CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to CenterPoint Energy's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call with Senior Management.

早安，歡迎參加 CenterPoint Energy 與高階管理層舉行的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

I will now turn the call over to Jackie Richert, Vice President of Corporate Planning, Investor Relations and Treasurer. Ms. Richert, please go ahead.

我現在會把電話轉給企業規劃、投資者關係副總裁兼財務長 Jackie Richert。裡徹特女士，請繼續。

Good morning, and welcome to CenterPoint's Third Quarter 2023 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.

早上好，歡迎參加 CenterPoint 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。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資訊的預測和其他前瞻性資訊和聲明。

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.

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 文件和我們的收益資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.

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。在提供指引時，我們使用非 GAAP 每股盈餘衡量標準（合併基礎上的稀釋調整每股盈餘），稱為非 GAAP 每股盈餘。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資訊。此通話正在錄音。有關如何存取重播的資訊可以在我們的網站上找到。

Now I'd like to turn it over to Dave.

現在我想把它交給戴夫。

Thank you, Jackie, and good morning, everyone. Before we review our third quarter results, I'd like to touch on the leadership transition announcement we made earlier today.

謝謝你，傑基，大家早安。在我們回顧第三季業績之前，我想談談我們今天早些時候發布的領導層換屆公告。

As you've seen, effective January 5, 2024, Jason Wells will succeed me as CEO and a member of the Board. It has been a great personal and professional experience to work alongside him and our very talented executive team. I am incredibly proud of all that we have accomplished together in the past 3.5 years, as we worked hard to position the company to achieve the premium market valuation we have today.

如您所見，Jason Wells 將接替我擔任執行長和董事會成員，自 2024 年 1 月 5 日起生效。與他和我們非常有才華的管理團隊一起工作是一次很棒的個人和專業經驗。我對我們在過去 3.5 年共同取得的成就感到無比自豪，因為我們努力使公司定位，以實現今天的溢價市場估值。

We could not have done it without the support and buy-in of our management team and all of our great employees. I have full confidence that Jason is the right person to take the helm. And given how far we've come, now is the right time to advance this transition.

如果沒有我們的管理團隊和所有優秀員工的支持和支持，我們不可能做到這一點。我完全相信傑森是掌舵的合適人選。考慮到我們已經取得的進展，現在是推動這項轉變的最佳時機。

As our very strong third quarter results demonstrate, we have great momentum and a solid foundation in place.

正如我們非常強勁的第三季業績所表明的那樣，我們擁有強勁的勢頭和堅實的基礎。

Making this change at the beginning of 2024 allows Jason and the team to hit the ground running. And as you will hear shortly, this move has no impact on our financial plans, capital growth plans nor impacts the great opportunities ahead for CenterPoint.

在 2024 年初進行這項更改可以讓 Jason 和團隊立即開始行動。正如您很快就會聽到的那樣，此舉不會影響我們的財務計劃、資本增長計劃，也不會影響 CenterPoint 未來的巨大機會。

I have no doubt about CenterPoint's ability to continue to outperform. I'm looking forward to working closely with Jason and the rest of the management team to support a seamless transition.

我對 CenterPoint 繼續跑贏大盤的能力毫不懷疑。我期待與 Jason 和管理團隊的其他成員密切合作，以支持無縫過渡。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Jason for a few comments.

這樣，我會將電話轉給 Jason 以徵求一些意見。

Thank you, Dave. I am honored and excited for the opportunity to lead and serve CenterPoint and all of its stakeholders into this next chapter. For my first day at the company, I've worked with Dave and our Board of Directors to reshape and launch our utility-focused strategy. I've also been fortunate to have worked alongside Dave in our pursuit of a track record of consistent execution to unlock value.

謝謝你，戴夫。我很榮幸也很興奮有機會領導和服務 CenterPoint 及其所有利害關係人進入下一個篇章。在公司的第一天，我與戴夫和我們的董事會合作，重塑並啟動了我們以公用事業為中心的策略。我也很幸運能夠與戴夫一起工作，追求一致執行的記錄，以釋放價值。

I appreciate the Board's confidence in me, and I'm thrilled with the opportunity to work alongside this talented team we have here at CenterPoint to continue enhancing and executing on one of the most tangible long-term growth plans in the industry.

我感謝董事會對我的信任，我很高興有機會與 CenterPoint 的這個才華橫溢的團隊一起工作，繼續加強和執行業內最切實的長期成長計劃之一。

I am confident that with our team who puts our customers at the heart of all we do, the opportunities ahead are boundless. I look forward to spending the next few months continuing to engage with our stakeholders and sharing my vision for the company's great future as we continue to be laser-focused on providing outstanding service to our customers and communities, and executing consistently to deliver enhanced stakeholder value.

我相信，我們的團隊將客戶置於一切工作的核心，未來的機會是無限的。我期待在接下來的幾個月裡繼續與我們的利益相關者互動，分享我對公司美好未來的願景，因為我們將繼續專注於為我們的客戶和社區提供卓越的服務，並持續執行以提供更高的利害關係人價值。

Now before I turn it back over to Dave to kick off the discussion of our strong third quarter results, I want to personally thank him for his tireless leadership, mentorship and friendship. He is a force for change and I look forward to building off the momentum he has created.

現在，在我將其轉回戴夫開始討論我們強勁的第三季業績之前，我想親自感謝他的不懈領導、指導和友誼。他是一股改變的力量，我期待著繼續發揚他所創造的動能。

Thanks, Jason. Now let's turn to what was a great quarter. I'm excited to announce that despite the continued headwinds the industry faces, our Q3 2023 represents our 14th consecutive quarter of meeting or exceeding expectations here at CenterPoint.

謝謝，傑森。現在讓我們來看看什麼是一個偉大的季度。我很高興地宣布，儘管行業面臨持續的阻力，2023 年第三季代表我們 CenterPoint 連續 14 個季度達到或超出預期。

And as you probably saw from the results published this morning, this quarter can squarely be put in the -- not only meets, but exceeds column. And as I did last quarter, I will share the quarter's headlines.

正如您可能從今天早上發布的結果中看到的那樣，本季度完全可以放入“不僅達到，而且超過”欄。正如我上個季度所做的那樣，我將分享本季的頭條新聞。

Headline 1, strong financial results, even with ongoing macro headwinds. Despite the persistent inflation across the economy and increasing interest rate headwinds, we were able to deliver $0.40 of non-GAAP EPS in the third quarter of 2023. This represents a 25% increase over the comparable quarter of 2022.

標題 1，儘管宏觀經濟逆風持續，但財務表現依然強勁。儘管整個經濟持續通膨且利率阻力不斷加大，我們仍能夠在 2023 年第三季實現 0.40 美元的非 GAAP 每股盈餘。這比 2022 年同期成長了 25%。

Headline 2, strong Q3 results give us visibility and confidence to increase full year 2023 non-GAAP EPS guidance range from $1.48 to $1.50, to $1.49 to $1.51 per share. At the new and higher midpoint, this projected increase would represent a 9% growth over 2022. This would also be our third consecutive year of 9% growth, and our third consecutive year with a compounding beat and raise, reflecting our ongoing strong execution.

標題 2，強勁的第三季業績使我們有可見性和信心，將 2023 年全年非 GAAP 每股收益指引範圍從 1.48 美元至 1.50 美元提高到 1.49 美元至 1.51 美元。按照新的較高中點，這一預計增長將比2022 年增長9%。這也將是我們連續第三年實現9% 的增長，也是我們連續第三年實現複合增長和增長，反映出我們持續強勁的執行力。

In addition, we yet again increased our dividend this quarter from $0.19 to $0.20, which represents a 10% increase over the last 12 months, one of the highest increases in the sector. These are just outstanding results.

此外，本季我們再次將股息從 0.19 美元增加至 0.20 美元，較過去 12 個月增加了 10%，是該行業增幅最高的之一。這些只是出色的結果。

Headline 3, initiating 2024 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $1.61 to $1.63 per share. Our new 2024 non-GAAP EPS guidance range represents an 8% growth over the midpoint of our new and now higher 2023 guidance range of $1.49 to $1.51. This continues to reflect the compounding effects of our 3 years of expected beat and raise results, and is due to excellent execution over the past several years.

標題 3，啟動 2024 年非 GAAP 每股盈餘指引 1.61 至 1.63 美元。我們新的 2024 年非 GAAP 每股收益指引範圍比我們新的且現已更高的 2023 年指導範圍 1.49 美元至 1.51 美元的中點增長了 8%。這繼續反映了我們 3 年預期擊敗和提高結果的複合效應，並歸功於過去幾年的出色執行。

As we've said previously, we continue to target year-over-year growth to deliver value to our customers and investors each and every year.

正如我們之前所說，我們繼續以同比增長為目標，每年為我們的客戶和投資者創造價值。

We are also demonstrating that we continue to have upside to our previously stated annual growth targets.

我們也表明，我們繼續實現先前設定的年度成長目標。

Headline 4, another upward revision to our capital plan. We continue to be prudent and formally incorporating incremental capital into our plan. We will not deviate from our practice of only adding in incremental investments when we believe we can operationally execute them, efficiently fund them and effectively recover them.

