CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to CenterPoint Energy's Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call with senior management. (Operator Instructions) I will now turn the call over to Jackie Richert, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer. Ms. Richert?

早上好，歡迎來到 CenterPoint Energy 與高級管理層舉行的 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）我現在將電話轉給投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管 Jackie Richert。理查特女士？

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CenterPoint's Earnings Conference Call. Dave Lesar, our CEO; and Jason Wells, our COO, will discuss the company's fourth quarter and full year 2022 results.

大家，早安。歡迎來到 CenterPoint 的收益電話會議。我們的首席執行官 Dave Lesar；我們的首席運營官 Jason Wells 將討論公司第四季度和 2022 年全年的業績。

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 and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially based upon various factors as noted in our Form 10-K, other SEC filings and our earnings materials. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements.

管理層將討論某些主題，這些主題將包含基於管理層目前可獲得的管理層信念、假設和信息的預測和其他前瞻性信息和陳述。這些前瞻性陳述受風險和不確定因素的影響。實際結果可能會根據我們的 10-K 表格、其他 SEC 文件和我們的收益材料中指出的各種因素而產生重大差異。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 used a 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 affiliation of our 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 use our website to announce material information. This call is being recorded. Information on how to access the replay can be found on the website.

我們將在今天的電話會議上討論某些非 GAAP 措施。在提供指引時，我們使用非 GAAP 每股收益衡量調整後每股攤薄收益的合併基礎，稱為非 GAAP 每股收益。有關我們的指導方法和我們在提供指導時使用的非 GAAP 措施的從屬關係的信息，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，我們使用我們的網站來公佈重大信息。此通話正在錄音中。有關如何訪問重播的信息可以在網站上找到。

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

現在我想將討論轉交給戴夫。

Thank you, Jackie. Good morning, and thank you to everyone joining us for our fourth quarter 2022 earnings call. It's been nearly 2.5 years since I was appointed CEO here at CenterPoint. They have certainly been eventful, and I am pleased with the significant amount of progress that we have made to managing through a global pandemic, to operating through historically extreme weather, to now navigating the highest rate of inflation the U.S. has seen in the last 4 decades. I believe this is a management team that can take on and overcome any challenge. Since I got here, there really hasn't been a dull moment, but make no mistake, I love leading this company and its many great employees.

謝謝你，傑基。早上好，感謝大家加入我們的 2022 年第四季度財報電話會議。自從我被任命為 CenterPoint 的首席執行官以來已經將近 2.5 年了。他們當然是多事之秋，我很高興我們在應對全球大流行病、應對歷史極端天氣、應對美國過去 4 年來最高的通貨膨脹率方面取得了重大進展幾十年。我相信這是一個可以迎接和克服任何挑戰的管理團隊。自從我來到這裡，真的沒有一個沉悶的時刻，但別搞錯了，我喜歡領導這家公司和它的許多優秀員工。

Through these unprecedented times, CenterPoint employees stepped up and continued to deliver results for the benefit of our customers, communities and investors. And as most of you have seen, when Jason took over as CNP's President and COO on January 1, we made a few more management changes to make sure that we are creating a deeper bench and continuing to execute on our succession plan to create a company where our employees have the opportunity to be challenged, grow in their careers and help us execute our winning strategy.

在這些前所未有的時期，CenterPoint 員工加緊努力並繼續為我們的客戶、社區和投資者的利益創造成果。正如你們大多數人所見，當 Jason 於 1 月 1 日接任 CNP 總裁兼首席運營官時，我們進行了一些管理層變動，以確保我們正在打造更深層次的替補席，並繼續執行我們的繼任計劃以創建一家公司我們的員工有機會接受挑戰、在職業生涯中成長並幫助我們執行致勝戰略。

We have a more diverse leadership team than when I first started and one that has certainly become well regarded in the industry. I firmly believe that we have the right team to execute on what we believe is one of the most tangible, long-term growth plans in the industry. And of course, we continue to execute well. I'm happy to share that the fourth quarter of 2022 is our 11th consecutive quarter of meeting or exceeding earnings guidance expectations.

與我剛開始時相比，我們擁有一支更加多元化的領導團隊，而且這支團隊肯定在業界享有盛譽。我堅信，我們擁有合適的團隊來執行我們認為是業內最切實、最長期的增長計劃之一。當然，我們繼續執行良好。我很高興與大家分享，2022 年第四季度是我們連續第 11 個季度達到或超過盈利指導預期。

Today, we announced fourth quarter non-GAAP EPS of $0.28 and full year non-GAAP EPS of $1.38. This annual 9% growth rate over 2021 establishes a new higher base from which we will grow our annual earnings for the balance of our plan through 2030. Also keep in mind, we also grew non-GAAP EPS by 9% in 2021. At CenterPoint, we don't use CAGRs for our EPS growth. We are focused on growing off our delivered results each and every year.

今天，我們宣布第四季度非 GAAP 每股收益為 0.28 美元，全年非 GAAP 每股收益為 1.38 美元。到 2021 年 9% 的年度增長率建立了一個新的更高的基礎，我們將在此基礎上增加我們計劃到 2030 年的年度收益。另外請記住，我們在 2021 年的非 GAAP 每股收益也增長了 9%。在 CenterPoint ，我們不使用 CAGR 來衡量我們的 EPS 增長。我們每年都專注於實現我們交付的成果。

Today, we are also reaffirming our 2023 non-GAAP EPS guidance range of $1.48 to $1.50, an 8% growth rate at the midpoint from the new higher base of $1.38. Jason and I believe in having transparency with our business operations, so we can present our investors visibility into our performance by having one of the tightest guidance ranges in one of the longest duration growth rate targets in the industry.

今天，我們還重申 2023 年非 GAAP 每股收益指導範圍為 1.48 美元至 1.50 美元，較新的較高基數 1.38 美元的中點增長率為 8%。 Jason 和我相信我們的業務運營要透明，因此我們可以通過在業內持續時間最長的增長率目標之一中擁有最嚴格的指導範圍之一，向投資者展示我們的業績。

I also want to highlight what else we accomplished just last year. We became a pure-play regulated utility with the complete divestiture of our investment in Energy Transfer in March of 2022. For the benefit of our stakeholders, we recycle those sales proceeds back into our regulated businesses. As a result of this divestiture, well over 95% of our earnings now come from our regulated utility operations.

我還想強調一下我們去年還取得了什麼成就。 2022 年 3 月，我們完全剝離了對 Energy Transfer 的投資，成為一家純粹的受監管公用事業公司。為了利益相關者的利益，我們將這些銷售收益回收回我們受監管的業務。由於此次資產剝離，我們 95% 以上的收入現在來自我們受監管的公用事業運營。

We closed on the sale of our Arkansas and Oklahoma LDCs for which we received a landmark valuation and once again, we were able to use the sale proceeds to further invest in our regulated businesses for the benefit of both our customers and investors.

我們完成了對阿肯色州和俄克拉荷馬州最不發達國家的出售，我們獲得了具有里程碑意義的估值，我們再次能夠利用出售所得進一步投資於我們受監管的業務，以造福於我們的客戶和投資者。

We completed the final few steps of our Vectren integration, which resulted in a better aligned operational and financing structure to benefit customers and investors going forward. Additionally, we've made great progress on our Indiana Integrated Resource Plan with the approval of the 460-megawatt gas plant earlier this year; the filings for several renewable projects, including our first wind project; and as Jason will discuss, the regulatory approval for the first of its kind Indiana securitization of the A.B. Brown coal facility in early January of this year.

我們完成了 Vectren 整合的最後幾個步驟，從而使運營和融資結構更加協調一致，使客戶和投資者受益。此外，今年早些時候批准了 460 兆瓦的天然氣廠，我們在印第安納州綜合資源計劃方面取得了重大進展；幾個可再生能源項目的備案，包括我們的第一個風能項目；正如 Jason 將討論的那樣，監管機構批准了 A.B. 印第安納州首個此類證券化。今年 1 月初的褐煤設施。

As we progress on our IRP, we continue to advance towards achieving our net zero carbon emission goals. And finally, in the third quarter of 2022, we increased our 10-year capital plan by $2.3 billion, taking it from $40 billion plus through 2030 to now $43 billion through 2030 with a focus on additional investments in grid reliability and modernization.

