數據來看，我們現在已經看到經濟一直在等待的通脹關鍵組成部分出現實質性減速。我們認為，通脹方面的進展加上勞動力市場的持續彈性，大大降低了 2023 年經濟嚴重萎縮的可能性。

Our near and long-term load projections are bolstered by our disciplined commitment to economic development across the service area. We know that working with local stakeholders to attract more economic activity is a key strategy to providing value to our customers. This allows us to continue to prioritize investments that will improve customer experience while mitigating the rate impacts on our customer base.

我們對整個服務區域經濟發展的嚴格承諾支持了我們的近期和長期負荷預測。我們知道，與當地利益相關者合作吸引更多經濟活動是為客戶提供價值的關鍵策略。這使我們能夠繼續優先考慮改善客戶體驗的投資，同時減輕對客戶群的費率影響。

Great examples of our recent successes are Enel in Tulsa and GM and Samsung in Indiana. Both of these economic development wins will not only add load to our Industrial segment but each is also expected to bring more than 1,000 full-time jobs that will ultimately benefit our residential segment and boost the local economy.

我們最近取得成功的典型例子是塔爾薩的 Enel 以及印第安納州的通用汽車和三星。這兩項經濟發展成果不僅會增加我們工業部門的負荷，而且預計還將帶來 1,000 多個全職工作崗位，最終將有利於我們的住宅部門並促進當地經濟。

Let's move on to Slide 12 to discuss the company's capitalization and liquidity position. Taking a look at the upper left quadrant on the page, you can see our FFO to debt metric stands at 11.1%, which is a decrease of 30 basis points from last quarter and continues to be below our target. The primary reason for this decrease is a $1.3 billion increase in debt during the quarter, partially due to long-term debt issuances at the operating company level to support our capital investments. And the return of mark-to-market collateral positions associated with the decline in natural gas and power prices.

讓我們繼續看幻燈片 12，討論公司的資本和流動性狀況。查看頁面左上象限，您可以看到我們的 FFO 債務指標為 11.1%，比上季度下降了 30 個基點，仍然低於我們的目標。這一下降的主要原因是本季度債務增加了 13 億美元，部分原因是運營公司層面發行長期債券以支持我們的資本投資。以及與天然氣和電力價格下跌相關的按市價計價的抵押品頭寸的回歸。

Return of collateral reduces our funds from operations to hits us on both sides of the equation. Without the fluctuations in our mark-to-market collateral positions over the past 12 months and some remaining impact of deferred fuel, our asset loaded debt metric will be closer to 13.7%. We expect that this metric will improve by year-end as we reduce debt after the close of the announced renewable sales and our 2020 equity unit conversion. And we see the improvement in funds from operations over prior year in the fourth quarter.

抵押品的返還減少了我們的運營資金，這對等式的雙方都造成了打擊。如果沒有過去 12 個月按市價計價的抵押品頭寸的波動以及延期燃料的一些剩餘影響，我們的資產負債率指標將接近 13.7%。我們預計，隨著我們在宣布的可再生能源銷售和 2020 年股權單位轉換結束後減少債務，這一指標將在年底有所改善。我們看到第四季度運營資金比去年有所改善。

We remain committed to our targeted FFO to debt range of 14% to 15%, and we expect material improvement by the end of 2023 and to achieve our target in early 2024. You can see our liquidity summary in the lower left quadrant of the slide, our 5-year $4 billion bank revolver and 2-year $1 billion revolving credit facility to support our liquidity position, which remains strong at $3.1 billion. On a GAAP basis, our debt-to-capital ratio increased from the prior quarter by 50 basis points to 64.6%. We plan to reduce this percentage in the third quarter as we eliminate debt when we close our announced contracted renewable sales transaction and complete our previously planned equity unit conversion.

我們仍然致力於實現 14% 至 15% 的 FFO 債務比率目標範圍，我們預計到 2023 年底將出現實質性改善，並在 2024 年初實現我們的目標。您可以在幻燈片左下象限看到我們的流動性摘要，我們的 5 年期 40 億美元銀行循環信貸和 2 年期 10 億美元循環信貸安排，以支持我們的流動性頭寸，目前流動性頭寸仍保持在 31 億美元的強勁水平。按 GAAP 計算，我們的債務資本比率比上一季度增加了 50 個基點，達到 64.6%。我們計劃在第三季度降低這一百分比，因為當我們關閉已宣布的合同可再生能源銷售交易並完成之前計劃的股權單位轉換時，我們將消除債務。

On the qualified pension front, our funding status increased during the quarter to 102.2%. The funded status improved due to rising rates during the quarter that decreased the liability while solid equity returns positively impacted plan assets.

在合格養老金方面，本季度我們的資金狀況增加至 102.2%。由於本季度利率上升減少了負債，而穩健的股本回報對計劃資產產生了積極影響，因此資金狀況有所改善。

Let's go to Slide 13 for a quick recap of today's message. The unfavorable change in weather, primarily due to positive effects seen in the second quarter of 2022 is a significant driver in our quarter-over-quarter earnings comparison. If we remove this effect, we would have been $0.05 favorable compared to the prior year, and our results were roughly in line with our expectations for the company as a whole. I will note, from a year-to-date perspective, 2023 weather has been the most mild on record for the AEP system in the past 30 years, resulting in $0.29 EPS impact year-over-year and about $0.20 versus normal weather.

讓我們轉到幻燈片 13 快速回顧一下今天的信息。主要由於 2022 年第二季度出現的積極影響而導致的不利天氣變化是我們季度環比盈利比較的重要推動因素。如果我們消除這種影響，與上一年相比，我們將獲得 0.05 美元的優惠，並且我們的業績大致符合我們對公司整體的預期。我要指出的是，從年初至今的角度來看，2023 年的天氣是 AEP 系統有記錄以來 30 年來最溫和的，導致每股收益同比影響 0.29 美元，與正常天氣相比影響約 0.20 美元。

So as we progress through the remainder of the year, we will continue to focus on taking actions to mitigate this and other headwinds. Overall, our business remains in a strong position, and we are reaffirming our operating earnings guidance of $5.19 to $5.39 per share. We also continue to be committed to our long-term growth rate of 6% to 7%. As Julie previously addressed, we are on track to close the sale of our unregulated contracted renewables portfolio in the third quarter this year and our retail and distributed resources business in the first half of 2024.

因此，隨著今年剩餘時間的進展，我們將繼續專注於採取行動來減輕這一不利因素和其他不利因素。總體而言，我們的業務仍然處於強勢地位，我們重申每股 5.19 美元至 5.39 美元的營業利潤指導。我們還繼續致力於 6% 至 7% 的長期增長率。正如朱莉之前所說，我們有望在今年第三季度完成不受監管的合同可再生能源投資組合的出售，並在 2024 年上半年完成零售和分佈式資源業務的出售。

We've concluded that the sale of our interest in 2 of our transmission joint ventures, Prairie Wind Transmission, and Pioneer Transmission is our preferred path, and we continue a strategic review of our Transource Energy joint venture. These initiatives will help simplify and derisk our business going forward.

我們得出的結論是，出售我們在兩家傳輸合資企業（Prairie Wind Transmission 和 Pioneer Transmission）中的權益是我們的首選路徑，並且我們將繼續對我們的 Transource Energy 合資企業進行戰略審查。這些舉措將有助於簡化我們的業務並降低我們未來業務的風險。

We really appreciate your time and attention today. And with that, I'm going to ask Brad to open the call so we can hear what's on your mind and answer any questions that you have.