標題4，我們的資本計畫再次上調。我們繼續保持謹慎態度，正式將增量資本納入我們的計劃。當我們相信我們可以有效地執行增量投資、有效地為其提供資金並有效地回收它們時，我們不會偏離只增加增量投資的做法。

I am delighted to say today that we now have line of sight to increase our capital plan by an additional $500 million. This brings our total 10-year capital plan due 2030 to nearly $44 billion, supporting a 10% rate base CAGR throughout that same period. Better yet, this amount also includes an increase to our 2023 plan from $4 billion to $4.2 billion. This represents a nearly 17% increase since our beginning of the year target of $3.6 billion. The remaining incremental $300 million will be deployed in 2024 and 2025.

今天我很高興地說，我們現在計劃將資本計畫額外增加 5 億美元。這使得我們 2030 年到期的 10 年期資本計畫總額達到近 440 億美元，支援同期 10% 的複合年增長率。更好的是，這筆金額還包括將我們的 2023 年計畫從 40 億美元增加到 42 億美元。這比我們年初設定的 36 億美元目標成長了近 17%。剩餘的 3 億美元增量將在 2024 年和 2025 年部署。

These additional capital investments will continue to support safety, reliability and resiliency for the benefit of customers, while balancing the impact on their bills. Chris will discuss the funding of this incremental capital a little later in his remarks.

這些額外的資本投資將繼續支持安全性、可靠性和彈性，以造福客戶，同時平衡對其帳單的影響。克里斯稍後將在演講中討論這筆增量資本的融資情況。

Headline 5, O&M discipline continues to help results and benefit customers. We continue on a path of reducing O&M costs by 1% to 2% per year on average over our current 10-year plan. We have successfully been able to reduce overall O&M on an annual basis even in years when we have pulled forward O&M. This benefits all of our stakeholders. This year's strong results will allow us to pull approximately $0.03 of O&M into '23 from 2024.

標題 5，維運紀律繼續幫助取得成果並讓客戶受益。在目前的 10 年計畫中，我們繼續致力於每年平均降低維運成本 1% 至 2%。即使在我們推進運維的年份裡，我們也成功地每年減少了總體運維。這有利於我們所有的利害關係人。今年的強勁業績將使我們能夠從 2024 年開始在 23 年投入約 0.03 美元的營運和維護費用。

Now over time, we've discussed a lot of pluses, minuses and pull-forwards to our O&M in our earnings calls over the past 3 years. And sometimes it's easy to get lost in the weeds on our great progress, and we do see it in O&M. In fact, that happens to me at times. But here is the bottom line that you should focus on. Even with higher inflation, we are now on track to have reduced total controllable O&M from $1.46 billion to $1.28 billion since the beginning of 2021, a reduction of over 12%.

隨著時間的推移，我們在過去三年的財報電話會議上討論了許多營運和維護的優點、缺點和前瞻。有時我們很容易迷失在我們巨大進步的雜草中，我們確實在運維中看到了這一點。事實上，這種情況有時會發生在我身上。但這是您應該關注的底線。即使通膨較高，自 2021 年初以來，我們仍有望將可控營運和維護總額從 14.6 億美元減少到 12.8 億美元，減少超過 12%。

Headline 6. Our 4 upcoming rate case filings remain on track with a slight modification to the timing of our Houston Electric rate case. With the support of key stakeholders, we are requesting a shift to the timing of our CEHE rate case. With PUCT approval, we will seek to file a couple of months later to allow the use of a calendar year test year which should simplify the filing for all parties. Jason will get into that in a few minutes.

標題 6. 我們即將提交的 4 份費率案件文件仍在按計劃進行，但休斯頓電力費率案件的時間安排略有修改。在主要利害關係人的支持下，我們請求改變 CEHE 費率案的時間表。在獲得 PUCT 批准後，我們將尋求在幾個月後提交文件，以允許使用日曆年測試年，這將簡化各方的提交工作。傑森將在幾分鐘內進行討論。

Headline 7, Houston growth continues at a blistering pace. The Houston area has seen a nearly 15% increase in housing starts through the first 3 quarters of 2023. This activity continues to support our annual 1% to 2% organic customer growth that benefits customer charges. In fact, 10 years ago, our average monthly customer charges were approximately $49. Today, even after historic inflation, our monthly charge is still that same $49. This is a testament to benefits of the decades-long 2% organic customer growth here in the Houston area.

頭條新聞 7：休士頓的經濟繼續以驚人的速度成長。到 2023 年前 3 季度，休士頓地區的新屋開工量增加了近 15%。這項活動繼續支持我們每年 1% 至 2% 的有機客戶成長，從而有利於客戶收費。事實上，10 年前，我們的平均每月客戶費用約為 49 美元。如今，即使經歷了歷史性的通貨膨脹，我們的每月費用仍然是 49 美元。這證明了休士頓地區數十年來 2% 的有機客戶成長所帶來的好處。

Headline 8, still 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, our goal is to keep Houston Electric customer charge increases at or below the 2% historical level of inflation over the longer term.

標題 8，仍將休士頓電力公司的客戶收費目標定為或低於 2% 的歷史通膨率。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士頓電力公司的客戶費用增幅保持在或低於 2% 的歷史通膨水準。

In summary, balancing the economic headwinds such as higher interest rates and inflationary pressures, with the tailwinds of unseasonably warm weather, especially in our Houston service territory, we continue to deliver for both our customers and investors.

總而言之，在平衡利率上升和通膨壓力等經濟逆風與異常溫暖天氣的順風（尤其是在我們的休士頓服務區域）的同時，我們繼續為客戶和投資者提供服務。

The third quarter of 2023 highlights this management team's commitment and ability to execute even through adverse macro conditions. We continue to believe that we have one of the most tangible, long-term growth plans in the industry. And we believe we have the right team in place to extend our track record of execution.

2023 年第三季凸顯了該管理團隊即使在不利的宏觀條件下的承諾和執行能力。我們仍然相信，我們擁有業內最切實、最長期的成長計劃之一。我們相信我們擁有合適的團隊來擴展我們的執行記錄。

Before I hand it over to Jason and Chris, I want to express my sincere appreciation to all employees here at CenterPoint that endured extreme weather conditions this summer to keep the power on for our customers when it mattered most.

在將其交給 Jason 和 Chris 之前，我想向 CenterPoint 的所有員工表示衷心的感謝，他們在今年夏天忍受了極端天氣條件，在最重要的時候為我們的客戶保持電力供應。

Now let me turn the call over to Jason.

現在讓我把電話轉給傑森。

Thank you, Dave. Before I get into my updates for the quarter, I also want to extend my gratitude to all of our employees who work through the challenging weather and economic conditions this summer to provide exceptional service to our customers.

謝謝你，戴夫。在介紹本季的最新情況之前，我還要向今年夏天在充滿挑戰的天氣和經濟條件下工作的所有員工表示感謝，為我們的客戶提供卓越的服務。

Now looking at the regulatory calendar on Slide 5. I want to provide an update regarding the timing of our 4 upcoming rate case filings, beginning with the first 1 of 2 that will be filed next week. That is our Texas gas rate case. For the benefit of our customers, and to reduce administrative burden on all of our stakeholders, for the first time, we will be combining our 4 Texas gas jurisdictions into a single rate case filing.

現在查看幻燈片 5 上的監管日曆。我想提供有關我們即將提交的 4 份費率案件備案時間的最新信息，從下週提交的 2 份案件中的第 1 份開始。這就是我們德克薩斯州的天然氣費率案例。為了我們客戶的利益，並減輕所有利害關係人的行政負擔，我們將首次將德州的 4 個天然氣管轄區合併為單一費率案件備案。

We expect that this combined filing will result in reduced monthly bills for certain customers, specifically to those in our smaller, rural Texas gas areas of our service territory as well as our large commercial and industrial users. Those residential customers in more urban areas are anticipated to see a moderate overall monthly bill increase.

我們預計，合併備案將減少某些客戶的每月帳單，特別是我們服務範圍內較小的德州農村天然氣地區以及我們的大型商業和工業用戶。預計更多城市地區的住宅客戶的每月帳單總體將適度增長。

Additionally, this single filing will simplify future consolidated annual group filings from 4 to 1 per year.

此外，這項單一申報將把未來的合併年度集團申報從每年 4 份簡化為 1 份。

Moving on to our other Texas business, Houston Electric. We are now targeting the second quarter of 2024 to file our rate cases. We had previously guided to the first quarter of 2024. However, to simplify the case for all stakeholders, we now anticipate using a calendar test year ending December 31, 2023, rather than the previously contemplated test year-end of September 30, 2023.

接下來談談我們在德州的另一家企業—休士頓電力公司。我們現在的目標是在 2024 年第二季提交費率案件。我們之前指導的是2024 年第一季。但是，為了簡化所有利害關係人的情況，我們現在預計使用截至2023 年12 月31 日的日曆測試年，而不是先前預期的2023 年9 月30 日結束的測試年。

The shift to a calendar test year reduces the administrative burden for all parties. Given the anticipated new test period end date, we wanted to ensure that we had enough time to compile our filing. While we're still developing the parameters, we are still anticipating the rate case to have a relatively flat revenue requirement and look forward to highlighting the large O&M reductions we've been able to achieve, which will be a key contributor to the expected revenue requirement.

