CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to CenterPoint Energy's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call with Senior Management. (Operator Instructions) I will now turn the call over to Jackie Richert, Vice President of Corporate Planning, Investor Relations and Treasurer. Ms. Richert?

早上好，歡迎參加 CenterPoint Energy 與高級管理層舉行的 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。 （操作員指示）我現在將電話轉給企業規劃、投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管 Jackie Richert。里切特女士？

Welcome to CenterPoint's Earnings Conference Call. 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 on 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.

歡迎參加 CenterPoint 的收益電話會議。管理層將討論某些主題，其中包含基於管理層的信念、假設和當前可獲得的信息的預測和其他前瞻性信息和聲明。這些前瞻性陳述存在風險或不確定性。根據我們的 10-Q 表格、其他 SEC 文件和我們的收益材料中所述的各種因素，實際結果可能會存在重大差異。我們不承擔公開修改或更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

We will be discussing certain non-GAAP measures on today's call. When providing guidance, we use the non-GAAP EPS measure of diluted adjusted earnings per share on a consolidated basis referred to as non-GAAP EPS. For information on our guidance methodology and reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures used in providing guidance, please refer to our earnings news release and presentation on our website. We 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. Now I'd like to turn it over to Dave.

我們將在今天的電話會議上討論某些非公認會計準則措施。在提供指導時，我們使用非 GAAP 每股收益衡量標準（合併基礎上的稀釋調整每股收益），稱為非 GAAP 每股收益。有關我們的指導方法以及用於提供指導的非公認會計準則措施的調節的信息，請參閱我們網站上的收益新聞稿和演示文稿。我們使用我們的網站來公佈重要信息。此通話正在錄音。有關如何訪問重播的信息可以在我們的網站上找到。現在我想把它交給戴夫。

Good morning, and thank you to everyone joining us for our second quarter 2023 earnings call. I'm excited to announce that this is our 13th consecutive quarter of meeting or exceeding expectations. Additionally, I am pleased to be joined on today's call by Chris Foster, the newest member of our management team. Chris has hit the ground running. I know most of you already knew what a high-quality executive he is and have had the opportunity to catch up with him. We are happy to have him officially onboard. Since we have 3 speakers today instead of our usual two, I will limit my time to providing the main headlines for the quarter and let Jason and Chris tell the story.

早上好，感謝大家參加我們的 2023 年第二季度財報電話會議。我很高興地宣布，這是我們連續第 13 個季度達到或超出預期。此外，我很高興能夠參加今天的電話會議，克里斯·福斯特（Chris Foster）是我們管理團隊的最新成員。克里斯已經開始行動。我知道你們大多數人已經知道他是一位多麼高素質的高管，並且有機會了解他。我們很高興他正式加入。由於今天我們有 3 位發言人，而不是平時的 2 位，因此我將限制時間提供本季度的主要頭條新聞，並讓 Jason 和 Chris 講述故事。

Headline 1, another great quarter is in the books at CenterPoint as our entire team of nearly 9,000 employees continues to execute well on all fronts. Headline 2, overcoming headwinds reaffirming 2023 guidance. We announced second quarter non-GAAP EPS of $0.28 per share overcoming the $0.08 per share headwind from higher interest expense alone. Other headwinds came from inflationary pressures and generally milder weather throughout our service territories this quarter. Despite these headwinds, we are reaffirming our 2023 non-GAAP EPS guidance target range of $1.48 to $1.50 per share. This represents an 8% growth over last year's actual amount.

頭條新聞 1，CenterPoint 又迎來了一個偉大的季度，因為我們整個團隊由近 9,000 名員工組成的團隊繼續在各方面表現出色。標題 2，克服阻力，重申 2023 年指引。我們宣布第二季度非 GAAP 每股收益為 0.28 美元，克服了利息支出增加帶來的每股 0.08 美元的阻力。其他不利因素來自通脹壓力以及本季度我們整個服務區域天氣普遍溫和。儘管存在這些不利因素，我們仍重申 2023 年非 GAAP 每股收益指導目標範圍為 1.48 美元至 1.50 美元。這比去年的實際金額增長了 8%。

This follows non-GAAP EPS earnings growth of 9% in both 2021 and 2022. Headline 3, reaffirming industry-leading long-term growth for 2024 and beyond. We continue to target 8% non-GAAP EPS growth in 2024 and the mid- to high end of 6% to 8% annually thereafter through 2030. Headline 4, 2023 capital deployment is on track. We successfully deployed $1.2 billion of capital during the quarter, bringing our year-to-date total to approximately $2.3 billion. This is ahead of our anticipated plans for the year. Headline 5, increasing our 2023 capital spend by over 11%.

在此之前，2021 年和 2022 年非 GAAP 每股收益均增長 9%。標題 3，重申 2024 年及以後行業領先的長期增長。我們繼續設定 2024 年非 GAAP 每股收益增長 8% 的目標，並在此後到 2030 年實現每年 6% 至 8% 的中高端增長。頭條新聞 4，2023 年資本部署已步入正軌。我們在本季度成功部署了 12 億美元的資本，使年初至今的資本總額達到約 23 億美元。這超出了我們今年的預期計劃。標題 5，我們 2023 年的資本支出增加 11% 以上。

Let me walk you through the new capital plan. Our prior 10-year capital plan was $43 billion with an incremental $3 billion of additional capital spend identified, but not yet included in our formal plan. Today, we are increasing our 2023 capital plan from $3.6 billion to $4 billion, an increase of over 11%. We are now confident we can efficiently fund, execute and recover this $400 million increase without any external equity issuance. With this, our formal capital plan through 2030 goes from $43 billion to $43.4 billion. As to the remaining $2.6 billion of capital identified, but not yet included in our $43.4 billion, we are now confident in our ability to identify opportunities well beyond this amount. As we have stated in the past, we will continue to add these incremental amounts to our capital plan when we are confident we can efficiently fund, execute and recover them. As we always do, we will continue to identify and execute on constructive opportunities for all of our stakeholders.

讓我帶您了解新的資本計劃。我們之前的 10 年資本計劃為 430 億美元，其中已確定增量 30 億美元的額外資本支出，但尚未納入我們的正式計劃。今天，我們將 2023 年資本計劃從 36 億美元增加到 40 億美元，增幅超過 11%。我們現在有信心能夠有效地資助、執行和收回這 4 億美元的增資，而無需任何外部股票發行。至此，我們到 2030 年的正式資本計劃將從 430 億美元增至 434 億美元。至於剩餘的 26 億美元已確定資本，但尚未包含在我們的 434 億美元中，我們現在對我們發現遠遠超出這一數額的機會的能力充滿信心。正如我們過去所說，當我們有信心能夠有效地資助、執行和回收這些增量資金時，我們將繼續將這些增量添加到我們的資本計劃中。一如既往，我們將繼續為所有利益相關者尋找和執行建設性機會。

So to be clear, this is additional capital spending for 2023, not pulling future capital spending forward. These additional capital investments will support safety and resiliency for the benefit of customers in our Houston Electric business while balancing the impact on their bills. Headline 6, O&M planned reductions remain on target. We continue on a path to reducing O&M cost by 1% to 2% per year on average over the current 10-year plan. Headline 7, positive legislation outcomes from across our territories. There were a number of recent legislative outcomes in Texas and Indiana that should benefit our utility customers for years to come. To name just a few from Texas, we now have the ability to file for 2 DCRFs per year, the ability to recover prudent incentive compensation and the ability to file a comprehensive resiliency focused investment plan.

因此需要明確的是，這是 2023 年的額外資本支出，而不是拉動未來的資本支出。這些額外的資本投資將支持安全性和彈性，從而造福我們休斯頓電力業務的客戶，同時平衡對其賬單的影響。標題 6，運維計劃的削減量仍然達到目標。我們繼續致力於在當前的 10 年計劃中平均每年降低運維成本 1% 至 2%。標題 7，我們各地的積極立法成果。德克薩斯州和印第安納州最近取得了許多立法成果，這些成果將使我們的公用事業客戶在未來幾年受益。僅舉德克薩斯州的一些例子，我們現在能夠每年提交 2 個 DCRF，能夠收回審慎的激勵補償，並能夠提交全面的以彈性為重點的投資計劃。

Headline 8, Houston growth continues. People and companies continue to flock to Houston, partly because of its affordable and reliable energy. In 2022, the Houston area was the second fastest growing metro area in the U.S. And amazingly, in 2022, over 1/3 of Houston's region population growth was from residents moving to Houston from outside the United States. Headline 9, targeting Houston Electric customer charges at or below the 2% historical rate of inflation. While continuing to heavily invest in the fundamentals of safety, resiliency and reliability, we will be aiming to keep Houston Electric customer charge increases at or below the 2% historical level inflation over the longer term. This is a unique luxury among utilities.

頭條 8，休斯頓增長仍在繼續。人們和公司繼續湧向休斯頓，部分原因是其負擔得起且可靠的能源。 2022 年，休斯頓地區成為美國增長第二快的都市區。令人驚訝的是，2022 年，休斯頓地區超過 1/3 的人口增長來自於從美國境外遷入休斯頓的居民。標題 9，目標是休斯敦電力客戶收費等於或低於 2% 的歷史通貨膨脹率。在繼續大力投資於安全性、彈性和可靠性等基本要素的同時，我們的目標是在長期內將休斯頓電力公司的客戶費用增幅保持在或低於 2% 的歷史通脹水平。這在公用事業中是一種獨特的奢侈。

Headline 10, we plan to be out of operating coal generation by the end of 2027. Using renewables and lower carbon power generation should provide a more affordable alternative for our customers. I want to thank our incredibly dedicated employees in both Houston and Southwestern Indiana, who worked tirelessly to repair our system that was struck by a series of major storms earlier this month. Also, I want to take a moment to thank the Texas and Indiana legislatures and all stakeholders that supported our constructive legislative outcomes. We are grateful that the resiliency and the reliability of the grid continues to be a top priority for all of our stakeholders.