我們非常感謝您今天的時間和關注。接下來，我將請布拉德開始通話，以便我們能夠聽到您的想法並回答您的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) I guess there's someone here. Shahriar Pourreza with Guggenheim Securities.

（操作員指示）我猜有人在這裡。古根海姆證券公司的 Shahriar Pourreza。

Just on the credit metrics, obviously, a little bit more slippage this quarter, which you highlighted. I guess, can you talk about the pathway to get to that 14% to 15%, a little bit more detail, I think 300 basis points seems like a lot of improvement that's needed in the short timeframe being that it's your early '24 target. I mean could we see incremental equity in plan as the asset tails enough to get you there? And how important is collecting the unrecovered fuel balance in terms of being able to hit that target, which I guess, still stands around $1.4 billion.

就信用指標而言，很明顯，本季度的滑點有所增加，正如您所強調的那樣。我想，你能談談達到 14% 到 15% 的途徑嗎？更詳細一點，我認為 300 個基點似乎是短期內需要的大量改進，因為這是你的 24 年早期目標。我的意思是，隨著資產尾部足以讓您實現目標，我們是否可以看到計劃中的增量股本？收集未恢復的燃料餘額對於實現該目標有多重要，我認為該目標仍約為 14 億美元。

Yes. Sure. I'll take that. As we mentioned, the main impact to our FFO to debt is the timing of the collateral payments. So that's about a 240 basis point impact to our FFO to debt. And so that should resolve itself by the year-end and result in a noticeable improvement. We also have about 100 basis points of favorable impact from the proceeds of the transacted renewable sale and the equity unit conversion. So we are confident that we are going to have metal improvement by the end of the year and be into the range by next year. In our forecast, we don't have any of the securitization in our cash flows. We do have recovery of deferred fuel, but that is not necessary to be able to get into our current range.

是的。當然。我會接受的。正如我們提到的，對我們的 FFO 債務的主要影響是抵押品支付的時間。因此，這對我們的 FFO 債務影響約為 240 個基點。因此，這個問題應該會在年底前自行解決，並帶來明顯的改善。可再生能源銷售交易和股權單位轉換的收益也對我們產生了約 100 個基點的有利影響。因此，我們有信心在今年年底之前實現金屬的改進，並在明年之前進入該範圍。根據我們的預測，我們的現金流中沒有任何證券化。我們確實恢復了延期燃料，但這並不是進入我們當前範圍所必需的。

Got it. Okay. Perfect. And then maybe just more of a strategic question for Julie. Obviously, AEP is never CapEx constrained, right? I guess, how do we sort of think about overall financing, especially given the current interest rate environment and kind of where the stock currently trades, do you have ongoing -- you do have ongoing needs, right? So as we're thinking about parent leverage and equity. Are more noncore asset sales out there? Or could we actually start to see some more core assets sales to kind of fund the plan and maybe further simplify the story.

知道了。好的。完美的。對於朱莉來說，這可能更多是一個戰略問題。顯然，AEP 永遠不會受到資本支出的限制，對吧？我想，我們如何看待整體融資，特別是考慮到當前的利率環境和股票目前的交易情況，你是否有持續的需求，對吧？因此，當我們考慮母公司槓桿和股權時。是否有更多非核心資產出售？或者我們是否真的可以開始看到更多的核心資產出售，為該計劃提供資金，並可能進一步簡化故事。

Yes. No, Shar, I appreciate the question. And you're right, we have a lot of opportunity to put capital to work as it relates to taking care of the customer and delivering reliable, affordable service. But as you point out, we need to make sure that we're hitting all the metrics, too. So not only do you need to be really mindful of where customer rates are going when we put money to work. I need to make sure that all my earnings growth targets are going to be hit because I think you guys would be upset with me if that didn't happen. So we'll make sure that happens.

是的。不，莎爾，我很欣賞這個問題。你是對的，我們有很多機會投入資金，因為這涉及到照顧客戶和提供可靠、負擔得起的服務。但正如您所指出的，我們也需要確保達到所有指標。因此，當我們投入資金時，您不僅需要真正關注客戶利率的走向。我需要確保我所有的盈利增長目標都能實現，因為我認為如果沒有實現的話，你們會對我感到不安。所以我們會確保這一切發生。

But I also need to make sure that my balance sheet is really strong, too. So let me get to your question around assets sales. We've really been focused on, as you know, the noncore related activities that when people buy AEP shares or invest in our bonds are not necessarily looking to buy something that is not a traditional regulated utility type business. So to that end, that's why you see us kind of going through the paces today where we've talked about the unregulated components of our business. And while we love transmission, even looking at some of these transmission investments to the joint ventures that are off our footprint.

但我還需要確保我的資產負債表也非常強勁。那麼讓我來回答你關於資產出售的問題。如您所知，我們確實一直專注於非核心相關活動，即當人們購買 AEP 股票或投資我們的債券時，不一定會購買非傳統受監管公用事業類型業務的東西。為此，這就是為什麼我們今天討論了我們業務中不受監管的部分。雖然我們熱愛輸電行業，但我們甚至會關註一些對我們之外的合資企業的輸電投資。

Because if we can channel all of our efforts in dollars to taking care of our customers that are regulated in our footprint, that's where we want to play. So I wouldn't anticipate significant additional activity coming from us for a couple of reasons. I think we're pretty cleaned up once we get some of this noncore stuff taken care of. I think we're in a good place. I think that there may be some opportunities on the edges. But for the most part, we should be in a really good space to be continuing to look at the regulated pieces of our business.

因為如果我們能夠將所有的努力投入到照顧我們足跡中受到監管的客戶上，那就是我們想要發揮的作用。因此，出於幾個原因，我預計我們不會進行大量額外活動。我認為一旦我們處理掉一些非核心的東西，我們就已經清理乾淨了。我認為我們處在一個很好的位置。我認為邊緣可能存在一些機會。但在大多數情況下，我們應該處於一個非常好的空間，可以繼續關注我們業務中受監管的部分。

But we also -- and very candid, Shar, we don't need to engage in asset sales to make the balance sheet work. What we need to do is make sure we're being as efficient as possible. And that's another reason why I want to make sure that every dollar, we do put to work is one that, a, makes sense for our customers but also is something that makes sense for our service territories. And specifically, why I'm calling that out is the another reason why I'm out talking with folks in our communities. So whether it's commissioners, customers, et cetera, need to make sure that we're aligned or at least absolutely aware of one another priorities and then we can make refinements based on those conversations.

但我們也非常坦率地表示，Shar，我們不需要進行資產出售來使資產負債表發揮作用。我們需要做的是確保我們盡可能高效。這就是為什麼我想確保我們投入的每一美元對於我們的客戶來說都是有意義的，而且對於我們的服務領域來說也是有意義的。具體來說，我之所以這麼說，是我出去與我們社區的人們交談的另一個原因。因此，無論是專員、客戶等等，都需要確保我們一致或至少完全了解彼此的優先事項，然後我們可以根據這些對話進行改進。

So I would never say that we're not at all capital constrained. Because I think we naturally are because we put our own constraints on because we got to take care of customer rates and make sure that we're going to have a really strong balance sheet. We're working on that. As Ann just mentioned, we expect that FFO to debt to look a lot better once we get to year-end and going into 2024. I think in the interim here, it's going to be just a little bumpy as we work through a couple of the next few months. So we'd be too concerned about that. I feel comfortable with the numbers I'm seeing but we'll continue to be very disciplined around which dollars we put to work where that it's consistent with what our stakeholders need and want, taking care of our customer and then just being as efficient as we can. So my focus is going to be more at this point on, let's close that gap on the ROE. That's the piece that I can try to do my best to control.