轉向日曆測試年減輕了各方的行政負擔。鑑於預期的新測試期結束日期，我們希望確保有足夠的時間來編譯我們的備案。雖然我們仍在開發參數，但我們仍然預計費率情況具有相對平坦的收入要求，並期待強調我們已經能夠實現的大量營運和維護減少，這將是預期收入的關鍵貢獻者要求。

In our Minnesota Gas and Indiana Electric businesses, we don't anticipate any changes to the timing of our filings as we continue to target early November, December of this year, respectively, for those filings. Although we don't expect the timing of the Minnesota rate case to change, the structure of our filing will. We are planning to file a 2-year forward-looking rate case instead of a 1-year rate case, which we've historically filed. This change will allow us to file for a revenue increase for the second year and maintain those rates to the next rate case, putting us on an expected path to smooth revenue increases for the benefit of our customers.

在我們的明尼蘇達天然氣和印第安納電力業務中，我們預計我們的申報時間不會有任何變化，因為我們繼續分別在今年 11 月初和 12 月初進行這些申報。儘管我們預期明尼蘇達州利率案件的時間不會改變，但我們的備案結構將會改變。我們計劃提交 2 年期前瞻性利率案件，而不是我們以往提交的 1 年期利率案件。這項變更將使我們能夠申請第二年的收入成長，並將這些費率維持到下一個費率情況，使我們走上預期的道路，平穩地增加收入，為我們的客戶帶來利益。

Additionally, given the filing will cover a longer period, it will naturally result in fewer rate case filings, lessening the administrative burden for all stakeholders.

此外，由於備案涵蓋的時間較長，自然會導致費率案件備案減少，從而減輕所有利害關係人的行政負擔。

Moving to the regulatory updates shown on Slide 6. Outside of our rate cases, during the quarter, we began to recover on our interim mechanisms at Houston Electric. The first interim mechanism related to our distribution investments, known as the DCRF, which went into rates on September 1 with an annual revenue requirement increase of $70 million. The $70 million increase relates to our distribution investments made during calendar year 2022.

前往投影片 6 中顯示的監管更新。除了我們的費率案例之外，在本季度，我們開始恢復休士頓電力公司的臨時機制。第一個與我們的分銷投資相關的臨時機制稱為 DCRF，該機制於 9 月 1 日生效，年收入要求增加 7,000 萬美元。 7000 萬美元的成長與我們在 2022 年進行的分銷投資有關。

As many of you are aware, recently enacted legislation now enables Texas utilities to make 2 such filings per year instead of the one we were previously allowed. This should allow for the reduction of regulatory lag associated with our future distribution capital spend at Houston Electric as we continue to make customer-driven investments.

正如你們許多人所知，最近頒布的立法現在允許德州公用事業公司每年提交兩次此類申請，而不是之前允許的一次。隨著我們繼續進行客戶驅動的投資，這應該可以減少與休士頓電力未來配電資本支出相關的監管落後。

The second interim mechanism that also went into rates relates to our recently settled emergency generation or T filing, which like the DCRF, was included in customer rates beginning on September 1. This is a tremendously constructive outcome for our customers. These emergency generation assets can be deployed during some of the most critical times like extended outages caused by severe weather events that occur in the Houston area.

第二個也涉及費率的臨時機制與我們最近解決的緊急發電或T 歸檔有關，它與DCRF 一樣，已包含在9 月1 日開始的客戶費率中。這對我們的客戶來說是一個非常有建設性的結果。這些緊急發電資產可以在一些最關鍵的時期部署，例如休士頓地區發生的惡劣天氣事件導致的長時間停電。

As power resiliency and reliability remain a key focus of ours and the communities we serve, we will continue to advocate for these customer-focused outcomes.

由於電力彈性和可靠性仍然是我們和我們服務的社區的重點關注點，因此我們將繼續倡導這些以客戶為中心的成果。

I want to take a moment and highlight that although we continue to make these customer-driven investments in resiliency and reliability, which in aggregate, equates to over $300 million in incremental revenue. We are still mindful of the impacts to customer charges.

我想花點時間強調一下，儘管我們繼續在彈性和可靠性方面進行這些客戶驅動的投資，但總的來說，增量收入超過 3 億美元。我們仍然關注對客戶費用的影響。

As Dave said, 10 years ago, our average monthly delivery customer charges were approximately $49 a month. Today, even after historic inflation, our average monthly delivery charge is still that same $49. This is a testament to benefits of the tremendous organic customer growth here in the Houston area as well as our disciplined focus on managing O&M.

正如 Dave 所說，10 年前，我們的平均每月送貨客戶費用約為每月 49 美元。如今，即使經歷了歷史性的通貨膨脹，我們的平均每月送貨費用仍然是 49 美元。這證明了休士頓地區客戶的巨大有機成長以及我們對管理營運和維護的嚴格關注所帶來的好處。

Lastly, I'd like to provide an update regarding the generation transition in Indiana. We had filed for cost increases associated primarily with the increased cost in solar panels and MISO interconnection costs. This quarter, we have received reapproval for Posey Solar, which is one of our 200-megawatt utility-owned solar projects.

最後，我想提供有關印第安納州代際過渡的最新資訊。我們已申請成本增加，主要與太陽能板成本和 MISO 互連成本增加有關。本季度，我們收到了 Posey Solar 的重新批准，這是我們 200 兆瓦公用事業擁有的太陽能專案之一。

We are also revising the place in service dates for 2 of our renewable generation projects that are now expected to be operational in 2026, which were previously anticipated to go into service in 2025. These delays come in with these types of projects are due to increased pricing and the long queue for MISO interconnects, among other factors.

我們也正在修改 2 個再生能源發電專案的投入使用日期，這些專案目前預計將於 2026 年投入運營，而此前預計這些專案將於 2025 年投入運營。這些類型的專案出現這些延誤是由於定價和MISO 互連的長隊等因素。

As we've said before, in instances of delayed projects, we will work to sequence our other capital deployment opportunities to eliminate any earnings' impact to our plan. We want to recognize the Indiana Commission who continues to work to balance all stakeholder input of our ongoing energy transition as we work towards moving away from more costly coal generation to cleaner, lower-cost generation investments in wind, solar and natural gas.

正如我們之前所說，在專案延遲的情況下，我們將努力安排其他資本部署機會，以消除任何獲利對我們計劃的影響。我們要感謝印第安納州委員會，在我們努力從成本更高的煤炭發電轉向更清潔、成本更低的風能、太陽能和天然氣發電投資的過程中，印第安納委員會繼續努力平衡所有利益相關者對我們正在進行的能源轉型的投入。

Those are my updates for the quarter. I am proud of our operational execution, and especially in light of the extreme weather some of our jurisdictions endured during the quarter.

這些是我本季的最新情況。我對我們的營運執行力感到自豪，特別是考慮到我們的一些司法管轄區在本季經歷的極端天氣。

Our Houston Electric service territory experienced 12 new record demand peaks. Our crews restore transmission lines to mitigate generation congestion, provided relief through voltage reduction and organizationally took a leading role in socializing the need for customer energy conservation.

我們的休士頓電力服務區域經歷了 12 個新的創紀錄的需求高峰。我們的工作人員恢復輸電線路以緩解發電擁堵，透過降低電壓提供緩解，並在組織上在社會化客戶節能需求方面發揮主導作用。

Through these efforts, we were able to not only keep the power on for our customers, but also manage our O&M while doing so, benefiting future customer rates. Although our sector continues to face headwinds, I am still firmly in the belief that our tailwinds, such as efficient capital deployment, strong organic growth and O&M reduction opportunities exceed our headwinds.

透過這些努力，我們不僅能夠為客戶保持供電，還能夠管理我們的運維，從而有利於未來的客戶率。儘管我們的行業繼續面臨逆風，但我仍然堅信，我們的順風車，例如高效的資本配置、強勁的有機增長以及減少運營和維護的機會，將超過我們的逆風。

With that, I'll now turn it over to Chris to provide his financial update for the quarter.

現在，我將把它交給克里斯，以提供他本季的財務最新情況。

Before I get started on the financial results, Dave, thank you for your support of me as I sought to hit the ground running. And Jason, congratulations to you.

在我開始公佈財務表現之前，戴夫，感謝您在我努力起步時對我的支持。傑森，恭喜你。

Today, I'll cover 3 areas of focus. First, our Q3 results, including our positive revision to 2023 non-GAAP EPS guidance and the initiation of 2024 non-GAAP EPS guidance.

今天，我將重點討論 3 個領域。首先是我們第三季的業績，包括我們對 2023 年非 GAAP 每股盈餘指引的積極修訂以及啟動 2024 年非 GAAP 每股盈餘指引。

Second, our positively revised capital plan and corresponding financing plan. And third, a look at where we stand today with respect to our balance sheet.