隨著我們在 IRP 上取得進展，我們將繼續朝著實現我們的淨零碳排放目標前進。最後，在 2022 年第三季度，我們將 10 年資本計劃增加了 23 億美元，從到 2030 年的 400 億美元增加到現在到 2030 年的 430 億美元，重點是對電網可靠性和現代化的額外投資。

This $2.3 billion in additional planned capital should not only allow us to provide safer and more reliable energy for our customers, but should also allow us to continue to reduce O&M over the longer term, which additionally benefits both customers and investors alike.

這 23 億美元的額外計劃資本不僅可以讓我們為客戶提供更安全、更可靠的能源，還可以讓我們在長期內繼續減少 O&M，這對客戶和投資者都有好處。

As we have stated in the past, the current capital plan can still be executed with no external equity issuance.

正如我們過去所說，目前的資本計劃在沒有對外發行股票的情況下仍然可以執行。

On top of the $2.3 billion we formally added to our capital plan, we've also identified an additional $3 billion of other potential capital opportunities. As we've said, we will fold in this additional $3 billion of capital when we believe we can operationally execute it, efficiently fund it and minimize the regulatory lag associated in recovering it. 2022 was truly an exciting and productive year here at CenterPoint, and we are confident that this strong momentum will continue into the new year.

除了我們正式添加到我們的資本計劃中的 23 億美元之外，我們還確定了另外 30 億美元的其他潛在資本機會。正如我們所說，當我們相信我們可以在運營上執行它、有效地為其提供資金並最大限度地減少與回收它相關的監管滯後時，我們將投入這額外的 30 億美元資本。 2022 年對 CenterPoint 來說確實是激動人心且富有成效的一年，我們相信這種強勁勢頭將持續到新的一年。

Now turning to our earnings guidance. As I stated at the top of my remarks, we earned $0.28 of non-GAAP EPS for the fourth quarter of 2022 and $1.38 for a full year 2022. This represents a 9% growth rate when compared to our 2021 non-GAAP utility EPS. We continue to expect to grow non-GAAP EPS 8% in both 2023 and 2024 and in the mid- to high end of the 6% to 8% thereafter annually through 2030. This is an industry-leading growth rate. Jason will provide additional details regarding our financial results later.

現在轉向我們的收益指導。正如我在發言開頭所述，我們 2022 年第四季度的非 GAAP 每股收益為 0.28 美元，2022 年全年為 1.38 美元。與我們 2021 年的非 GAAP 公用事業每股收益相比，這意味著 9% 的增長率。我們繼續預計 2023 年和 2024 年非美國通用會計準則每股收益將增長 8%，此後到 2030 年每年增長 6% 至 8% 的中高端。這是行業領先的增長率。 Jason 稍後將提供有關我們財務結果的更多詳細信息。

Now let's move to capital investments. In the fourth quarter of 2022, we deployed a CenterPoint record $1.6 billion of capital across our various jurisdictions, bringing our total capital invested for the year to $4.8 billion. The $1.6 billion of fourth quarter capital was approximately $200 million above what we previously indicated on our third quarter call. Some of this increase was due to initial investments made to facilitate the expansion of an already world-class facility, the Texas Medical Center, or TMC, as it begins its expansion to double its size over the next 5 years or so.

現在讓我們轉向資本投資。 2022 年第四季度，我們在各個司法管轄區部署了 CenterPoint 創紀錄的 16 億美元資本，使我們全年的總投資資本達到 48 億美元。第四季度的 16 億美元資本比我們之前在第三季度電話會議上表示的高出約 2 億美元。這一增長的部分原因是為了促進已經世界一流的設施德克薩斯醫療中心 (TMC) 的擴建而進行的初始投資，因為它在未來 5 年左右開始擴建，使其規模翻一番。

Over those next 5 years, we are anticipating investing over $200 million in the TMC and surrounding community. These investments will consist of a large new substation and several system hardening projects, impacting and strengthening the resiliency in the TMC area. This will also include reinforcing transmission and distribution lines and strengthening current substation equipment.

在接下來的 5 年裡，我們預計將向 TMC 和周邊社區投資超過 2 億美元。這些投資將包括一個大型新變電站和幾個系統強化項目，影響和加強 TMC 區域的彈性。這還將包括加強輸電和配電線路以及加強現有的變電站設備。

The expansion of the TMC exemplifies the continued growth in the Houston area as it remains an attractive city in which to live and work. So for those of you that worried that our organic growth would slow post COVID, it just has not happened.

TMC 的擴張體現了休斯頓地區的持續增長，因為它仍然是一個適合生活和工作的有吸引力的城市。因此，對於那些擔心我們的有機增長會在 COVID 後放緩的人來說，這並沒有發生。

Let's look at the numbers. Since the COVID recession, the state of Texas has added nearly 1.1 million jobs, a testament to the underlying fundamental strength of the Texas economy as a whole.

讓我們看看數字。自 COVID 衰退以來，得克薩斯州增加了近 110 萬個工作崗位，這證明了得克薩斯州整體經濟的基本面實力。

Looking at things more locally. Amazingly, over the past year, the Greater Houston area saw record employment growth with an estimated 179,000 jobs added. It also saw its population increase by almost 300,000 people to nearly 7 million. This is now like adding a city the size of Irvine, California to our footprint in just 1 year. We see this trend continuing as the Texas miracle keeps humming along.

更本地化地看待事物。令人驚訝的是，在過去的一年裡，大休斯頓地區的就業增長創歷史新高，估計增加了 179,000 個工作崗位。它還看到其人口增加了近 300,000 人，達到近 700 萬。現在，這就像在短短 1 年內將一個與加利福尼亞州歐文市一樣大的城市添加到我們的足跡中。隨著得克薩斯奇蹟不斷湧現，我們看到這種趨勢仍在繼續。

Housing starts for the combined Houston and Dallas area over the last year saw a combined 153,000 housing permits in 2022, nearly 40,000 more units than the entire state of California during the same period, which has nearly 25 million more people.

去年，休斯頓和達拉斯地區合計開工的房屋數量在 2022 年達到了 153,000 套，比同期全加州多出近 40,000 套，加州人口多出近 2500 萬。

This business and residential organic growth continues to drive the potential for the additional upside to our existing $43 billion 10-year capital plan that I discussed earlier. Therefore, our plan also allows for flexibility and potential capital spend upside through 2030 and beyond as we see additional opportunities to support our customers' own growth plans. This growth is just one of the reasons we believe we are uniquely positioned as a company.

這種商業和住宅的有機增長繼續推動我之前討論過的現有 430 億美元 10 年資本計劃的額外上漲潛力。因此，我們的計劃還考慮到 2030 年及以後的靈活性和潛在的資本支出上行空間，因為我們看到了支持客戶自身增長計劃的更多機會。這種增長只是我們相信我們作為一家公司處於獨特地位的原因之一。

Despite the many moving parts impacting our plan, we remain confident in our continued ability to execute this industry-leading growth plan. We've taken a conservative approach to estimating organic growth and weather trends, among other assumptions, which we see as potential tailwinds to offset the headwinds of higher interest rates, inflation and other potential unknown issues that always arise in business. Additionally, our regulatory return assumptions across all of our jurisdictions are generally consistent with what we currently have approved by our various regulators, and we are using to manage our business today.

儘管影響我們計劃的因素很多，但我們仍然相信我們有能力繼續執行這一行業領先的增長計劃。我們採取了保守的方法來估計有機增長和天氣趨勢，以及其他假設，我們將這些假設視為潛在的順風，以抵消高利率、通貨膨脹和商業中經常出現的其他潛在未知問題的不利因素。此外，我們在所有司法管轄區的監管回報假設通常與我們目前已獲得各監管機構批准的一致，並且我們正在使用這些假設來管理我們今天的業務。

With all that being said, one of our key priorities is always to limit the impact of our investments on customer bills, especially during these times of high inflation, rising interest rates and a potential recession. We believe our capital plan not only benefits customers from a service reliability standpoint, but also from an affordability perspective as well.