所以我絕不會說我們完全不受資本限制。因為我認為我們自然是因為我們施加了自己的限制，因為我們必須照顧客戶的價格並確保我們將擁有一個非常強大的資產負債表。我們正在努力解決這個問題。正如安剛才提到的，我們預計，一旦到了年底並進入 2024 年，FFO 的債務情況會好得多。我認為，在此期間，隨著我們經歷幾個階段，情況會有點坎坷接下來的幾個月。所以我們對此太擔心了。我對所看到的數字感到滿意，但我們將繼續嚴格遵守我們投入的資金，使其符合我們的利益相關者的需要和願望，照顧我們的客戶，然後儘可能高效我們可以。因此，我現在的重點是，讓我們縮小 ROE 上的差距。這是我能盡力控制的部分。

Got it. Terrific. And then -- no, it does. And we do appreciate some of the salient points you brought up in your prepared remarks as far as the outreach to the regulatory folks and various stakeholders. So thank you for those points.

知道了。了不起。然後——不，確實如此。我們確實感謝您在準備好的發言中提出的一些要點，包括與監管人員和各利益相關者的聯繫。所以謝謝你的這些觀點。

Yes. Thank you for the coverage.

是的。感謝您的報導。

And next, we go to Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan.

接下來，我們請來摩根大通的傑里米·託內特 (Jeremy Tonet)。

I want to kind of follow up on some of the points that you were just touching on here because some of the dockets in local media attention have highlighted some regulatory pushback in certain areas of late. And you mentioned reaching out to local commissioners to build relations there. Just wondering over what timeframe you expect to kind of meet all of them. Is this a change in regulatory strategy where they hear from headquarters more regularly here. Just wondering how you think about this type of outreach going forward?

我想對您剛才提到的一些要點進行跟進，因為當地媒體關注的一些摘要強調了最近某些領域的一些監管阻力。您提到與當地專員聯繫以建立關係。只是想知道您希望在什麼時間範圍內與他們見面。這是監管策略的變化嗎？他們更經常在這裡聽到總部的消息。只是想知道您如何看待這種類型的外展活動？

Jeremy, I love that question. So I'm going to tell you from my perspective, this is coming from a former operating company president. So I keep that hat kind of in the back pocket that I got to throw on from time to time. And so let me start with this, what my hope to do -- what I hope to do or achieve is pave the way or clear the path for our operating companies so that they can do the best they can do, boots on the ground. And so my objective is to get out to make sure that I'm talking with different commissioners.

傑里米，我喜歡這個問題。所以我要從我的角度告訴你，這是來自一位前運營公司總裁。所以我把那頂帽子放在後面的口袋裡，時不時地戴上。因此，讓我從這一點開始，我希望做的事情 - 我希望做或實現的事情是為我們的運營公司鋪平道路或掃清道路，以便他們能夠腳踏實地地盡力而為。所以我的目標是出去確保我正在與不同的委員進行交談。

And by the way, that's already underway. So I've already been out talking with several folks, and I've got my calendar lined up over the next few months to continue to that effort. So I'm not going to get into necessarily exactly who I'm talking to when, but that's well underway. So rest assured that's happening. But I just -- I want to make sure that they're hearing from me and that they understand that AEP, the parent or the service core is here to provide clearance and service and support for the individual operating companies. Really, that's the only reason the service core exists is to support the operating companies.

順便說一句，這已經在進行中。因此，我已經與幾個人進行了交談，並且我已經在接下來的幾個月里安排好了日曆，以繼續這一努力。因此，我不會確切地說明我在何時與誰交談，但這正在順利進行中。所以請放心，這種情況正在發生。但我只是 - 我想確保他們收到我的來信，並確保他們了解 AEP、母公司或服務核心是為各個運營公司提供許可、服務和支持。事實上，這就是服務核心存在的唯一原因是支持運營公司。

And I need them to hear that from me. And more importantly, I just want to be a really good listener so that I can be really good at my job, so I can take care of our customers, take care of my team and then ultimately take care of my investors and the other stakeholders that are party to everything that we're doing here. So I don't want people to think that I'm stepping in the way or thinking that something is not right because that's not the case at all.

我需要他們從我這裡聽到這一點。更重要的是，我只想成為一個真正好的傾聽者，這樣我才能真正做好我的工作，這樣我就可以照顧我們的客戶，照顧我的團隊，然後最終照顧我的投資者和其他利益相關者這是我們在這裡所做的一切的一部分。所以我不想讓人們認為我在妨礙或者認為有些事情不對勁，因為事實根本不是這樣。

I just want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to support the teams so that they can be as successful as they possibly can be. Because here's the other point, right? You called out the fact that there are pressure points as it relates to regulatory activities, I think that's going to be what we're dealing with for the next several years. We got a lot of headwinds now. The game's changed. The industry is going through a material transition each of our space is in a different place as it relates to their economies.

我只是想確保我們正在盡一切努力來支持團隊，以便他們能夠盡可能地取得成功。因為這是另一點，對吧？您指出存在與監管活動相關的壓力點，我認為這將是我們未來幾年要處理的問題。我們現在遇到了很多阻力。遊戲變了。該行業正在經歷一場重大轉變，我們每個空間都處於不同的位置，因為它與其經濟相關。

And so I think everybody is doing their job. And that means we got to do ours too. We have been doing it, but we have to be really good listeners and learners and adjusters. And I think that goes for all the different stakeholders. So the more dialogue we can have, I think the smarter we're going to be. And if nothing else, that will -- we only be able to take care of the customer and make sure we're keeping the lights on and delivering this product that make life possible but I think we're going to be doing it in a much more effective way, and we're going to have to pick up the pace, too.

所以我認為每個人都在做自己的工作。這意味著我們也必須做我們自己的事情。我們一直在這樣做，但我們必須成為真正好的傾聽者、學習者和調整者。我認為這適用於所有不同的利益相關者。因此，我們進行的對話越多，我認為我們就會變得越聰明。如果不出意外的話，那就是——我們只能照顧客戶，確保我們保持正常運轉，提供讓生活成為可能的產品，但我認為我們將以一種這是一種更有效的方法，我們也必須加快步伐。

So we've got to do it in a faster way than we've ever done it in our history. So I think it's exciting. I love getting out and talking with people. You guys know from the Street, I love getting out and talking to people, so that's not going to stop. So I just got to work my calendar, and I'll be out front, and I'm happy to talk about any of the conversations that I've had.

因此，我們必須以比歷史上任何時候都更快的方式做到這一點。所以我認為這很令人興奮。我喜歡出去與人交談。你們在華爾街都知道，我喜歡出去和人們交談，所以這不會停止。所以我只需處理我的日曆，我就會站在前面，我很樂意談論我所進行的任何對話。

Got it. That's very helpful. And just one more along these lines dialing in a little bit more. In Kentucky, our local stakeholder conversations highlight a focus on increased distribution investment as a priority as opposed to the more recent, I guess, transmission investment, which could help local stakeholder relations there with a focus on distribution. Just wondering how your Kentucky strategy evolving over time here?