二是積極修訂資本計畫和相應的融資計畫。第三，看看我們目前的資產負債表狀況。

Now let's start with the financial results on Slide 7. As Dave mentioned in his headlines, with 3 quarters of 2023 behind us, we now have the visibility and confidence to provide an upward revision to our full year 2023 non-GAAP EPS guidance range from $1.48 to $1.50 per share, to $1.49 to $1.51 per share. This increased guidance range reflects projected 9% growth over full year 2022 actual non-GAAP EPS of $1.38 when using the midpoint. This would represent our third consecutive year of 9% growth.

現在讓我們從幻燈片7 上的財務業績開始。正如Dave 在他的頭條新聞中提到的那樣，2023 年的三個季度已經過去，我們現在有能力和信心對2023 年全年非GAAP 每股收益指引範圍進行向上修正每股 1.48 美元至 1.50 美元，每股 1.49 美元至 1.51 美元。這一增加的指導範圍反映出，使用中點時，預計 2022 年全年實際非 GAAP 每股收益 1.38 美元將增長 9%。這將是我們連續第三年實現 9% 的成長。

On a GAAP EPS basis, we reported $0.40 for the third quarter of 2023. Our non-GAAP EPS results for the third quarter removed the results of our now-divested nonregulated business, Energy Systems Group.

根據 GAAP 每股收益，我們報告 2023 年第三季為 0.40 美元。我們第三季的非 GAAP 每股盈餘結果剔除了我們現已剝離的非監管業務 Energy Systems Group 的結果。

On a non-GAAP basis, we also reported $0.40 for the third quarter of 2023, compared to $0.32 in the third quarter of 2022. Growth in rate recovery contributed $0.09, which was driven by the ongoing recovery of various interim mechanisms for which customer rates were updated earlier in the year, such as the transmission tracker or TCOS at Houston Electric and the Texas Grips.

根據非公認會計原則，我們還報告了2023 年第三季的0.40 美元，而2022 年第三季為0.32 美元。利率恢復的成長貢獻了0.09 美元，這是由客戶利率的各種臨時機制的持續復甦推動的今年早些時候進行了更新，例如休斯頓電力公司和德克薩斯握把隊的傳輸追蹤器或 TCOS。

Also contributing, and as Jason noted earlier, during the quarter, we began recovery of 2 separate mechanisms at Houston Electric, DCRF and TEEEF.

正如傑森早些時候指出的，我們也做出了貢獻，在本季度，我們開始恢復休士頓電力公司的 2 個獨立機制：DCRF 和 TEEEF。

In addition, we continue to see strong organic growth in the Houston area, extending the long-term trend of 1% to 2% average annual customer growth, which continues to benefit both customers and investors.

此外，我們繼續看到休士頓地區強勁的有機成長，延續了年均客戶成長 1% 至 2% 的長期趨勢，這將繼續使客戶和投資者受益。

Weather and usage were $0.05 favorable when compared to the same quarter of 2022, primarily driven by the historic summer heat in our Houston Electric service territory. This Q3 warmer weather impact partially offset the unfavorable cooler weather impact of $0.06 we experienced in Q1 and Q2 of this year.

與 2022 年同季相比，天氣和使用量有利 0.05 美元，這主要是由於我們休士頓電力服務區域歷史性的夏季高溫所致。第三季溫暖天氣的影響部分抵消了我們今年第一季和第二季經歷的 0.06 美元的不利涼爽天氣影響。

O&M was flat for the third quarter and $0.02 favorable year-to-date when comparing to the first 3 quarters of 2022. And we remain laser-focused on reducing O&M by 1% to 2% per year on average, while executing our core work plan to meet our customers' needs. In fact, due to the favorable impact from the weather, we were able to increase Q3 spending on certain O&M items for the benefit of our customers.

與 2022 年前 3 季相比，第三季的 O&M 持平，年初至今有利 0.02 美元。我們仍然專注於每年平均減少 1% 至 2% 的 O&M，同時執行我們的核心工作計劃以滿足客戶的需求。事實上，由於天氣的有利影響，我們能夠增加第三季在某些維運項目上的支出，以造福我們的客戶。

These O&M activities included accelerated vegetation management, which we see as prudent, given the heightened recent drought conditions, and other targeted projects that should help us improve safety and reliability for our customers.

這些營運和維護活動包括加速植被管理（考慮到最近乾旱狀況加劇，我們認為這是謹慎的做法）以及其他有針對性的項目，這些項目應有助於我們提高客戶的安全性和可靠性。

Our consistent progress on O&M is clear. Over the last couple of years, we have been able to use hotter summers to increase our spend on O&M for the benefit of our customers. However, when looking at our current O&M trajectory, even with this increased spend, we are anticipating reducing controllable O&M by over 12% since 2021.

我們在維運方面的持續進步是顯而易見的。在過去的幾年裡，我們能夠利用炎熱的夏天來增加維運支出，以造福我們的客戶。然而，從我們目前的維運軌跡來看，即使支出增加，我們預計自 2021 年以來可控維運將減少 12% 以上。

These are excellent results for customers and investors alike. We continue to look for and execute on additional opportunities each year.

對於客戶和投資者來說，這些都是極好的結果。我們每年都會繼續尋找並執行更多機會。

Closing out the earnings drivers for the quarter, favorability from rate recovery and weather were partially 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 third quarter of last year. However, we continue to be opportunistic in reducing short-term floating rate debt exposure. I'll discuss this in greater detail in just a moment.

排除本季獲利驅動因素後，利率回升和天氣帶來的利好被利息支出增加 0.08 美元部分抵銷。與去年第三季相比，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，我們繼續投機減少短期浮動利率債務風險。我稍後將更詳細地討論這個問題。

Let me now focus a bit on our 2023 capital plan, which you can see here on Slide 8. The third quarter of 2023 represents yet another quarter of sound capital deployment execution as we invested $1.1 billion for the benefit of our customers and communities. This brings our year-to-date total investments to $3.4 billion year-to-date across our various service territories, or over 80% of 2023 capital plan.

現在讓我重點介紹一下我們的2023 年資本計劃，您可以在幻燈片8 中看到該計劃。2023 年第三季度代表著又一個良好的資本部署執行季度，我們投資了11 億美元，以造福我們的客戶和社區。這使得我們今年迄今在各服務領域的總投資達到 34 億美元，佔 2023 年資本計畫的 80% 以上。

Additionally, as Dave mentioned in his headlines, we are now able to incorporate an additional $200 million of customer-focused investments in 2023, which increases our full year 2023 capital plan from $4 billion to $4.2 billion.

此外，正如Dave 在他的頭條新聞中提到的那樣，我們現在能夠在2023 年追加2 億美元的以客戶為中心的投資，這將我們2023 年全年的資本計劃從40 億美元增加到42億美元。

Let me provide a little context around this update. This year saw a couple of operational factors beyond the second DCRF law that benefited us. First, we did not experience the temporary loss of our great frontline crews to mutual aid requests as there were not major weather events that activated that need.

讓我提供一些有關此更新的背景資訊。今年除了第二部 DCRF 法之外，還有一些操作因素使我們受益。首先，我們沒有遇到因互助請求而暫時失去優秀前線人員的情況，因為沒有重大天氣事件觸發這種需求。

With those crews at the ready to execute more work, we were able to support our continued customer growth of over 2% in our Texas Electric business as well as advanced some of our pipeline modernization work at our Texas Gas business as opposed to waiting until next year.

隨著這些工作人員做好執行更多工作的準備，我們能夠支援德州電力業務中超過2% 的客戶持續成長，並推進德州天然氣業務中的一些管道現代化工作，而不是等到下一次年。

I'm proud of the team's ability to be nimble in this way as we continue to invest in safety, reliability and resiliency for our customers.

隨著我們繼續為客戶的安全性、可靠性和彈性進行投資，我為團隊能夠以這種方式保持靈活性而感到自豪。

Now turning to our 2024 non-GAAP earnings guidance. As we enter the final quarter of 2023, with confidence in our ability to deliver strong full year results, we are already looking to next year. And going forward, we would intend for our traditional rhythm to be -- to provide subsequent year non-GAAP EPS guidance for you in the third quarter of the prior year.

現在轉向我們的 2024 年非 GAAP 獲利指引。隨著我們進入 2023 年最後一個季度，我們對實現強勁的全年業績的能力充滿信心，我們已經開始展望明年。展望未來，我們希望我們的傳統節奏是－在上一年第三季為您提供下一年的非公認會計準則每股收益指引。

And as a result, today, we are initiating our 2024 non-GAAP EPS guidance range of $1.61 to $1.63 per share. This would represent an 8% earnings growth over our now-higher expected 2023 earnings' midpoint.

因此，今天，我們將 2024 年非 GAAP 每股盈餘指引設定為每股 1.61 美元至 1.63 美元。這意味著與我們目前較高的 2023 年獲利中點預期相比，獲利成長 8%。

Beyond 2024, we continue to target the mid- to high end of 6% to 8% non-GAAP EPS growth through 2030. We also target growing dividends in line with earnings, and as some of you may have noticed, we took the step to increase our dividend this quarter from $0.19 to $0.20, which represents a 10% increase over the last 12 months, one of the highest increases in the sector.

