CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP) 2022 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to CenterPoint Energy's Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call with senior management. (Operator Instructions)

早上好，歡迎參加 CenterPoint Energy 與高級管理層的 2022 年第二季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）

I will now turn the call over to Jackie Richert, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer. Ms. Richert?

我現在將把電話轉給投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管 Jackie Richert。里切特女士？

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CenterPoint's earnings conference call. Dave Lesar, our CEO; and Jason Wells, our CFO, will discuss the company's second quarter 2022 results. Management will discuss certain topics that will contain projections and other forward-looking information and statements that are based on management's beliefs, assumptions and information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks or uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially based upon various factors as noted in our Form? 10-Q, other SEC filings and our earnings materials. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement.

大家，早安。歡迎參加 CenterPoint 的收益電話會議。我們的首席執行官 Dave Lesar；我們的首席財務官 Jason Wells 將討論公司 2022 年第二季度的業績。管理層將討論某些主題，這些主題將包含基於管理層當前可獲得的信念、假設和信息的預測和其他前瞻性信息和陳述。這些前瞻性陳述存在風險或不確定性。實際結果可能會因我們表格中所述的各種因素而產生重大差異？ 10-Q、其他 SEC 文件和我們的收益材料。我們不承擔公開修改或更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

We will be discussing certain non-GAAP measures on today's call. When providing guidance, we will use the non-GAAP EPS measure of adjusted diluted earnings per share on a consolidated basis referred to as non-GAAP EPS. For information on our guidance methodology and a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures used in providing guidance, please refer to our earnings news release and presentation, both of which can be found under the Investors section on our website. As a reminder, we will use our website to announce material information. This call is being recorded. Information on how to access the replay can be found on our website.

我們將在今天的電話會議上討論某些非公認會計原則的措施。在提供指導時，我們將使用非公認會計原則每股收益衡量調整後的稀釋每股收益，稱為非公認會計原則每股收益。有關我們的指導方法和用於提供指導的非公認會計原則措施的調節信息，請參閱我們的收益新聞稿和演示文稿，兩者都可以在我們網站的“投資者”部分找到。提醒一下，我們將使用我們的網站公佈重要信息。正在錄製此通話。有關如何訪問重播的信息可以在我們的網站上找到。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Dave.

現在我想把電話轉給戴夫。

Thank you, Jackie. Good morning, and thank you to everyone joining us for our second quarter 2022 earnings call. It has now been a little over 2 years since I was appointed as the CEO of this great company and the exciting progress that CenterPoint continues with lots of opportunities still ahead of us. Now that we're a pure-play regulated utility, our quarterly updates will continue to be streamlined and focused on our regulated utility operations. In a minute, I'll run through our latest highlights and headlines as we continue to build on our consistent track record of earnings delivery.

謝謝你，傑基。早上好，感謝大家參加我們的 2022 年第二季度財報電話會議。自從我被任命為這家偉大公司的首席執行官以來已經過去了 2 年多一點，CenterPoint 繼續取得令人興奮的進展，我們面前還有很多機會。既然我們是一家純粹的受監管公用事業公司，我們的季度更新將繼續精簡併專注於我們受監管的公用事業運營。稍後，我將介紹我們最新的亮點和頭條新聞，因為我們將繼續建立我們一貫的收益交付記錄。

But first, a quick side note. As Texas has heated up this summer, we have gotten a number of questions from shareholders that indicate there may be a level of confusion to some shareholders about how we participate in the Texas electric market. I thought it might be helpful to remind everyone about our role. As most of you know, the Texas ERCOT market is fully deregulated with respect to the generation and the retailing of electric power in Texas, and CenterPoint does not participate in either of the Texas generation or retail markets.

但首先，一個快速的旁注。隨著德克薩斯州今年夏天的升溫，我們從股東那裡收到了一些問題，這些問題表明一些股東可能對我們如何參與德克薩斯州電力市場存在一定程度的困惑。我認為提醒大家我們的角色可能會有所幫助。正如你們大多數人所知，德州 ERCOT 市場在德州電力的發電和零售方面完全放鬆管制，CenterPoint 既不參與德州發電市場，也不參與零售市場。

The Texas ERCOT market is regulated for the transmission and distribution of power, which is the market that CenterPoint operates in. Therefore, CenterPoint only transmits power from third-party generators and delivers it to our territories' third-party retail energy providers. Because of this, we take no electric generation cost risk and no retail pricing risk in our business in Texas. Think of as much as a regulated toll road that charges by the vehicle. As temperatures rise, we have more traffic in the form of electricity driving on our regulated toll road.

德克薩斯 ERCOT 市場受輸電和配電監管，這是 CenterPoint 經營的市場。因此，CenterPoint 僅傳輸來自第三方發電機的電力並將其輸送給我們地區的第三方零售能源供應商。因此，我們在德克薩斯州的業務不承擔發電成本風險和零售定價風險。可以想像一條由車輛收費的受監管的收費公路。隨著溫度的升高，我們在受管制的收費公路上以電力驅動的形式出現了更多的交通。

In addition, our Houston area transmission and distribution system makes up only about 2.5% of the geographic footprint of Texas, but transmits and delivers about 25% of the total ERCOT summer peak electric load. So we have a very dense power grid in our territory. Because of that, CenterPoint imports up to 60% of its electric needs throughout our transmission lines, which connect to generation supply from locations elsewhere in the state. All of this is why investing in resiliency and reliability is so critical. I hope this helps those of you that are just becoming familiar with our story.

此外，我們的休斯敦地區輸配電系統僅佔德克薩斯州地理足蹟的 2.5% 左右，但傳輸和輸送了約 25% 的 ERCOT 夏季高峰電力負荷。所以我們在我們的領土上有一個非常密集的電網。正因為如此，CenterPoint 60% 的電力需求通過我們的輸電線路進口，這些輸電線路連接到該州其他地方的發電供應。這就是為什麼對彈性和可靠性進行投資如此重要的原因。我希望這可以幫助那些剛剛熟悉我們的故事的人。

So now let's turn to our headlines. We have now delivered 9 straight quarters of operational execution under this current management team. We are halfway through 2022 and have increased confidence around our business performance. That increased confidence, specifically around Houston Electric's performance, led us to raise our non-GAAP EPS guidance for the year to $1.37 to $1.39. This means that at the new midpoint, we now expect to grow our earnings 9% this year over the prior year. This is also our fifth earnings guidance increase under this new management team, which, at the same time, is laser-focused on taking the steps necessary to keep our bills affordable for customers. This increase to our full year guidance will provide the new and higher starting point for our future earnings guidance growth.

所以現在讓我們轉向我們的頭條新聞。在當前的管理團隊下，我們現在已經連續 9 個季度完成了運營執行。 2022 年已過半，我們對業務表現的信心增強。這種增強的信心，特別是對休斯頓電氣業績的信心，導致我們將今年的非公認會計準則每股收益指引上調至 1.37 美元至 1.39 美元。這意味著在新的中點，我們現在預計今年的收入將比上年增長 9%。這也是我們在這個新的管理團隊下第五次增加收入指導，同時，該團隊專注於採取必要的步驟，讓客戶能夠負擔得起我們的賬單。我們全年指引的增加將為我們未來的盈利指引增長提供新的和更高的起點。

In other words, it is from this higher $1.37 to $1.39 base that we now intend to grow our non-GAAP EPS 8% annually for 2023 and 2024. And beyond that, we intend to grow at the mid- to high end of our 6% to 8% growth range through 2030. We believe that this will be an industry-leading growth rate, and Jason will get into more of these details shortly. Commensurate with our earnings guidance increase, we also announced a $0.01 increase to our second quarter dividend. This quarterly increase is consistent with our objective of growing dividends in line with earnings. We are also on track to meet our current capital investment plan for the year, having invested over $2 billion in the first 6 months of 2022, which is nearly 50% of our 2022 investment plan.

換句話說，正是從這個較高的 1.37 美元到 1.39 美元的基數，我們現在打算在 2023 年和 2024 年將我們的非公認會計原則每股收益每年增長 8%。除此之外，我們打算在 6 年的中高端增長到 2030 年，增長率將在 % 到 8% 之間。我們相信這將是行業領先的增長率，Jason 將很快了解更多這些細節。與我們的收益指導增加相稱，我們還宣布將第二季度股息增加 0.01 美元。這一季度增長符合我們根據收益增加股息的目標。我們也有望實現我們當前的年度資本投資計劃，在 2022 年前 6 個月投資超過 20 億美元，占我們 2022 年投資計劃的近 50%。

We are also tracking very well against our 5-year and 10-year spending plans that support the safety, resiliency and growth across our system to benefit our customers. As mentioned in recent earnings calls, we are working to develop the details around incremental customer-driven capital opportunities to support a Houston area regional Master Energy Plan. This includes our Resilient Now initiative with the city of Houston. We plan to provide an update to our capital investment plan on the third quarter call. We also recently completed the final steps of our Vectren integration. The integrated structure results in a more efficient debt structure, which will help us reach our goal of reducing parent-level debt to approximately 20%.

我們還很好地跟踪了我們的 5 年和 10 年支出計劃，這些計劃支持我們系統的安全性、彈性和增長，以使我們的客戶受益。正如最近的財報電話會議中所提到的，我們正在努力製定有關增量客戶驅動資本機會的詳細信息，以支持休斯頓地區的區域能源總計劃。這包括我們與休斯頓市的 Resilient Now 倡議。我們計劃在第三季度電話會議上更新我們的資本投資計劃。我們最近還完成了 Vectren 集成的最後步驟。綜合結構產生了更有效的債務結構，這將幫助我們實現將母公司層面的債務減少到約 20% 的目標。

So check another box on our strategic commitment to strengthen our balance sheet and credit metrics for the benefit of our customers and our shareholders. Jason will discuss it in more detail in his section. Our Indiana generation transition plan is also tracking on course, including the recent commission approval of the natural gas peaking facility. We have also filed for another tranche of solar generation, which Jason will discuss. As a reminder, our generation transition plan to cleaner fuels aligns with our peer-leading 2035 Scope 1 and 2 net zero emissions goals. I'm also pleased to say today that despite the well-known challenges around solar power, our recently signed agreements will bring us to over 800 megawatts of owned or contracted solar.