標題 10，我們計劃到 2027 年底停止運營煤炭發電。使用可再生能源和低碳發電應該為我們的客戶提供更實惠的替代方案。我要感謝我們在休斯頓和印第安納州西南部非常敬業的員工，他們不知疲倦地工作，修復了本月早些時候遭受一系列重大風暴襲擊的系統。此外，我想花點時間感謝德克薩斯州和印第安納州的立法機構以及所有支持我們建設性立法成果的利益相關者。我們很高興電網的彈性和可靠性仍然是我們所有利益相關者的首要任務。

In summary, even in the midst of the economic and operational headwinds of higher interest rates, inflationary pressures and unusual weather, we continue to deliver for both our customers and investors. The second quarter of 2023 is just another example of our continued commitment to executing on what we believe is the most tangible long-term growth plan in the industry. I'll now let Jason and Chris take it from here.

總之，即使面臨利率上升、通脹壓力和異常天氣等經濟和運營不利因素，我們仍將繼續為客戶和投資者提供服務。 2023 年第二季度只是我們繼續致力於執行我們認為業內最切實的長期增長計劃的另一個例子。我現在讓傑森和克里斯從這裡接手。

Thank you, Dave, and thank you to all of you for joining us this morning for our second quarter call. Before I get into my updates for the quarter, I want to echo Dave's gratitude to all of our employees who withstood this extreme weather, to quickly restore service in our greater Houston and Southwest Indiana communities. I couldn't be prouder of our team's response and commitment to the communities we have the privilege to serve. Looking at the legislative summary on Slide 5.

謝謝戴夫，也感謝大家今天早上參加我們的第二季度電話會議。在介紹本季度的最新情況之前，我想表達戴夫對我們所有經受住這種極端天氣的員工的感謝，以迅速恢復大休斯頓和印第安納州西南部社區的服務。我對我們團隊對我們有幸服務的社區的反應和承諾感到無比自豪。查看幻燈片 5 上的立法摘要。

We are grateful for the customer-focused outcomes resulting from these recent legislative sessions. We understand our state legislatures have numerous issues to consider, and we are appreciative of the time that was spent on providing the electric and gas utility industries with additional tools to better serve our customers. In Texas, One of the top stated goals of the latest legislative session was to improve electric grade reliability, and we certainly believe we made good progress on that front will be enactment of a number of bills. There are 3 that I want to highlight in particular.

我們感謝最近這些立法會議所取得的以客戶為中心的成果。我們知道我們的州立法機構有許多問題需要考慮，我們非常感謝您花費時間為電力和天然氣公用事業行業提供更多工具，以更好地為我們的客戶服務。在德克薩斯州，最新立法會議的首要目標之一是提高電力等級可靠性，我們當然相信我們在這方面取得了良好進展，將頒布一系列法案。有3點我想特別強調。

First, Texas' transmission and distribution utilities now have the ability to file a resiliency plan for transmission and distribution-related cost recovery. This comprehensive electric resiliency plan will allow the TDUs to work with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to outline a multiyear investment plan, to broadly harden our electric rig, to better address the impacts of extreme weather. Additionally, distribution investments under these new plans will be eligible for the deferral of certain carrying costs, such as depreciation and interest expense, helping minimize the regulatory lag and recovery. This builds a great illustration of how our legislators and other stakeholders desire for increased grid resiliency in light of the recent demands on the electric grid and providing the TDUs to do so.

首先，德克薩斯州的輸電和配電公用事業公司現在有能力提交一份彈性計劃，以回收與輸電和配電相關的成本。這項全面的電力彈性計劃將使 TDU 能夠與德克薩斯州公用事業委員會合作，制定一項多年投資計劃，廣泛強化我們的電力設備，更好地應對極端天氣的影響。此外，這些新計劃下的分銷投資將有資格推遲某些持有成本，例如折舊和利息費用，從而有助於最大限度地減少監管滯後和恢復。這很好地說明了我們的立法者和其他利益相關者如何根據最近對電網的需求來提高電網彈性，並提供 TDU 來實現這一目標。

Second, we now have the ability to file for recovery of distribution-related capital investments twice per year under the distribution capital recovery trackers or DCRF mechanism. This change now provides parity with the recovery of transmission investments where we already are able to make 2 filings a year. The ability to file 2 DCRFs a year will not only help to reduce regulatory lag on the recovery of our distribution investments, but will also help keep incremental bill increases, smaller and smoother, for our customers. Lastly, we will now be able to recover certain incentive compensation for the employees that serve our customers in the Houston Electric service territory. This will help us continue to attract top talent to better serve our customers.

其次，我們現在可以根據分銷資本回收跟踪器或 DCRF 機制，每年兩次申請回收與分銷相關的資本投資。這一變化現在與輸電投資的回收同等重要，我們已經能夠每年提交兩次申請。每年提交 2 份 DCRF 的能力不僅有助於減少我們分銷投資回收的監管滯後，而且還有助於為我們的客戶保持增量賬單增長，更小、更平穩。最後，我們現在將能夠為休斯頓電力服務區域內為客戶提供服務的員工獲得一定的激勵補償。這將幫助我們繼續吸引頂尖人才，更好地為我們的客戶服務。

These bills as well as other related bills that were enacted were an overwhelmingly positive outcome for customers and for CenterPoint. And I want to also express appreciation to all stakeholders involved in achieving this. We will continue to work with stakeholders to achieve customer-focused outcomes while advancing the resiliency, reliability and safety of the grid that helps power the economic success of the Greater Houston area.

這些法案以及其他已頒布的相關法案對於客​​戶和 CenterPoint 來說都是一個壓倒性的積極成果。我還想對參與實現這一目標的所有利益相關者表示感謝。我們將繼續與利益相關者合作，實現以客戶為中心的成果，同時提高電網的彈性、可靠性和安全性，幫助推動大休斯頓地區的經濟成功。

Outside of Texas, I want to thank the Indiana legislature for its time and attention in providing Indiana utilities for more opportunities to advocate for their customers. One such piece of legislation that I want to highlight in this regard is one that allows a utility to write a first refusal to building transmission lines that connect to a respective utility system. We believe this allows a utility to operate in the best interest of its customers, a win for those that we serve in Southwestern Indiana. In addition to a busy legislative calendar, we had a number of regulatory updates as shown on Slide 6.

在德克薩斯州之外，我要感謝印第安納州立法機構投入的時間和精力，為印第安納州的公用事業公司提供更多為客戶辯護的機會。在這方面我想強調的一項立法是允許公用事業公司書面拒絕建造連接到相應公用事業系統的輸電線路。我們相信，這使得公用事業公司能夠以客戶的最佳利益為出發點進行運營，這對於我們在印第安納州西南部服務的客戶來說是一場胜利。除了繁忙的立法日程之外，我們還進行了許多監管更新，如幻燈片 6 所示。

Starting with Minnesota Gas, we filed for the approval of 25 proposed projects under the Natural Gas Innovation Act, or NGIA with an estimated cost of a little over $100 million for the first 5 years of those projects. These projects include things like renewable natural gas and green hydrogen as well as pioneering technologies such as a networked geothermal district energy system and end-use carbon capture. These proposed projects are designed with the goal of helping to advance a cleaner energy future in Minnesota. We continue to be appreciative of the constructive environment in Minnesota, which allows us the opportunity to invest in projects that assist our customers to achieve their emission reduction targets.

從明尼蘇達天然氣公司開始，我們根據天然氣創新法案 (NGIA) 申請了 25 個擬議項目的批准，這些項目的前 5 年成本估計略高於 1 億美元。這些項目包括可再生天然氣和綠色氫等項目，以及聯網地熱區域能源系統和最終用途碳捕獲等開創性技術。這些擬議項目的設計目的是幫助推進明尼蘇達州的清潔能源未來。我們仍然讚賞明尼蘇達州的建設性環境，這使我們有機會投資幫助我們的客戶實現減排目標的項目。

Now moving to Indiana Electric. We continue to make good progress related to our 2020 Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP. During the quarter, we received several approvals from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, including approval for our 200-megawatt wind project and the reapproval of 3 of our solar projects. Additionally, earlier this month, the gas pipeline that will serve the new gas CT plant, which was approved last year, was fully authorized to proceed by the FERC. Related to our 2020 IRP, we now have received approval and in many instances, reapproval for nearly all of the filings. These filings constitute over 1 gigawatt of renewable generation that we anticipate placing in service or begin contracting within the next few years and the 460-megawatt gas CT, which is expected to provide an additional generation source on days when the wind might not be blowing and the sun might not be shining.

現在搬到印第安納電力公司。我們在 2020 年綜合資源計劃 (IRP) 方面繼續取得良好進展。本季度，我們獲得了印第安納州公用事業監管委員會的多項批准，包括批准我們的 200 兆瓦風電項目以及重新批准我們的 3 個太陽能項目。此外，本月早些時候，去年批准的為新天然氣 CT 工廠提供服務的天然氣管道已獲得 FERC 的充分授權。與我們的 2020 年 IRP 相關，我們現在已獲得批准，並且在許多情況下，幾乎所有申請都獲得了重新批准。這些文件構成了超過 1 吉瓦的可再生能源發電，我們預計在未來幾年內投入使用或開始簽訂合同，以及 460 兆瓦的燃氣 CT，預計將在無風的日子裡提供額外的發電來源，並且陽光可能不會照耀。

We also issued securitization bonds of approximately $340 million related to the retirement of the A. B. Brown Coal Facility. This was a very constructive transaction for our customers and has already started providing customer benefits in the form of a credit on their bills. With many of the individual projects related to our 2020 IRP underway, we can now turn our attention to 2023 IRP we submitted in the second quarter. This IRP addresses our proposed retirement of our third and final coal facility and places us firmly on a path to fully exiting coal generation we operate by the end of 2027, while offering our customers a cleaner, more reliable, balanced portfolio of solar, wind and gas generation at a cost that is expected to be substantially less than maintaining our existing coal generation fleet. This new filing proposes converting our last coal plant to gas as well as adding 200 megawatts of wind and 200 megawatts of solar by 2030.