知道了。這非常有幫助。沿著這些思路，再多撥一點點。在肯塔基州，我們當地的利益相關者對話強調將增加配電投資作為優先事項，而不是最近的輸電投資，我猜這可能有助於當地利益相關者關係，重點關注配電。只是想知道您的肯塔基州戰略如何隨著時間的推移而演變？

Yes. I'll tell you, let me start with this, again, having been a former CFO as well. I am at 1.6% ROE. Yes, we got to work on that. And that, to me, when I see that number, that's not a financially healthy, sustainably healthy entity. So that's why we're going through the case of activities. So we're going to work on that. And that's exactly why we went out and socialize the case well in advance with dozens of meetings with a variety of different stakeholders. So again, listening and learning, so we understand where everybody is kind of shaking out but also understanding what it is that we need to do so that we're successful not only in taking care of our customers, but making sure we're doing everything we can to make sure that the stakeholders understand what our objectives are and are comfortable with it.

是的。我會告訴你，讓我再次從這個開始，我也曾擔任過前首席財務官。我的 ROE 是 1.6%。是的，我們必須為此努力。對我來說，當我看到這個數字時，這不是一個財務健康、可持續健康的實體。這就是我們研究活動案例的原因。所以我們將致力於此。這正是我們提前與各種不同利益相關者舉行數十次會議來交流該案例的原因。再次強調，傾聽和學習，我們了解每個人都感到不安的地方，但也了解我們需要做什麼，這樣我們不僅能夠成功地照顧我們的客戶，而且確保我們正在做的事情我們盡一切努力確保利益相關者了解我們的目標並對此感到滿意。

So yes, the objective is to, a, get a plan in place that will allow us to improve the financial positioning of the company, which then enables us to make future investments to take care of the customers. They need the power too. It doesn't matter which state you're sitting in, but the idea is to engage in these activities, hopefully have a really good case. And I don't expect it to be easy. It's not supposed to be easy. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. So we'll engage in those activities and hopefully get us on a path forward that enables us to continue to invest in a really smart way in the state that everybody can feel good about.

所以，是的，我們的目標是，a，制定一項計劃，使我們能夠改善公司的財務狀況，從而使我們能夠進行未來的投資來照顧客戶。他們也需要力量。無論你處於哪個州，但我們的想法是參與這些活動，希望有一個真正好的案例。我並不認為這很容易。這應該不容易。如果這很容易，那麼每個人都會這樣做。因此，我們將參與這些活動，並希望讓我們走上一條前進的道路，使我們能夠繼續以真正明智的方式在每個人都感覺良好的州進行投資。

Got it. So there's room to pivot towards more distribution over transmission. It sounds like you're working with stakeholders there?

知道了。因此，還有空間轉向更多的分配而不是傳輸。聽起來您正在與那裡的利益相關者合作？

Absolutely. And so those are the conversations that we're having. We do know that transmission has been very important to the commission. And so that is top of mind for us as well, and we work that into the structures that we've essentially set forth in our case. But at the end of the day, it's the distribution that also matters because we got to keep the lights on.

絕對地。這些就是我們正在進行的對話。我們確實知道傳輸對於委員會來說非常重要。因此，這也是我們最關心的問題，我們將其納入我們在案例中基本闡述的結構中。但歸根結底，分配也很重要，因為我們必須保持燈亮著。

And next, we'll move to Anthony Crowdell with Mizuho.

接下來，我們將轉向瑞穗的安東尼·克勞德爾。

Just -- first off, Slide 12. This maybe I've been following it too long, but I think over the last 10 years, the total debt to total capitalization has gone from 53%. Now it sits at 65%. I'm just wondering does that stabilize? Or where do you see the sweet spot for total debt to total capitalization?

首先，幻燈片 12。這也許是我關注它太久了，但我認為在過去 10 年裡，總債務佔總資本的比例已經從 53% 下降了。現在該比例為 65%。我只是想知道穩定了嗎？或者您認為總債務與總資本的最佳平衡點在哪裡？

Yes, absolutely. Thanks for the question. So it has inched up as you can see on the graph. I mean, 60% is our sweet spot, and that's what we're targeting going forward. As you can see, we're above that right now. We do expect that to decrease with the contract renewable sale proceeds and also the equity unit conversion. So that's a couple of hundred basis points that will reduce that closer to the [60%,] but we still have some work to do.

是的，一點沒錯。謝謝你的提問。因此，正如您在圖表中看到的那樣，它已經緩慢上升。我的意思是，60% 是我們的最佳點，這就是我們未來的目標。正如你所看到的，我們現在已經超越了這個水平。我們確實預計，隨著合同可續簽銷售收益和股權單位轉換，這一數字將會減少。因此，這將減少數百個基點，接近 [60%]，但我們仍然有一些工作要做。

Great. And then if I stayed on the balance sheet here, I think you've talked about your plan to be in a target, and I hope that's correct, in 2024. If I could get real granular. When do you think you're going to get into the midpoint of your 14% to 15% range? Is that something you talk about?

偉大的。然後，如果我留在資產負債表上，我認為您已經談到了 2024 年目標的計劃，我希望這是正確的。如果我能得到真正的細節。您認為什麼時候會達到 14% 到 15% 範圍的中點？這是你在談論的事情嗎？

Yes. I mean I would say, we're going to be -- we say we're going to be in the target in 2024, and I think approaching the midpoint by the end of 2024. There are the fluctuations, as I mentioned, in FFO that we're experiencing, and that's just really due to timing of quarter-over-quarter fund flows. And so you will see, especially in 2023, that it will be depressed until the fourth quarter when we really see that (inaudible) in the collateral collection and improving our FFO there. So that's what's going to take some time. But we do expect it to increase, materially by the fourth quarter and then into next year.

是的。我的意思是，我想說，我們會——我們說我們將在 2024 年實現目標，我認為到 2024 年底將接近中點。正如我提到的，存在波動我們正在經歷的 FFO，這實際上是由於季度資金流動的時間安排造成的。所以你會看到，特別是在 2023 年，直到第四季度我們才會在抵押品收集中真正看到這一點（聽不清）並改善我們的 FFO。所以這需要一些時間。但我們確實預計這一數字將在第四季度大幅增加，然後持續到明年。

And Anthony, just to put a little finer point on it, to remember, our threshold that we're sensitive to is 13% as it relates to our Baa2 rating from Moody's, and so that's why we toggle to the 14% to 15% because what we want to have is cushion. So 14% definitely gives us some cushion. So keep that in mind as well. And the other thing I mentioned in my comments, too, is as we proceed through the rest of this year, you can expect maybe a little more pressure as we go through the next couple of months with some improvement as we get to the fourth quarter. Just want to manage those expectations.

安東尼，請說得更詳細一點，要記住，我們敏感的閾值是 13%，因為它與穆迪的 Baa2 評級相關，所以這就是為什麼我們切換到 14% 到 15%因為我們想要的是緩衝。所以 14% 肯定會給我們一些緩衝。所以也請記住這一點。我在評論中也提到的另一件事是，隨著我們今年剩餘時間的進行，您可以預期，在接下來的幾個月中，我們可能會面臨更大的壓力，隨著我們進入第四季度，情況會有所改善。只是想管理這些期望。

Yes. The other thing just to highlight is that we're talking a lot about the timing of collateral payment. But 80% of that volatility that we're seeing relates to our retail business, which, as you know, is for sale. So once we sell that business, we would expect that reduction in volatility going forward.