因此，請勾選我們的戰略承諾，以加強我們的資產負債表和信用指標，以造福我們的客戶和股東。 Jason 將在他的部分中更詳細地討論它。我們的印第安納州發電過渡計劃也在進行中，包括最近委員會批准的天然氣調峰設施。我們還申請了另一批太陽能發電，傑森將對此進行討論。提醒一下，我們向更清潔燃料的發電過渡計劃符合我們同行領先的 2035 年範圍 1 和 2 淨零排放目標。我今天也很高興地說，儘管太陽能發電面臨著眾所周知的挑戰，但我們最近簽署的協議將使我們擁有超過 800 兆瓦的自有或合同太陽能。

So those are our latest headlines. We strive to continue our track record that we've established over the past 2-plus years of executing on this world-class investment thesis.

所以這些是我們最新的頭條新聞。我們努力繼續我們在過去 2 年多的時間裡在執行這個世界級的投資論文時所建立的記錄。

Turning now to our earnings guidance update. As stated, we raised our non-GAAP EPS guidance this morning to $1.37 to $1.39. This represents a 9% growth rate at the midpoint when compared to the 2021 non-GAAP Utility EPS of $1.27. And despite the current inflationary environment, we are continuing to see favorable tailwinds, such as the combined 1% to 2% organic growth and warmer weather, which led us to raising our guidance this quarter. An example of the continued organic growth in the Houston area can be seen in its greater than 6% year-over-year jobs growth, which added over 191,000 new jobs in the last year alone.

現在轉向我們的收益指導更新。如前所述，我們今天上午將我們的非公認會計原則每股收益指引上調至 1.37 美元至 1.39 美元。與 2021 年非 GAAP 公用事業每股收益 1.27 美元相比，這代表了中點 9% 的增長率。儘管目前存在通脹環境，但我們繼續看到有利的順風，例如 1% 至 2% 的有機增長和溫暖的天氣，這導致我們提高了本季度的指導。休斯頓地區持續有機增長的一個例子是其同比增長超過 6%，僅去年一年就增加了 191,000 多個新工作崗位。

Even as the Houston area temperatures recently peaked at 105 degrees and continue to be persistently hot, our grid has held up well with limited disruptions for our customers. These limited disruptions are largely related to the typical high-intensity afternoon rain and wind storms that are common in Houston during our summer heat waves. Related to these peak heating events, we have also seen a modest uptick this year in customer transformer-related outages that have occurred across the industry. However, our operations have responded well. We had virtually all of our customers restored in less than 2 hours, and we continue to expect to meet or exceed the reliability standards set by the Texas Public Utility Commission.

即使休斯頓地區的氣溫最近達到了 105 度的峰值並持續高溫，我們的電網仍然保持良好狀態，對我們的客戶造成的干擾有限。這些有限的干擾在很大程度上與夏季熱浪期間休斯頓常見的典型高強度下午降雨和風暴有關。與這些峰值供暖事件相關，我們還看到今年整個行業發生的與客戶變壓器相關的停電事件略有上升。但是，我們的業務反應良好。我們幾乎在不到 2 小時的時間內恢復了所有客戶，並且我們繼續期望達到或超過德州公用事業委員會設定的可靠性標準。

During these recent record weather events, we only utilized commercial load management one time. And while we didn't need mobile generation during this recent weather event, we have approximately 500 megawatts of capacity deployed across our system, and we'll be prepared to utilize it for the benefit of our customers should the conditions call for it. I am pleased with the performance of our system, but more importantly, with the performance of our employees who managed all of our grids for CenterPoint. Now of course, we still have several weeks of summer in front of us with more extreme temperatures forecasted, and we will remain vigilant.

在最近這些創紀錄的天氣事件中，我們只使用了一次商業負載管理。雖然在最近的天氣事件中我們不需要移動發電，但我們在整個系統中部署了大約 500 兆瓦的容量，如果條件需要，我們將準備好利用它來造福客戶。我對我們系統的性能感到滿意，但更重要的是，對我們為 CenterPoint 管理所有網格的員工的表現感到滿意。當然，現在我們面前還有幾週的夏天，預計氣溫會更加極端，我們將保持警惕。

Now let's move to capital investments. Our 5-year capital investment plan of $19.3 billion has been increased twice since our September 2021 Analyst Day. Our 10-year plan is still currently expected to be $40 billion plus in investments to support the safety, resiliency and growth across our system to benefit our customers. This leads to our industry-leading projected rate base growth of 9% CAGR over the 10-year plan. We are making good strides in our strategic conversations with our customers to explore their views for further grid and infrastructure hardening and modernization, residential weatherization and investments around renewable energy infrastructure. This has included workshops with industrial customers, the city of Houston and other surrounding cities.

現在讓我們轉向資本投資。自 2021 年 9 月的分析師日以來，我們 193 億美元的 5 年資本投資計劃已兩次增加。目前，我們的 10 年計劃仍預計將投資 400 億美元以上，以支持我們系統的安全性、彈性和增長，從而使我們的客戶受益。這導致我們在 10 年計劃中的複合年增長率為 9%，這是我們行業領先的預測基數增長。我們在與客戶的戰略對話中取得了長足的進步，以探索他們對進一步加強電網和基礎設施和現代化、住宅風化以及圍繞可再生能源基礎設施進行投資的看法。這包括與工業客戶、休斯頓市和其他周邊城市的研討會。

Now I don't want to front-run these conversations this quarter, but we should be in place to better describe the potential additional capital investments related to these customer-driven infrastructure discussions in our third quarter call. We expect that this will include investment updates for the Greater Houston regional master energy plan, which includes the Resilient Now initiative jointly launched with the city of Houston earlier this year. As we invest to meet our customers' interest, we continue to remain focused on the affordability of our capital spend. We believe we have done a really good job in this area. For example, from 2013 through 2022, our average Houston Electric charge has only increased by an average of about 1% per year, focus on that fact for a second.

現在我不想在本季度進行這些對話，但我們應該在第三季度電話會議中更好地描述與這些客戶驅動的基礎設施討論相關的潛在額外資本投資。我們預計這將包括對大休斯頓地區能源總體計劃的投資更新，其中包括今年早些時候與休斯頓市聯合發起的 Resilient Now 計劃。當我們投資以滿足客戶的利益時，我們將繼續關注我們資本支出的可負擔性。我們相信我們在這方面做得非常好。例如，從 2013 年到 2022 年，我們的休斯頓電力平均充電量僅平均每年增加約 1%，請注意這一事實。

That 1% translates to only a $5 increase in the average monthly charge over the last 10 years. That's the beauty of having strong and continuous organic growth and charges rolling off the bill. The Houston area has averaged over 2% and annual customer growth for the last 30 years. To further benefit customer charges in 2024, our final Houston Electric securitization charge will roll off the customers' bill, which will provide an additional 5% reduction to the current average residential charge. This is on top of the 3% current average residential securitization charge that rolled off just this month.

這 1% 意味著過去 10 年平均每月費用僅增加 5 美元。這就是擁有強勁而持續的有機增長和滾滾而來的費用的美妙之處。在過去的 30 年中，休斯頓地區的客戶年均增長率超過 2%。為了進一步使 2024 年的客戶費用受益，我們的最終休斯頓電力證券化費用將滾降客戶的賬單，這將使當前的平均住宅費用額外降低 5%。這是在本月剛剛推出的 3% 的當前平均住宅證券化費用之上。

These changes, combined with an organically growing customer base, O&M discipline across our footprint, work to help to reduce the customer impact of the capital investment program across our system, and we will seek to keep executing on these kinds of opportunities to help keep bills affordable for our customers. As I mentioned in the highlights, our Indiana coal generation transition plan is also tracking nicely against the filed IRP. And we have some potential bill mitigants, such as a recently filed securitization. Jason will cover regulatory items in more detail in just a few minutes.

這些變化，加上有機增長的客戶群、我們足蹟的運維紀律，有助於減少整個系統的資本投資計劃對客戶的影響，我們將尋求繼續利用這些機會來幫助保持賬單我們的客戶負擔得起。正如我在亮點中提到的，我們的印第安納州煤炭發電過渡計劃也很好地跟踪了提交的 IRP。我們有一些潛在的法案緩和措施，例如最近提交的證券化。 Jason 將在幾分鐘內更詳細地介紹監管項目。

So in summary, before I turn the call over to Jason. With all of the recent strategic actions behind us, we are focused on our pure-play regulated utility footprint with a projected 2022 rate base that is approximately 62% electric, which is within the range, a sum of our premium utility peers. We believe we are one of the most tangible growth stories in the industry. Our capital investments are not contingent on big bets, they are focused on meeting the needs of our customers across our system due to both organic growth and our continued investment in current system safety, reliability and resiliency needs. We expect that this will likely lead to incremental capital above our $40 billion plus included in our current 10-year plan. We anticipate to provide a more detailed update of this additional investment opportunity on our third quarter call.

總而言之，在我將電話轉給 Jason 之前。隨著我們最近採取的所有戰略行動，我們專注於我們純粹受監管的公用事業足跡，預計 2022 年的費率基數約為 62% 電力，這在範圍內，是我們優質公用事業同行的總和。我們相信我們是業內最有形的成長故事之一。我們的資本投資並不取決於大賭注，它們專注於滿足我們整個系統客戶的需求，因為有機增長和我們對當前系統安全性、可靠性和彈性需求的持續投資。我們預計這可能會導致增量資本超過我們當前的 10 年計劃中的 400 億美元以上。我們預計將在第三季度電話會議上提供有關這一額外投資機會的更詳細更新。

We raised our 2022 non-GAAP EPS guidance to $1.37 to $1.39, a 9% growth over 2021. And from that increased number, project to grow at 8% annually in 2023 and 2024, and at the mid- to high end of 6% to 8% annually thereafter through 2030, an industry-leading growth rate. And we have peer-leading 2035 net zero goals on our Scope 1 and 2 emissions. And for those of you that continue to track it, we still expect to reduce O&M expenses by 1% to 2% per year, on average, over the 10-year plan, and we still have no plan to issue any equity to meet our current capital spending plans.