我們還發行了約 3.4 億美元的與 A. B. Brown 煤炭設施退役相關的證券化債券。這對我們的客戶來說是一項非常有建設性的交易，並且已經開始以賬單抵免的形式為客戶提供利益。隨著與 2020 年 IRP 相關的許多單獨項目正在進行中，我們現在可以將注意力轉向我們在第二季度提交的 2023 年 IRP。該IRP 解決了我們擬議的第三個也是最後一個煤炭設施的退役問題，使我們堅定地走上在2027 年底之前完全退出我們運營的煤炭發電的道路，同時為我們的客戶提供更清潔、更可靠、平衡的太陽能、風能和天然氣發電的成本預計將大大低於維持我們現有燃煤發電機組的成本。這份新文件建議到 2030 年將我們最後的燃煤電廠轉變為天然氣電廠，並增加 200 兆瓦的風能和 200 兆瓦的太陽能。

In its entirety, this IRP is anticipated to save customers nearly $80 million compared to the continued use of coal over the next 20 years. This filing is the culmination of months of hard work and collaboration throughout our organization to arrive at what we believe is a thoughtful and customer-centric approach to the generation transition in Southwest Indiana.

總體而言，與未來 20 年繼續使用煤炭相比，該 IRP 預計將為客戶節省近 8000 萬美元。本文件是我們整個組織數月辛勤工作和協作的結晶，我們認為這是一種深思熟慮且以客戶為中心的方法，旨在實現印第安納州西南部的代際過渡。

Moving on to the regulatory calendar shown on Slide 7. As many of you know, we have a number of rate case filings on the horizon. I want to provide a brief update regarding the timing of those filings. Beginning with Texas Gas. We have slightly changed the expected timing of our filing. Previously, we had communicated that we would file this summer. However, we will delay this filing for a few months, likely filing in November of this year. We continue to anticipate filing for a relatively flat revenue requirement despite the delay and look forward to working with all stakeholders to reach a constructive outcome. Additionally, we will likely push the timing of our Houston Electric filing to Q1 of 2024 instead of the previously communicated fourth quarter of this year. We will continue to use our TCOS and DCRF mechanisms until that time. Similarly, we also anticipate filing a relatively flat revenue requirement supported by our O&M discipline and growth throughout our Texas service territory.

接下來是幻燈片 7 中顯示的監管日曆。正如你們許多人所知，我們即將提交許多費率案件備案。我想提供有關這些文件提交時間的簡短更新。從德克薩斯天然氣公司開始。我們稍微改變了提交申請的預期時間。此前，我們曾表示將於今年夏天提交申請。然而，我們將推遲幾個月提交該申請，可能會在今年 11 月提交。儘管有所延遲，但我們仍預計會申請相對平穩的收入要求，並期待與所有利益相關者合作以取得建設性成果。此外，我們可能會將休斯頓電力公司備案的時間推遲到 2024 年第一季度，而不是之前通報的今年第四季度。在那之前我們將繼續使用我們的 TCOS 和 DCRF 機制。同樣，我們還預計在我們的運營和維護紀律以及整個德克薩斯州服務領域的增長的支持下提出相對平穩的收入要求。

With respect to the Minnesota and Indiana Electric filings, we remain on track with our previously communicated time lines of filing both cases towards the end of the fourth quarter this year. Before I turn it over to Chris for the financial updates, I want to take a moment to touch on just how impressed I've been with the initiative and innovation of our leaders to reduce O&M while at the same time, incrementally and positively impacting our customers' experience. One such incremental example can be found in our gas business. Earlier this year, we completed a review focused on finding continuous improvement opportunities in our leak management activities.

關於明尼蘇達州和印第安納州電力公司的備案，我們仍然按照之前溝通的時間表在今年第四季度末提交這兩起案件。在我將財務更新交給 Chris 之前，我想花點時間談談我們的領導者減少 O&M 的主動性和創新給我留下的深刻印象，同時逐步和積極地影響我們的客戶的體驗。我們的天然氣業務就是這樣一個增量的例子。今年早些時候，我們完成了一項審查，重點是尋找洩漏管理活動中的持續改進機會。

This review resulted in identifying several million dollars in opportunities that will benefit customers in the future by reducing bill increases, but also freeing up crews to get to service costs faster. It is examples like this that continue to reinforce our confidence in delivering 1% to 2% annual average O&M reductions despite inflationary headwinds. Those are my updates for the quarter. I remain excited about our continued execution for the benefit of our customers and our investors. We continue to focus on making customer-focused investments and working with stakeholders to support legislative and regulatory outcomes that benefit customers throughout our various service territories.

此次審查確定了數百萬美元的機會，這些機會將通過減少賬單增加使客戶在未來受益，同時也使工作人員能夠更快地獲得服務成本。正是這樣的例子繼續增強了我們的信心，儘管面臨通貨膨脹的不利因素，我們仍然能夠實現年平均運營和維護成本減少 1% 至 2%。這些是我本季度的最新情況。我對我們為客戶和投資者的利益而繼續執行感到興奮。我們繼續專注於進行以客戶為中心的投資，並與利益相關者合作，支持立法和監管成果，使我們各個服務領域的客戶受益。

Now with that, I'll turn it over to Chris for the financial updates.

現在，我將把它交給克里斯以獲取最新的財務信息。

Thanks, Jason, and thanks to all of you for joining our 2023 2nd quarter call and my first earnings call as CFO of this great company. Although I only recently joined the CenterPoint team, I can certainly say that I've enjoyed meeting more of my coworkers, digging into the long-term plan and representing the company to the investor community while also getting my family settled here with me as a new set of Houston residents. And I'm really pleased to see the recent outcomes the team has achieved, knowing we still have a number of long-term opportunities that are still very much in front of us. Today, I'll cover 3 areas of focus.

謝謝 Jason，也感謝大家參加我們的 2023 年第二季度電話會議，也是我作為這家偉大公司的首席財務官的第一次財報電話會議。雖然我最近才加入CenterPoint 團隊，但我可以肯定地說，我很高興結識更多的同事，深入研究長期計劃，並在投資者社區代表公司，同時也讓我的家人和我一起在這里安頓下來。休斯頓的新居民。我真的很高興看到團隊最近取得的成果，因為我知道我們仍然擁有許多長期機會。今天，我將重點討論 3 個領域。

First, our earnings progress, then a financing update, including our Energy Systems Group transaction and further reduction in floating rate debt. And finally, as Dave introduced, a positive revision to our capital plan. Now let's start with the financial results on Slide 8. As mentioned, we are reaffirming our full year 2023 guidance range of $1.48 to $1.50 of non-GAAP earnings per share which reflects 8% growth over full year 2022 non-GAAP EPS of $1.38 when using the midpoint. On a GAAP EPS basis, we reported $0.17 for the second quarter of 2023. Our non-GAAP EPS results for the first quarter removed the results of our now divested nonregulated business, Energy Systems Group.

首先是我們的盈利進展，然後是融資更新，包括我們的能源系統集團交易和浮動利率債務的進一步減少。最後，正如戴夫所介紹的，我們對我們的資本計劃進行了積極的修改。現在讓我們從幻燈片8 上的財務業績開始。如上所述，我們重申2023 年全年非GAAP 每股收益指導範圍為1.48 美元至1.50 美元，這反映出比2022 年全年非GAAP 每股收益1.38 美元增長8%。使用中點。根據 GAAP 每股收益，我們報告 2023 年第二季度為 0.17 美元。我們第一季度的非 GAAP 每股收益結果剔除了我們現已剝離的非監管業務能源系統集團的結果。

On a non-GAAP basis, we reported $0.28 for the second quarter of 2023 compared to $0.31 in the second quarter of 2022. Combined with the first quarter, we have now achieved 52% of our full year guidance at the midpoint. Growth in rate recovery contributed $0.07, largely driven by continued recoveries through our electric DCRF capital tracker filed last year and our electric transmission tracker or TCOS in our Houston Electric territory, which went into rates last November. In addition, we continue to see strong organic growth in the Houston area, extending the long-term trend of 1% to 2% average annual growth. O&M was flat for the second quarter and $0.02 favorable year-to-date when compared to the first half of '22 as we continue to find ways to operate more efficiently to target O&M reduction by 1% to 2% per year on average while remaining focused on meeting our customers' needs.

根據非公認會計原則，我們報告2023 年第二季度的收入為0.28 美元，而2022 年第二季度的收入為0.31 美元。與第一季度相結合，我們目前已實現全年指導中值的52% 。費率恢復的增長貢獻了 0.07 美元，主要是通過我們去年提交的電力 DCRF 資本跟踪器和我們休斯頓電力地區的電力傳輸跟踪器或 TCOS（去年 11 月進入費率）的持續恢復推動的。此外，我們繼續看到休斯頓地區強勁的有機增長，延續了年均增長 1% 至 2% 的長期趨勢。與 22 年上半年相比，第二季度 O&M 持平，年初至今有利 0.02 美元，因為我們繼續尋找更高效運營的方法，以實現每年平均減少 1% 至 2% 的 O&M 目標，同時保持專注於滿足客戶的需求。

These favorable drivers were offset by an $0.08 increase in interest expense. The continued rising interest rate expense on short-term borrowings was the primary driver for this unfavorability when compared to the second quarter of last year. However, we continue to make progress in reducing our short-term floating rate debt exposure, which I will discuss in more detail shortly. We believe our plan has sufficient conservatism built in to help us overcome these ongoing pressures. Weather and usage were $0.02 unfavorable when compared to the same quarter of 2022, primarily driven by a combination of sustained record-breaking temperatures during Q2 of 2022 when compared year-over-year to the milder April and May weather in both our Houston and Indiana Electric territories this year. However, this trend did change in Houston in mid-June.