2024 年後，我們的目標是到2030 年，非GAAP 每股盈餘成長6% 至8% 的中高階。我們也目標是根據收益增加股息，正如你們中的一些人可能已經注意到的，我們採取了這一步驟將本季的股息從 0.19 美元增加到 0.20 美元，比過去 12 個月增加 10%，是該行業增幅最高的之一。

Supporting this 2024 growth is our now-revised capital plan. For 2024, we are targeting to deploy $3.7 billion of customer-driven capital to support the growth, resiliency and safety of our system for our customers.

支持 2024 年成長的是我們現已修訂的資本計劃。到 2024 年，我們的目標是部署 37 億美元的客戶驅動資本，以支援我們的系統為客戶提供的成長、彈性和安全性。

On top of the incremental $200 million added to the 2023 capital plan, we will add approximately $300 million of incremental capital to the existing $43.4 billion 10-year capital plan through 2030. This brings our new total amount to $43.9 billion. This $300 million is anticipated to be deployed in 2024 and 2025.

除了2023 年資本計畫增加2 億美元之外，我們還將在2030 年之前的現有434 億美元10 年期資本計畫中增加約3 億美元增量資本。這使我們的新總額達到439 億美元。這 3 億美元預計將在 2024 年和 2025 年部署。

Allow me a minute to step back and give all of you a feel for our thinking here on this upward revision. It's much like we've said before. We need to be able to efficiently execute, fund and recover our costs as we think about including more capital for customers. This additional capital represents our move to take advantage of a few factors. First, we have the opportunity to provide it by the recent resiliency legislation that passed in the Texas legislature, where we can start to pull some of that work into play soon. And the team has come a long way on better capital execution in recent years.

請容許我退後一步，讓大家感受一下我們對這次向上修訂的想法。這很像我們之前說的。當我們考慮為客戶提供更多資金時，我們需要能夠有效地執行、資助和回收成本。這筆額外的資本代表了我們利用幾個因素的舉措。首先，我們有機會透過德州立法機構最近通過的彈性立法來提供這一點，我們可以很快開始將其中的一些工作付諸實施。近年來，該團隊在更好的資本執行方面取得了長足進步。

I want to take a moment and put in perspective just how far we've progressed in our capital plan since our last Analyst Day in 2021. The new $43.9 billion capital plan through 2030 is nearly 10% higher than the $40 billion-plus plan we outlined when we hosted that Analyst Day. And with our revised 2023 capital target, we will have deployed over $12.5 billion in capital since the beginning of 2021, over $1 billion more than our then-market capitalization.

我想花點時間來了解一下自2021 年上一次分析師日以來我們的資本計劃取得了多大進展。到2030 年的新資本計劃為439 億美元，比我們之前的400 億美元以上計劃高出近10%。我們在舉辦分析師日時概述了這一點。根據修訂後的 2023 年資本目標，自 2021 年初以來，我們將部署超過 125 億美元的資本，比當時的市值多出超過 10 億美元。

Additionally, the 5-year capital target of $18 billion plus communicated back in 2021, which now stands at over $21 billion, represents over a 16% increase in capital.

此外，2021 年傳達的 180 億美元以上的 5 年資本目標目前已超過 210 億美元，意味著資本增加了 16% 以上。

At that same prior Analyst Day, we also announced that we did not need any equity to fund our $40 billion-plus capital plan nor did we need equity to fund the previous increases to $43.4 billion. And that was still the case when we referenced our most recent revision to $43.4 billion, in part due to the financing lift from the noncore ESG transaction we announced in the last quarter.

在先前的分析師日，我們也宣布，我們不需要任何股權來為我們超過 400 億美元的資本計畫提供資金，也不需要股權來為先前增加到 434 億美元的資本計畫提供資金。當我們提到最近修正為 434 億美元時，情況仍然如此，部分原因是我們上季宣布的非核心 ESG 交易帶來的融資提升。

However, as we have previously said, as our capital plan grows and as we began to spend incremental capital beyond the $43.4 billion plan, equity or equity-like funding would be required. And the reason for this is simple. While we are committed to making customer-focused investments for safety, reliability and resiliency, we are equally committed to preserving a strong balance sheet.

然而，正如我們之前所說，隨著我們的資本計劃的增長以及我們開始支出超出 434 億美元計劃的增量資本，將需要股權或類似股權的融資。原因很簡單。我們致力於以客戶為中心的安全性、可靠性和彈性投資，同時我們同樣致力於維持強勁的資產負債表。

As we go forward and evaluate acceleration of incremental growth capital additions to our plan, you should assume that we will fund in line with our consolidated capital structure. So it follows today that in order to efficiently fund the $500 million of incremental capital opportunities I discussed a moment ago, we anticipate initiating a modest ATM program in 2024 of approximately $250 million. Ultimately, we see this capital we highlighted today, along with the ATM, introducing additional flexibility for our future plans. And as we've said before, we will continue to evaluate efficient funding for future incremental capital that we formally fold into the plan.

當我們繼續前進並評估我們計劃中增量成長資本增加的加速時，您應該假設我們將根據我們的合併資本結構提供資金。因此，為了有效地為我剛才討論的 5 億美元增量資本機會提供資金，我們預計在 2024 年啟動一項規模約為 2.5 億美元的 ATM 計劃。最終，我們看到今天強調的這筆資本以及 ATM 為我們未來的計劃帶來了額外的靈活性。正如我們之前所說，我們將繼續評估我們正式納入該計劃的未來增量資本的有效融資。

To be clear, any ATM program proceeds are dedicated to enhance growth and incremental capital investments. The equity issued under this program will, in no way, reduce our earnings' growth targets through 2030.

需要明確的是，任何 ATM 計劃的收益都致力於促進成長和增量資本投資。根據該計劃發行的股票絕不會降低我們到 2030 年的獲利成長目標。

As discussed, we continue to reaffirm our target 8% next year and the mid- to high end of 6% to 8% thereafter through 2030. With our revised capital plan, we are still intently focused on delivering work affordably. We continue to target our customer delivery charges at Houston Electric to be equal to or less than historic inflation rate of 2%.

如同所討論的，我們繼續重申明年 8% 的目標，以及此後到 2030 年 6% 至 8% 的中高端目標。透過修訂後的資本計劃，我們仍然專注於以經濟實惠的方式交付工作。我們繼續將休士頓電力公司的客戶送貨費用目標定為等於或低於 2% 的歷史通膨率。

We have confidence in our ability 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.

我們對透過休士頓巨大的有機成長、明年晚些時候取消的證券化費用以及我們每年平均減少 1% 至 2% 的營運和維護成本的計劃來實現這一目標充滿信心。

A great example of our ability to keep customer charges manageable even as we make our system more resilient can be found in Q3. Even with the recovery of more than $700 million in investments in our temporary emergency generation now being included in customer rates, customer charges have increased at less than an annual average of 1%.

第三季就是一個很好的例子，說明我們在提高系統彈性的同時，仍能保持客戶費用可控。即使我們收回了超過 7 億美元的臨時緊急發電投資現已包含在客戶費率中，客戶費用的年平均增幅不到 1%。

We have a strong track record on bringing focus to affordability and smoothing of rates for our customers. Like Dave mentioned earlier, our average charge was $49, 10 years ago, and it's averaging $49 today.

我們在關注客戶的負擔能力和平滑費率方面擁有良好的記錄。正如 Dave 之前提到的，10 年前我們的平均費用為 49 美元，現在的平均費用為 49 美元。

Finally, I will cover some of our financing and credit-related topics on Slide 9. As of the end of the third quarter, our calculated FFO to debt was 14.3%. This represents an expected increase from Q2 as the recovery of our investments accelerates going into the back half of the year.

最後，我將在投影片 9 上介紹一些與融資和信貸相關的主題。截至第三季末，我們計算出的 FFO 與債務之比為 14.3%。隨著下半年我們的投資加速復甦，這一數字預計將較第二季有所成長。

We anticipate this acceleration to continue through Q4 of this year, as we will have a full quarter of recovery on our DCRF and TEEEF investments that we indicated began on September 1. We continue to target FFO to debt of 14% to 15%, which runs through 2030, and importantly, provides at least 100 basis points of cushion to our downgrade threshold of 13%.

我們預計這種加速將持續到今年第四季度，因為我們表示 9 月 1 日開始的 DCRF 和 TEEEF 投資將在整個季度恢復。我們繼續將 FFO 債務目標定為 14% 至 15%，這持續到2030年，重要的是，為我們13% 的降級門檻提供至少100 個基點的緩衝。

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, which we believe is the proper capitalization of these businesses.

提醒一下，我們在母公司背負著大約 4 億美元的債務，這些債務是為休士頓電力公司和德州天然氣公司的較高股權層提供資金的，我們認為這是這些企業的適當資本化。

Another area in which we've seen improvement is the continued reduction of our exposure to floating rate debt. Through the third quarter, we reduced floating rate debt to approximately $1.8 billion, which represents a 60% reduction from the beginning of 2023. We continue to be opportunistic in reducing this balance further and the convertible bond issuance during this quarter is a great example of capitalizing on opportunities.