我們將 2022 年非 GAAP 每股收益指引上調至 1.37 美元至 1.39 美元，比 2021 年增長 9%。從這個增加的數字來看，預計 2023 年和 2024 年的年增長率為 8%，中高端為 6%此後到 2030 年每年增長 8%，這是行業領先的增長率。我們在範圍 1 和 2 排放方面製定了同行領先的 2035 年淨零目標。對於那些繼續跟踪它的人，我們仍然希望在 10 年計劃中平均每年減少 1% 到 2% 的運維費用，我們仍然沒有計劃發行任何股權來滿足我們的需求當前的資本支出計劃。

As I stated in my opening remarks, we are excited about the 9 straight quarters of execution, and I want to thank all of the great employees here at CenterPoint that are delivering on those results to you each and every day. Lastly, we remain focused on achieving our value proposition, which is sustainable, resilient and affordable rates for our customers, sustainable earnings growth for our shareholders and a sustainable positive impact on the environment for our communities.

正如我在開場白中所說，我們對連續 9 個季度的執行感到興奮，我要感謝 CenterPoint 的所有優秀員工，他們每天都在為您提供這些結果。最後，我們仍然專注於實現我們的價值主張，即為我們的客戶提供可持續、有彈性和負擔得起的價格，為我們的股東提供可持續的盈利增長，並為我們的社區帶來可持續的積極影響。

With that, let me turn the call over to Jason.

有了這個，讓我把電話轉給傑森。

Thank you, Dave, and thank you to all of you for joining us this morning for our second quarter call. I'll start by covering the financial results for the quarter as shown on Slide 6. On a GAAP EPS basis, we reported $0.28 for the second quarter of 2022. Our GAAP EPS results included a portion of the tax on the gain on sale of our Arkansas and Oklahoma gas LDCs, which we are required to recognize over the course of the full year. On a non-GAAP basis, we reported $0.31 for the second quarter of 2022 compared to $0.28 for the second quarter of 2021. Usage for this quarter was a favorable variance of $0.03 when compared to the same quarter of 2021, largely driven by the hot weather we've been experiencing in the Greater Houston area.

謝謝你，戴夫，也感謝你們今天早上加入我們的第二季度電話會議。我將首先介紹本季度的財務業績，如幻燈片 6 所示。在 GAAP 每股收益的基礎上，我們報告了 2022 年第二季度的 0.28 美元。我們的 GAAP 每股收益結果包括銷售收益稅的一部分我們的阿肯色州和俄克拉荷馬州的天然氣最不發達國家，我們需要在全年中予以承認。在非公認會計原則的基礎上，我們報告 2022 年第二季度為 0.31 美元，而 2021 年第二季度為 0.28 美元。與 2021 年同一季度相比，本季度的使用量出現了 0.03 美元的有利差異，這主要是由於熱我們在大休斯頓地區遇到的天氣。

Growth in rate recovery contributed another $0.02, largely driven by continued organic customer growth and TCOS rate recovery in our Houston Electric territory. These favorable drivers were partially offset by higher interest expenses of $0.02, $0.01 of which was related to absorbing costs previously allocated to our midstream segment in 2021. The last thing I'll mention on the drivers is a tax benefit related to a lower state effective tax rate identified during the VUHI restructuring at the end of this quarter. This translated to a benefit of $0.02, which largely offset the $0.03 onetime benefit for Louisiana NOL tax benefits recognized in 2021. As Dave mentioned, we are raising our full year 2022 guidance range to $1.37 to $1.39 of non-GAAP EPS, which reflects 9% growth over the comparable $1.27 and non-GAAP EPS results for 2021 when using the midpoint of this new range.

費率恢復的增長又貢獻了 0.02 美元，這主要是由於我們休斯頓電力領域的持續有機客戶增長和 TCOS 費率恢復。這些有利的驅動因素被 0.02 美元的較高利息支出部分抵消，其中 0.01 美元與吸收先前在 2021 年分配給我們的中游部門的成本有關。我要提到的最後一件事是與較低州有效相關的稅收優惠本季度末 VUHI 重組期間確定的稅率。這轉化為 0.02 美元的收益，這在很大程度上抵消了 2021 年承認的路易斯安那州 NOL 稅收優惠的 0.03 美元一次性收益。正如戴夫所說，我們將 2022 年全年的非公認會計準則每股收益指導範圍提高到 1.37 美元至 1.39 美元，這反映了 9使用這一新範圍的中點時，與 2021 年可比的 1.27 美元和非 GAAP 每股收益結果相比增長百分比。

On the O&M side for the balance of the year, and for the benefit of our customers and similar to what we did in 2021, we see the opportunity to pull forward certain O&M work from 2023 and reinvest it back into the business in the latter quarters of 2022. Some of this reinvestment will include accelerating additional vegetation management work into 2022. I want to emphasize that we still expect to achieve our average annual 1% to 2% O&M reductions over the 10-year plan. Beyond 2022 and from our new and higher $1.37 to $1.39 baseline, we continue to expect to grow non-GAAP EPS 8% each year for 2023 and 2024, and at the mid to high point of 6% to 8% annually through 2030. Our focus continues to be on delivering strong industry-leading growth each and every year.

在今年餘下時間的運維方面，為了我們客戶的利益，與我們在 2021 年所做的類似，我們看到了從 2023 年開始推進某些運維工作並在後幾個季度將其重新投資於業務的機會2022 年。其中一些再投資將包括將額外的植被管理工作加速到 2022 年。我想強調的是，我們仍然希望在 10 年計劃中實現平均每年 1% 到 2% 的 O&M 減少。 2022 年以後，從我們新的和更高的 1.37 美元到 1.39 美元的基線，我們繼續預計 2023 年和 2024 年非 GAAP 每股收益每年增長 8%，到 2030 年每年增長 6% 到 8% 的中高點。我們的重點繼續放在每年實現強勁的行業領先增長。

Turning to capital investments on Slide 7. We are tracking nicely against our current investment plan, having spent just over $2 billion in the first 6 months of this year, which is nearly 50% of our full year program. These programs are focused on continuing to invest in safety, resiliency, reliability, growth and clean enablement of our service. To echo Dave's earlier remarks, we are well on our way to developing incremental customer-driven opportunities above our existing plan, including for the Greater Houston area regional Master Energy plan. We expect to provide a comprehensive update on our third quarter earnings call.

轉向幻燈片 7 上的資本投資。我們正在很好地跟踪我們目前的投資計劃，今年前 6 個月花費了剛剛超過 20 億美元，這是我們全年計劃的近 50%。這些計劃的重點是繼續投資於我們服務的安全性、彈性、可靠性、增長和清潔支持。為了呼應 Dave 早先的言論，我們正在努力開發超越現有計劃的增量客戶驅動機會，包括大休斯頓地區區域主能源計劃。我們希望在第三季度財報電話會議上提供全面的更新。

We announced earlier this year that our Minnesota Gas utility is now among the first gas utilities to add green hydrogen to its distribution system. We appreciate the state support of these kinds of innovative solutions that reduce carbon emissions and advance a clean energy future. And we look forward to working with the commission and other stakeholders as we get closer to filing our first plan under the Natural Gas Innovation Act next year.

我們今年早些時候宣布，我們的明尼蘇達天然氣公用事業公司現在是首批在其分配系統中添加綠色氫氣的天然氣公用事業公司之一。我們感謝國家對這些減少碳排放和推進清潔能源未來的創新解決方案的支持。我們期待著與委員會和其他利益相關者合作，因為我們即將在明年根據《天然氣創新法案》提交我們的第一個計劃。

Turning to our generation-related investments, we've received a few positive outcomes from the Indiana Commission recently, including the IURC's approval of our 460-megawatt natural gas peaking facility. This facility will help provide stability to our customers' energy needs in times of intermittent renewable generation and is targeted to be operational in 2025. The cleaner generation footprint compared to coal generation aligns with our current net zero goals. Beyond this, we recently filed our approval of 130 megawatts of owned solar generation. These projects will bring our total owned and contracted solar to over 800 megawatts, which is tracking well against our integrated resource plan that call for approximately 700 to 1,000 megawatts of solar and approximately 300 megawatts of wind.

談到我們與發電相關的投資，我們最近從印第安納委員會收到了一些積極成果，包括 IURC 批准我們的 460 兆瓦天然氣調峰設施。該設施將有助於在間歇性可再生能源發電期間為客戶的能源需求提供穩定性，併計劃在 2025 年投入運營。與煤炭發電相比，更清潔的發電足跡符合我們目前的淨零目標。除此之外，我們最近提交了對 130 兆瓦自有太陽能發電的批准。這些項目將使我們擁有和承包的太陽能總量超過 800 兆瓦，這與我們需要約 700 至 1,000 兆瓦太陽能和約 300 兆瓦風能的綜合資源計劃相吻合。

We anticipate filing for the remaining balance of generation needs later this year, which will include a project to be owned by our Indiana Electric Utility. We will begin the planning process for our next integrated resource plan soon after earnings and anticipate filing that plan in mid-2023. This upcoming IRP will provide guidance on our remaining coal-fired assets. As a foundation for this IRP, we recently conducted an all-source request for proposal where we received nearly 100 proposals from several dozen participants, including wind, solar and battery storage that will help inform our IRP process. We look forward to working with stakeholders through this process to develop a constructive outcome for our customers.