這些有利的驅動因素被利息支出增加 0.08 美元所抵消。與去年第二季度相比，短期借款利率費用持續上升是造成這種不利影響的主要原因。然而，我們在減少短期浮動利率債務風險方面繼續取得進展，我將很快對此進行更詳細的討論。我們相信我們的計劃具有足夠的保守性，可以幫助我們克服這些持續的壓力。與 2022 年同季度相比，天氣和使用情況不利 0.02 美元，這主要是由於 2022 年第二季度持續破紀錄的氣溫（與休斯頓和印第安納州 4 月和 5 月天氣較去年同期相比）造成的今年的電力領域。然而，這種趨勢在六月中旬在休斯敦確實發生了變化。

Next, I'll cover some financing and credit-related topics on Slide 9. As of the end of the second quarter, aligning with Moody's methodology, our FFO to debt was 13.9% as reported. We remain focused on the balance sheet as we target 14% to 15% through 2030. Essentially, we are targeting around 150 basis points of cushion from our downgrade threshold of 13%. And we will continue to explore opportunities to strengthen the balance sheet in this rising rate environment. Another area in which we've been executing well is in the reduction of our exposure to floating rate debt. In the first quarter, we reduced floating rate debt by nearly $2 billion through the receipt of Winter Storm Uri proceeds and refinancing floating rate debt to fixed term issuances at the operating companies.

接下來，我將在幻燈片 9 上介紹一些融資和信貸相關主題。截至第二季度末，根據穆迪的方法，我們的 FFO 債務比率為 13.9%。我們仍然關注資產負債表，因為我們的目標是到 2030 年增長 14% 至 15%。從本質上講，我們的目標是在 13% 的降級閾值基礎上緩衝約 150 個基點。我們將繼續探索在利率上升的環境下加強資產負債表的機會。我們執行良好的另一個領域是減少浮動利率債務風險。第一季度，我們通過收到“冬季風暴 Uri”收益以及將浮動利率債務再融資為運營公司的定期發行，減少了近 20 億美元的浮動利率債務。

We carried this momentum into the second quarter as we reduced floating rate debt by an additional $200 million to approximately 14% of total debt outstanding. That's nearly a 50% year-to-date reduction relative to where we ended 2022. The primary drivers of this reduction for the receipt of the approximately $340 million in securitization proceeds related to the retirement of A. B. Brown, the proceeds of the previously mentioned Energy Systems Group, along with the collection of elevated gas costs incurred in the latter part of 2022. As a reminder, we are carrying approximately $400 million of debt at the parent, which was issued to fund our higher equity layer at Houston Electric and Texas Gas as we head into rate cases.

我們將這一勢頭延續到了第二季度，我們將浮動利率債務額外減少了 2 億美元，佔未償債務總額的約 14%。與 2022 年年底相比，今年迄今減少了近 50%。這一減少的主要原因是收到與 A. B. Brown 退休相關的約 3.4 億美元證券化收益，即前面提到的能源公司的收益Systems Group，以及2022 年下半年產生的天然氣成本上升的費用。提醒一下，我們在母公司背負著大約4 億美元的債務，這些債務是為我們在休斯頓電力和德克薩斯天然氣公司的更高股權層提供資金而發行的當我們進入費率案例時。

And as we get to the other side of the rate cases, we will either begin recovering at this higher equity content or delever. From the moment I arrived here at CenterPoint, one of my primary areas of focus as we work through our industry-leading growth plan is maintaining the strength of the balance sheet especially in the current interest rate environment. I look forward to working with the team here not only to execute one of the most tangible long-term growth plans in the industry, but also maintaining a strong balance sheet.

當我們到達利率情況的另一面時，我們要么開始以更高的股本含量復甦，要么去槓桿化。從我來到 CenterPoint 的那一刻起，在我們制定行業領先的增長計劃時，我的主要關注領域之一就是保持資產負債表的實力，尤其是在當前的利率環境下。我期待與這裡的團隊合作，不僅執行業內最切實的長期增長計劃之一，而且保持強勁的資產負債表。

Coming back to the divestiture of Energy Systems Group. We divested one of our few remaining nonregulated businesses, Energy Systems Group, or ESG, and closed the transaction within Q2, ESGs and energy services business that implements efficiency solutions through infrastructure and other solutions. It was acquired in the Vectren acquisition in 2019 and was part of its nonregulated portfolio. However, as we've sharpened our focus on our regulated utility businesses, it made sense to find a more natural owner for this business.

回到能源系統集團的剝離。我們剝離了剩餘的少數非監管業務之一——能源系統集團（ESG），並在第二季度完成了 ESG 和能源服務業務的交易，該業務通過基礎設施和其他解決方案實施效率解決方案。它是在 2019 年收購 Vectren 時收購的，是其非監管投資組合的一部分。然而，隨著我們更加關注受監管的公用事業業務，為該業務尋找更自然的所有者是有意義的。

As a result of this divestiture, today, nonregulated businesses account for less than 5% of our earnings. We're grateful to the employees for their tremendous work and believe they'll have further success under their new owners. We received after-tax proceeds of $121 million from the sale of ESG. The combination of these proceeds as well as those received from the Indiana securitization will help to reduce near-term floating rate debt exposure as well as provide incremental financing flexibility to help fund our capital plan including the additional $400 million capital investments we anticipate making this year.

由於此次剝離，如今非監管業務占我們收入的比例不到 5%。我們感謝員工所做的巨大工作，並相信他們將在新東家的領導下取得進一步的成功。我們通過出售 ESG 獲得了 1.21 億美元的稅後收益。這些收益以及印第安納州證券化收益的結合將有助於減少近期浮動利率債務風險，並提供增量融資靈活性，以幫助為我們的資本計劃提供資金，包括我們預計今年額外進行的4 億美元資本投資。

Let me now focus a bit on our CapEx enhancements on Slide 10. For the benefit of our customers and communities, we invested $1.2 billion this quarter and $2.3 billion year-to-date across our various service territories. This represents 64% of our beginning of the year target of $3.6 billion for 2023. We are updating our 2023 capital target from $3.6 billion to $4 billion. This results in an increase to $43.4 billion for our 10-year capital plan target that goes through 2030. This capital increase is a result of having greater visibility operationally to resource additional work and improvements to financing and recoveries.

現在讓我重點介紹一下幻燈片 10 上的資本支出增強功能。為了我們的客戶和社區的利益，我們本季度在各個服務領域投資了 12 億美元，今年迄今投資了 23 億美元。這占我們年初 2023 年 36 億美元目標的 64%。我們正在將 2023 年資本目標從 36 億美元更新為 40 億美元。這使得我們到 2030 年的 10 年資本計劃目標增加到 434 億美元。這一資本增加是由於在運營上擁有更大的可見性來為額外的工作提供資源以及改善融資和回收。

As it relates to the remainder of the balance of the $2.6 billion in incremental capital opportunities, that we have not yet incorporated into the plan, as Dave said, we are now confident in our ability to identify opportunities well beyond this amount. We have communicated that we will include incremental amounts when we can operationally execute, efficiently fund and efficiently recover. We have also stated that the previous $43 billion capital plan we set forth through 2030 does not require external equity funding. The remainder of the incremental amounts beyond today's increase will require some additional financing that is not currently contemplated or reflected in our plan. As we continue to evaluate when to fall in the remaining $2.6 billion and beyond, we will also target the optimal way to finance such investments. Our focus on delivering work affordably has not changed, and we will seek to continue to prudently deploy this capital while being mindful of customer charges. We continue to target our customer charges at Houston Electric to be equal to or less than the historical inflation rate of 2%.

正如戴夫所說，由於它涉及 26 億美元增量資本機會的剩餘部分，我們尚未納入該計劃，因此我們現在對我們發現遠遠超出這一數額的機會的能力充滿信心。我們已表示，當我們能夠有效執行、有效資助和有效恢復時，我們將包括增量金額。我們還表示，之前製定的到2030年430億美元的資本計劃不需要外部股權融資。今天增加的剩餘增量將需要一些額外的融資，而我們的計劃中目前沒有考慮或反映這一點。當我們繼續評估何時投入剩餘的 26 億美元及更多資金時，我們還將確定為此類投資融資的最佳方式。我們對以經濟實惠的方式提供工作的重點沒有改變，我們將尋求繼續審慎地部署這筆資金，同時注意客戶費用。我們繼續將休斯頓電力公司的客戶收費目標定為等於或低於 2% 的歷史通脹率。

We believe we are able to achieve this through Houston's tremendous organic growth, securitization charges rolling off the bill later next year and our plan to reduce O&M 1% to 2% per year on average. I'd like to reiterate the earlier point that while these incremental investments undoubtedly add to the earnings power of the company, this management team will continue to be conservative as it relates to updates to earnings guidance. We are focused on delivering industry-leading sustainable earnings growth year-over-year through 2030. As stated, looking beyond 2023, and from the reaffirmed 2023 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $1.48 to $1.50, we continue to expect to grow non-GAAP EPS 8% in 2024 and at the mid- to high end of 6% to 8% annually thereafter through 2030.

我們相信，通過休斯頓巨大的有機增長、明年晚些時候取消的證券化費用以及我們每年平均減少運營和維護費用 1% 至 2% 的計劃，我們能夠實現這一目標。我想重申之前的觀點，雖然這些增量投資無疑會增加公司的盈利能力，但該管理團隊將繼續保持保守，因為這與盈利指引的更新有關。我們的重點是到2030 年實現行業領先的可持續盈利同比增長。如上所述，展望2023 年之後，從重申的2023 年非GAAP 每股收益指引1.48 美元到1.50 美元來看，我們繼續預計非GAAP增長2024 年每股收益為 8%，此後到 2030 年每年中高端為 6% 至 8%。

Those are my updates for the quarter. And before turning it back over to Dave, I want to say again how excited I am sitting in my new seat here at CenterPoint. I felt so welcomed by the excellent management team here. I believe that even with some of the headwinds our sector is facing, our tailwinds exceed the headwinds, and we have a tremendous amount of opportunity in front of us. I'll now turn the call back over to Dave.