儘管如此，我們的首要任務之一始終是限制我們的投資對客戶賬單的影響，尤其是在高通脹、利率上升和潛在衰退時期。我們相信，我們的資本計劃不僅從服務可靠性的角度讓客戶受益，而且從可負擔性的角度來看也是如此。

For example, in the Houston area, which has the highest concentration of our planned capital spend through 2030, we anticipate that these investments, in combination with our O&M reduction goals, and securitization charges rolling off, should result in an average customer bill increase of only 2% or less per year, well below current inflation rates. We are also encouraged by the recent decline in natural gas prices, which should create some downward pressure on utility bills.

例如，休斯頓地區是我們到 2030 年計劃資本支出最集中的地區，我們預計這些投資，加上我們減少 O&M 的目標，以及證券化費用的減少，應該會導致平均客戶賬單增加每年只有 2% 或更少，遠低於當前的通貨膨脹率。我們也對近期天然氣價格的下跌感到鼓舞，這應該會對公用事業賬單造成一定的下行壓力。

We believe our capital plan around modernization of the grid here in Houston will enhance the customer experience for both our new and existing customers. It will also help accommodate the immense residential and industrial growth the Houston region is now experiencing. These investments should help reduce widespread outages and, in turn, reduce service calls. Fewer service calls, a more reliable system and a strong growing organic customer base in the Houston area is also the perfect combination for us to stay on our path of 1% to 2% average annual O&M reductions over the 10 years of our plan.

我們相信，我們圍繞休斯頓電網現代化的資本計劃將提升我們新老客戶的客戶體驗。它還將有助於適應休斯頓地區目前正在經歷的巨大的住宅和工業增長。這些投資應該有助於減少大面積停電，進而減少服務電話。更少的服務電話、更可靠的系統和休斯頓地區不斷增長的強大有機客戶群也是我們在 10 年計劃中保持年均 O&M 減少 1% 至 2% 的完美組合。

Next, I want to also briefly discuss where we are in our CFO search. First, Jason and I have been thrilled with both the number and quality of the applicants for the CFO position. So far, the process has confirmed what we already knew: This is a really attractive job at a really great company. We are in the process of evaluating candidates to make sure we find someone who will provide a complementary skill set and be a good fit with the rest of our great team we already have in place.

接下來，我還想簡要討論一下我們在 CFO 搜索中的位置。首先，Jason 和我對 CFO 職位申請人的數量和質量感到非常興奮。到目前為止，這個過程已經證實了我們已經知道的事情：在一家真正偉大的公司，這是一份非常有吸引力的工作。我們正在評估候選人，以確保我們找到能夠提供互補技能並能與我們現有的優秀團隊的其他成員完美契合的人選。

And so to close, 2022 was a great year here at CenterPoint, and all of our customers, employees and shareholders have a lot to celebrate.

最後，2022 年對 CenterPoint 來說是偉大的一年，我們所有的客戶、員工和股東都有很多值得慶祝的一年。

But we remain very much focused on building a long-term track record of execution for our investors and maintaining affordability for our customers. We continue to believe we have one of the most tangible growth plans in the industry as we are uniquely positioned with great opportunities to better serve our growing customer base. Continued organic customer growth, especially in the Houston area and our opportunities to reduce O&M give us confidence that we can execute our plan. I think I speak for all of us at CenterPoint. When I say that we are looking forward to 2023 and building upon an already strong premium utility investment thesis.

但我們仍然非常專注於為我們的投資者建立長期的執行記錄，並保持我們客戶的承受能力。我們仍然相信我們擁有業內最切實的增長計劃之一，因為我們處於獨特的位置，擁有更好地服務於不斷增長的客戶群的巨大機會。持續的有機客戶增長，尤其是在休斯頓地區，以及我們減少 O&M 的機會讓我們有信心執行我們的計劃。我想我代表了 CenterPoint 的所有人。當我說我們期待 2023 年並建立在已經強大的優質公用事業投資主題之上時。

Finally, I want to acknowledge and thank all of the CenterPoint employees for a job well done last year, especially those that work through the year-end holidays to ensure the lights stayed on for our customers during the record cold weather that hit millions across the U.S. and also the recent tornado that devastated the cities of Deer Park and Pasadena and surrounding communities in the Houston area. This tornado stayed on the ground for 18 miles and caused more damage than any tornado in Texas in the past 30 years. This management team and all of the employees here at CenterPoint understand our unique responsibility in all of our service territories and appreciate the opportunity to serve our approximately 7 million metered customers.

最後，我要感謝所有 CenterPoint 員工去年所做的出色工作，尤其是那些在年末假期工作以確保在創紀錄的寒冷天氣期間為我們的客戶提供照明的員工。美國以及最近的龍捲風摧毀了鹿園和帕薩迪納市以及休斯頓地區的周邊社區。這場龍捲風在地面停留了 18 英里，造成的破壞比德克薩斯州過去 30 年的任何龍捲風都大。這個管理團隊和 CenterPoint 的所有員工都了解我們在我們所有服務領域的獨特責任，並感謝有機會為我們大約 700 萬計量客戶提供服務。

With that, I'm going to turn the call over to Jason.

有了這個，我要把電話轉給傑森。

Thank you, Dave, and thank you to all of you for joining us this morning for our fourth quarter call. I want to echo Dave's thanks to all of our employees here at CenterPoint and express my sincere gratitude for the great work of our teams during these recent periods of inclement weather. From those who sacrificed their holidays so that customers throughout our service territories could enjoy theirs to those that helped recently resource service after the extreme tornado activity in late January. And now recently, the crews who have helped with the restoration efforts after the recent ice storms in other parts of Texas. It shows we have a committed and talented workforce dedicated to delivering for our customers and our shareholders.

謝謝戴夫，感謝大家今天早上加入我們的第四季度電話會議。我想表達戴夫對 CenterPoint 所有員工的感謝，並對我們團隊在最近這些惡劣天氣期間所做的出色工作表示衷心的感謝。從那些為了讓整個服務區域的客戶都能享受他們的假期而犧牲假期的人，到那些在 1 月底的極端龍捲風活動後最近幫助提供資源服務的人。最近，在德克薩斯州其他地區最近發生的冰暴之後，幫助恢復工作的工作人員。這表明我們擁有一支敬業且才華橫溢的員工隊伍，致力於為我們的客戶和股東提供服務。

I'll start by covering the financial results for the quarter, shown on Slide 5. On a GAAP EPS basis, we reported $0.19 for the fourth quarter of 2022. As in previous quarters, our GAAP EPS results include a portion of the tax on the gain on sale of our Arkansas and Oklahoma gas LDCs, which we are required under GAAP to recognize over the course of the full year.

我將首先介紹本季度的財務業績，如幻燈片 5 所示。根據 GAAP 每股收益，我們報告 2022 年第四季度為 0.19 美元。與前幾個季度一樣，我們的 GAAP 每股收益結果包括部分稅項出售我們的阿肯色州和俄克拉荷馬州天然氣最不發達國家的收益，根據美國通用會計準則，我們必須在全年確認這些收益。

The quarterly results also include a onetime noncash charge of $0.06, net of tax, related to the derisking of our long-term pension exposure, which I'll discuss in more detail in a few minutes. On a full year basis, we reported $1.59 per share, which also included the gains from the sale of the previously mentioned gas LDCs in addition to the sales of the Energy Transfer common and preferred partnership units earlier this year.

季度業績還包括一筆 0.06 美元的一次性非現金費用（稅後），與我們長期養老金風險敞口的去風險化有關，我將在幾分鐘後更詳細地討論。按全年計算，我們報告的每股收益為 1.59 美元，其中除了今年早些時候出售 Energy Transfer 普通和優先合伙單位之外，還包括出售前面提到的天然氣最不發達國家的收益。

On a non-GAAP basis, we reported $0.28 for the quarter of 2022 compared to $0.27 in the fourth quarter of 2021, and $1.38 for the full year of 2022 as compared to $1.27 for the full year of 2021.

在非 GAAP 基礎上，我們報告 2022 年第四季度為 0.28 美元，而 2021 年第四季度為 0.27 美元，2022 年全年為 1.38 美元，而 2021 年全年為 1.27 美元。

This is 9% growth on top of 2021, in which we also grew 9%. This is an industry-leading growth rate. Growth and rate recovery contributed $0.06, largely driven by continued rate recovery through our electric distribution capital tracker, the DCRF, and our electric transmission tracker, TCOS in our Houston Electric territory. In addition, we continue to see strong organic growth in the Houston area with another nearly 2% increase in residential growth over last year.