我們看到改善的另一個領域是我們的浮動利率債務曝險持續減少。截至第三季度，我們將浮動利率債務減少至約 18 億美元，較 2023 年初減少了 60%。我們繼續抓住機會進一步減少這一餘額，本季的可轉換債券發行就是一個很好的例子充分利用機會。

Our $1 billion convertible issuance allowed us to redeem our $800 million Series A preferred shares that were set to go floating during the quarter on September 1 of the year at nearly 9%. So some good opportunistic savings were achieved there. The remaining approximately $200 million of convertible bond proceeds allowed us to pay down commercial paper contributing to the net reduction of floating rate debt exposure.

我們發行了 10 億美元的可轉換債券，使我們能夠贖回價值 8 億美元的 A 系列優先股，這些優先股原定於今年 9 月 1 日的季度以近 9% 的價格上市。因此，在那裡實現了一些良好的機會主義儲蓄。剩餘約 2 億美元的可轉換債券收益使我們能夠償還商業票據，有助於淨減少浮動利率債務風險。

Lastly, after quarter close, we issued $450 million of private placement notes at SIGECO. As we've noted in prior quarters, this was an opportunity to fund the entity on a stand-alone basis, rather than relying on intercompany borrowings from the parent.

最後，季度結束後，我們在 SIGECO 發行了 4.5 億美元的私募票據。正如我們在前幾季所指出的，這是一個為該實體獨立提供資金的機會，而不是依賴母公司的公司間借款。

On a go-forward basis, this should translate to a lower relative cost of borrowing versus the parent. And as a result, this reduced parent-level debt to total borrowing by another 2%. This is a milestone as our final step of the Vectren financing integration.

從長遠來看，這應該意味著相對於母公司的相對借貸成本較低。結果，母公司級債務佔總借款的比例又減少了 2%。這是我們 Vectren 融資整合的最後一步，具有里程碑意義。

We remain intensely focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet, especially in what appears to be a higher-for-longer interest rate environment. We have worked hard to build an additional conservatism in our long-term plan. And today shows another step of progressing that plan for our customers and investors. This shared focus on good planning is what we believe will allow us to continue to execute, even in the face of continued headwinds.

我們仍然高度關注維持強勁的資產負債表，尤其是在利率似乎長期較高的環境下。我們努力在我們的長期計劃中建立額外的保守主義。今天，我們向客戶和投資者展示了該計劃的另一步進展。我們相信，這種對良好規劃的共同關注將使我們能夠繼續執行，即使面對持續的逆風。

With that, I'll now turn the call back over to Dave.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉回給戴夫。

As you've heard from us today, we now have 14 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 well beyond that.

正如您今天從我們這裡聽到的，我們現在已經連續 14 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，我們將繼續執行當前的計劃，並提供增量成長機會，為我們的客戶提供遠遠超出這一目標的支援。

Thank you for listening to me tell our story for the past 3.5 years. This has been a great ride, and I look forward to finding my next opportunity. We also look forward to celebrating Jason's promotion with all of you at EEI.

感謝您聽我講述我們過去3.5年的故事。這是一次很棒的旅程，我期待著找到下一次機會。我們也期待與 EEI 的所有人一起慶祝 Jason 的晉升。

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

謝謝你，戴夫。接線員，我們現在會將其轉回給您進行問答。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

The first question will come from Shahriar Pourreza with Guggenheim.

第一個問題將由古根漢的 Shahriar Pourreza 提出。

So just -- I want to just touch on the confidence that's going into '24 and obviously, growing at the top end from the raised guidance.

所以，我想談談進入 24 年的信心，顯然，從提高的指導來看，信心在高端有所增長。

I guess, how are you kind of maybe addressing the headwinds, like interest rate pressures on about $1 billion worth of maturities?

我想，您如何應對逆風，例如價值約 10 億美元的到期日的利率壓力？

And you do have, and Jason, you've been talking about this, you have rate cases, right, in Texas, Indiana, in Minnesota that you have to get through, which could also create some lag. It's a lot of moving pieces. So I guess, where are the levers? And just talk about your confidence level in these cases as well because it will dictate '24 and beyond.

你確實有，傑森，你一直在談論這個，你有率案件，對吧，在德克薩斯州、印第安納州、明尼蘇達州，你必須完成這些案件，這也可能會造成一些滯後。這是很多移動的部分。所以我想，槓桿在哪裡？請談談您在這些情況下的信心水平，因為這將決定 24 日及以後的情況。

Sure, Shar. Thanks for the question. I think there's probably 3 things I would focus on. I'll make sure to hit the rate case piece to, in fact, I'll let Jason maybe give you some color there. I think there's probably 3 things that give us the confidence.

當然，莎爾。謝謝你的提問。我想我可能會專注在三件事上。我會確保點擊率案例部分，事實上，我會​​讓傑森也許給你一些顏色。我認為可能有三件事給了我們信心。

First is the thoughtful capital planning, where we're now seeing some of the benefit, with improved regulatory mechanisms. Second is O&M discipline that we're starting to really continuing to improve on. Third would be just really looking across the plan for incremental opportunities as we go. So unpack each of those.

首先是深思熟慮的資本規劃，隨著監管機制的改善，我們現在已經看到了一些好處。其次是我們開始真正持續改善的維運紀律。第三，我們將真正審視整個計劃，尋找增量機會。因此，請打開其中每一個的包裝。

On the capital side, we're now experiencing some of the benefits that are layering in over the increases that we've put in over the last 18 months. And on top of that, we've got the Texas legislation that passed earlier this year that's going to help reduce the regulatory lag. And we'll start to see some of the benefit of those investments in '24 and '25. And so we think that ability to file 2 DCRFs per year in particular, in that incremental recovery of incentive comp can help us reduce regulatory lag by about half.

在資本方面，我們現在正在體驗到一些好處，這些好處是我們在過去 18 個月投入的資金增加所帶來的。最重要的是，我們今年早些時候通過了德克薩斯州的立法，這將有助於減少監管滯後。我們將在 24 年和 25 年開始看到這些投資的一些好處。因此，我們認為，每年提交 2 份 DCRF 的能力，尤其是激勵補償的增量恢復，可以幫助我們將監管滯後減少約一半。

On the O&M side, really, as David, in particular, we continue to be focused on reducing O&M 1% to 2% on average. And you heard that now that we're looking back in really 2021 forward, we're now looking at a 12% reduction, which is pretty substantial.

在維運方面，實際上，特別是 David，我們繼續致力於平均減少維運 1% 到 2%。您聽說過，現在我們回顧 2021 年的實際情況，我們現在的目標是減少 12%，這是相當可觀的。

Then lastly, I was getting at looking really across the plan. And so there, although not really O&M-specific, we're looking at exploring some savings opportunities with respect to income tax. And since we divested all those nonregulated entities within the company that were of any material size, we've been looking to ensure that there's an efficient state income tax structure that exists beyond that. So we're looking here in the near term for some potential tax savings as well.

最後，我開始真正審視整個計劃。因此，雖然並不是專門針對營運和維護的，但我們正在考慮探索一些所得稅的節省機會。自從我們剝離了公司內所有規模不限的非監管實體以來，我們一直在尋求確保除此之外還有一個有效的國家所得稅結構。因此，我們近期也在尋找一些潛在的節稅措施。

Maybe I'll just take it to Jason for more color on the regulatory cases.

也許我會把它交給傑森，以獲取有關監管案例的更多資訊。

Yes. Thanks, Chris. Shar, I would say that the extension of the filing date for Houston Electric will not create any additional regulatory lag. I want to be clear about that. As a quick reminder, we have access to the DCRF and TEEEF cost, the capital recovery mechanisms up to the date that we make that rate case filing. So we don't see this extension in the filing date creating any additional regulatory lag.

是的。謝謝，克里斯。 Shar，我想說的是，休士頓電力公司申請日期的延長不會造成任何額外的監管延遲。我想澄清這一點。快速提醒一下，我們可以了解 DCRF 和 TEEEF 成本以及截至我們提交費率案件之日的資本回收機制。因此，我們認為申請日期的延長不會造成任何額外的監管延遲。

Got it. Okay. Perfect. And then just lastly, obviously, I appreciate the CapEx increase and a modest step-up in equity. What's left in the upside CapEx you've highlighted in the past versus what you put into plan? And is there, I guess, is there any reason you even track that anymore, given the incremental opportunities? It's obviously not something you guys have highlighted in the deck, so.

知道了。好的。完美的。最後，顯然，我很欣賞資本支出的增加和股本的適度增加。與您計劃中的投入相比，您過去強調的上行資本支出還剩下多少？我想，考慮到增量機會，您是否還有理由再追蹤這一點？這顯然不是你們在牌組中強調的內容，所以。

Yes. Thanks, Shar. And I think you hit it at the end of your question there. Candidly, I don't think that there's a reason to continue to track. What we had originally for last quarter articulated as a $2.6 billion set of capital opportunities that were outside of the plan.