這些是我本季度的最新情況。在將其轉回給戴夫之前，我想再說一遍，坐在 CenterPoint 的新座位上我是多麼興奮。我感受到這裡優秀的管理團隊的歡迎。我相信，即使我們的行業面臨一些逆風，但我們的順風大於逆風，我們面前有巨大的機會。我現在將把電話轉回給戴夫。

As you heard from us today, we now have 13 straight quarters of meeting or exceeding expectations. We are a pure-play regulated premium utility and on a course to continue execution of our current plan with incremental growth opportunities to support our customers beyond that.

正如您今天從我們這裡聽到的，我們現在已經連續 13 個季度達到或超出預期。我們是一家純粹的受監管的優質公用事業公司，並將繼續執行我們當前的計劃，並提供增量增長機會，以支持我們的客戶。

Thank you, Dave. Operator, we'll now turn it back to Q&A.

謝謝你，戴夫。接線員，我們現在將其轉回到問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan Securities.

（操作員指令）我們的第一個問題來自摩根大通證券的 Jeremy Tonet。

Just diving in a little bit more on the CapEx increase here. With the $400 million CapEx increase in Texas legislation benefit, how do these items position you on an EPS basis relative to your current guidance? And can you walk us through the timing and magnitude of these benefits? And are there any hurdles to formalizing in the growth outlook here?

這裡只是稍微深入了解一下資本支出的增加。隨著德克薩斯州立法福利增加 4 億美元的資本支出，相對於您當前的指導，這些項目對您的每股收益有何影響？您能否向我們介紹一下這些好處的時機和程度？正式確定增長前景是否存在任何障礙？

Yes. Let me give you maybe a 50,000-foot view of how we see the sort of recent legislative outcomes and then Jason can go into more of the details. But clearly, point 1 would be it was a very successful legislative session that is going to clearly benefit our customers and our other stakeholders and, of course, shareholders over time. I think it's important now to understand that these laws will basically get layered in over different time frames and Jason can add a little color on that. But I think the real point is the one that Chris sort of ended his comments with, this is just really another tailwind for CenterPoint going forward. So we really like the outcome. We think it's going to be great for everybody. But Jason, maybe you can give a little more color in and around the timing and potential impact.

是的。讓我給您大概 50,000 英尺的視野，了解我們如何看待最近的立法成果，然後傑森可以詳細介紹更多細節。但顯然，第一點是，這是一次非常成功的立法會議，隨著時間的推移，這將明顯有利於我們的客戶和其他利益相關者，當然還有股東。我認為現在重要的是要了解這些法律基本上會在不同的時間範圍內分層，傑森可以在此基礎上添加一些色彩。但我認為真正的重點是克里斯結束他的評論時所說的，這確實是 CenterPoint 前進的另一個推動力。所以我們真的很喜歡這個結果。我們認為這對每個人來說都很棒。但是傑森，也許你可以在時間安排和潛在影響方面提供更多的色彩。

Thanks, Dave, and thanks for the question, Jeremy. Clearly, there's incremental capital we folded in the plan, the successful legislative session just continue to further strengthen what we believe is already the industry's less tangible long-term growth plan. Maybe to more specifically answer some of your questions, the bills that I highlighted in my prepared remarks take us -- take a significant step in terms of reducing regulatory lag and helping us earn closer to our allowed return when using kind of our year-end rate base. The benefit of 2 DCRFs per year will somewhat be a function of the capital spend.

謝謝戴夫，也謝謝杰里米提出的問題。顯然，我們在計劃中納入了增量資本，成功的立法會議將繼續進一步加強我們認為已經是該行業不太具體的長期增長計劃。也許為了更具體地回答你們的一些問題，我在準備好的發言中強調的法案要求我們在減少監管滯後方面邁出重要一步，並幫助我們在使用年終時賺取更接近允許的回報費率基礎。每年 2 個 DCRF 的收益在某種程度上取決於資本支出。

But that benefit when you couple it with the recovery of incentive comp should be roughly $0.05 to $0.07 per year. And the earnings benefit for the resiliency bill will obviously be shaped through the rule-making proceeding and our eventual filing. But I think a good rule of thumb is it should have at least $0.01 benefit for every $300 million of CapEx eligible for that resiliency definition. And so in terms of kind of when we should feel the impact and timing of those benefits, as we mentioned in the prepared remarks, we will likely file a second DCRF this year. So that will, on a full year basis, begin impacting earnings in 2024.

但當你將其與激勵補償的恢復相結合時，這種收益每年應該約為 0.05 至 0.07 美元。彈性法案的收益效益顯然將通過規則制定程序和我們最終的備案來決定。但我認為一個好的經驗法則是，符合彈性定義的每 3 億美元資本支出應該至少帶來 0.01 美元的收益。因此，就我們何時應該感受到這些好處的影響和時機而言，正如我們在準備好的評論中提到的那樣，我們可能會在今年提交第二份 DCRF。因此，這將在全年基礎上開始影響 2024 年的收益。

The remainder of earnings benefits from these recent legislations will likely follow our rate case. So think about those sort of flowing into our plan more in 2025 and beyond. And so at the end of the day, this continues to be yet kind of another tailwind that just further strengthens an already great plan.

最近這些立法帶來的剩餘收益可能會遵循我們的利率情況。因此，請考慮在 2025 年及以後更多地融入我們的計劃。因此，歸根結底，這仍然是又一個順風，進一步加強了已經很棒的計劃。

Got it. That's great to hear there. And maybe just looking at the regulatory calendar more broadly here. Some of the rate case timing has shifted. And just wondering if you could speak more to the regulatory calendar over the next 18 months and really how you see these cases setting up the business for the period thereafter?

知道了。很高興在那裡聽到這個消息。也許只是在這裡更廣泛地審視監管日曆。一些利率案件的時間已經改變。只是想知道您是否可以更多地談談未來 18 個月的監管日曆，以及您如何看待這些案例為此後的一段時間建立業務？

Yes. Thanks, Jeremy. It's going to be a busy period of rate case regulatory activity. Let me just quickly run through those. As we talked about in our prepared comments, we've shipped to the timing of our Texas Gas rate case to likely November this year. Right about that same time, we will be filing our Minnesota rate case and Indiana Electric rate case as well, and then we'll likely to follow that with the Houston Electric rate case probably sometime late first quarter next year.

是的。謝謝，傑里米。這將是費率案件監管活動的繁忙時期。讓我快速瀏覽一下這些內容。正如我們在準備好的評論中談到的，我們已經將德克薩斯州天然氣費率案例的時間安排到了今年 11 月。大約在同一時間，我們也將提交明尼蘇達州費率案件和印第安納電力費率案件，然後我們可能會在明年第一季度末的某個時候提交休斯頓電力費率案件。

And so obviously, there's a number of rate cases that we'll have in front of us. I want to continue to reemphasize though given the great work the company has done managing O&M, I anticipate, particularly in the Texas Gas and the Houston Electric rate case filing a relatively flat revenue requirement increase, which I think will be a constructive signal for resolution of those cases. On the Minnesota Gas case, that's a case we file every 2 years and really just sort of reflects the capital that we intend to spend to modernize our gas system up in Minnesota. And then Indiana Electric, much of the capital that will be subject to that case has already been reviewed as part of some of our regular ongoing files with respect to our grid modernization program as well as our generation transition plan. So while it's a very busy upcoming regulatory calendar, we continue to feel like we're putting our best foot forward for our customers and our shareholders.

顯然，我們面前有許多費率案例。我想繼續再次強調，鑑於該公司在管理運營和維護方面所做的出色工作，我預計，特別是在德克薩斯天然氣公司和休斯頓電力公司提出相對平穩的收入要求增加的費率案件中，我認為這將是解決問題的建設性信號這些案例。就明尼蘇達州天然氣案而言，我們每兩年提交一次案件，實際上只是反映了我們打算花費在明尼蘇達州天然氣系統現代化方面的資金。然後是印第安納電力公司，該案涉及的大部分資本已經作為我們有關電網現代化計劃和發電過渡計劃的一些常規持續文件的一部分進行了審查。因此，儘管即將到來的監管日曆非常繁忙，但我們仍然覺得我們正在為我們的客戶和股東盡最大努力。

Got it. That's very helpful. And last one, if I could here. With the recent Indiana IRP filing, just wondering how has stakeholder engagement trended into the formal [launch] share? Is there any notable early highlights on this front?

知道了。這非常有幫助。最後一個，如果可以的話。最近印第安納州 IRP 備案，只是想知道利益相關者的參與如何發展為正式的[啟動]份額？這方面有什麼值得注意的早期亮點嗎？

I'm really proud of the team's efforts with respect to engaging our stakeholders up in Southwestern Indiana. I think that there was a lot of good feedback on the depth of the conversations, on the alternatives that were considered. And so I feel like we're putting a plan that has probably the opportunity for the broadest possible support going forward to close that third and final coal facility. Again, I just want to reemphasize, the plan we're putting forward is the least cost option to continue to serve our customers up in Southwestern Indiana with a reliable and cleaner energy supply mix. And I think that will come through as we work our way not only through the IRP, but then ultimately, the filings for each of those projects.

我對團隊在吸引印第安納州西南部的利益相關者參與方面所做的努力感到非常自豪。我認為，對於對話的深度以及所考慮的替代方案，有很多良好的反饋。因此，我覺得我們正在製定一項計劃，該計劃可能有機會獲得盡可能廣泛的支持，以關閉第三個也是最後一個煤炭設施。我想再次強調，我們提出的計劃是繼續為印第安納州西南部的客戶提供可靠和清潔的能源供應組合的最低成本選擇。我認為，當我們不僅通過 IRP，而且最終為每個項目提交文件時，這一點將會實現。

Our next question is from Anthony Crowdell with Mizuho.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞穗銀行的安東尼·克勞德爾。

If I could hit up, Dave, and maybe a follow-up with Chris. Dave, just sort of a tough loss last night against the crosstown rival there, quarter was better than a game. But just, I guess, on Jeremy's question about moving more towards 2023, just the headwinds and tailwinds that you're seeing for just 2023. I mean you're coming in first half of the year at, I guess, like $0.58 leaning above the midpoint of where guidance would be just first half of the year. What are the tailwinds that get to maybe slightly above or just maybe address what of the tailwinds or headwinds for the remainder of '23?