這比 2021 年增長了 9%，我們也增長了 9%。這是行業領先的增長率。增長和費率恢復貢獻了 0.06 美元，這主要是由於我們的配電資本跟踪器 DCRF 和我們的休斯頓電氣地區的電力傳輸跟踪器 TCOS 的持續費率恢復所推動的。此外，我們繼續看到休斯頓地區強勁的有機增長，住宅增長比去年增長近 2%。

Weather and usage for the fourth quarter was also a favorable $0.02 when compared to the same quarter of 2021, driven by a combination of extremely mild weather in the fourth quarter of 2021 as compared to a more seasonally normal weather in the fourth quarter of 2022. These favorable drivers were partially offset by higher interest expense of $0.06, primarily driven by higher interest rates and $0.01 related to absorbing costs previously allocated to our midstream segment in 2021.

與 2021 年同期相比，第四季度的天氣和使用量也有利 0.02 美元，這是由於 2021 年第四季度的極端溫和天氣與 2022 年第四季度的季節性正常天氣相結合。這些有利的驅動因素被 0.06 美元的利息支出增加部分抵消，這主要是由於較高的利率和 0.01 美元與吸收先前在 2021 年分配給我們中游部門的成本有關。

I want to briefly touch on O&M for a moment. We continue to find savings opportunities to achieve our reduction target of 1% to 2% per year on average over the course of our 10-year plan through 2030. For the year, we were $0.02 unfavorable as compared to last year. However, as you will remember, due to favorable weather during last summer's hot months, we were able to pull forward O&M from 2023 for the benefit of our customers. This is consistent with the approach we used in 2021, and should we have weather benefits in 2023, we will certainly contemplate doing so again.

我想簡單地談一談運維。在我們的 10 年計劃到 2030 年的過程中，我們繼續尋找節約機會，以實現我們平均每年減少 1% 至 2% 的目標。與去年相比，我們今年的損失為 0.02 美元。但是，您會記得，由於去年夏天炎熱月份的天氣有利，為了我們客戶的利益，我們能夠從 2023 年開始提前進行 O&M。這與我們在 2021 年使用的方法一致，如果我們在 2023 年有天氣優勢，我們肯定會考慮再次這樣做。

Overall, I continue to remain pleased with our ability to drive efficiencies in our business and remain confident we can continue delivering on our goal of reducing O&M 1% to 2% annually on average.

總的來說，我仍然對我們提高業務效率的能力感到滿意，並且仍然相信我們可以繼續實現平均每年將 O&M 減少 1% 到 2% 的目標。

As Dave mentioned, we are reaffirming the full year 2023 guidance range of $1.48 to $1.50 of non-GAAP EPS, which reflects 8% growth over the full year 2022 non-GAAP EPS of $1.38 when using the midpoint of the previously increased guidance range. Beyond 2023, and from the reaffirmed 2023 guidance of $1.48 to $1.50, we continue to expect to grow non-GAAP EPS 8% in 2024 at the mid- to high end of 6% to 8% annually thereafter through 2030. Our focus continues to be on delivering strong industry-leading growth each and every year.

正如 Dave 所提到的，我們重申了 2023 年全年非 GAAP 每股收益 1.48 美元至 1.50 美元的指導範圍，這反映出在使用之前增加的指導範圍的中點時，2022 年全年非 GAAP 每股收益 1.38 美元增長了 8%。到 2023 年之後，從重申 2023 年 1.48 美元至 1.50 美元的指引，我們繼續預計 2024 年非公認會計原則每股收益將增長 8%，此後到 2030 年的中高端每年增長 6% 至 8%。我們的重點仍然是每年都致力於實現行業領先的強勁增長。

Turning to capital investments on Slide 7. As Dave mentioned, for the benefit of our customers, we invested $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter and $4.8 billion over the full year in 2022. This is a $1 billion or a 25% increase from the target we provided at last year's Analyst Day. Much of this increase was due to our nearly $500 million investment in our temporary emergency mobile generation units and the accelerated resiliency-related investments we pulled forward as part of the nearly $3 billion increase to our capital plan outlined on our third quarter earnings call.

關於幻燈片 7 的資本投資。正如 Dave 提到的，為了我們客戶的利益，我們在第四季度投資了 16 億美元，在 2022 年全年投資了 48 億美元。這比目標增加了 10 億美元或 25%我們在去年的分析師日提供。這一增長主要歸功於我們對臨時應急移動發電機組的近 5 億美元投資，以及我們在第三季度財報電話會議上概述的資本計劃增加近 30 億美元的一部分中加快的與彈性相關的投資。

The capital that was pulled forward to 2022 included capital deployed in the fourth quarter to support the rapidly expanding Texas Medical Center. All of these investments are driven by our continued focus on safety, resiliency, reliability, growth and clean energy enablement of our service.

提前到 2022 年的資金包括第四季度部署的資金，以支持快速擴張的德克薩斯醫療中心。所有這些投資都是由我們持續關注我們服務的安全性、彈性、可靠性、增長和清潔能源支持所推動的。

Turning to our generation-related investments. We've made good progress on our current integrated resource plan, including the last filing for generation and owned wind project that we expect to come online sometime in 2024 or early 2025, and the IURC's approval of our 130-megawatt owned solar project, and we refiled PPAs associated with 2 solar facilities to accommodate various developer price increases. These projects, in addition to the ones already in service, total approximately 800 megawatts of expected owned and contracted solar generation, which tracks well against our IRP goals that called for approximately 700 to 1,000 megawatts of solar and approximately 300 megawatts of wind.

轉向我們與發電相關的投資。我們目前的綜合資源計劃取得了良好進展，包括我們預計將在 2024 年或 2025 年初的某個時候上線的發電和自有風能項目的最後一次備案，以及 IURC 對我們 130 兆瓦自有太陽能項目的批准，以及我們重新提交了與 2 個太陽能設施相關的 PPA，以適應各種開發商價格上漲。這些項目，加上已經投入使用的項目，預計擁有和承包的太陽能發電總計約 800 兆瓦，這與我們的 IRP 目標相吻合，該目標要求約 700 至 1,000 兆瓦的太陽能和約 300 兆瓦的風能。

As it stands for the current projects, we expect to own approximately 60% of our renewable generation and contract for the remaining roughly 40%. With that said, and with recent changes in law, namely the Inflation Reduction Act, the proportion of owned and contracted renewables may be different for additional projects included in our next IRP, which we plan to file in the middle of this year.

就目前的項目而言，我們預計將擁有約 60% 的可再生能源發電，並承包剩餘的約 40%。話雖如此，隨著最近的法律變化，即《降低通貨膨脹法》，我們計劃在今年年中提交的下一個 IRP 中包含的其他項目的自有和合同可再生能源比例可能會有所不同。

This upcoming IRP should provide guidance on our remaining coal-fired assets. As we've mentioned before, as a foundation for this IRP, earlier this year, we 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 the IRP process to develop a constructive outcome for our customers that allows customers to achieve bill savings through efficient renewable generation rather than coal generation, which requires significant ongoing O&M expense.

即將到來的 IRP 應該為我們剩餘的燃煤資產提供指導。正如我們之前提到的，作為此 IRP 的基礎，今年早些時候，我們進行了一次全源提案請求，我們收到了來自數十名參與者的近 100 份提案，包括風能、太陽能和電池儲能，這將有助於告知我們IRP 過程。我們期待通過 IRP 流程與利益相關者合作，為我們的客戶開發建設性的成果，使客戶能夠通過高效的可再生能源發電而不是煤炭發電來節省賬單，這需要大量的持續運營和維護費用。

Moving to a broader regulatory update on Slide 8. We have securitization efforts continuing in a couple of jurisdictions. We anticipate receiving securitization proceeds in the coming months in Texas related to the incremental natural gas costs related to Winter Storm Uri, which will securitize approximately $1.1 billion of these costs. We had anticipated receiving these proceeds before year-end 2022, but it has been delayed.