我們預計今年晚些時候將提交剩餘的發電需求餘額，其中將包括一個由我們的印第安納電力公司擁有的項目。我們將在收益後不久開始我們的下一個綜合資源計劃的規劃過程，並預計在 2023 年年中提交該計劃。即將發布的 IRP 將為我們剩餘的燃煤資產提供指導。作為該 IRP 的基礎，我們最近進行了一次全源提案請求，我們收到了來自數十個參與者的近 100 份提案，包括風能、太陽能和電池存儲，這將有助於為我們的 IRP 流程提供信息。我們期待通過這一過程與利益相關者合作，為我們的客戶制定建設性的成果。

Moving to a broader regulatory update on Slide 8. We have securitization efforts going on in a couple of jurisdictions. We anticipate receiving securitization proceeds in the coming months in Texas related to incremental natural gas costs also related to Winter Storm Uri, which will securitize approximately $1.1 billion of these costs. With that, we will have recovered over 80% of the incremental gas costs incurred during Winter Storm Uri. In addition to the Texas securitization, we recently filed for securitization in Indiana of approximately $360 million of costs related to the retirement of 2 coal facilities. This is a first filing of its kind in Indiana.

在幻燈片 8 上進行更廣泛的監管更新。我們在幾個司法管轄區正在進行證券化工作。我們預計未來幾個月在德克薩斯州將收到與冬季風暴 Uri 相關的天然氣成本增加相關的證券化收益，這將使這些成本中的大約 11 億美元證券化。如此一來，我們將收回 80% 以上的冬季風暴 Uri 期間產生的增量天然氣成本。除了德克薩斯州的證券化，我們最近在印第安納州申請證券化，涉及與 2 座煤炭設施退役相關的約 3.6 億美元成本。這是印第安納州首次提交此類文件。

The securitization supports the generation transition capital investment plans and should result in a decrease for the benefit of our customers of the associated retirement costs of these assets by up to $60 million when compared to the traditional rate making. The current procedural schedule anticipates a decision by the end of 2022. And if the financing order is approved, we would expect a bond issuance in the first quarter of 2023. Beyond the securitizations, we will begin recovering the $78 million in Texas related to the traditional distribution capital portion of the DCRF filing in September. Based on the Texas Public Utility Commission order, we filed an amendment for the mobile generation related portion of the DCRF filing and have a hearing scheduled in October.

證券化支持發電過渡資本投資計劃，與傳統的利率制定相比，這些資產的相關退休成本應為我們的客戶減少多達 6000 萬美元，以造福我們的客戶。目前的程序時間表預計將在 2022 年底做出決定。如果融資令獲得批准，我們預計將在 2023 年第一季度發行債券。除了證券化之外，我們將開始在德克薩斯州收回與9 月 DCRF 申報的傳統分配資本部分。根據德克薩斯公用事業委員會的命令，我們對 DCRF 文件中與移動發電相關的部分提交了修正案，併計劃於 10 月舉行聽證會。

As noted on our last call, there is often more regulatory scrutiny to get a new capital item into the existing mechanism. We look forward to working constructively with stakeholders to resolve that rate application in the coming months. And we continue to believe these are valuable tools to help meet the needs of our customers in the event they are called upon. Outside of those updates, I'll remind everybody on the regulatory side, we have limited regulatory risk near-term with no major rate cases to be filed until the latter part of 2023.

正如我們上次電話會議所指出的，通常需要更多的監管審查才能將新的資本項目納入現有機制。我們期待與利益相關者進行建設性的合作，以在未來幾個月內解決該費率申請。我們仍然相信這些是有價值的工具，可以幫助滿足客戶在需要時滿足他們的需求。除了這些更新之外，我會提醒監管方面的每個人，我們近期的監管風險有限，直到 2023 年下半年才會提交重大利率案件。

Turning to the VUHI transaction on Slide 9. We're excited to complete the VUHI restructuring this past quarter, which has been about 4 years in the making. We were able to transfer our Indiana gas company and Vectren electric delivery of Ohio subsidiaries into CERC which now holds almost all of our natural gas utility businesses. Along with the restructuring, we were able to pay off approximately $700 million of additional parent-level debt that will now be more efficiently financed at CERC operating company instead of relying on intercompany borrowings. The greater scale and stronger credit profile of CERC should benefit our customers through lower future financing costs on an ongoing basis, resulting in anticipated customer savings over the long-term.

轉向幻燈片 9 上的 VUHI 交易。我們很高興在上個季度完成 VUHI 重組，這已經進行了大約 4 年。我們能夠將我們的印第安納州天然氣公司和俄亥俄州子公司的 Vectren 電力交付轉移到 CERC，該公司現在幾乎擁有我們所有的天然氣公用事業業務。隨著重組，我們能夠償還大約 7 億美元的額外母公司債務，這些債務現在將由 CERC 運營公司更有效地融資，而不是依賴公司間借款。 CERC 更大的規模和更強的信用狀況將通過持續降低未來融資成本使我們的客戶受益，從而實現預期的客戶長期儲蓄。

Through the restructuring process, we were able to remove certain restrictive covenants previously contained in the VUHI private placement notes that restricted the amount of securitization bonds that Indiana Electric could issue, which I discussed earlier. Additionally, in the future, we anticipate financing Indiana Electric on a stand-alone basis through first mortgage bonds, further reducing in our company borrowings from the parent. These actions also align with our goal to have parent-level debt at approximately 20% of total debt outstanding which will help mitigate the impact of a rising interest rate environment. This restructuring is another example of delivering value for both our customers and our investors.

通過重組過程，我們能夠取消之前包含在 VUHI 私募票據中的某些限制性條款，這些條款限制了印第安納電氣公司可以發行的證券化債券的數量，我之前已經討論過。此外，在未來，我們預計通過第一抵押債券單獨為印第安納電力公司融資，進一步減少我們公司從母公司的借款。這些行動也符合我們的目標，即母公司層面的債務約佔未償債務總額的 20%，這將有助於減輕利率環境上升的影響。這次重組是為我們的客戶和投資者創造價值的另一個例子。

Lastly, to cover some credit-related topics. In addition to improving parent-level debt balance, our FFO to debt as of the second quarter was approximately 16%, exceeding our long-term objective of 14% to 15% aligning with Moody's methodology. We believe that these improvements in the balance sheet, coupled with our efficient recycling of capital, puts us in a position of being able to offer industry-leading growth without the need for external equity. I'll briefly mention that we plan to renew our shelf registration in the near future as the existing 2019 registration statement is expiring. We have not issued any new shares under that program in a few quarters and have no intentions of doing so in the future, but we believe it is good practice to keep a shelf registration outstanding.

最後，涵蓋一些與信用相關的主題。除了改善母公司層面的債務餘額外，截至第二季度，我們對債務的 FFO 約為 16%，超過了我們與穆迪方法一致的 14% 至 15% 的長期目標。我們相信，資產負債表的這些改善，加上我們有效的資本回收，使我們能夠在不需要外部股權的情況下提供行業領先的增長。我將簡要提到，我們計劃在不久的將來更新我們的貨架註冊，因為現有的 2019 年註冊聲明即將到期。我們已經有幾個季度沒有根據該計劃發行任何新股，也無意在未來這樣做，但我們認為保持貨架登記未完成是一種很好的做法。

Those are my updates for the quarter. As we continue to express, we take our commitment to be good stewards of your investment very seriously and realize our obligation to optimize stakeholder value. I'll now turn the call back over to Dave.

這些是我本季度的更新。正如我們繼續表達的那樣，我們非常重視成為您投資的好管家的承諾，並履行我們優化利益相關者價值的義務。我現在將電話轉回戴夫。

Thank you, Jason. As you've heard from us today, we have 9 straight quarters of meeting or exceeding expectations. We are a pure-play regulated utility and firmly on the pathway to premium with incremental growth opportunities driven by our customers' demands.

謝謝你，傑森。正如您今天從我們那裡聽到的，我們已經連續 9 個季度達到或超出預期。我們是一家受監管的純公用事業公司，並堅定地走在客戶需求驅動的增量增長機會的溢價之路上。

Thank you, Dave. We'll now turn the call over to Q&A.

謝謝你，戴夫。我們現在將電話轉至問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Shar Pourreza with Guggenheim Partners.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自與 Guggenheim Partners 的 Shar Pourreza。

Dave, with sort of the guidance raise today for '22, as you call out, is now kind of implying 9% growth in '22, does that kind of imply a stronger trajectory for future years despite you just reiterating 8% in the near-term? I mean you're obviously showing some confidence in the raise despite the sort of the broader backdrop and a pending GRC filing potentially at the end of '23. So what's driving it? And any placeholders there with your internal planning assumptions for resiliency now and there?

戴夫，正如你所說，今天為 22 年提出了某種指導，現在暗示 22 年增長 9%，這是否意味著未來幾年的增長軌跡更強，儘管你只是重申了 8% 的近期增長-學期？我的意思是，儘管有更廣泛的背景以及可能在 23 年底提交的 GRC 申請，但你顯然對加薪表現出一定的信心。那麼是什麼驅動它呢？您現在和那裡的彈性內部規劃假設中是否有任何占位符？

No, I think -- first of all, we wouldn't express the confidence that we have in continuing to grow our earnings if we didn't believe in it. So I think that needs to be your first takeaway. Second is we do have a lot of tailwinds in the business right now. I think the great thing for us is that almost all of them are customer-driven tailwinds. We clearly have the organic growth that we highlighted, the jobs growth, 2% residential growth quarter-over-quarter. Certainly, weather is helping us at this point in time. And helping us really because the margin we're getting from that, we're allowed then to pull O&M forward from '23 to benefit our customers in '22. And then clearly, we continue to have the 1% to 2% long-term O&M reduction. The increased capital is clearly showing up in earnings and will continue to show up in earnings.