是的。謝謝，莎爾。我認為你在問題的最後擊中了它。坦白說，我認為沒有理由繼續跟蹤。我們最初在上個季度提出了 26 億美元的資本機會，但這些資本機會超出了計劃。

Candidly, as we've gone through our planning process for '24 and looking at our long-term plans, the pipeline of additional CapEx opportunities above our now $43.9 billion CapEx plan remains significant, well in excess of that $2.6 billion. And so I think it just becomes a confusing factor to reconcile that. I think we've earned the confidence and track record.

坦白說，當我們完成 24 世紀的規劃流程並審視我們的長期計劃時，我們目前 439 億美元的資本支出計劃之上的額外資本支出機會的管道仍然很重要，遠遠超過了 26 億美元。所以我認為調和這一點只是成為一個令人困惑的因素。我認為我們已經贏得了信心並取得了良好的業績記錄。

That pipeline of opportunities is deep. And as we see the opportunity to efficiently execute them, efficiently fund them and efficiently recover them, we will continue to pull them in for the benefit of our customers.

機會的管道很深。當我們看到有效執行它們、有效資助它們和有效回收它們的機會時，我們將繼續吸引它們，以造福我們的客戶。

Okay. Perfect. Jason, congrats to you on Phase 2 and obviously not a surprise to anyone. And Dave, congrats to you on your next phase. And if you're not bored of the utility sector, I'm sure there's other utilities that may need your help this year.

好的。完美的。傑森，恭喜你進入第二階段，顯然對任何人來說都不奇怪。戴夫，祝賀你進入下一階段。如果您對公用事業部門不感到厭倦，我相信今年還有其他公用事業公司可能需要您的幫助。

Yes. I'm not bored of the utility.

是的。我並不厭倦這個實用程式。

The next question comes from Steve Fleishman with Wolfe Research.

下一個問題來自沃爾夫研究公司的史蒂夫‧弗萊什曼。

First, my condolences on the Astros, but more importantly, congrats to Dave on putting a great job. And very happy for you, Jason.

首先，我對太空人隊表示哀悼，但更重要的是，恭喜戴夫表現出色。為你感到非常高興，傑森。

Thank you, Steven. I'm thanking you for the Astros, I think.

謝謝你，史蒂文。我想我是在為太空人隊感謝你。

Dave, you can win every year in the utility business, but you can't in baseball. So the -- I guess, just could you give a little color on the $250 million of equity of just kind of -- should we expect that to be kind of largely done, kind of during the year, next year?

戴夫，你可以在公用事業行業每年獲勝，但在棒球領域卻不能。所以，我想，您能否對 2.5 億美元的股本進行一些說明，我們是否應該期望這將在今年或明年大部分完成？

And then is there anything to just read into it about? In the past, you talked about kind of asset sale potential and things like that. Is that just less likely now, given the market environment? Or is it, maybe just the needs are not enough to consider asset sale as you're kind of feathering this in the incremental CapEx?

那麼有什麼值得閱讀的嗎？過去，您談到了資產出售潛力等問題。考慮到市場環境，現在這種可能性是不是更小了？或者是，也許僅僅需求不足以考慮資產出售，因為您在增量資本支出中對此進行了羽毛化？

Sure, Steve. Happy to hit it. I think if you just look at what we updated today, we took the plan from $43.4 billion to $43.9 billion. And really, fairly relatively small amount of a CapEx increase, but one that we thought was reasonably funded with the modest movement in the ATM of introducing a $250 million.

當然，史蒂夫。很高興擊中它。我想如果你看看我們今天更新的內容，我們就把計畫從 434 億美元增加到 439 億美元。事實上，資本支出的增加相對較小，但我們認為，透過 ATM 引入 2.5 億美元的適度變動，資本支出的增加是合理的。

Stepping back, going forward, if you look at kind of how we've articulated it previously, we've probably been putting ourselves in a position to talk about the longer-term CapEx plan and the associated refresh. Really, once we get through the key rate cases that are in front of us at this stage.

退後一步，展望未來，如果你看看我們之前是如何闡述的，我們可能一直在談論長期資本支出計劃和相關的更新。確實，一旦我們解決了現階段擺在我們面前的關鍵利率案例。

Pointing to kind of the last factor that you mentioned, we're consistently looking at -- look at the most efficient way to fund our equity going forward. But I just want to be clear that we are talking about at this stage. Any future considerations on an ATM would be incremental to the $43.9 billion, right? So they'd really be growth-centric beyond the $43.9 billion that we're talking about today. And again, we're looking to do that larger capital refresh once we can work our way through these cases.

談到你提到的最後一個因素，我們一直在關注——尋找未來為我們的股權提供資金的最有效方法。但我只是想澄清一下，我們現階段正在討論這個問題。未來對 ATM 機的任何考慮都會增加到 439 億美元，對吧？因此，除了我們今天討論的 439 億美元之外，他們確實會以成長為中心。再次強調，一旦我們能夠解決這些案例，我們就會進行更大規模的資本更新。

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

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith。

Congratulations, guys. Well done. Look forward to more. Yes, absolutely. All right. Just wanted to pivot back to that last question a little bit. I mean, incremental resiliency spending through some of these filings in Texas seems like a pretty clear opportunity. I know it's preliminary.

恭喜你們，夥伴們。做得好。期待更多。是的，一點沒錯。好的。只是想稍微回到最後一個問題。我的意思是，透過德克薩斯州的一些文件增加彈性支出似乎是一個非常明顯的機會。我知道這是初步的。

Can you elaborate a little bit more about that upside relative to the $2.6 billion you guys had articulated earlier. I get that there's kind of a big opportunity. But just a sense of what you guys are seeing out there, and there's some out there that are really putting some big numbers.

您能詳細說明一下相對於你們先前闡述的 26 億美元的上升空間嗎？我知道有一個很大的機會。但只要了解你們所看到的情況，就會發現有些人確實取得了一些龐大的數字。

And then related, if you can, how does that timeline square up with the Texas Electric case here, if at all, to the extent to which that drove some of that timeline consideration?

然後，如果可以的話，該時間表如何與德克薩斯電力公司的案例相符（如果有的話），在多大程度上推動了一些時間表考慮？

And then maybe lastly, I'll throw in this, since it's related. How do you think about the merit of further LDC asset sales versus ATM, considering this upside in the plan tied to resiliency, or what have you? Again, I get that the modest size of the ATM is sort of tied to the modest CapEx increase. But as you think about these bigger, chunkier increases, is that still on the table? Or is it a little bit in the back burner considering the backdrop today?

也許最後，我會加上這個，因為它是相關的。考慮到計劃中與彈性相關的好處，或者您有什麼，您如何看待進一步LDC資產出售相對於ATM的優點？再次，我發現 ATM 的適度規模與適度的資本支出成長有關。但當你想到這些更大、更粗的增長時，這仍然在討論之中嗎？或者考慮到今天的背景，它是否有點被擱置了？

Yes. Thanks, Julien. There's a lot to unpack there. On the CapEx side of things, look, let me just say, last quarter, we had talked about a pipeline of opportunities of $2.6 billion outside of the plan. As we've gone through our planning process, it is well in excess of that.

是的。謝謝，朱利安。那裡有很多東西需要解壓。在資本支出方面，我只想說，上個季度，我們討論了計劃外 26 億美元的機會。當我們完成規劃過程時，​​它遠遠超出了這個範圍。

I think those opportunities are in all kind of aspects of our business. I mean, you hit on them. I think the resiliency opportunity here at Houston Electric remains significant. I think it's a real question around the pace of work and we're in the middle of preparing that filing that I'll come back to in a minute.

我認為這些機會存在於我們業務的各個方面。我的意思是，你撞到他們了。我認為休士頓電力公司的彈性機會仍然很大。我認為這是一個關於工作節奏的真正問題，我們正在準備我稍後會談到的文件。

But resiliency is clearly a key driver. But I equally see an incredible amount of opportunities on our gas side as well, particularly given all the growth that we've seen here in Texas for our Texas Gas business.

但彈性顯然是關鍵驅動因素。但我同樣在天然氣方面看到了令人難以置信的大量機會，特別是考慮到我們在德克薩斯州看到的德克薩斯州天然氣業務的所有增長。

So I would say they're equally weighted. They're well in excess of the $2.6 billion we used to track. We're just moving away from tracking that because it becomes confusing what's in the plan, what's out of the plan, how does it adjust quarter-by-quarter. But suffice it to say, it remains a deep pipeline of opportunities.

所以我想說它們的權重相等。它們遠遠超過了我們過去追蹤的 26 億美元。我們只是不再跟踪它，因為它變得令人困惑，計劃中有什麼，計劃外有什麼，以及它如何逐季度調整。但可以說，這仍然是一個深層的機會。

With respect to the filing timing, we are waiting for the final set of rules to be voted out by the PUCT likely in December here. We will then -- and we are now currently preparing our filing, which will likely be sometime kind of late in the first quarter for that resiliency filing.