轉到幻燈片 8 上更廣泛的監管更新。我們在幾個司法管轄區繼續進行證券化工作。我們預計未來幾個月將在得克薩斯州收到與冬季風暴 Uri 相關的增量天然氣成本相關的證券化收益，這將使這些成本中的約 11 億美元證券化。我們曾預計在 2022 年底之前收到這些收益，但已被推遲。

This delay has been driven by various stakeholders in Texas exploring alternatives, including potentially appropriating state surplus funds to pay this off in whole or in part for the benefit of our customers. We are supportive of this customer-focused process and anticipate resolution soon.

這種延遲是由德克薩斯州的各種利益相關者推動的，他們正在探索替代方案，包括可能撥出州盈餘資金來全部或部分償還這筆款項，以造福於我們的客戶。我們支持這種以客戶為中心的流程，並期待盡快解決。

In addition to the Texas securitization, we recently received approval for our Indiana securitization for approximately $150 million of costs related to the retirement of 2 coal facilities. This is a first-of-its-kind filing in Indiana allowing for more affordable transition to cleaner generation sources for the residents of Southern Indiana. We want to thank all stakeholders, including the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in working through this unique process to achieve a constructive outcome for our customers.

除了得克薩斯證券化項目外，我們最近還獲得了印第安納州證券化項目的批准，涉及大約 1.5 億美元的成本，與 2 家煤炭設施的退役相關。這是印第安納州首創的此類申請，允許印第安納州南部的居民以更實惠的方式過渡到更清潔的發電來源。我們要感謝所有利益相關者，包括印第安納州公用事業監管委員會，感謝他們通過這一獨特的流程為我們的客戶取得建設性成果。

Beyond the securitizations, we will continue to recover the $78 million in Texas related to the traditional distribution capital portion of the DCRF, which went into rates in September. We recently received a proposal for a decision from the administrative law judges at the State Office of Administrative Hearings, an agency that is separate from the PUC, recommending to the PUC the disallowance of recovery of our temporary emergency generation units. We're disappointed in this proposed in as we don't believe this is the correct reading of the law, and now that the case is back in front of the PUC for a final decision, we look forward to a constructive resolution in this case.

除了證券化之外，我們將繼續收回得克薩斯州與 DCRF 的傳統分銷資本部分相關的 7800 萬美元，該部分已於 9 月進入利率。我們最近收到了國家行政聽證辦公室行政法法官的一項決定提案，這是一個獨立於 PUC 的機構，建議 PUC 不允許恢復我們的臨時應急發電機組。我們對這個提議感到失望，因為我們不認為這是對法律的正確解讀，現在這個案子又回到 PUC 面前等待最終決定，我們期待在這個案子中有一個建設性的解決方案.

As a reminder, we invested in these units following Winter Storm Uri, where more than half of our Houston area customers were without power for extended periods of time. Texas lawmakers acted quickly and decisively after that event to enact certain measures that would mitigate the impacts of severe weather to Texans. The passing of the bill will allow Texas T&D companies to use temporary emergency mobile generation, which can aid in reducing the number and/or duration of outages during significant load shed events was perhaps the most significant mitigation measure passed into law following Winter Storm Uri.

提醒一下，我們在冬季風暴 Uri 之後投資了這些設備，我們休斯敦地區一半以上的客戶長時間斷電。德克薩斯州立法者在那次事件後迅速果斷地採取了某些措施，以減輕惡劣天氣對德克薩斯人的影響。該法案的通過將允許德州 T&D 公司使用臨時應急移動發電，這有助於減少重大甩負荷事件期間停電的次數和/或持續時間，這可能是冬季風暴 Uri 之後通過法律的最重要的緩解措施。

In fact, these units were deployed as recently as a few weeks ago to get children back into the classroom after previously discussed tornadoes cost outages throughout the Houston Metro area. And just last week, we set some of our units to Austin to be ready to assist in recovery efforts from the recent ice storms.

事實上，這些裝置是在幾週前才部署的，目的是讓孩子們回到教室，此前曾討論過龍捲風導致整個休斯頓都會區停電的成本。就在上週，我們將一些單位調到奧斯汀，準備好協助從最近的冰暴中恢復過來。

We have and we will continue to advocate vigorously for the use of this critical tool for the benefit of our customers and in a manner that is consistent with the law. We expect a final ruling on our 2022 filing by the end of the first quarter.

我們已經並將繼續大力倡導以符合法律的方式使用這一重要工具，以造福於我們的客戶。我們預計在第一季度末對我們 2022 年的申請做出最終裁決。

Lastly, to cover some credit-related topics. As of the fourth quarter, aligning with Moody's methodology, our FFO to debt as reported was slightly below 14% and approximately 15% when adjusted for the $1.1 billion of outstanding debt related to Winter Storm Uri extraordinary gas costs. As a reminder, we are deferring the interest expense associated with this debt balance until the statewide securitization is issued.

最後，涵蓋一些與信用相關的主題。截至第四季度，根據穆迪的方法，我們報告的 FFO 與債務之比略低於 14%，在針對與冬季風暴 Uri 異常天然氣成本相關的 11 億美元未償還債務進行調整後，約為 15%。提醒一下，我們將推遲與該債務餘額相關的利息支出，直到發行全州證券化。

As I mentioned, we had anticipated receiving the bond proceeds associated with the Texas securitization before the start of 2023, which, in part, is the reason why we're carrying higher-than-expected levels of commercial paper and floating rate debt at year-end.

正如我所提到的，我們曾預計在 2023 年初之前收到與德克薩斯證券化相關的債券收益，這在一定程度上是我們在 2023 年持有高於預期水平的商業票據和浮動利率債務的原因-結尾。

When we receive those proceeds, we plan to pay down a mix of floating rate debt and high coupon debt.

當我們收到這些收益時，我們計劃償還浮動利率債務和高票息債務的組合。

In addition, we also saw higher gas prices and usage during the December cold, which also led to elevated levels of variable rate debt that we believe will be transient in nature as we expect to collect the majority of this balance over the coming months.

此外，我們還看到 12 月寒冷期間的天然氣價格和使用量增加，這也導致可變利率債務水平升高，我們認為這將是暫時性的，因為我們預計將在未來幾個月收回大部分餘額。

To revisit the pension item I discussed a few minutes ago, we entered into an annuity lift out, whereby roughly $140 million of pension plan obligations and corresponding plan assets related to previously divested businesses, were transferred to an insurance company. This transaction allowed us to derisk our future obligations for which we don't receive regulatory deferral.

為了重新審視我幾分鐘前討論的養老金項目，我們進行了年金提取，將大約 1.4 億美元的養老金計劃義務和與先前剝離的業務相關的相應計劃資產轉移給了一家保險公司。該交易使我們能夠降低我們未收到監管延期的未來義務的風險。

As we previously mentioned, we get deferral on approximately 2/3 of our pension expense. As a result of this lift out, we recognized a noncash settlement charge of $47 million, which represented the acceleration of unrecognized losses deferred under the pension smoothing rules.

正如我們之前提到的，我們可以延期支付大約 2/3 的養老金費用。由於這次取消，我們確認了 4700 萬美元的非現金結算費用，這代表了根據養老金平滑規則遞延的未確認損失的加速。

Through a combination of an increase in discount rates and lump sum settlements, including the annuity lift out, our total pension liability was reduced in 2022 by approximately 1/3 or $700 million.

通過提高貼現率和一次性結算（包括取消年金），我們的養老金負債總額在 2022 年減少了約 1/3 或 7 億美元。

Our strong cash flow from operations, coupled with our efficient recycling of capital, puts us in a position of still being able to offer industry-leading growth that doesn't require external equity to fund our current 10-year capital plan through 2030.

我們強大的運營現金流，加上我們高效的資本循環，使我們仍然能夠提供行業領先的增長，不需要外部股權來為我們目前到 2030 年的 10 年資本計劃提供資金。

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.

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。

Now with that, I'll turn the call back over to Dave.

現在，我會把電話轉回給戴夫。

Thank you, Jason. As you've heard from us today, we have 11 straight quarters of meeting or exceeding expectations. We are a pure-play, regulated, premium utility and on a course of continuous execution of our plan with incremental growth opportunities to support our customers.

謝謝你，傑森。正如您今天從我們這裡聽到的那樣，我們連續 11 個季度達到或超過預期。我們是一家純粹的、受監管的優質公用事業公司，並且在不斷執行我們的計劃的過程中，通過增加增長機會來支持我們的客戶。

Thank you, Dave, and thank you for all of you for joining. We'll now turn the call over to Q&A. (Operator Instructions) Operator?