如果我可以聯繫戴夫，也許可以聯繫克里斯。戴夫，昨晚輸給了跨城對手，四分之一比一場比賽要好。但我想，關於傑里米關於向 2023 年邁進的問題，只是您在 2023 年看到的逆風和順風。我的意思是，我想您在今年上半年的價格將達到 0.58 美元以上指導意見的中點將是今年上半年。哪些順風可能會略高於或可能解決 23 年剩餘時間的順風或逆風？

Yes. How about -- let me let Chris answer his first question as a CenterPoint CFO on that one because he's the one who every day has to track the headwinds and the tailwinds. But I would just say as I think a number of us have reiterated, we believe that the tailwinds are greater than the headwinds on us right now. But I'll let Chris tell you why.

是的。怎麼樣——讓我讓克里斯回答他作為 CenterPoint 首席財務官的第一個問題，因為他每天都必須跟踪逆風和順風。但我只想說，正如我們中的許多人所重申的那樣，我們相信目前對我們來說順風大於逆風。但我會讓克里斯告訴你原因。

Yes. Thanks, Dave. And Anthony, thanks for the question. And as you heard me in the prepared remarks, we are beyond the halfway point here. We are beyond halfway through our EPS guidance. And there's a couple of different things I want to point out for you. First is just emphasizing that as you look at the back half of the year, we've got another roughly $220 million in additional revenues from the 2022 distribution investments and our assumption around the mobile generation filing. And so those are either just updated or we anticipate those will be recovered later this year. So those are good tailwinds because really they're just weighted toward the back half of the year. Weather has been more of a mixed bag for us, definitely been trending nicely of late and the impact of the milder winter we had across our jurisdictions in Q1 has been a bit offset from the hotter summer thus far, which has specifically been the case here in Houston.

是的。謝謝，戴夫。安東尼，謝謝你的提問。正如你們在準備好的發言中聽到的那樣，我們已經超出了一半。我們的每股收益指引已經完成一半了。我想向您指出一些不同的事情。首先要強調的是，從今年下半年來看，我們從 2022 年的分銷投資以及我們對移動一代備案的假設中獲得了大約 2.2 億美元的額外收入。因此，這些要么剛剛更新，要么我們預計這些將在今年晚些時候恢復。因此，這些都是很好的推動因素，因為實際上它們只是在今年下半年進行加權。對我們來說，天氣好壞參半，最近的趨勢肯定很好，第一季度我們管轄範圍內的溫和冬季的影響與迄今為止炎熱的夏季有所抵消，這裡的情況尤其如此在休斯頓。

And if Houston remains hot, the weather impacts we're seeing are kind of normalizing some of what we're seeing for the balance of the year. And I should say we're generally conservative when we're incorporating weather impact into our plan in the first place. It's no surprise on the headwind side that they're really interest rate driven. And as you can imagine, we've been actively working those since last year. And so we continue to assume high rates as we go through the remainder of the year. And we're taking active steps you've probably seen to move and improve our position. One of those is the move to fund [CECO] on a stand-alone basis. And there, we were reducing its reliance on roughly $450 million of intercompany debt from the parent, right? So that allows us to take advantage of the relative lower cost of debt, thanks to its higher ratings. So if we collectively put these together, we like where we are at this stage of the year.

如果休斯頓仍然炎熱，我們所看到的天氣影響將使我們今年剩餘時間所看到的一些情況正常化。我應該說，當我們首先將天氣影響納入我們的計劃時，我們通常是保守的。從逆風的角度來看，它們實際上是由利率驅動的，這並不奇怪。正如您可以想像的那樣，自去年以來我們一直在積極開展這些工作。因此，在今年剩餘時間內，我們繼續假設高利率。我們正在採取您可能已經看到的積極措施來移動和改善我們的地位。其中之一是獨立資助 [CECO]。在那裡，我們正在減少其對母公司約 4.5 億美元公司間債務的依賴，對嗎？因此，由於其評級較高，我們可以利用相對較低的債務成本。因此，如果我們將這些放在一起，我們會喜歡今年這個階段的情況。

And then just a follow-up on Slide 9. You kind of addressed it on the prepared remarks on the, I guess, credit ratings. We see a decline from 4Q '22 15.4% to 13.9%. I think maybe that trends back to 14% to 15%. But just what's the thought between the potential for maybe upgrade to Baa1 versus a fatter cushion at a Baa2 rating?

然後是幻燈片 9 的後續內容。我想，您是在有關信用評級的準備好的評論中談到了這個問題。我們看到從 2022 年第四季度的 15.4% 下降到 13.9%。我認為這個趨勢可能會回到 14% 到 15%。但是，升級到 Baa1 評級的潛力與 Baa2 評級的更大緩沖之間有何想法呢？

Sure. So let me just start with the 13.9% that we're talking about this morning is in line with our plan. And so we had consistently anticipated this quarter really was going to be the trough for a couple of reasons. First is on the debt side. We've got an incremental of roughly $1 billion of debt in line, that's directly in line with feeding our capital plans, and we were front-loading funding at the start of the year. Then if you look at the cash flow side, as we previously mentioned, the annual revenue requirement increases of roughly $430 million this year is anticipated. So over $200 million of that is going to become effective from September onwards toward the back end of the year. So if you combine these with higher weather receipts, we see it being additive to the balance of the year's operating cash flows. On the -- I had to you also have to say on the qualitative side, as we're making progress on some of these legislative and then regulatory implementation outcomes, we do see some benefit there over time as we're spending time at the rating agencies.

當然。首先，我們今天早上討論的 13.9% 符合我們的計​​劃。因此，出於幾個原因，我們一直預計本季度確實將是低谷。首先是債務方面。我們已經增加了約 10 億美元的債務，這與我們的資本計劃直接相關，而且我們在年初就進行了前期融資。然後，如果你看一下現金流方面，正如我們之前提到的，預計今年的年收入需求將增加約 4.3 億美元。因此，其中超過 2 億美元將從 9 月開始到今年年底生效。因此，如果將這些與較高的天氣收入結合起來，我們認為它會增加年度運營現金流的餘額。在——我不得不說，在定性方面，隨著我們在一些立法和監管實施成果方面取得進展，隨著時間的推移，我們確實看到了一些好處，因為我們花時間在評級機構。

Our next question is from Shahriar Pourreza with Guggenheim Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自古根海姆合夥人公司的 Shahriar Pourreza。

I guess, Dave, just first off, can you just touch a little bit on what you meant in your prepared remarks, and I'm going to paraphrase a little bit here that you now see opportunities well above the $2.6 billion CapEx that remains outside of the plan. I guess can you define kind of what you mean by well above and the source of the opportunities? So what states are you seeing those? And do you anticipate some of that $400 million increase in '23 to be recurring CapEx in the later years as we're thinking about kind of the run rate?

我想，戴夫，首先，您能簡單談談您在準備好的發言中的意思嗎？我將在這裡解釋一下，您現在看到的機會遠遠高於仍處於外部的 26 億美元資本支出計劃的。我想您能否定義一下上面所說的含義以及機會的來源？那麼您看到的是哪些狀態？當我們考慮運行率時，您是否預計 23 年增加的 4 億美元中的一部分將在以後幾年中成為經常性資本支出？

Yes, good question. Let me have Jason answer that one.

是的，好問題。讓我讓傑森回答這個問題。

Yes. Thanks, Shahriar, for the question. We've indicated since our very first Analyst Day that we think that there are a significant number of capital investments that we can make there in our customers' interest and Dave's expression of capital investments beyond the $2.6 billion that we've kind of identified, but not yet incorporated in the plan, continue to reflect that confidence. It really kind of runs the gamut across our gas and electric business. We'll start first with sort of resiliency.

是的。謝謝沙赫里亞爾提出的問題。自第一個分析師日以來，我們就表示，我們認為，為了客戶的利益，我們可以進行大量的資本投資，戴夫表達的資本投資超出了我們已經確定的 26 億美元，但尚未納入計劃，繼續體現這種信心。它確實貫穿了我們的天然氣和電力業務。我們首先要從某種彈性開始。

We incorporated a significant uplift around particularly enhancing grid resiliency here in Houston Electric last year. But I think that there's a potential for more to be done there. I think when we look at the electric transmission side, I think -- here in the state of Texas, I think all stakeholders will support the fact that there is more transmission needed to help alleviate congestion and help support the continued economic growth of the Greater Houston area. So there's a potential for electric transmission upside. I think there are also opportunities on the gas side, particularly kind of given the continued growth of our gas systems, potentially incremental gas transmission-related projects as we kind of enhance capacity to serve kind of our growing market. So those are just a handful of the opportunities.

去年，我們在休斯頓電力公司的電網彈性方面進行了重大提升。但我認為這方面還有潛力可以做更多的事情。我認為，當我們考慮電力傳輸方面時，我認為在德克薩斯州，我認為所有利益相關者都會支持這樣一個事實，即需要更多的傳輸來幫助緩解擁堵並幫助支持大區的持續經濟增長休斯頓地區。因此，電力傳輸有潛力。我認為天然氣方面也存在機會，特別是考慮到我們的天然氣系統的持續增長，潛在增量天然氣傳輸相關項目，因為我們增強了服務於不斷增長的市場的能力。所以這些只是其中的一小部分機會。

I think for us, there is an abundance of opportunities in CapEx. Our focus will continue to be, as we've emphasized, evaluating whether or not we can efficiently execute it for our customers. We can efficiently finance it for our shareholders and that we can efficiently recover it in rates. And I think we, as a management team, earned a track record of floating capital into the plan as soon as we see line of sight on all 3 of those dimensions. Case in point today, we're increasing our annual guidance here for 2023 by 11%. As it relates to what $400 million increase we do going forward, I do think it puts us in a position to more consistently execute at this higher level of capital moving forward. We're just continuing to evaluate our ability to finance it efficiently and recover it timely particularly given the fact that we're entering a pretty heavy rate case period, where during that time frame, we don't have access to some of these capital trackers that we've been discussing.