是的。另一件要強調的事情是，我們談論了很多關於抵押品支付的時間安排。但我們看到的波動性中有 80% 與我們的零售業務有關，正如您所知，零售業務正在出售。因此，一旦我們出售該業務，我們預計未來波動性會減少。

And then just lastly, Julie, I appreciate all the commentary you've given on the regulatory strategy and especially Kentucky. And I know Kentucky is a very small piece. But when you look at the equalizer chart, I mean, the ROE is pretty low. What's a reasonable assumption for us to use where that ROE could go in by 2024. I mean does that go to an allowed of 9.9%. I'm just curious, how long does it take to recover the regulated returns of the utility?

最後，朱莉，我感謝您對監管策略，特別是肯塔基州的所有評論。我知道肯塔基州很小。但當你查看均衡器圖表時，我的意思是，淨資產回報率相當低。對於我們來說，到 2024 年 ROE 的合理假設是什麼？我的意思是允許的 9.9% 嗎？我只是好奇，需要多長時間才能收回公用事業的監管回報？

Yes. Anthony, it is going to take a while. I do not expect a flash cut. And so remember, in our case, we requested a 9.9% ROE, our current authorized is 9.3%. I'm looking at Page 34 in the slide deck right now. It will be a walk. So that's something we're trying to manage our own expectations around as well as for you all as you work to model. So stay tuned and let's this case proceed and see how things move along and then we can continue to kind of dial that in and give you more direct guidance, okay.

是的。安東尼，這需要一段時間。我不希望出現閃切。因此請記住，在我們的案例中，我們要求 9.9% 的 ROE，我們當前的授權是 9.3%。我現在正在看幻燈片中的第 34 頁。這將是一次散步。因此，當你們努力建模時，我們正在努力管理我們自己的期望以及你們所有人的期望。因此，請繼續關注，讓我們繼續處理這個案例，看看事情進展如何，然後我們可以繼續進行調整併為您提供更直接的指導，好嗎？

And we go to Julien Dumoulin-Smith with Bank of America.

我們請美國銀行的朱利安·杜穆蘭·史密斯 (Julien Dumoulin-Smith) 發言。

Maybe to follow up on some of the last few questions here, if I can. Just as you think about some of these headwinds here with respect to securitization heading into '24, obviously, you're down fairly confident, not just in offsetting the weather year-to-date, but in the '24 items here. Can you talk about some of those tailwinds here or some of the forthcoming offsets? What else gives you the confidence in having that linear trajectory on the 6% to 7% here. If you can speak to that a little bit more.

如果可以的話，也許可以跟進最後幾個問題。正如您在這裡思考進入 24 年的證券化方面的一些逆風一樣，顯然，您相當有信心，不僅在抵消今年迄今為止的天氣方面，而且在 24 年的項目方面。您能談談這裡的一些順風或即將到來的一些抵消嗎？還有什麼能讓您有信心在 6% 到 7% 之間實現線性軌跡。如果你能多說一點的話。

And maybe related to that, can you talk about maybe the timing of some of these items to the extent which had some of those headwinds on securitization bleed into '25 as well? I don't want to be too myopic on the current, the next year.

也許與此相關，您能否談談其中一些項目的時機，在某種程度上，證券化方面的一些阻力也滲透到了 25 年？我不想對當前和明年過於短視。

Yes. No, I mean, what I'll do is I'll start with kind of addressing the 2023 earnings guidance question. If you look, we were $0.18 below prior year, and we guided to year-over-year for the full year, it's about $0.20 improvement. So that's $0.38 that we need to outperform last year for the second half of the year. When I look at this, I think it's helpful to break it down into components. So rather was $0.29 over 2022, about $0.20 of that impact is versus normal. And that's where we've taken some action to offset those headwinds.

是的。不，我的意思是，我要做的是首先解決 2023 年盈利指導問題。如果你看一下，我們比去年低了 0.18 美元，而我們預計全年同比增長約 0.20 美元。因此，今年下半年我們需要跑贏去年的 0.38 美元。當我看到這個時，我認為將其分解為組件是有幫助的。因此，2022 年的影響為 0.29 美元，其中約 0.20 美元的影響與正常情況相比。這就是我們採取一些行動來抵消這些不利因素的地方。

Interest also is about $0.29 unfavorable year-to-date. It's running a bit above expectations. We had guided to $0.20, but that also didn't include interest on Kentucky because we had expected to sell the business. So that's about $0.10 per year, and that's covered in revenues. So we had anticipated much of our year-over-year increase to be in the first half of the year because of the timing of the Fed action. So while we are a little bit short coming into the back half of the year, we also have the proceeds from the contracted renewable sale and equity unit conversion that will help reduce our debt somewhat and we've taken other actions to offset the increase in rates because it has been -- that has been tightening a little bit longer.

今年迄今為止的利息也約為 0.29 美元。它的運行有點超出預期。我們的指導價為 0.20 美元，但這也不包括肯塔基州的利息，因為我們預計會出售該業務。所以每年大約是 0.10 美元，這已包含在收入中。因此，由於美聯儲采取行動的時機，我們預計大部分同比增長將發生在今年上半年。因此，雖然我們在今年下半年有點短缺，但我們還獲得了合同可再生能源銷售和股權單位轉換的收益，這將有助於在一定程度上減少我們的債務，並且我們已經採取了其他行動來抵消債務的增加利率，因為它一直在緊縮一段時間。

When you look at O&M, unfavorable to last year in the first half, but we expect this to reverse due to timing of our O&M spending. Our original guidance plan for reduction of O&M during the second half of the year because last year's spending was a little bit robust on the O&M side in that half. And so we had already anticipated a reduction and then we've taken additional actions like those that I've mentioned to be able to make up for the reduction in weather volumes.

當你看運維時，上半年與去年相比不利，但由於我們運維支出的時機，我們預計這種情況會扭轉。我們最初的指導計劃是下半年減少運維，因為去年下半年運維方面的支出有點強勁。因此，我們已經預計到天氣量會減少，然後我們採取了額外的行動，例如我提到的那些措施，以彌補天氣量的減少。

And then lastly, there's a couple of other things that we're pointing to. One is the favorable trends in commercial load that we expect to continue, and we've also seen favorable results in our generation and marketing business that will benefit us this year. So putting that all together, that's what gives us the confidence in our ability to meet our earnings guidance for this year. In terms of the maintaining the 6% to 7% EPS growth going forward, it's really a story on our capital deployment, and we have a very robust capital pipeline that allows us to do just that.

最後，我們還指出了其他一些事情。一是我們預計商業負荷的有利趨勢將持續下去，而且我們在發電和營銷業務方面也看到了良好的結果，這將使我們今年受益。因此，將所有這些放在一起，這使我們對達到今年的盈利指引的能力充滿信心。就未來保持 6% 至 7% 的每股收益增長而言，這確實是我們資本部署的問題，我們擁有非常強大的資本管道，使我們能夠做到這一點。

And Julien on that note to kind of put an end cap on this. I think the core is solid. And so when you look out in the next 2 years, as Ann mentioned, we got $40 billion we're put into work in terms of capital investment over the next 5 years. We'll continue to work with our regulators to make sure that we're deploying the dollars where we all agree that they need to go. And then at that point, it's really around making sure that we also execute on some of the regulatory plans that we lay out there. But as you know, we've got some strategic asset sales that are underway.