謝謝戴夫，感謝大家的加入。我們現在將電話轉到問答環節。 （操作員說明）操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Shahriar Pourreza with Guggenheim Partners.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Shahriar Pourreza 和 Guggenheim Partners。

Jason, I wanted to start off with a question on the capital markets environment and how you're sort of thinking about debt metrics at this point. Deferred costs have obviously been elevated, including fuel. You had a securitization delay in '22. You've seen around a $0.06 of incremental interest drag across the utilities and parent in 4Q. I guess how should we think about resolving some of these carried costs and managing the interest rate experience cost pressures in the near term?

傑森，我想首先問一個關於資本市場環境的問題，以及你目前如何看待債務指標。包括燃料在內的遞延成本明顯增加。你在 22 年有一個證券化延遲。您已經看到第 4 季度公用事業和母公司的利息增加了大約 0.06 美元。我想我們應該如何考慮解決其中一些附帶成本並在短期內管理利率經驗成本壓力？

Let me -- yes, let me ask Jason to put a CFO hat back on for a minute and answer that one.

讓我 - 是的，讓我請 Jason 戴上首席財務官的帽子一分鐘並回答那個問題。

I appreciate the question. Obviously, we're not immune to the interest rate headwinds that everybody is facing these days, but we're confident we can manage through this challenge as we continue to have more tailwinds than we do headwinds overall.

我很欣賞這個問題。顯然，我們不能倖免於如今每個人都面臨的利率逆風，但我們有信心能夠應對這一挑戰，因為我們的順風繼續多於總體逆風。

As it relates to kind of interest expense, let me make a couple of points. First is we saw interest rates rising last year. We embedded conservative assumptions around interest rate costs in the '23 guidance that we initiated on the third quarter call. So I can -- I feel confident that we can accommodate some of the variability that we've recently haven't seen.

由於它涉及到某種利息支出，讓我提出幾點。首先是我們看到去年利率上升。我們在第三季度電話會議上發起的 '23 指南中嵌入了關於利率成本的保守假設。所以我可以 - 我有信心我們可以適應一些我們最近沒有看到的變化。

The second thing, and as I kind of touched on it in my prepared remarks, we ended the year with slightly higher elevated working capital balances due to higher gas costs that we were purchasing in late third quarter, early fourth quarter. As gas prices have come down now, we expect those working capital balances to turn pretty quickly. That should take a little bit of pressure off.

第二件事，正如我在準備好的發言中提到的那樣，由於我們在第三季度末和第四季度初購買的天然氣成本較高，我們在今年年底的營運資金餘額略有增加。由於現在天然氣價格已經下降，我們預計這些營運資金餘額將很快轉變。這應該會減輕一點壓力。

And then as you mentioned, while we get to defer the interest expense on the extraordinary costs from Winter Storm Uri here in Texas, we still anticipate receiving $1.1 billion in securitization proceeds in the coming future, and that will really help reduce the overall variable rate exposure. So again, we feel confident that we can manage through any interest rate headwinds.

然後正如你提到的，雖然我們可以推遲支付得克薩斯州冬季風暴 Uri 帶來的異常成本的利息支出，但我們仍然預計在未來會收到 11 億美元的證券化收益，這將真正有助於降低整體可變利率接觸。因此，我們再次相信，我們可以應對任何利率逆風。

Perfect. And then just lastly for me, just maybe touching base on sort of the expectations for the upcoming Texas rate case. I know we've had some data points from the encore process and despite the confusion with the PFD, which was eventually rectified, there seem to be really a focus on finding rate relief for customers and other peers obviously in settlement discussions.

完美的。最後對我來說，可能只是基於對即將到來的德州利率案的預期。我知道我們已經從 encore 流程中獲得了一些數據點，儘管與 PFD 的混淆最終得到了糾正，但在和解討論中似乎確實專注於為客戶和其他同行尋找利率減免。

Just maybe from a high level, Dave, what are sort of the major categories of that revenue relief you anticipate seeking? Is it primary rate base? Is it deferred costs? Is it O&M true-ups? And do you anticipate a noticeable rate increase from the '24 filing? Or do you think you guys have enough levers in plan to show even a potential rate reduction despite the ask?

戴夫，也許從高層來看，您預計尋求的收入減免的主要類別是什麼？它是初級利率基礎嗎？是遞延成本嗎？是運維調整嗎？您是否預計 24 年提交的文件會顯著增加費率？或者你認為你們有足夠的槓桿計劃來顯示潛在的降息，儘管有這樣的要求？

Well, that's a handful of a question. Let me just answer it by saying, I don't think it behooves us to try to front run what might happen, what bills might get put in. We're early in the session. Jason, Ryan and his team are heavily engaged in Austin with respect to looking at opportunities that are going to be primarily focused on making sure we keep customer bills under control. But I don't think it would make any sense at this point to talk about specific efforts or bills that we would like to see put forward.

好吧，這只是一個問題。讓我回答說，我認為我們不應該嘗試搶先運行可能發生的事情，可能會投入哪些賬單。我們在會議的早期。 Jason、Ryan 和他的團隊在奧斯汀積極參與尋找機會，這些機會將主要集中在確保我們控制客戶賬單上。但我認為此時談論我們希望看到提出的具體努力或法案沒有任何意義。

I would just say watch this space. And I think when we come with our first quarter call, which will be later this spring, we'll be way more into the session at that point in time. And I think you and all of us will have a better idea where that might be headed and what bills are likely to get passed. But for now, I just don't see any upside saying anything more on it.

我只想說看這個空間。而且我認為，當我們在今年春天晚些時候進行第一季度電話會議時，我們將在那個時間點更多地參與會議。而且我認為您和我們所有人都會更好地了解可能的發展方向以及可能通過的法案。但就目前而言，我只是看不到任何好處。

If I may add. Obviously, as Dave alluded to, we're early in the legislative session. On the regulatory front, though, as we look at the upcoming rate case for Houston Electric, obviously, customer rates are top of mind for all of us here at CenterPoint. I don't anticipate, at this point, much in the way of a revenue requirement increase.

如果我可以添加。顯然，正如戴夫提到的那樣，我們正處於立法會議的早期階段。不過，在監管方面，當我們審視即將到來的休斯頓電氣費率案例時，顯然，客戶費率是我們 CenterPoint 所有人最關心的問題。在這一點上，我預計收入需求不會增加很多。

I'm proud of the work that the teams have done with respect to O&M. And as you look at where we set the test year for the 2019 rate case and kind of where O&M is currently trending, I think we can offer a fairly significant revenue reduction in the upcoming rate case that would offset any of the other things that we are trying to pursue, like a more equitable equity layer.

我為團隊在 O&M 方面所做的工作感到自豪。當您查看我們為 2019 年費率案例設置測試年的位置以及 O&M 目前的趨勢時，我認為我們可以在即將到來的費率案例中提供相當顯著的收入減少，這將抵消我們的任何其他事情正在努力追求更公平的股權層。

And in addition, I think we're pretty fortunate in the fact that -- maybe unlike Encore, we have very little, relatively speaking, in a way, of deferred costs as regulatory assets. And so, I think we can, again, position the company sort of to have a more equitable equity layer relative to some of the non-ERCOT T&D companies here in Texas. But at the same time, keep the revenue requirement very modest. So we're in, I think, a fairly fortunate place as we prepare for that filing.

此外，我認為我們非常幸運——也許與 Encore 不同，相對而言，我們在某種程度上很少有遞延成本作為監管資產。因此，我認為我們可以再次將公司定位為相對於德克薩斯州的一些非 ERCOT T&D 公司而言擁有更公平的股權層。但與此同時，保持收入要求非常適中。因此，我認為，在我們準備提交申請時，我們處在一個相當幸運的位置。

Terrific. That actually did exactly what I was trying to ask. Appreciate it.

了不起。這實際上正是我想問的。欣賞它。

Our next question comes from Nick Campanella with Credit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Nick Campanella。

I cut out there, but I think I heard my name. So I hope everyone is doing well. I guess just on the CFO search. I just wanted to tie that off. When is your intention to have something more formally announced here? Is it by the next quarter call? Or are you taking your time?