我認為對我們來說，資本支出有很多機會。正如我們所強調的，我們的重點將繼續是評估我們是否能夠為客戶有效地執行它。我們可以有效地為我們的股東融資，並且我們可以有效地以利率收回它。我認為，作為一個管理團隊，一旦我們看到了所有這三個維度的視線，我們就獲得了將流動資金納入該計劃的記錄。以今天為例，我們將 2023 年的年度指導提高了 11%。由於它與我們未來增加的 4 億美元有關，我確實認為這使我們能夠在未來更高的資本水平上更加一致地執行。我們只是繼續評估我們有效融資並及時收回資金的能力，特別是考慮到我們正進入一個利率相當高的時期，在此期間，我們無法獲得其中一些資本我們一直在討論的追踪器。

So Jason, lastly, and you bring up a good point of beginning a lot of questions this morning on the efficient financing angle of it, right? And obviously, you guys still mentioned no equity and plan. You guys are kind of at the lower end of that target range as we're thinking about credit metrics. I guess what do you mean by efficient financing? Is there any kind of balance sheet repair embedded in the current plan, internal or external? And what does sort of incremental regulated asset sales kind of fit in the mix there?

最後，賈森，你提出了一個很好的觀點，今天早上開始就高效融資的角度提出很多問題，對嗎？顯然，你們仍然提到沒有股權和計劃。當我們考慮信用指標時，你們有點處於目標範圍的下限。我猜你所說的高效融資是什麼意思？當前計劃中是否包含任何類型的資產負債表修復，無論是內部還是外部？增量受監管資產銷售在其中適合什麼？

Yes. Let me just be very direct. There's no balance sheet repair on the plan. I do think that this focus kind of on our set of credit metrics is -- I don't know. I'll say respectfully a bit displaced. I would rather continue to maintain a healthy cushion between our actual metrics and our downgrade threshold. That remains our commitment, targeting as we've previously discussed around 150 basis points. Some of peer companies that are often cited for having better credit metrics while they may have a higher targeted set of credit metrics, they also have a higher downgrade threshold, and so they have less cushion. What we're focused on is retaining this healthy cushion between where we're running the company and our downgrade threshold.

是的。讓我非常直接地說。該計劃沒有資產負債表修復。我確實認為這種對我們的信用指標集的關注是——我不知道。我會恭敬地說有點流離失所。我寧願繼續在我們的實際指標和降級閾值之間保持健康的緩衝。這仍然是我們的承諾，我們之前討論過的目標是 150 個基點左右。一些經常被認為擁有更好信用指標的同行公司，雖然它們可能擁有更高的目標信用指標，但它們的降級門檻也更高，因此它們的緩衝能力較小。我們的重點是在我們經營公司的位置和降級閾值之間保持這種健康的緩衝。

So our focus has been on delevering this year. Chris highlighted a number of different opportunities where we've also termed out variable rate debt as we're in a period of transition this year with a number of strategic transactions. We'll continue to look at opportunities to do that. And again, I just want to emphasize what Chris said about our credit metrics at the end of the second quarter. The end of the second quarter is the period of time just the way our capital recovery mechanisms work. We have sort of the tightest set of credit metrics. Our -- the revenues we get from our capital trackers are definitely back-end loaded. And so you will undoubtedly see an improvement in those metrics as we start to collect on the capital that we deployed in 2022 here in the back half of 2023.

因此，我們今年的重點是去槓桿化。克里斯強調了許多不同的機會，我們也將其稱為可變利率債務，因為我們今年正處於轉型期，進行了許多戰略交易。我們將繼續尋找機會來做到這一點。再次，我想強調克里斯在第二季度末所說的關於我們的信用指標的內容。第二季度末正是我們的資本回收機制發揮作用的時期。我們有一套最嚴格的信用指標。我們從資本追踪器獲得的收入肯定是後端加載的。因此，當我們在 2023 年下半年開始收集 2022 年部署的資本時，您無疑會看到這些指標的改善。

Okay. Perfect. Appreciate it. Mr. Foster, congrats on your first CenterPoint earnings call.

好的。完美的。欣賞它。福斯特先生，祝賀您召開第一次 CenterPoint 財報電話會議。

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

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

So I just wanted to follow up here on the last set of questions, including Shahriar's. Just talking about the -- if you want to call it the new norm here. I wanted to clarify a little bit. As you think about this elevated level of spending, more likely post the next rate case, right, given the recovery dynamics in '24. I just want to clarify, in setting expectations following the last comments, and then to that end, how do you think about the associated financing considerations or opportunities in '25 post this rate case? If you could address that a little bit. How do you think about balancing both sides of that equation here into '25? I got a follow-up.

所以我只想跟進最後一組問題，包括 Shahriar 的問題。只是談論——如果你想稱之為新規範的話。我想澄清一下。當你考慮這種高支出水平時，考慮到 24 年的複蘇動態，更有可能發布下一個利率案例，對吧。我只是想澄清一下，在根據最後的評論設定預期時，為此，您如何看待 25 年此利率案例後的相關融資考慮因素或機會？如果你能稍微解決一下這個問題的話。您如何看待在 25 世紀平衡等式兩邊的問題？我得到了跟進。

Yes, that's a great question for Chris to answer.

是的，這是克里斯需要回答的一個很好的問題。

Sure, Julien. You're right in terms of the thinking about the rate case time frame. If you just step back and look at the kind of last case among the ones that Jason referenced earlier would be the Houston Electric case. So we'd be filing that anticipating Q1 of 2024, anticipate somewhere around a year to get it resolved. So that timing would put us somewhere in kind of Q1 of 2025 where we'd be on the other side of really the critical math of all these cases that are in front of us. And so that put us probably at that stage to be in a position to give everybody a more robust update with respect to really the plan through 2030 and with the potential for extending earnings guidance targets really beyond that as we'll have greater visibility at that stage.

當然，朱利安。您對費率案例時間範圍的思考是正確的。如果你退一步看一下傑森之前提到的最後一個案例，那就是休斯頓電力公司案例。因此，我們預計將在 2024 年第一季度提交該文件，預計大約需要一年的時間才能解決該問題。因此，這個時間點將使我們在 2025 年第一季度的某個時間點，我們將處於我們面前的所有這些案例的真正關鍵數學的另一邊。因此，在這個階段，我們可能能夠為每個人提供有關到 2030 年的計劃的更強有力的更新，並且有可能將盈利指導目標真正超出這一目標，因為我們將對此有更大的了解階段。

In terms of financing, I have to say, I mean, Jason mentioned our emphasis really on maintaining the cushion as it relates to FFO to debt. You should also just keep in mind that we're consistently looking at really the debt stack that we have present state and efficiently financing that. But also, we are also evaluating opportunities like the DOE loan program as well, right, at this stage, looking to pull in other opportunities to create financing that is actually cheaper for our customers. So a lot of opportunity there in front of us.

在融資方面，我不得不說，Jason 提到我們真正的重點是維持緩衝，因為它與 FFO 和債務有關。您還應該記住，我們一直在關注我們目前的債務堆棧並有效地為其提供融資。而且，我們也在評估像美國能源部貸款計劃這樣的機會，對吧，在這個階段，希望利用其他機會來創造對我們的客戶來說實際上更便宜的融資。所以我們面前有很多機會。

Excellent. And then coming back to this resiliency filing, I mean it would seem like a lot of your capital that is nongrowth would potentially be eligible for this resiliency filing. Can you talk a little bit about the extent of that eligibility here as you think about it? And also how that resiliency filing could filter into, a, your -- any potential further CapEx revisions and b, into the rate case itself? I know they might be somewhat in parallel here, if you will.

出色的。然後回到這個彈性申請，我的意思是，您的很多非增長資本似乎都有資格申請這個彈性申請。您能談談您認為的資格範圍嗎？還有，彈性備案如何滲透到a、您的任何潛在的進一步資本支出修訂和b、利率案例本身？如果你願意的話，我知道它們在這裡可能有些並行。

Yes. Thanks for the question, Julien. Ultimately, this is going to be defined by the rule making proceeding that's kind of in front of the commission now. Those rules should be established by the end of '23 and then ultimately, our filing, but let me just kind of try to put some high-level thoughts around this. I think clearly, some of the investments related to hardening our grid, right, potential undergrounding and distribution lines, shorter spans, composite [poles], et cetera. That all fits sort of squarely in the definition of resiliency.

是的。謝謝你的提問，朱利安。最終，這將由委員會目前正在審理的規則制定程序來定義。這些規則應該在 23 年底之前製定，然後最終是我們的備案，但讓我嘗試對此提出一些高層想法。我清楚地認為，一些投資與加固我們的電網、潛在的地下和配電線路、較短的跨度、複合桿等有關。這一切都完全符合彈性的定義。

I think there's also clearly work that can be incorporated through bench management. I think what we need to work with the commission on is maybe some other aspects, including kind of IT-related spending to help from an analytical standpoint and/or reduce concern around kind of IT, kind of resource availability for weather-related events. And so I think conservatively, you could probably say there's at least $500 million to $1 billion a year of capital at CE that could qualify for that resiliency definition. Ultimately, again, it's going to be shaped by the rule making proceeding in our filing, but probably somewhere in that ZIP code.