不，我認為——首先，如果我們不相信它，我們就不會表達我們對繼續增加收入的信心。所以我認為這需要成為你的第一個外賣。其次，我們現在的業務確實有很多順風。我認為對我們來說最棒的是幾乎所有這些都是客戶驅動的順風。我們顯然有我們強調的有機增長，就業增長，住宅環比增長 2%。當然，此時天氣正在幫助我們。並真正幫助我們，因為我們從中獲得了利潤，然後我們被允許從 23 年開始將 O&M 向前推進，以在 22 年使我們的客戶受益。然後很明顯，我們繼續減少 1% 到 2% 的長期 O&M。增加的資本明顯體現在收益中，並將繼續體現在收益中。

So as I said, if we weren't really confident in where we were going, we wouldn't say it. I mean maybe the benefit I get as CEO is focusing on the tailwinds. There are some headwinds out there, maybe Jason can hit on those.

所以正如我所說，如果我們對自己的發展方向沒有信心，我們就不會說出來。我的意思是，我作為 CEO 獲得的好處可能是關注順風。那裡有一些不利因素，也許傑森可以解決這些問題。

Sure. Thanks, Dave. Thanks for the question, Shar. I know the industry has been talking a lot about rising interest rates and pension expense, I think we're in an enviable position on both of those. From an interest expense standpoint, we're really one of the few utilities that are significantly paying down parent company debt and floating rate debt. And over the last 6 months, we paid off $1.1 billion of parent company debt with a weighted average coupon of 3.4%. And as I indicated in the prepared remarks, we're prepared to pay down $1.1 billion of floating rate debt as soon as the Texas securitization proceeds are received here in the second half of the year.

當然。謝謝，戴夫。謝謝你的問題，夏爾。我知道這個行業一直在談論利率上升和養老金支出，我認為我們在這兩個方面都處於令人羨慕的位置。從利息支出的角度來看，我們確實是少數顯著償還母公司債務和浮動利率債務的公用事業公司之一。在過去 6 個月中，我們以 3.4% 的加權平均票面利率償還了 11 億美元的母公司債務。正如我在準備好的評論中所指出的那樣，一旦德克薩斯州在下半年收到證券化收益，我們就準備償還 11 億美元的浮動利率債務。

And from a pension expense, we're really fortunate to work in constructive regulatory jurisdictions. We get to defer about 2/3 of our pension expense. So we're in a good spot. And while maybe not necessarily a headwind, what I do want to remind folks of is the fact that we increased capital already $500 million this year. And so that provides further tailwinds to address anything that comes up. And sort of central to your question, Shar, the guidance raise and resulting increase in subsequent years is before the addition of the Resiliency Now capital. We will provide a comprehensive update as it relates to that incremental capital on the Q3 call.

從養老金支出來看，我們真的很幸運能夠在建設性的監管司法管轄區工作。我們可以推遲大約 2/3 的養老金支出。所以我們在一個好地方。雖然可能不一定是逆風，但我確實想提醒人們的是，我們今年已經增加了 5 億美元的資本。因此，這提供了進一步的順風來解決任何出現的問題。 Shar，你的問題的核心是，在隨後幾年的指導提高和由此產生的增長是在增加 Resiliency Now 資本之前。我們將提供與第三季度電話會議增量資本相關的全面更新。

Yes. I think that's the key point that Jason just said, we're not going to front-run our Q3 conversation on incremental capital. So the increased guidance we've given -- we gave you today is essentially from the capital that we've already communicated to you in the past.

是的。我認為這是傑森剛才所說的關鍵點，我們不會在第三季度就增量資本進行對話。因此，我們提供的更多指導——我們今天給你的基本上來自我們過去已經傳達給你的資金。

Got it. So the incremental capital will be incremental to your guidance? Got it. So that -- then we'll look forward to it in the third quarter. And then just, Dave, just looking at sort of that interest rate backdrop, I guess, does that kind of prompt any potential reconsideration of the M&A outlook as we think about the value potentially monetizing more LDC assets? Any change here versus your prior thoughts? It sounded like from your prepared remarks, you may be comfortable with sort of that electric gas business mix as you comp closely with other premium names now. So just curious as you're thinking about it just given the change in the capital markets.

知道了。那麼增量資本是否會增加您的指導？知道了。所以 - 然後我們將在第三季度期待它。然後，戴夫，我想，看看那種利率背景，當我們考慮可能將更多最不發達國家資產貨幣化的價值時，這種情況是否會促使我們重新考慮併購前景？與您之前的想法相比，這裡有什麼變化嗎？從您準備好的評論中聽起來，您可能對這種電動燃氣業務組合感到滿意，因為您現在與其他優質名稱密切相關。因此，考慮到資本市場的變化，您只是好奇而已。

Well, I think, as Jason alluded to, we've got plenty of cash flow at this point in time. If you recall, what we've said almost from day 1 or I've said from day 1, I mean, our North Star is no further issuance of equity to dilute our shareholder base out. So that's sort of the stake in the ground. As Jason said in his prepared remarks, we've got certainly a lot of cash flow from the prior LDC sales, the Enable sale. We've got some upcoming securitizations. As we refine sort of tax exposure on some of the transactions, we're finding additional capital there. So at the end of the day, we're going to wait until Q3, and we'll give a comprehensive update to not only the incremental capital that may come out of our resilient now and master energy plan, but how we intend to finance all that without additional equity issuances. So just sort of hold that thought.

好吧，我認為，正如傑森所暗示的那樣，我們目前有足夠的現金流。如果你還記得，我們幾乎從第一天就說過或者我從第一天就說過的話，我的意思是，我們的北極星不會進一步發行股票來稀釋我們的股東基礎。所以這有點像地面上的利害關係。正如傑森在他準備好的講話中所說，我們肯定從之前的 LDC 銷售中獲得了大量現金流，即 Enable 銷售。我們有一些即將進行的證券化。隨著我們改進某些交易的稅收風險，我們正在那裡找到額外的資本。因此，最終，我們將等到第三季度，我們不僅會全面更新可能來自我們現在的彈性和總體能源計劃的增量資本，還會全面更新我們打算如何融資所有這一切都沒有額外的股票發行。所以只是有點保持這個想法。

Our next question comes from Steven Fleishman with Wolfe Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Steven Fleishman。

Great update. Just curious, I know it's very recent, but the -- curious on how you think the company is positioned on the corporate minimum tax that's part of the proposed inflation act from last week?

很棒的更新。只是好奇，我知道這是最近的事，但是——好奇你認為公司在上週提議的通貨膨脹法案中的企業最低稅上是如何定位的？

Yes, I'll let Jason take that one.

是的，我會讓傑森拿走那個。

Steve, appreciate the question. Maybe before turning directly to the minimum tax, I do think the real opportunity here is the opportunity for incremental margin associated with transportation electrification. As we highlighted at our Analyst Day, every electric vehicle that's connected to our grid is about $80 a margin a year. So we are excited about the continued support of electrification. And then in addition, the extension of the tax credits will help us more efficiently execute our coal transition up in Indiana. So we think those are definitely tailwinds for the company.

史蒂夫，感謝這個問題。也許在直接轉向最低稅之前，我確實認為這裡真正的機會是與交通電氣化相關的增量利潤的機會。正如我們在分析師日強調的那樣，每輛連接到我們電網的電動汽車每年的利潤約為 80 美元。因此，我們對電氣化的持續支持感到興奮。此外，稅收抵免的延長將幫助我們更有效地執行我們在印第安納州的煤炭轉型。所以我們認為這對公司來說絕對是順風。

As it relates to the minimum tax, it's going to likely be a very modest headwind for the company that we will be able to efficiently overcome. We've been historically a cash taxpayer. And as you cut through kind of all the onetime transactions as we've been executing on our strategic reset and the timing of the unrecovered natural gas costs, we generally paid federal cash taxes at an effective rate of about 10%. So we see the introduction of a minimum tax that will likely be reduced from the credits that we'll be generating from the coal transition in Indiana as a modest headwind. But again, I would emphasize, this is something that we will be able to efficiently overcome. And I think that, candidly, that we're in a much better position than many of our peers who haven't been paying federal cash taxes over the years.

由於它與最低稅收有關，對於我們將能夠有效克服的公司來說，這可能是一個非常溫和的逆風。從歷史上看，我們一直是現金納稅人。當您在我們執行戰略重置和未收回天然氣成本的時間安排時削減所有一次性交易時，我們通常以約 10% 的有效稅率繳納聯邦現金稅。因此，我們認為引入最低稅收可能會從我們將從印第安納州煤炭轉型產生的信貸中減少，這是一個適度的逆風。但我要再次強調，這是我們將能夠有效克服的問題。我認為，坦率地說，我們比許多多年來沒有繳納聯邦現金稅的同行處於更好的位置。

Great. And one other question. Just we've had a little bit of a tougher market environment in terms of capital markets. And I know you just said you don't really -- you have a lot of cash available. But in the event you were to pursue another gas LDC sale, do you feel like the market is still there to sell at a strong price, somewhere in the ballpark of last time?

偉大的。還有一個問題。只是在資本市場方面，我們的市場環境更加艱難。我知道你剛才說你不是真的 - 你有很多可用的現金。但是，如果您要進行另一次天然氣 LDC 銷售，您是否覺得市場仍然可以以強勁的價格出售，就像上次一樣？

We do, Steve. We continue to get a significant amount of inbound from the market. And clearly, rising interest rates are having, what I would say, sort of a modest impact. But what I think is more than offsetting that is, I think, comfort in a much higher terminal value for gas LDCs. I think a confluence of events, whether it be Winter Storm Uri or the war in the Ukraine, has kind of led to sort of better comfort for long-term diversity and energy supply. And so as we get kind of inbound interest, we're seeing, again, much more comfort with a much higher terminal value for gas LDCs, particularly Mid-Continent, where we're fortunate to operate ours.