我在那裡打斷了，但我想我聽到了我的名字。所以我希望每個人都過得很好。我想只是在 CFO 搜索中。我只是想把它聯繫起來。您打算什麼時候在這裡正式宣布一些事情？是在下個季度的電話會議之前嗎？還是你在慢慢來？

No. I think by the next quarter call, we should have someone announced and on board. We're down to a handful of finalist, candidates. As I said, part of it is just the process of getting an individual or individuals in, get them interviewed and more importantly, for me, making sure that they have a complementary skill set to not only Jason, but the broader executive committee we have here.

不，我想在下個季度的電話會議上，我們應該宣布有人加入。我們只剩下少數幾個決賽入圍者，候選人。正如我所說，其中一部分只是讓一個或多個人參與的過程，讓他們接受采訪，更重要的是，對我來說，確保他們不僅對傑森而且對我們更廣泛的執行委員會具有互補的技能這裡。

But I think as we said in the call, we've been really pleased with the quality of candidates that we've talked to. This is a really great job, believe me. I think Jason would attest to that. This is a great job, and we're going to get a great CFO out of it.

但我認為正如我們在電話中所說的那樣，我們對與之交談過的候選人的素質感到非常滿意。相信我，這是一份非常棒的工作。我認為傑森會證明這一點。這是一份很棒的工作，我們將從中選出一位出色的首席財務官。

Great. And then I just thought the annuity lift-out comments were interesting. Can you just maybe walk us through that strategic action a bit more? And I guess, if you were to pursue that, how would that affect your 6 to 8? Presumably, I guess, it would be a headwind. And could you quantify that at all?

偉大的。然後我只是覺得年金取消評論很有趣。你能不能再給我們介紹一下這個戰略行動？而且我想，如果您要追求它，那將如何影響您的 6 到 8 歲？據推測，我想，這將是一個逆風。你能量化嗎？

Yes. Let me ask Jason to put a CFO hat back on and answer that.

是的。讓我請傑森重新戴上首席財務官的帽子並回答這個問題。

What I would say kind of overall, the annuity lift out was a strategic decision to derisk our exposure to businesses that we've disposed of. I think about this as part of the continued effort to focus CenterPoint on a strong set of regulated operating companies. We've been very active in exiting unregulated businesses and a handful of a couple of gas utilities in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

總的來說，我要說的是，取消年金是一項戰略決策，目的是降低我們對已處置業務的風險敞口。我認為這是將 CenterPoint 集中在一組強大的受監管運營公司的持續努力的一部分。我們一直非常積極地退出不受監管的業務以及阿肯色州和俄克拉荷馬州的幾家天然氣公用事業公司。

And so, this is really just a step to derisk any of that tail exposure from those employees that are currently receiving pension annuity benefits. As I said, it was noncash. There's a really kind of liquid market for this. Insurance companies took the obligation. They took the assets. It has no impact on our pensioners.

因此，這實際上只是降低那些目前正在領取養老金福利的員工的任何尾部風險的一步。正如我所說，它是非現金的。這有一個真正的流動性市場。保險公司承擔了義務。他們拿走了資產。它對我們的養老金領取者沒有影響。

But to your point, we now don't have any P&L volatility associated with exposure to changes in interest rates, asset returns, et cetera. So it's a great way to derisk future earnings. It's a great way to continue to execute on our strategy of focusing on a set of high-quality utility assets and really proud that we get this work done here in the fourth quarter.

但就你的觀點而言，我們現在沒有任何與利率、資產回報等變化相關的損益波動。因此，這是消除未來收益風險的好方法。這是繼續執行我們專注於一系列高質量公用事業資產的戰略的好方法，我們為第四季度在這裡完成這項工作感到非常自豪。

Our next question comes from Steve Fleishman with Wolfe Research.

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

So just maybe high level, a little bit on Texas, political regulatory. Obviously, the backup generation has proven to be pretty valuable in the short time you've had it, and we still have this kind of disagreement on recovery. So just between that decision, legislature, next rate case, so how are you feeling about both commission and political leadership of recognizing the importance of certainty and the value of kind of what you're doing?

所以也許只是高層，有點關於德克薩斯州的政治監管。顯然，備份一代在你擁有它的短時間內已被證明是非常有價值的，而且我們在恢復方面仍然存在這種分歧。因此，就在那個決定、立法機關、下一個案件之間，你對委員會和政治領導層認識到確定性的重要性和你正在做的事情的價值有何看法？

Yes. Let me start, and then I'll ask Jason to put his operations hat and provide a little bit of color commentary. But I think if you -- for those of you that sort of follow Texas closely, as the legislation -- legislature, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor came into this session, there is two main topics: Gambling and the Grid. I won't talk at all about Gambling, but there's a big focus on the Grid in Texas, making sure that the Grid stays up with the economic development that is happening in the state. So I think you're going to see sort of everyone rally around that aspect.

是的。讓我開始吧，然後我會請 Jason 戴上他的操作帽並提供一點色彩評論。但我認為，如果你們——對於那些密切關注德克薩斯州的人來說，作為立法——立法機關、州長、副州長參加本屆會議，有兩個主要話題：賭博和電網。我不會談論賭博，但德克薩斯州的電網非常關注，確保電網跟上該州正在發生的經濟發展。所以我認為你會看到每個人都圍繞這方面集會。

Now what does it mean? It means different things for different people, obviously, in the state. The T&D companies want one thing. The generators, another. The legislature, another. I think I continue to go back to sort of our main mantra in this area: We're laser focused on customer affordability. So everything we do in and around capital deployment, O&M reductions, things that we're going to push for in Austin are going to be focused and pivoted around customer affordability and that -- those -- that set of topics. So maybe with that, I'll turn it over to Jason to see if he wants to say anything else.

現在這是什麼意思？顯然，在該州，這對不同的人意味著不同的事情。 T&D 公司想要一件事。發電機，另一個。立法機關，另一個。我想我會繼續回到我們在這個領域的主要口號：我們非常關注客戶的承受能力。因此，我們在資本部署、O&M 減少方面及周圍所做的一切，以及我們將在奧斯汀推動的事情，都將圍繞客戶的承受能力以及這些主題展開。所以也許有了這個，我會把它交給傑森，看看他是否想說別的。

Yes. Thanks, Dave. Overall, I would continue to echo to Dave's comments on how constructive Texas is beyond the points that Dave raised. We continue to see significant amount of corporate relocations to the state. And here, more specifically, in the Greater Houston area, we continue to see now a 30-year track record of 2% annual average customer growth. So I think overall, it continues to be very constructive.

是的。謝謝，戴夫。總的來說，除了 Dave 提出的觀點之外，我會繼續回應 Dave 關於德州建設性的評論。我們繼續看到大量企業搬遷到該州。在這裡，更具體地說，在大休斯頓地區，我們現在繼續看到 30 年來年平均客戶增長 2% 的記錄。所以我認為總體而言，它仍然非常具有建設性。

More specifically, on the operational front, maybe just a couple of brief comments. We continue to -- there's a lot in place here in Texas that requires us to provide power to customers within 12 hours of a load shed event. We continue to operate under that standard. As we saw with Winter Storm Uri, load shed events can exceed the way the system design. And so, these mobile generation units are critical to meeting our reliability and power quality requirements under Texas law.

更具體地說，在運營方面，可能只是一些簡短的評論。我們繼續——德克薩斯州有很多地方要求我們在發生甩負荷事件後的 12 小時內為客戶提供電力。我們繼續按照該標準運營。正如我們在 Winter Storm Uri 中看到的那樣，卸載事件可能會超出系統設計的方式。因此，這些移動發電機組對於滿足德克薩斯州法律規定的可靠性和電能質量要求至關重要。

I think legislators understand that. I think the elected officials understand that. And more importantly, as we continue to see the impact of more extreme weather, tornadoes, ice storms, potential for hurricanes, I think the communities are starting to have a better appreciation of how we can strategically deploy these assets as we did to bring kids back to school after the recent tornadoes as we can power hospitals, before our restoration efforts, reconnect certain customers like that back to the grid. And so, I think these are really powerful tools to help keep our communities energized during periods of inclement weather.