我認為顯然還有一些工作可以通過替補管理來納入。我認為我們需要與委員會合作的可能是其他一些方面，包括與 IT 相關的支出，以從分析的角度提供幫助和/或減少對 IT 類型、天氣相關事件的資源可用性的擔憂。因此，我保守地認為，您可能會說 CE 每年至少有 5 億至 10 億美元的資本符合彈性定義。最終，它再次將由我們提交的文件中的規則制定程序決定，但可能在該郵政編碼的某個地方。

I think what's important -- I think you highlighted it, Julien, the way the mechanisms work here in Texas, the company is eligible for recovering or effectively keeping the growth and revenues associated with customer account increases. And so about half of our capital at CE relates to connecting new customers. So if you think about that supports a higher level of revenues, there's really very limited regulatory lag on that growth-related capital. Where we've historically seen our regulatory lag is on our resiliency-related investments having to kind of wait for the capital trackers to come in.

我認為重要的是 - 我認為你強調了這一點，朱利安，德克薩斯州機制的運作方式，公司有資格恢復或有效保持與客戶帳戶增加相關的增長和收入。因此，我們在 CE 的資本大約有一半用於連接新客戶。因此，如果你考慮到這支持了更高水平的收入，那麼與增長相關的資本的監管滯後確實非常有限。從歷史上看，我們的監管滯後在於我們與彈性相關的投資必須等待資本追踪機構的介入。

By being able to defer the carrying costs of those investments, depreciation, interest, et cetera, between a time we put that capital into service and before we start to recover in rates, we're all but effectively beginning to eliminate regulatory lag at CE. And so I just want to underscore just how important this bill was to continuing to improve our ability to earn at our allowed return at Houston Electric. And so hopefully, that kind of starts to begin to shape a little bit of that resiliency filing, but more to come as the [PECT] works through the rule making and we ultimately file first quarter next year.

通過能夠推遲這些投資的持有成本、折舊、利息等，在我們將資本投入使用的時間和我們開始恢復利率之前之間，我們幾乎有效地開始消除CE的監管滯後。因此，我只是想強調這項法案對於繼續提高我們在休斯頓電力允許的回報下賺取收入的能力有多麼重要。因此，希望這種方式開始開始形成一點彈性歸檔，但隨著 [PECT] 完成規則制定，我們最終會在明年第一季度提交更多文件。

Our next question is from David Arcaro with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的大衛·阿卡羅。

Let's see, we've seen some indications of gas utilities on the market in terms of M&A potential. I was just wondering your latest thoughts on the mix of businesses, balance sheet and how they could weave into funding needs over time?

讓我們看看，我們已經看到了市場上天然氣公用事業公司在併購潛力方面的一些跡象。我只是想知道您對業務組合、資產負債表以及它們如何隨著時間的推移融入融資需求的最新想法？

Yes. Thanks, David, for the question. We love our business mix. We strategically as part of kind of the reset several years ago that we have a slight bias towards sort of the growth in the electric business here in Houston. But our split of roughly, call it, 60% electric, 40% gas is I think a very good split. That being said, as it kind of gets back to sort of your broader question, as we've indicated on previous responses to questions here, we don't have a need for equity to fund our plan. We don't have a need for asset sales. We continue to receive a significant amount of inbound interest on all of our assets. Obviously, there's a number of processes sort of underway across the country. I think it continues to reflect that there's a high demand for at least high-quality utility-related assets. So we don't have any need to sell any assets. We're happy with our profile, but we'll always continue to have an eye towards optimizing our plan for the benefit of our customers and our shareholders.

是的。謝謝大衛提出這個問題。我們喜歡我們的業務組合。作為幾年前戰略重置的一部分，我們對休斯頓電力業務的增長略有偏見。但我認為我們粗略地劃分為 60% 電力、40% 天然氣，這是一個非常好的劃分。話雖這麼說，因為這又回到了更廣泛的問題，正如我們在之前對問題的回答中所指出的那樣，我們不需要股權來為我們的計劃提供資金。我們不需要出售資產。我們的所有資產繼續收到大量入境利息。顯然，全國各地正在進行一些進程。我認為這繼續反映出人們對至少高質量公用事業相關資產的需求很高。所以我們沒有必要出售任何資產。我們對我們的形象感到滿意，但我們將始終關注優化我們的計劃，以造福我們的客戶和股東。

Yes. I guess -- this is Dave. I guess the way I think about it, I think you should think about it is we are in such a great position right now with the assets we have. We can just sit back and play offense. We don't have to play defense at this point in time, which really gives us an opportunity to be very opportunistic with our business as we go forward. So I think that, for me, is the bottom line as we really have preserved almost all our optionality on any direction we want to go. And as Jason said, the inbound inquiries we get on essentially every piece of our business continue to be there every day. So we really like where we are, but we really don't have to do anything other than execute, I think, which is the greatest plan that's out there in the utility space.

是的。我猜——這是戴夫。我想我的想法是，我認為你應該考慮一下，我們現在擁有的資產處於如此有利的位置。我們可以坐下來進攻。我們此時不必採取防禦措施，這確實為我們提供了在前進過程中對業務進行機會主義的機會。所以我認為，對我來說，這是底線，因為我們確實在我們想要走的任何方向上保留了幾乎所有的選擇權。正如傑森所說，我們基本上每天都會收到有關我們業務各個部分的入站查詢。所以我們真的很喜歡我們現在的位置，但我認為，除了執行之外，我們真的不需要做任何事情，這是公用事業領域最偉大的計劃。

Okay. That's helpful. And then I was wondering if you could just give thoughts on the Indiana Electric rate case coming up later this year, in terms of that filing. I was just wondering if you'd expect there to be big items or revenue requirement specifics? Or would this be a fairly standard kind of growth-driven rate case that you'd expect to file?

好的。這很有幫助。然後我想知道您是否可以根據該文件對今年晚些時候即將提出的印第安納電力費率案發表看法。我只是想知道您是否期望有大項目或收入要求細節？或者，這是否是您希望提交的一種相當標準的增長驅動型案件？

Yes. Thanks, David. I appreciate the question. I mean I think largely it will be a rate case where we have signaled and actually previewed with the commission of stakeholders, many of the elements. I think there are a number of constructive mechanisms out in Indiana. For instance, our grade related investments in our transmission and distribution system. We make a separate filing in advance. We then execute upon it and report. And so this will be sort of a true-up of the execution of a plan that we've already filed and reviewed several times with the commission. Similarly on the generation transition plan, not only have we filed an IRP, but then we filed for the individual project approvals. So much of the kind of element of that case will already be reviewed between the -- with all the key stakeholders. That being said, rates continue to be a focus in Southwestern Indiana. And I would anticipate that will be part of the conversation there as we file the case.

是的。謝謝，大衛。我很欣賞這個問題。我的意思是，我認為這很大程度上將是一個費率案例，我們已經向利益相關者的委員會發出信號並實際預覽了許多要素。我認為印第安納州有許多建設性的機制。例如，我們對輸配電系統的等級相關投資。我們提前單獨備案。然後我們執行它並報告。因此，這將是我們已經向委員會提交並多次審查的計劃的執行情況。同樣，在發電過渡計劃上，我們不僅提交了 IRP，而且還提交了各個項目的批准。該案例的大部分內容都已經在所有關鍵利益相關者之間進行了審查。話雖如此，利率仍然是印第安納州西南部的焦點。我預計這將成為我們立案時討論的一部分。

Operator, given the proximity to the end of the hour, I think we have time for one more.

接線員，考慮到一小時即將結束，我想我們還有時間再聊一次。

Our last question comes from Durgesh Chopra with Evercore ISI.

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

Just one question for me. You obviously have a lot of good markets here. You mentioned no equity for the plan, $43 billion. You mentioned that you may need some equity as we go beyond that. Just any sort of color you can provide on timing. Historically, like Q3 last year, you provided a big CapEx update. Just any color on timing when we could see the big CapEx update and potentially a new financing plan? Is it after you go through the rate cases? Any color would be appreciated there.

只是問我一個問題。顯然這裡有很多好的市場。您提到該計劃沒有股本，430 億美元。您提到，當我們超越這個範圍時，您可能需要一些股權。您可以按時間提供任何類型的顏色。從歷史上看，就像去年第三季度一樣，您提供了重大的資本支出更新。我們何時可以看到重大資本支出更新和可能的新融資計劃，有什麼顏色嗎？是在你看完費率案例之後嗎？任何顏色都會受到讚賞。

Durgesh, thanks for the question. In short, yes, we've got a really important set of cases that are right here in front of us. Jason mentioned how well we're positioned going into them given the affordability profile for our customers. But that really is going to be where the short-term emphasis is. So I really would kind of direct you towards the back end that I referenced, where we're going to be in a really good position at that stage with the clarity provided through all those cases to be able to revisit some of those targets and give you a better feel for how we'll finance them. But I have to say, as you heard this morning, it's really -- we're going to consistently look at this as we go, right? As we find opportunities to efficiently execute to fund them and recover the revenues, we're going to consistently see if there's opportunity to pull in some of the capital as referenced earlier. So hopefully, that helps give you some color.

德吉什，謝謝你的提問。簡而言之，是的，我們面前有一組非常重要的案例。賈森提到，考慮到我們客戶的承受能力，我們在進入這些領域的定位非常好。但這確實是短期重點所在。因此，我真的會引導您走向我提到的後端，我們將在該階段處於非常有利的位置，通過所有這些案例提供清晰的信息，以便能夠重新審視其中一些目標並給出您可以更好地了解我們將如何為他們提供資金。但我不得不說，正如你們今天早上聽到的那樣，我們確實會一直關注這個問題，對嗎？當我們找到有效執行資金並收回收入的機會時，我們將不斷地看看是否有機會吸引前面提到的一些資本。希望這能給你一些幫助。

It does. And congrats on your first CenterPoint earnings call.

確實如此。並祝賀您召開第一次 CenterPoint 財報電話會議。

Great. Operator, with that, I think that's going to conclude our call here for the second quarter of 2023. Thanks, everyone, for dialing in.

偉大的。接線員，我想我們 2023 年第二季度的電話會議就到此結束。感謝大家撥通電話。

This concludes CenterPoint Energy's Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Thank you for participating.

CenterPoint Energy 第二季度收益電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。