我們有，史蒂夫。我們繼續從市場獲得大量的入境。顯然，利率上升正在產生，我想說的是，某種溫和的影響。但我認為不僅僅是抵消，我認為，天然氣最不發達國家的終端價值要高得多。我認為一系列事件，無論是冬季風暴烏里還是烏克蘭戰爭，都為長期多樣性和能源供應帶來了更好的舒適度。因此，當我們獲得某種入境興趣時，我們再次看到天然氣最不發達國家的終端價值更高，特別是中大陸，我們有幸在其中經營我們的天然氣。

But I just want to sort of emphasize what Dave already mentioned, we've had a number of incremental improvements to our cash flow forecast since our last update at Analyst Day. A couple of things that I'd quickly point out is we were really conservative as it related to the tax basis for the gas LDC sales. So we have lower taxes there than we expected. In a theme of continuing to optimize our tax position, we were able to minimize some of the taxes on the sale of the energy transfer common units. We've got about $100 million more of incremental proceeds from the securitization up in Indiana. And so what I would say, all in all, we have a significant amount of positive cash flow developments that will help us efficiently fund our capital update that we plan to provide on the Q3 call.

但我只是想強調一下戴夫已經提到的，自我們上次在分析師日更新以來，我們的現金流預測已經有了一些增量改進。我很快指出的幾件事是我們非常保守，因為它與天然氣 LDC 銷售的稅基有關。所以我們那裡的稅收比我們預期的要低。在繼續優化我們的稅收狀況的主題下，我們能夠最大限度地減少能源轉讓公共單元銷售的一些稅收。我們從印第安納州的證券化中獲得了大約 1 億美元的增量收益。所以我想說的是，總而言之，我們有大量的正現金流發展，這將幫助我們有效地為我們計劃在第三季度電話會議上提供的資本更新提供資金。

Our next question comes from Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Jeremy Tonet。

Just want to come back to the DC package, if I could. Just wondering on the tax credit side, is there anything particular there that's catching your interest that you're closely watching that could present more opportunities for CenterPoint?

如果可以的話，我只想回到 DC 包。只是想知道在稅收抵免方面，是否有什麼特別引起您的興趣，您正在密切關注可能為 CenterPoint 提供更多機會？

I think for us, the core benefit is the extension of the tax credits in and of themselves. I know some of our peers are talking about transferability, we're not necessarily in a position to really take advantage of that just given the fact that we have a fairly modest coal transition program. We're talking about effectively 1 gigawatt of generation up in Indiana. So we'll utilize those credits to kind of optimize our current tax position. And so sort of I think the key benefit is just the extension of the tax credits. We'll look at the opportunity maybe elect production tax credits for solar. But ultimately, what's going to govern this is sort of what's the most efficient way for us to complete the coal transition for our customers up in Indiana.

我認為對我們來說，核心好處是擴大稅收抵免本身。我知道我們的一些同行正在談論可轉移性，我們不一定能夠真正利用這一點，因為我們有一個相當適度的煤炭轉型計劃。我們實際上是在談論印第安納州 1 吉瓦的發電量。因此，我們將利用這些抵免額來優化我們目前的稅收狀況。所以我認為關鍵的好處就是稅收抵免的擴展。我們將尋找機會，可能會為太陽能選擇生產稅收抵免。但最終，管理這件事的方法是我們為印第安納州的客戶完成煤炭轉型的最有效方式。

Okay. Got it. So maybe this does impact generation replacement in Indiana depending on how things fall out here. But just wondering if there's any more details on that side specifically that you might be able to provide.

好的。知道了。所以也許這確實會影響印第安納州的發電更換，具體取決於這裡的情況。但只是想知道您是否可以提供更多關於這方面的詳細信息。

Well, I think we've -- as we've talked about, I think we're well on our way to transitioning and retirement of 2 of the 3 coal units up in Indiana. I think with the extension of the tax credit, they put us in a better position with this third and final coal facility that we'll be addressing in our integrated resource plan that we will file in early '23. But I just think with the certainty around the extension of the tax credits, we're just going to be in a much better place to efficiently execute on the retirement of that third and final coal facility.

好吧，我認為我們已經 - 正如我們已經談到的那樣，我認為我們正在順利過渡和退役印第安納州 3 個煤炭單位中的 2 個。我認為隨著稅收抵免的延長，他們讓我們在第三個也是最後一個煤炭設施方面處於更好的位置，我們將在我們將在 23 年初提交的綜合資源計劃中解決這個問題。但我只是認為，隨著稅收抵免延長的確定性，我們將處於一個更好的地方，以有效地執行第三個也是最後一個煤炭設施的退役。

Got it. Just a real quick last one. As far as the capital update, I know you're not going to front-run it here for 3Q, but should we be thinking this is largely Houston focused? Or could there be other elements on the side?

知道了。只是一個真正快速的最後一個。至於資本更新，我知道你不會在第三季度在這裡搶占先機，但我們是否應該認為這主要集中在休斯頓？或者旁邊還有其他元素嗎？

We're not going to front-run the conversation, sorry.

抱歉，我們不會搶占先機。

Our next question comes from Andrew Weisel with Scotiabank.

我們的下一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Andrew Weisel。

First, just a couple of questions on the summer heat waves and how you're managing that. I think you said you only use the commercial load management ones. Can you remind us the relative sizes of the voluntary demand response program versus force load setting? And can you specifically comment on the role that cryptocurrency miners played in terms of curtailing demand and if you view that to be a real and reliable lever to pull going forward?

首先，關於夏季熱浪以及您如何應對的幾個問題。我想你說你只使用商業負載管理。您能否提醒我們自願需求響應計劃與強制負載設置的相對規模？您能否具體評論一下加密貨幣礦工在減少需求方面發揮的作用，以及您是否認為這是推動未來發展的真正可靠的槓桿？

Andrew, thanks for the question. Our official load management program was roughly, call it, 125 megawatts, and that was the official -- the one official sort of use of the commercial load management program. There was one the other day where we curtailed load on a very minor basis using a reduction in voltage. But just again, to give that some size, it's roughly about 125 megawatts versus our peak demand of, call it, 19.5 gigs. So kind of a fraction of the overall demand on our system.

安德魯，謝謝你的問題。我們的官方負載管理程序大約是 125 兆瓦，這是官方的——商業負載管理程序的一種官方用途。前幾天我們通過降低電壓在非常小的基礎上減少了負載。但再一次，為了給出一些規模，它大約是 125 兆瓦，而我們的峰值需求，稱之為 19.5 演出。這只是我們系統整體需求的一小部分。

As it relates to crypto mining, what I would say is I think parties are still trying to kind of understand how effective of a lever that is. We're not seeing directly as much mining in the Greater Houston area. As we've talked about historically, we represent about 2.5% of the geography of Texas, but a 1/4 of the energy demand. And so we're sort of short power requiring a significant import from out of state. As a result, that and land is more expensive here. As a result of that, we're seeing crypto mining more located kind of in the Texas Panhandle closer to the generation sources.

由於它與加密挖掘有關，我想說的是，我認為各方仍在試圖了解槓桿的有效性。我們沒有直接看到大休斯頓地區的採礦量如此之多。正如我們在歷史上所討論的那樣，我們代表了德克薩斯州約 2.5% 的地理區域，但佔能源需求的 1/4。所以我們有點缺乏力量，需要從州外大量進口。結果，這裡的土地更貴。因此，我們看到加密採礦更多地位於德克薩斯州狹長地帶，更靠近發電源。

Some of that is really flexible, and I think has been a lever that ERCOT has used. Some of that is behind the meter and is maybe a little less visible to ERCOT. So I think there's opportunity around embracing sort of economic development of crypto mining for the state is one that will require continued focus to make sure that we can balance demand and supply as we see some of these peak events.

其中一些非常靈活，我認為這是 ERCOT 使用的槓桿。其中一些在儀表後面，ERCOT 可能不太明顯。因此，我認為圍繞該州擁抱加密採礦的某種經濟發展存在機會，這需要繼續關注以確保我們能夠在看到其中一些高峰事件時平衡供需。

Yes, it is fair to say that it is on the radar screen of the PUC. Because the last time we visited with a number of the PUC commissioners, which was just a few weeks ago, it was really top of mind at that point in time. But as Jason has said, everybody is trying to get a handle on how much of it really is behind the meter right now and how much of it is addressable if the state continues to get tight on power.

是的，可以說它在 PUC 的雷達屏幕上。因為我們上一次與一些 PUC 委員一起訪問是在幾週前，那是當時最重要的事情。但正如傑森所說，每個人都在試圖弄清楚現在到底有多少是落後的，如果國家繼續收緊權力，有多少是可以解決的。

Okay. Great. And then maybe more broadly, after being tested so intensely through July, how do you feel about the condition of the grid? Has it kept up with the strong economic and population growth in recent years? I'm talking about the wire specifically, not the supply piece, which is beyond your control. And then can you just remind us how much of the $40 billion plan relates to Houston reliability or resiliency before the update in a few months?

好的。偉大的。然後也許更廣泛地說，在整個 7 月份進行瞭如此激烈的測試之後，您對電網的狀況有何看法？它是否跟上了近年來強勁的經濟和人口增長？我說的是電線，而不是供應件，這超出了您的控制範圍。然後你能否提醒我們，在幾個月的更新之前，400 億美元的計劃中有多少與休斯頓的可靠性或彈性有關？

Yes, Jason, do you want to take that?

是的，傑森，你願意接受嗎？

Yes. I think the grid itself, so the transmission and distribution system, held up remarkably well. We build our system here in the Greater Houston area to withstand these peak sort of heat events that we experienced. And as we said, our system stood up well. Our focus is on making sure that there's adequacy of this energy supply, but we're proud about how our system held up, how our crews responded when we had some outages from storm-related events like Dave mentioned in his prepared remarks.