朱利安（Julien）在那張紙條上對此進行了限制。我認為核心是紮實的。因此，當你展望未來 2 年時，正如 Ann 提到的，我們將在未來 5 年投入 400 億美元的資本投資。我們將繼續與監管機構合作，確保我們將資金部署在我們都同意的地方。到那時，真正的重點是確保我們也執行我們在那裡制定的一些監管計劃。但如您所知，我們正在進行一些戰略資產出售。

So we'll deal with the fact that some of those businesses are falling away, rechanneling those dollars to the regulated pieces of the business, that will help us from the math perspective and making sure that we're hitting all of those other balance sheet metrics that we need to make sure that we hit so people aren't worried or concerned and we got a little more flexibility. So when we have a weather event or something of that nature, we can easily sustain that. But the core is solid. And at this point, it's around being efficient, putting the dollars to work where it makes sense and closing the gap on the ROEs.

因此，我們將處理其中一些業務正在消失的事實，將這些美元重新分配給受監管的業務部分，這將從數學角度幫助我們，並確保我們達到所有其他資產負債表的目標我們需要確保達到這些指標，這樣人們就不會擔心或擔心，並且我們有更多的靈活性。因此，當我們遇到天氣事件或類似性質的事件時，我們可以輕鬆地維持這種情況。但核心是紮實的。在這一點上，關鍵在於提高效率，將資金投入到有意義的地方，並縮小股本回報率的差距。

Got it. All right. Excellent. And then if I could follow up briefly on a couple of details. Just with respect to PSO, obviously, dynamic situation with the ALJ and settlement. Can you talk a little bit about your expectations here and maybe about what you've been planning an interim rates? Just ultimately what happens, how you've been planning, what's reflected in rates, if you don't mind a little bit of an update there?

知道了。好的。出色的。然後我可以簡單地跟進一些細節嗎？就 PSO 而言，顯然，ALJ 和和解的動態情況。您能否在此談談您的期望以及您計劃的中期利率？如果您不介意稍微更新一下的話，最終會發生什麼，您是如何計劃的，費率中反映了什麼？

Yes. So we implemented interim rates in early June, I think it was as it relates to the settlement that we had to put in place. And at this point, as you mentioned, the ALJ had its report that it is submitted and then file -- exceptions were filed. I think it was yesterday to the ALJ report. So if you haven't taken a look at that, I would encourage you to take a look at that. But effectively, the parties to the settlement agreement were absolutely supportive of the settlement agreement, which we would have expected anyway. So we felt good about that.

是的。因此，我們在六月初實施了臨時利率，我認為這是因為它與我們必須實施的和解有關。此時，正如您所提到的，行政法官收到了已提交並隨後歸檔的報告——已歸檔例外情況。我想這是昨天 ALJ 的報告。因此，如果您還沒有看過它，我鼓勵您看一下。但實際上，和解協議各方絕對支持和解協議，無論如何，這是我們所期望的。所以我們對此感覺很好。

And we're going to let this thing play out over the next couple of weeks really because we're getting pretty close here. Parties have 4 days to respond the exceptions that were filed and that is effectively August 1. And then we'll have an oral argument of the exceptions that's scheduled for mid-August. And we would expect to get an order in September. So stay tuned. The process is working. And like I mentioned, we've got interim rates in effect and we will keep you apprised. But do go take a look at the exceptions, I thought that was interesting.

我們會讓這件事在接下來的幾週內繼續進行，因為我們已經非常接近了。各方有 4 天的時間對提交的例外情況做出回應，即 8 月 1 日生效。然後我們將在 8 月中旬就例外情況進行口頭辯論。我們預計會在九月份收到訂單。所以請繼續關注。該過程正在發揮作用。正如我提到的，我們已經制定了有效的臨時費率，我們會及時通知您。但一定要去看看例外情況，我認為這很有趣。

Next we'll go to David Arcaro with Morgan Stanley.

接下來我們將採訪摩根士丹利的大衛·阿卡羅。

I wanted to let the -- could you give us some color on what your plans are going forward for Texas plan in terms of the generation outlook you've had some challenges there just with the repeat renewables proposal. I'm wondering how you're thinking about that going forward in terms of strategy? And in generation solutions.

我想讓 - 您能否給我們一些關於德克薩斯州計劃的未來計劃的信息，就發電前景而言，您在重複可再生能源提案中遇到了一些挑戰。我想知道您如何看待未來的戰略？以及生成解決方案。

Yes, absolutely. Yes. So we did file for rehearing because we need to make sure that we're doing all we need to do from a traditional regulatory and administrative perspective. And then what you can anticipate AEP doing is essentially running another RFP and running another process so that we can make sure that we're doing what we need to accommodate the capacity situation in Texas. I do believe that Texas understands there is an adequacy issue that we would otherwise have to deal with. So that's something that we will be proceeding forward with. So stand by, and you'll see what we come to the Street with here in the not-too-distant future.

是的，一點沒錯。是的。因此，我們確實申請了重審，因為我們需要確保我們正在從傳統的監管和行政角度做我們需要做的一切。然後，您可以預期 AEP 所做的實質上是運行另一個 RFP 並運行另一個流程，以便我們可以確保我們正在做我們需要的事情來適應德克薩斯州的容量情況。我確實相信德克薩斯州明白存在一個充分性問題，否則我們就必須處理這個問題。這就是我們將繼續推進的事情。因此，請耐心等待，在不久的將來，您就會看到我們將在華爾街帶來什麼。

Got it. And could there be a cell phone option in there? And to the extent there was, would that be, I guess, incremental to what's currently in the ratable generation outlook for CapEx plan?

知道了。那裡可以有手機選項嗎？我想，在某種程度上，這是否會增加目前資本支出計劃的可評級發電前景？

Yes, that's a possibility. That's a possibility. But what we would do is accommodate any type of investment in the current CapEx forecast.

是的，有這種可能性。這是有可能的。但我們要做的是在當前資本支出預測中容納任何類型的投資。

Okay. Got it. Understood. And then you do have a couple of other renewable projects out there for approval this quarter in several states. I was just wondering if you could give a sense of your confidence level in those proposals that you've put forth. And what alternatives you might have if they end up being challenged in any of those.

好的。知道了。明白了。本季度，幾個州還有其他幾個可再生能源項目等待批准。我只是想知道您是否可以表達一下您對所提出的這些建議的信心程度。如果他們最終在其中任何一個方面受到挑戰，您可能有什麼選擇。

Yes. Actually, I'm just trying to flip the page so you kind of draw everyone's attention to them right now. I'm looking at Page 32. So for example, we've got an application open in Virginia, and we made the same filing in West Virginia for Appalachian Power company, we're talking about 151 megawatts, about a $500 million investment for wind and storage capacity there. At this point, the process is proceeding along as we would expect. So I have nothing new to report. So standby there and trying to think where else we have open cases in Indiana and Michigan.