我認為立法者明白這一點。我認為民選官員明白這一點。更重要的是，隨著我們繼續看到更多極端天氣、龍捲風、冰風暴和颶風的可能性的影響，我認為社區開始更好地理解我們如何戰略性地部署這些資產，就像我們帶孩子一樣在最近的龍捲風之後回到學校，因為我們可以為醫院供電，在我們恢復工作之前，將某些客戶重新連接回電網。因此，我認為這些都是非常強大的工具，可以幫助我們的社區在惡劣天氣期間保持活力。

So I think that, that's well understood. And as we said in our prepared remarks, we're going to defend the actions we took under the law that was passed here in Texas.

所以我認為，這很好理解。正如我們在準備好的發言中所說，我們將捍衛我們根據德克薩斯州這里通過的法律採取的行動。

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 wanted to touch a bit, I guess, portfolio rotation has been a part of CenterPoint story in recent years. And asset sale attention appears higher now than ever across the space, but we've also witnessed kind of some mixed data points with regards to LDC asset sales. And so, has your thinking evolved at all in this area? And what are you seeing in terms of interest relative to a year ago? Granted you guys don't need to sell anything right now, but just that optionality, I guess, in the future?

只是想稍微談談，我猜，投資組合輪換近年來一直是 CenterPoint 故事的一部分。現在資產出售的關注度似乎比以往任何時候都高，但我們也看到了一些關於最不發達國家資產出售的混合數據點。那麼，您的想法在這方面是否有所發展？與一年前相比，您對興趣有何看法？誠然，你們現在不需要出售任何東西，但我想，將來只需要那種選擇權？

Okay. Let me ask Jason to put his CFO hat back on and answer that one.

好的。讓我請 Jason 戴上他的 CFO 帽子並回答那個問題。

Thanks, Dave, and I appreciate the question, Jeremy. I just want to reemphasize the point that you did with, right now, we don't have any need to sell any gas LDCs to fund the $43 billion equity -- capital investment plan that we have announced. That being said, obviously, given our previous efforts in this space, we continue to receive a significant amount of outreach. I would say there remains tremendous interest in, I think, moderately sized utility systems, like the gas LDCs.

謝謝，戴夫，傑里米，我很欣賞這個問題。我只想再次強調你所做的一點，現在，我們沒有任何必要出售任何天然氣最不發達國家來為我們宣布的 430 億美元股權 - 資本投資計劃提供資金。話雖這麼說，顯然，鑑於我們之前在這個領域的努力，我們繼續收到大量的外展活動。我想說的是，我認為，中等規模的公用事業系統仍然存在巨大的興趣，例如天然氣最不發達國家。

We operate in a constructive set of states, in places where it either gets very cold during the winter or states that are incredibly supportive of natural gas. So I think the interest remains strong for our assets in particular.

我們在一組建設性的州開展業務，在冬季非常寒冷的地方或非常支持天然氣的州。因此，我認為人們對我們的資產尤其感興趣。

I also think maybe some of the transactions, as you referenced sort of reflect a few things. First, there needs to be at least a moderate size to the asset sales to get sort of the strongest interest from the largest possible place of buyers. Some of the sales that have transacted recently have been on the smaller end. The size of the gas LDCs we have, I think, are sort of a sweet spot for attracting the most significant amount of attention.

我還認為，正如您提到的那樣，某些交易可能反映了一些事情。首先，資產出售至少需要適度規模，才能從盡可能多的買家那裡獲得最強烈的興趣。最近交易的一些銷售規模較小。我認為，我們擁有的天然氣最不發達國家的規模是吸引最多注意力的最佳地點。

And then as well as we've talked about in the past, we think that there is benefit in terms of selling assets outright. There's a control premium that often gets lost as maybe some of our peer utilities pursue minority interest sales. And so, we don't need to do it, but we continue to see the market as deep and strong given the high quality of the assets we own.

然後就像我們過去談到的那樣，我們認為直接出售資產是有好處的。控制權溢價經常會丟失，因為我們的一些同行公用事業公司可能會追求少數股權銷售。因此，我們不需要這樣做，但鑑於我們擁有的資產質量很高，我們繼續認為市場有深度和強勁。

Got it. That's very helpful. And then kind of shifting gears here. And you touched on this a bit a number of times, but maybe just kind of bringing it all together. If you could kind of quantify the bill relief you expect to see based on the decline in natural gas prices. Just wondering how quickly that flows back across your jurisdictions and I guess, how you think about that rate -- that relief could materialize over time?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後在這裡換檔。你多次提到這個，但也許只是把它們放在一起。如果你能根據天然氣價格的下降來量化你期望看到的賬單減免。只是想知道它在您的管轄範圍內流回的速度有多快，我想您是如何看待這個速度的——隨著時間的推移，這種緩解可能會實現嗎？

Yes. I mean I think our customers should start to really see the impact of that in about February. We have obviously different time periods for our purchased gas adjustment clauses in each of the different states. But largely, they start to kick in, in February. Some, a little bit in March. I think kind of system-wide, on average, customers should really start to feel the benefit of that across our system in April.

是的。我的意思是我認為我們的客戶應該在 2 月左右開始真正看到它的影響。我們在每個不同的州對購買的天然氣調整條款有明顯不同的時間段。但在很大程度上，它們在 2 月份開始發揮作用。有的，三月份的一點點。我認為在整個系統範圍內，平均而言，客戶應該在 4 月份真正開始感受到我們整個系統的好處。

And we're seeing gas prices less than half of what we were kind of buying into the winter season at. So it should be pretty significant bill relief for our customers as we head into the summer months. We're happy about that, and hope it holds up.

而且我們看到汽油價格不到我們在冬季購買的價格的一半。因此，隨著我們進入夏季月份，這對我們的客戶來說應該是相當可觀的賬單減免。我們對此感到高興，並希望它能堅持下去。

Operator, I think we have time for one more question.

接線員，我想我們還有時間再問一個問題。

Our last question is from Durgesh Chopra with Evercore ISI.

我們的最後一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Durgesh Chopra。

All my questions have been answered. Maybe just one, the wind project that you mentioned in the Indiana IRP update section, Slide 8. Just any color you can share with us on that project?

我所有的問題都得到了回答。也許只有一個，您在印第安納州 IRP 更新部分幻燈片 8 中提到的風能項目。您可以就該項目與我們分享任何顏色嗎？

Thanks, Durgesh. I appreciate the other question. I think it's early days in the application there. So we anticipate that project probably being approved kind of towards the end of 2023. But just given kind of where we are in the stage of filing as well as finalizing the bill transfer agreement, I'd rather keep the comments brief.

謝謝，杜爾吉什。我很欣賞另一個問題。我認為那裡的應用程序還處於早期階段。因此，我們預計該項目可能會在 2023 年底獲得批准。但考慮到我們處於提交階段以及最終確定賬單轉讓協議的階段，我寧願保持簡短的評論。

I think overall, what we tried to highlight in the prepared remarks is that when we set out on this first phase of this integrated resource plan, we had an objective of owning about 50% of the renewables that we're proposing and contracting for 50% of the balance. The way it's working out with this wind project that we will ultimately own as well as the solar projects that we previously filed, I think we're on track now to own roughly 60% of the renewables and contract for 40%. So a slight improvement versus our original objectives as we are executing on this first round of the Integrated Resource Plan.

我認為總的來說，我們在準備好的發言中試圖強調的是，當我們開始這個綜合資源計劃的第一階段時，我們的目標是擁有我們提議的約 50% 的可再生能源，並為 50餘額的百分比。我們最終將擁有的這個風能項目以及我們之前提交的太陽能項目的工作方式，我認為我們現在有望擁有大約 60% 的可再生能源，並簽訂 40% 的合同。因此，在我們執行第一輪綜合資源計劃時，與我們最初的目標相比略有改進。

Understood. Appreciate you wearing all the hats today.

明白了。感謝你今天戴上所有的帽子。

All right, operator. That's going to be our last Q&A for this quarter. I want to thank everyone for joining the call today. And I hope everyone has a great afternoon and a long weekend. Take care.

好的，接線員。這將是我們本季度的最後一次問答。我要感謝大家今天加入電話會議。我希望每個人都有一個愉快的下午和一個漫長的周末。小心。

This concludes CenterPoint Energy's fourth quarter earnings conference call. Thank you for your participation.

CenterPoint Energy 的第四季度收益電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。