是的。我認為電網本身，以及輸配電系統，都表現得非常好。我們在大休斯頓地區建立了我們的系統，以抵禦我們經歷過的這些高峰期的高溫事件。正如我們所說，我們的系統運行良好。我們的重點是確保這種能源供應充足，但我們對我們的系統如何保持以及當我們因戴夫在他準備好的講話中提到的與風暴相關的事件發生一些中斷時我們的工作人員如何響應感到自豪。

The $40 billion CapEx program that we outlined, the 10-year CapEx planned for the entire company, about $22 billion of that relates to Houston Electric. And what I would say, currently, about $8 billion of that $22 billion is really sort of resiliency spend. Think about $11 billion of that is really sort of growth enablement, connecting new customers, increasing capacity on their system, the rest is sort of capital that's used to kind of support the overall business. And so as we think about our broader capital update and ensuring that our system remains resilient in the face of more extreme temperatures, more extreme weather events, we likely will see an increase in that resiliency component. But again, we'll provide a comprehensive update on the Q3 call.

我們概述的 400 億美元資本支出計劃，為整個公司計劃的 10 年資本支出，其中約 220 億美元與休斯頓電氣有關。我想說的是，目前，這 220 億美元中的大約 80 億美元實際上是彈性支出。想想其中的 110 億美元實際上是一種增長支持，連接新客戶，增加他們系統的容量，其餘的是用於支持整體業務的資本。因此，當我們考慮更廣泛的資本更新並確保我們的系統在面對更極端的溫度、更極端的天氣事件時保持彈性時，我們可能會看到彈性組件的增加。但同樣，我們將提供第三季度電話會議的全面更新。

Very good. Then one more, if I may. Jason, I think you said you're starting to -- you're thinking about pulling forward expenses from future years into 2022, has that already started? I think you mentioned [pre-trimming]. How does the hot summer weather impact your ability, both physically and in terms of affordability in the context of inflation? And then are you thinking about the timing of O&M relative to the Houston Electric rate case you intend to file in 15 or 18 months or so?

很好。如果可以的話，再來一張。傑森，我想你說過你開始——你正在考慮將未來幾年的費用提前到 2022 年，這已經開始了嗎？我想你提到了[預修剪]。炎熱的夏季天氣如何影響您的能力，無論是在身體上還是在通貨膨脹背景下的負擔能力方面？然後，您是否正在考慮相對於您打算在 15 或 18 個月左右提交的休斯頓電力費率案的 O&M 時間？

Let me handle sort of the front end of that, and I'll let Jason handle the latter part of the question. I think to put it in context, if you remember back to our discussions last year, where we did reduce our O&M 1% year-over-year, even though we brought forward $20-some million plus of O&M from '22 into '21, basically to attack things like vegetation management and opportunities like that. And we really are sort of in a rinse and repeat year here in '22, taking advantage of the margin that the hotter weather has provided us to pull some O&M forward from '23 to '22 to address the various -- the exact issues that we've talked about, more vegetation management and really spending that money for the benefit of our customers, while still being able to reduce O&M 1% to 2% over the 10-year average that we have.

讓我處理一些前端，然後讓 Jason 處理問題的後半部分。我想把它放在上下文中，如果你還記得我們去年的討論，我們確實將我們的 O&M 同比減少了 1%，儘管我們將 20 幾百萬美元以上的 O&M 從 22 年提前到 21 年，基本上是攻擊植被管理和機會之類的東西。我們真的在 22 年處於沖洗和重複的一年，利用更熱的天氣為我們提供的優勢，將一些 O&M 從 23 年推到 22 年，以解決各種問題——確切的問題我們已經討論過，更多的植被管理，並真正將這筆錢花在為我們的客戶利益上，同時仍然能夠將 O&M 比我們擁有的 10 年平均水平降低 1% 到 2%。

So again, it really is the benefit of the fantastic market that we have in Houston. I know you probably get tired of me harping on it, but the beauty of organic growth and the ability to invest ahead of that growth is just a luxury that other utilities don't have, that we have here in Houston. And so every decision we make is made through the lens of how can we benefit our customers sooner rather than later. And that's the decisions that we're making.

再說一次，這確實是我們在休斯頓擁有的絕佳市場的好處。我知道你可能已經厭倦了我喋喋不休，但有機增長的美麗和在增長之前進行投資的能力只是其他公用事業公司所沒有的奢侈品，而我們在休斯頓就擁有了。因此，我們做出的每一個決定都是從我們如何盡快讓客戶受益的角度做出的。這就是我們正在做出的決定。

Our next question comes from David Arcaro with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 David Arcaro。

Wondering if you could talk to load growth for a minute, just what you're seeing in terms of whether normal load growth and specifically on the industrial growth side of things. Also curious if you're seeing just any indications or early indications of any softness in the industrial load levels.

想知道您是否可以談一談負載增長，就您所看到的負載增長是否正常，特別是在工業增長方面。也很好奇您是否看到工業負載水平任何疲軟的任何跡像或早期跡象。

No, I think the industrial load growth continues to expand. I think if you just look at who our customer base is down in -- basically, if you take out of the court facility in Houston through refinery rolled to the petrochem complex and the amount of final investment decisions that have been made over the last few years expanding capacity and basically the whole petrochem complex. So we see that as a continued growth engine for us. And I think the short answer is I don't think we're seeing any indication of any slowdown in industrial demand on our system at this point in time.

不，我認為工業負荷增長繼續擴大。我認為，如果您只看一下我們的客戶群在誰中-基本上，如果您從休斯頓的法院設施中通過煉油廠滾到石化綜合體以及過去幾年做出的最終投資決定的數量年擴大產能，基本上是整個石化綜合體。因此，我們將其視為我們的持續增長引擎。我認為簡短的回答是，我認為目前我們沒有看到任何跡象表明我們系統的工業需求有任何放緩。

I'd add from a residential standpoint, we're continuing to see just north of 2% increase in new customers. On a weather-adjusted basis, what I think is really interesting is, at least through the first 5 months of the year, so through May, we saw usage on a weather-adjusted basis outpacing customer growth. We didn't see that as much in June. But June was as we've talked about, sort of a record month with weather.

我想從住宅的角度補充一點，我們繼續看到新客戶增加了 2% 以上。在天氣調整的基礎上，我認為真正有趣的是，至少在今年的前 5 個月，所以到 5 月，我們看到在天氣調整的基礎上的使用量超過了客戶增長。我們在六月沒有看到那麼多。但正如我們所說，六月是天氣創紀錄的一個月。

But I come back to the sort of usage trends that we're monitoring to see how this unfolds. There could be, what I'll call, maybe a new normal in terms of residential usage with more of a work-from-home model as we see customers spending a couple of days working from home, while also, at the same time, businesses are welcoming employees back. We may see on a longer-term basis, a trend with a slightly higher usage on a weather-adjusted basis than we're seeing in terms of just new customer connections. So base business remains strong, as David has continued to highlight, in terms of new customer connects. Weather has been great, but we're also seeing kind of a modest uptick in usage.

但我回到我們正在監控的那種使用趨勢，看看它是如何展開的。可能會出現，我稱之為住宅使用的新常態，更多的是在家工作的模式，因為我們看到客戶花幾天時間在家工作，同時，企業歡迎員工回來。從長遠來看，我們可能會看到一種趨勢，即根據天氣調整後的使用率略高於我們在新客戶連接方面看到的趨勢。因此，正如大衛繼續強調的那樣，在新客戶連接方面，基礎業務仍然強勁。天氣一直很好，但我們也看到使用量略有上升。

Yes. And I would say the other thing that we're looking at as another potential tailwind, and Jason hit on it a little bit earlier, as we said in our last Analyst Day, Houston is one of the least-penetrated EV markets of a major city in the U.S. And with the inflation Reduction Act basically being very supportive of the electrification of the vehicle fleet, we see a big potential for the city of Houston and the need for us to continue to enhance the grid just to handle the needs that are going to come out of there.

是的。我想說的另一件事是，我們正在將其視為另一個潛在的順風，正如我們在上一個分析師日所說的那樣，傑森早一點就抓住了它，休斯頓是一個主要的電動汽車市場中滲透率最低的市場之一美國的城市和隨著通貨膨脹減少法案基本上非常支持車隊的電氣化，我們看到休斯敦市的巨大潛力以及我們需要繼續加強電網以滿足需求會從那裡出來。

Jason mentioned the $80 per margin per car per year from an electric vehicle. I think another way to think about it is the stat that we gave at our last Analyst Day where it could be another 1% organic growth driver on top of the 2% organic growth we have at this point in time, which really would be sort of extraordinary baseline growth in the organization. All pointing to why, for the benefit of our customers, we would have to continue to upgrade the resiliency and hardening of the grid. So it's a really good place to be right now.

Jason 提到了電動汽車每年每輛汽車 80 美元的利潤。我認為另一種思考方式是我們在上一個分析師日給出的統計數據，在我們目前擁有的 2% 的有機增長之上，它可能是另一個 1% 的有機增長驅動力，這真的是排序組織中的非凡基線增長。所有這些都指向了為什麼為了我們客戶的利益，我們必須繼續升級電網的彈性和加固。所以這是一個非常適合現在的地方。

Got it. That's really helpful color. It sounds like continued strong fundamentals on that basis. And then I was wondering if you could just talk to any transmission growth opportunities that emerge? You've seen such a tight power market in Texas recently this season. Wondering if any transmission-related solutions have popped up, whether it's congestion related around the city of Houston and whether that could be an element of the CapEx upside -- or CapEx update that we see.

知道了。這顏色真的很有幫助。在此基礎上，這聽起來像是持續強勁的基本面。然後我想知道你是否可以談談出現的任何傳輸增長機會？您最近在德克薩斯州看到了本季度如此緊張的電力市場。想知道是否出現了任何與傳輸相關的解決方案，是否與休斯頓市周圍的擁堵有關，以及這是否可能是資本支出上升的一個因素——或者我們看到的資本支出更新。

Yes. I think we're continuing to work on a number of transmission opportunities. As I highlighted, kind of we're short anywhere between sort of 40% and [60%] of kind of the power needs here in the greater Houston area just kind of given our profile. So there is a strong focus on increasing the number of import transmission lines sort of available to bring power in, kind of reducing congestion. I think it was really in customers' interest. The state passed and put into law last year, the opportunity to build new transmission from an economic dimension standpoint. So on an economic basis, reducing kind of the congestion charges. We're working with ERCOT and the PUCT to develop those projects.