是的。事實上，我只是想翻頁，這樣你現在就可以將每個人的注意力吸引到他們身上。我正在看第 32 頁。例如，我們在弗吉尼亞州開放了一份申請，我們在西弗吉尼亞州為阿巴拉契亞電力公司提交了相同的申請，我們正在談論 151 兆瓦，大約投資 5 億美元那裡的風力和存儲能力。此時，該過程正在按照我們的預期進行。所以我沒有什麼新的可報告的。因此，請在那裡待命，並思考印第安納州和密歇根州還有哪些地方還有未結案件。

It looks like staff has been supportive on the Michigan side through those applications and Indiana order is expected in 3Q, so the third quarter of this year. So stay tuned there as well. But so far, constructive and productive when we're moving forward. Then of course, we also have, I guess, I should call out the wind investment, Rockport that's included in the base case at PSO, but that's part of the base case settlement. So as you know, I just mentioned that we're well underway in that proceeding.

看起來密歇根州的工作人員一直在支持這些申請，印第安納州的訂單預計在第三季度，即今年的第三季度。所以也請繼續關注那裡。但到目前為止，當我們向前邁進時，是富有建設性和富有成效的。當然，我想，我們還有風能投資，Rockport，它包含在 PSO 的基本案例中，但這是基本案例解決方案的一部分。如您所知，我剛剛提到我們正在順利進行該程序。

And we can go to Sophie Karp with KeyBanc.

我們可以用 KeyBanc 去找 Sophie Karp。

I have a couple of questions here. First is on the renewables, right? So clearly, Texas maybe has lesser appetite for renewables at this point. And I'm just curious if you -- how much of the incremental appetite for this I think is left in Louisiana and like other states that picked up a flag in this particular instance, is there a risk in the near term, I guess, in your mind that those states would also turn down potential future proposals because of their perception that they have, they're pretty much like full as far as renewable generation goes?

我在這裡有幾個問題。首先是可再生能源，對吧？很明顯，德克薩斯州目前對可再生能源的興趣可能較小。我只是好奇，我認為路易斯安那州以及像其他在這種特殊情況下舉起旗幟的州一樣，對這一點的增量興趣還有多少，我想，短期內是否存在風險，在您看來，這些州也會拒絕未來潛在的提案，因為他們認為，就可再生能源發電而言，它們幾乎已經滿了？

Sophie, I appreciate that question very much because, as you know, that's been top of mind for us as we work through that proceeding. So we obviously got the approval for the 999 megawatts in Louisiana flexed up. So we're moving along in that regard. You may recall that we also had another process that was underway for SWEPCO in particular. I want to say it was 2,400 megawatts that we were seeking interest in as it relates to how we would put that portfolio together. And so what we've done is we've actually tabled that, and we'll be coming back to everyone to say, look, we want to look at this from an all-source perspective, including PPA to stay tuned on that because there is absolutely a capacity need.

索菲，我非常感謝這個問題，因為正如你所知，這是我們在處理該程序時最關心的問題。因此，我們顯然獲得了路易斯安那州 999 兆瓦的批准。所以我們正在這方面取得進展。您可能還記得，我們​​還特別針對 SWEPCO 正在進行另一個流程。我想說的是，我們正在尋求興趣的是 2,400 兆瓦，因為這關係到我們如何整合該投資組合。所以我們所做的就是我們實際上已經提出了這個問題，我們將回去找每個人說，看，我們希望從全源的角度來看待這個問題，包括 PPA 來繼續關注這個問題，因為絕對有容量需求。

It's just going to take a little different shape than what we were initially expecting as we were running that RFP process. And remember, when you probably heard me saying earlier here today on the call, we need to make sure that we're listening to our regulators. And so this is exactly what we're doing as it relates to the conversations and the experience that we just had in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. And so we are adjusting and moving forward.

它的形狀與我們最初運行 RFP 流程時的預期略有不同。請記住，當您今天早些時候在電話會議上可能聽到我說時，我們需要確保我們正在聽取監管機構的意見。這正是我們正在做的事情，因為它與我們剛剛在路易斯安那州、阿肯色州和德克薩斯州進行的對話和經歷有關。所以我們正在調整併向前邁進。

So there will be more RFPs. They tuned for that. And they will be more all source oriented, no different than what we would be doing in Texas. As you call out, yes, it looks like not a lot of interest in renewables there right now. So we need to think about what the other alternatives are, but we will work together with our regulators so that we can make sure that we're doing what the state needs because at the end of the day, this is all about making sure that our customers have reliable, affordable electricity, period.

因此將會有更多的 RFP。他們為此進行了調整。他們將更加以資源為導向，與我們在德克薩斯州所做的沒有什麼不同。正如您所說，是的，目前看起來人們對可再生能源並沒有太大興趣。因此，我們需要考慮其他替代方案，但我們將與監管機構合作，以便確保我們正在做國家需要的事情，因為歸根結底，這一切都是為了確保我們的客戶擁有可靠、負擔得起的電力，就這樣。

Yes. And just to reiterate on our capital plan. So far, $5.2 billion of projects have already been approved. And we have another $1.7 billion that Julie just talked about in the regulatory process. That's out of our $8.6 billion, so we are well on our way. And we also have flexibility with our transmission and distribution investments to fill in to the extent that anything else gets delayed a little bit in the process with these RFPs.

是的。只是重申我們的資本計劃。迄今為止，已有52億美元的項目獲得批准。我們還有朱莉剛剛在監管過程中談到的另外 17 億美元。這還不是我們的 86 億美元，所以我們進展順利。我們還可以靈活地進行輸電和配電投資，以彌補這些 RFP 過程中其他任何事情稍微延遲的情況。

Great. And my other question was on the ROEs, maybe on reference on Slide 34 here. My -- again this slide that the 40 bps -- depressed by 40 bps, some mild weather is sort of average across the board. So if it wasn't for weather, all of these bubbles would be like roughly 40 bps higher? Or how should we think about this? Is it a lot of numbers here?

偉大的。我的另一個問題是關於 ROE，也許可以參考這裡的幻燈片 34。我的——再次這張幻燈片顯示 40 個基點——下降了 40 個基點，一些溫和的天氣是全面的平均水平。那麼，如果沒有天氣因素，所有這些泡沫的價格都會高出大約 40 個基點？或者說我們應該如何思考這個問題？這裡的數字很多嗎？

Yes, that 40 bps is on average, okay? So let me answer it this way, though, because when I'm thinking about, what does this mean for the rest of the year, and as I mentioned in my opening comments, we had initially anticipated or expected on a weighted average basis, we'd be about a 9.4% ROE across our operating companies in our 2023 guidance. And so now what we're suggesting is that we have a little bit of a hole that is associated with weather on that ROE can make all that up, I don't think, unless we had some ridiculous weather circumstance in the back half of this year. So we're not going to bet on that because we're going to bet on normal.

是的，40 bps 是平均速率，好嗎？因此，讓我這樣回答，因為當我思考這對今年剩餘時間意味著什麼時，正如我在開場白中提到的，我們最初預計或預計在加權平均的基礎上，在我們的 2023 年指導中，我們運營公司的 ROE 約為 9.4%。所以現在我們建議的是，我們在 ROE 上有一個與天氣相關的漏洞可以彌補這一切，我認為，除非我們在後半段遇到了一些荒謬的天氣情況。今年。所以我們不會押注這一點，因為我們會押注於正常情況。

And so what I would expect is, we expect to improve from 8.6%, it will not get to that 9.4%. So even if you get closer to 9%, I think that's reasonable. And our point that we want to make today is despite the fact that we've had pressure as a result to weather, we're adjusting the sales and we fully well expect to be within our guidance range. And so that's the important key to takeaway today as it relates to our messaging, then with also the understanding behind the themes, we just need to fundamentally do our very best to make sure we're earning as close as possible to those authorized ROEs beyond the weather situation.