是的。我認為我們正在繼續研究一些傳播機會。正如我所強調的那樣，鑑於我們的概況，我們在大休斯頓地區的電力需求中的任何地方都短缺 40% 到 [60%]。因此，人們非常重視增加可用於引入電力的進口輸電線路的數量，從而減少擁塞。我認為這確實符合客戶的利益。國家去年通過並頒布了法律，從經濟維度的角度來看，這是建立新傳輸的機會。所以在經濟的基礎上，減少那種擁堵費。我們正在與 ERCOT 和 PUCT 合作開發這些項目。

And there may be some incremental transmission updates that we provide as part of the Q3 update, which will be a comprehensive capital update at that time. So it continues to be an area where we think that there is incremental investment opportunity, and we'll save sort of quantifying that update until we provide that comprehensive increase on the Q3 call.

作為第三季度更新的一部分，我們可能會提供一些增量傳輸更新，屆時將是一次全面的資本更新。因此，它仍然是我們認為存在增量投資機會的領域，我們將保存對更新的量化，直到我們在第三季度電話會議上提供全面的增長。

Yes. I think if you look at what came out of the change in Texas law, at the end of the last session, instead of the move from reliability-based to economic-based transmission lines, we're waiting, and I know the PUC is focused on getting their regulations set, hopefully here by the end of the year, in and around how they're going to approach the siting and putting in a new transmission line. So as Jason said, we're excited about it. We think that we can make the case for economic transmission lines. We've just got to wait for this process to get itself completed.

是的。我認為，如果你看看德克薩斯州法律的變化，在上屆會議結束時，我們正在等待，而不是從基於可靠性的傳輸線轉向基於經濟的傳輸線，我知道 PUC 是專注於製定他們的法規，希望在今年年底之前完成，以及他們將如何接近選址並安裝新的輸電線路。正如傑森所說，我們對此感到興奮。我們認為我們可以為經濟型輸電線路提供理由。我們只需要等待這個過程完成。

Our next question comes from Julien Dumoulin-Smith with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith。

Just first off, on the solar uptake, just can you give us a little bit of a sense of the time line for those projects now. And the CapEx that was moved around and pull forward to offset the impact of delays previously, does this kind of imply a higher step up in '24 and '25 than previously expected? Or how should we think about the lattice you created and/or exactly where sort of the status of solar projects are today as best you see them?

首先，關於太陽能的吸收，你能給我們一點關於現在這些項目的時間線的感覺。並且為了抵消之前延遲的影響而四處移動並向前推進的資本支出，這是否意味著 24 年和 25 年的增幅高於之前的預期？或者我們應該如何考慮您創建的晶格和/或您所看到的太陽能項目今天的確切狀態？

Thanks for the question, Julien. I think we are seeing a lot more comfort from the developers that we're working with in terms of panel supply. Our original 10-year plan assumed our first solar project coming online at the end of '23. That may move into '24. But I think, as I said, overall, we're starting to see a lot more comfort with panel supply. So I think that we will largely be on sort of schedule for the build-out and ownership of the solar component of the plan.

謝謝你的問題，朱利安。我認為在面板供應方面，我們從與之合作的開發人員那裡看到了更多的安慰。我們最初的 10 年計劃假設我們的第一個太陽能項目在 23 年底上線。那可能會進入'24。但我認為，正如我所說，總的來說，我們開始看到面板供應更加舒適。因此，我認為我們將在很大程度上按計劃進行太陽能組件的擴建和所有權。

As you pointed out, we -- on a net basis, over the first 5 years of the 10-year plan, increased our capital expenditures $400 million last quarter. That gives us the opportunity to overcome any potential delay if that first solar project shifts from '23 to '24. As we get back on schedule, to your point, that $400 million then becomes incremental earnings power for the company. So we'll give a sort of broader update on that as well as the incremental capital from Resiliency Now and other opportunities on the Q3 call. But think about this as just a stronger sort of set of tailwinds for the company as we move forward.

正如你所指出的，在 10 年計劃的前 5 年中，我們在上個季度增加了 4 億美元的資本支出。如果第一個太陽能項目從 23 年轉移到 24 年，這讓我們有機會克服任何潛在的延誤。當我們回到計劃時，按照你的觀點，這 4 億美元將成為公司的增量盈利能力。因此，我們將對此進行更廣泛的更新，以及來自 Resiliency Now 的增量資本和第三季度電話會議的其他機會。但是，在我們前進的過程中，這只是對公司的一種更強大的順風。

Got it. All right. This is just a slight shift in earnings still. Excellent. Let me come back to your O&M commentary. I just want to make sure I understand this because you guys have been -- had you put forward on this 1% to 2% for a while here. But what's the growth level, if you can speak of it this way, of inflation that you're seeing out there? And how much of an incremental sight are you having to put up here to offset that impact here? I just want to -- I get that you guys nicely packaged it into saying we reiterate our commitment on the reductions, just want to understand how much of an inflationary pressure you are otherwise having to track against here to maintain that commitment. And obviously, cognizant here of the pull forward in the '22 year to derisk 23 as well.

知道了。好的。這只是收益的輕微變化。出色的。讓我回到您的運維評論。我只是想確保我理解這一點，因為你們一直在 - 你是否在這裡提出過 1% 到 2% 的問題。但是，如果您可以這樣說，您所看到的通貨膨脹的增長水平是多少？您必須在這裡放置多少增量視線才能抵消這裡的影響？我只是想 - 我知道你們很好地將它打包成說我們重申我們對削減的承諾，只是想了解你必須在這裡追踪多少通脹壓力才能維持這一承諾。顯然，在這裡認識到在 '22 年的拉動也將取消 23 年。

Yes. Thanks, Julien, for the question. We're not immune to inflation, but I think we're relatively well-positioned. We're seeing the impact of inflation more on the capital side, more on sort of materials than we are necessarily on labor. As it relates to sort of the broader kind of labor costs, our crews and our contractors that we use relates to sort of the broader kind of labor costs. Our crews and our contractors that we use all sort of follow our union agreements. Those are multiyear agreements that have stated annual increases in labor costs. And so we have set those. Those have been sort of in place.

是的。謝謝朱利安的問題。我們不能免受通貨膨脹的影響，但我認為我們處於相對有利的位置。我們看到通脹對資本的影響更多，更多的是對材料的影響，而不是對勞動力的影響。由於它涉及到更廣泛的勞動力成本，我們使用的工作人員和承包商與更廣泛的勞動力成本相關。我們使用的員工和承包商都遵守我們的工會協議。這些是多年協議，表明勞動力成本每年都會增加。所以我們設置了這些。這些已經到位。

And I think what that does is that provides certainty to our workforce. In years where maybe inflation is lower, our workforce is getting a benefit in terms of a stated increase and in years where maybe inflation runs a little higher, our customers are getting the benefit of kind of a stable overall cost to labor. So for that reason, we're not necessarily seeing the cost impact of inflation on O&M quite as much as one may think. And so at the end of the day, it really is kind of a little bit more pressure on supplies on the capital standpoint.

我認為這為我們的員工隊伍提供了確定性。在通貨膨脹率可能較低的年份，我們的勞動力正在從既定的增長中受益，而在通貨膨脹率可能稍高的年份，我們的客戶正在從一種穩定的總體勞動力成本中受益。因此，出於這個原因，我們不一定會像人們想像的那樣看到通脹對 O&M 的成本影響。因此，歸根結底，從資本的角度來看，這確實對供應造成了更大的壓力。

Interesting. So just to clarify that, you have a third quarter update here. Would you expect to also sort of cascade forward that inflationary impact on your core plan in addition to some of these other factors you talked about before? Or are you thinking about just simply shifting out projects in order to keep your sort of "core plan intact," if you will, just given those inflationary pressures on capital?

有趣的。因此，為了澄清這一點，您在這裡有第三季度的更新。除了您之前談到的其他一些因素之外，您是否還期望通脹對您的核心計劃產生影響？或者，考慮到資本的通脹壓力，您是否正在考慮只是簡單地轉移項目以保持您的“核心計劃完好無損”？

Yes. No, it's a good question. And I want to provide context. As we look at kind of a $19.3 billion 5-year plan, a $40 billion CapEx plan over 10 years, the incremental inflationary pressure is not that significant. It's not going to be one of the growth drivers. We are focused on executing our projects, right? It's important to modernize our gas system, improve the reliability of our electric system. So it's about executing work. Sort of to directly answer your question then, yes, it will be a comprehensive capital update, inclusive of new project work for Resiliency Now, inclusive of the potential for some inflation. But I wouldn't necessarily a driver of any CapEx increase.

是的。不，這是個好問題。我想提供上下文。當我們看到 193 億美元的 5 年計劃和 400 億美元的 10 年資本支出計劃時，增量通脹壓力並不那麼顯著。它不會成為增長動力之一。我們專注於執行我們的項目，對吧？對我們的燃氣系統進行現代化改造，提高我們電力系統的可靠性非常重要。所以這是關於執行工作。有點直接回答你的問題，是的，這將是一次全面的資本更新，包括 Resiliency Now 的新項目工作，包括一些通貨膨脹的可能性。但我不一定是任何資本支出增加的驅動因素。

Operator, we're going to thank everyone for joining our second quarter call. Now that we are just past the hour here. So we're going to disconnect. But thank you, everyone, for joining in on the second quarter call.

接線員，我們要感謝大家加入我們的第二季度電話會議。現在我們剛剛過了一個小時。所以我們要斷開連接。但是，謝謝大家加入第二季度的電話會議。

This concludes CenterPoint Energy's Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

CenterPoint Energy 的第二季度收益電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。