所以我的預期是，我們預計會從 8.6% 提高，但不會達到 9.4%。所以即使你接近9%，我認為這也是合理的。我們今天想要表達的觀點是，儘管我們因天氣而面臨壓力，但我們正在調整銷售，並且我們完全期望在我們的指導範圍內。因此，這是今天要點的重要關鍵，因為它與我們的信息傳遞有關，然後還有對主題背後的理解，我們只需要從根本上盡最大努力，以確保我們的收入盡可能接近那些超出授權的 ROE。天氣情況。

Got it. So just to be clear, the 8.6% is the average with the Transmission Holdco?

知道了。需要明確的是，8.6% 是 Transmission Holdco 的平均值嗎？

Yes.

是的。

With all distribution...

與所有分佈...

Weighted average, yes.

加權平均，是的。

And next we go to Paul Patterson with Glenrock Associates.

接下來我們請教 Glenrock Associates 的 Paul Patterson。

So just -- most of my questions have been answered. Only I have a question for you that's a little bit different, and that is the Chevron event. It looks like that the Supreme Court might act on it. And I'm kind of scratching my head, and I'm thinking what you guys might be thinking about what might happen if, in fact, the Chevron doc or whatever you want to call it, is substantially changed or repeal or what have you. Have you guys thought about this? I'm sure you thought about it, but any ideas about what you think that might mean for you guys on the ground?

所以，我的大部分問題都已得到解答。只是我有一個有點不同的問題要問你，那就是雪佛龍事件。看來最高法院可能會對此採取行動。我有點摸不著頭腦，我在想，如果事實上，雪佛龍文檔或任何你想稱之為的東西，被大幅改變或廢除，或者你有什麼，你們可能會想到會發生什麼。 。大家有沒有想過這個問題？我相信您已經考慮過這個問題，但是您認為這對現場的你們可能意味著什麼有什麼想法嗎？

Paul, I don't have a lot of detail to share with you today. I do know that our legal team is looking into this and our strategy team, but for my day to day right now at the moment, not been top of mind. I'm just taking comfort knowing that the rest of the team is working on it. But hey, if you want a conversation, I'm happy to circle back.

保羅，今天我沒有太多細節可以與你分享。我確實知道我們的法律團隊和我們的戰略團隊正在調查此事，但對於我目前的日常工作來說，這並不是首要考慮的事情。知道團隊的其他成員正在努力解決這個問題，我感到很欣慰。但是，嘿，如果你想交談，我很樂意回來。

Okay. Sure. It wasn't my first question, but the rest were answered. And I'll follow up with you guys later.

好的。當然。這不是我的第一個問題，但其餘的都得到了回答。稍後我會與大家跟進。

That would be great. Thank you.

那太好了。謝謝。

And we'll go to Paul Fremont with Ladenburg.

我們將和拉登堡一起去保羅弗里蒙特。

I guess my first question is, if you were to get the securitization proceeds, does that change the equity issuance plans that you lay out on Slide 28.

我想我的第一個問題是，如果您要獲得證券化收益，這是否會改變您在幻燈片 28 上列出的股票發行計劃。

No. No, it really doesn't. So if we get the securitization proceeds, what we would do is reinvest that into the other areas within the AEP footprint, so not in APCo, but in the other areas so that we're making sure that we continue to earn on the investment while getting the benefit to the Appalachian Power customers.

不，不，真的不是。因此，如果我們獲得證券化收益，我們要做的就是將其再投資到 AEP 足跡內的其他領域，所以不是在 APCo，而是在其他領域，這樣我們就能確保我們繼續從投資中獲利，同時讓阿巴拉契亞電力客戶受益。

And then my second question is sort of related is if you were to get incremental CapEx, what percent should we assume would be equity funded versus what debt funded?

然後我的第二個問題是相關的，如果你要獲得增量資本支出，我們應該假設股權融資與債務融資的百分比是多少？

Yes. I mean I would assume just kind of the average of what we have in the current plan.

是的。我的意思是，我會假設我們當前計劃中的平均值。

Yes, Paul, we typically get -- if we have an opportunity to invest more, we're going to try to manage directly back to those target ratios that we throw out there and obviously be mindful of debt to cap as well. So at this point, we're focused entirely on executing on the plan that we already have out in front of you. The issue could be from time to time is how much slides from one year to the next to kind of playing with a toothpaste tube, right? So you're just passing the CapEx back and forth, because we got $40 billion that were put into work.

是的，保羅，我們通常會得到——如果我們有機會進行更多投資，我們將嘗試直接管理回我們設定的目標比率，並且顯然也要注意債務上限。因此，此時此刻，我們完全專注於執行我們已經擺在您面前的計劃。問題可能有時是，從一年到下一年，玩牙膏管有多少滑動，對吧？所以你只是來回傳遞資本支出，因為我們有 400 億美元投入使用。

And again, at this point, while we always have more opportunities, we need to make sure that this is affordable for our customers as well. So that's going to be another stopping point for us, too, because we're essentially trying to thread the needle, make sure the balance sheet stays as strong, make sure those metrics are absolutely in place but make sure that our customers are able to afford what we're essentially providing.

再說一次，在這一點上，雖然我們總是有更多的機會，但我們需要確保我們的客戶也能負擔得起。因此，這也將成為我們的另一個停止點，因為我們本質上是在努力扭轉局面，確保資產負債表保持強勁，確保這些指標絕對到位，但確保我們的客戶能夠負擔得起我們本質上提供的東西。

Our regulators definitely help us with that. but that's also precisely why we have to be really disciplined and not just continuing to spend CapEx that would be fun and nice to spend and actually absolutely make our system stronger and absolutely reliable, but is that what is necessary to keep the lights on and what customers can afford. So it is a constant balancing act for us.

我們的監管機構肯定會在這方面幫助我們。但這也正是為什麼我們必須真正遵守紀律，而不僅僅是繼續花費有趣且值得花的資本支出，並且實際上絕對使我們的系統更強大且絕對可靠，而是這是保持燈亮著的必要條件以及什麼？客戶買得起。所以這對我們來說是一個持續的平衡行為。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Thank you for joining us on today's call. As always, the IR team will be available to answer any additional questions you may have. Brad, would you please give the replay information?

感謝您參加今天的電話會議。與往常一樣，IR 團隊將隨時回答您可能提出的任何其他問題。布拉德，你能提供重播信息嗎？

Sure. Thank you. Replay will be available after 11:30 today and running through August 4 at midnight. You can access the AT&T replay system at any time by dialing 1 (866) 207-1041 and entering the access code (1289635). International parties may dial (402) 970-0847. Those numbers again 1 (866) 207-1041 and (402) 970-0847 with the access code (1289635).

當然。謝謝。重播將於今天 11:30 後進行，一直持續到 8 月 4 日午夜。您可以隨時撥打 1 (866) 207-1041 並輸入訪問代碼 (1289635) 訪問 AT&T 重播系統。國際當事人可撥打 (402) 970-0847。再次撥打這些號碼 1 (866) 207-1041 和 (402) 970-0847 以及訪問代碼 (1289635)。

That does conclude our call for today. Thanks for your participation and for using AT&T teleconference. You may now disconnect.

我們今天的呼籲到此結束。感謝您的參與和使用 AT&T 電話會議。您現在可以斷開連接。