關於提交時間，我們正在等待 PUCT 可能在 12 月投票通過最終的規則。然後我們會——我們現在正在準備我們的文件，這可能會在第一季末的某個時候進行彈性文件的提交。

I think this is incredible piece of legislation, and we're excited about proposing plans to really enhance -- continue to enhance the resiliency of our Houston Electric business. And so more to come there. I think as it relates to the timing of the filing, it will likely come in maybe a month or 2 or so before we file the Houston Electric rate case. So it will be a busy regulatory calendar for the Houston Electric business next year. But roughly kind of at the same time, as I said, end of first quarter for the resiliency filing, a little bit after that for the Houston Electric filing.

我認為這是一項令人難以置信的立法，我們很高興提出計劃來真正增強——繼續增強我們休士頓電力業務的彈性。還有更多的事情會發生。我認為，由於這與提交時間有關，因此可能會在我們提交休士頓電力費率案件之前一到兩個月左右。因此，明年休士頓電力公司的監管日程將非常繁忙。但正如我所說，大致是在同一時間，第一季末進行彈性備案，稍晚一點進行休士頓電力備案。

And then sort of more broadly on asset sales. Look, we love the businesses we run. It's a privilege to serve all of our communities. We constantly receive inbound interest on all of our assets. And as we think about additional movements, increases in our CapEx plan, I think we've earned the confidence that we will find the most efficient way to finance that incremental growth. So I would say, we will make the right decision to maximize value for all of our stakeholders as we look to funding this incremental capital pipeline that I articulated.

然後是更廣泛的資產出售。看，我們熱愛我們經營的企業。為我們所有社區服務是一種榮幸。我們不斷收到所有資產的入境利息。當我們考慮額外的行動、增加我們的資本支出計劃時，我認為我們已經贏得了信心，我們將找到最有效的方式來為增量成長提供資金。所以我想說，當我們尋求為我所闡述的增量資本管道提供資金時，我們將做出正確的決定，為所有利害關係人實現價值最大化。

Got it. Excellent. Nicely done. And just a quick clarification here. You made an allusion to some CapEx timing shifts in Indiana based on the renewable projects. Just what's the backfill plan, if you can elaborate a little bit more?

知道了。出色的。做得很好。這裡簡單說明一下。您提到了印第安納州基於再生能源專案的一些資本支出時間變化。回填計畫是什麼，能否詳細說明一下？

Well, some of it's already underway. I mean I think some of the capital that we've announced today, we're executing that capital, putting that capital into service. That will allow us then to begin to seek recovery next year, and fully earn on it in '25.

嗯，其中一些已經在進行中。我的意思是，我認為我們今天宣布的一些資本，我們正在執行這些資本，將這些資本投入使用。這將使我們能夠在明年開始尋求復甦，並在 25 年充分實現盈利。

And so this pattern of looking out in the plan and resequencing capital has been something that I think we've built a track record for. Originally, when the Department of Commerce opened up its original investigation, that moved the timing on a handful of our original solar projects. We seamlessly accelerated some capital, particularly here in Houston Electric to offset that. And effectively, that's what we're doing today with this CapEx increase.

因此，我認為我們已經建立了這種關注計劃和重新排序資本的模式。最初，當商務部展開最初的調查時，我們改變了一些最初的太陽能計畫的時間表。我們無縫地加速了一些資本的注入，特別是在休士頓電力公司，以抵消這種影響。實際上，這就是我們今天透過增加資本支出所做的事情。

So I think the important part about these renewable generation projects up in Indiana, and I think it's important to reemphasize, it represents less than 10% of our total CapEx for the company. And so it gives us a great deal of flexibility as we see the potential slowdown in operational dates for those plants. We can accelerate either in the other electric or gas portions of our business.

因此，我認為印第安納州這些再生能源發電項目的重要部分，我認為有必要再次強調，它只占公司總資本支出的不到 10%。因此，當我們看到這些工廠的運作日期可能會放緩時，它為我們提供了巨大的靈活性。我們可以加速業務的其他電力或天然氣部分。

The next question comes from Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan Securities.

下一個問題來自摩根大通證券的 Jeremy Tonet。

Congratulations again to Dave and Jason here. Great to see. And maybe just kind of picking up with this point. Obviously, Dave is a big figure in the city of Houston, very ingrained in the culture there. I was just wondering, Jason, if you could maybe speak a bit, I guess, having moved to Texas, how you feel your relationships with the local community stakeholders has evolved over time being somewhat newer to the city?

在這裡再次祝賀戴夫和傑森。很高興看到。也許只是接受這一點。顯然，戴夫是休士頓市的一個大人物，在當地文化中根深蒂固。我只是想知道，傑森，你是否可以說一下，我想，搬到德克薩斯州後，你覺得隨著時間的推移，你與當地社區利益相關者的關係是如何演變的？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Jeremy. I appreciate it. Obviously, incredibly big shoes to fill from the standpoint of Dave's status in the community here.

是的。謝謝你的提問，傑里米。我很感激。顯然，從戴夫在這裡社區的地位來看，這是一個令人難以置信的大問題。

But I've been working, since I hit the ground here, with a variety of organizations outside of Houston Electric and obviously, our greater CenterPoint family. So I've been deeply involved in the community, serving a number of different interests.

但自從我來到這裡以來，我一直在與休士頓電力公司以外的各種組織合作，當然還有我們更大的 CenterPoint 大家庭。因此，我深入參與了社區，為許多不同的利益服務。

I would say that Houston is a very welcoming and transitory community with a strong civic focus. And I've been able to tap into that to build a broad network.

我想說，休斯頓是一個非常熱情且短暫的社區，具有強烈的公民關注。我已經能夠利用這一點來建立一個廣泛的網絡。

My focus isn't just on Houston alone. It's incredibly important. And I think, the activities outside of my day job here at CenterPoint reflects my commitment to the community. But even this week, we were up in Minnesota, meeting with the governor and other elected officials around priorities for our Minnesota Gas business, I continue to make my way around our full service territory.

我的注意力不僅集中在休士頓。這非常重要。我認為，我在 CenterPoint 的日常工作之外的活動反映了我對社區的承諾。但即使本週，我們在明尼蘇達州，就明尼蘇達州天然氣業務的優先事項與州長和其他民選官員會面，我仍然繼續在我們的全方位服務領域工作。

And so I think, and hopefully, you have seen -- I understand the importance of being involved in our communities. Houston being obviously our home base, but we have the privilege to serve 6 states and want to be active in all of them.

所以我認為，希望您已經看到—我理解參與社區的重要性。休士頓顯然是我們的大本營，但我們有幸為 6 個州提供服務，並希望在所有這些州都發揮積極作用。

Yes. Let me just add a little something to that. It's hard. As you know, Jason is a humble guy, and he finds it hard to pat himself on the back. But I think he's done a great job in 3-plus years. He's been here in the Houston community and in the broader places that CenterPoint serves. And I think he's doing a great job there. He's embedding himself in the community. I'm not going anywhere. And I think it's going to be all easily handled, and I don't think there should be any concern at all about it.

是的。讓我補充一點。這個很難（硬。如你所知，傑森是一個謙虛的人，他發現很難自我表揚。但我認為他在三年多的時間裡做得很好。他去過休士頓社區以及 CenterPoint 服務的更廣泛的地方。我認為他在那裡做得很好。他正在融入社區。我哪裡也不去。我認為這一切都很容易處理，而且我認為根本不應該有任何擔憂。

Got it. That's great to hear. And then maybe just pivoting over towards Minnesota, if I could. I think you touched on the potential to change the structure of the filing to 2-year forward-looking rate case, instead of 1 year.

知道了。聽到這個消息我很高興。如果可以的話，也許我會轉向明尼蘇達州。我認為您談到了將申請結構更改為 2 年前瞻性利率案例（而不是 1 年）的可能性。

So I was just was wondering, would that raise your earned return expectations in the jurisdiction, if it does come to fruition? And is this a benefit to CenterPoint's outlook if the commission approves for the 2-year test look there?

所以我只是想知道，如果它確實實現的話，這會提高您在該司法管轄區的賺取回報預期嗎？如果委員會批准在 CenterPoint 進行為期 2 年的測試，這對 CenterPoint 的前景有好處嗎？

I think just overall sort of smoothing of rate increases for customers and sort of consistent with a common theme around a lot of our regulatory updates today, sort of simplifying our rate case schedule. I wouldn't really look at it as much as an earned return.

我認為總體上對客戶的費率上漲是平滑的，並且與我們今天許多監管更新的共同主題一致，在某種程度上簡化了我們的費率案例時間表。我不會真正將其視為賺取的回報。

Minnesota is the one state that we operate in that has a forward-looking test year. Historically, what I used to say was that in even years, we would see a revenue increase, and in an odd years, we wouldn't see any increase, and so we'd have to overcome that regulatory lag on odd years.

明尼蘇達州是我們開展業務的唯一一個具有前瞻性測試年的州。從歷史上看，我過去常說的是，在偶數年，我們會看到收入成長，而在奇數年，我們不會看到任何成長，因此我們必須克服奇數年的監管落後。

This filing for a 2-year forward past year begins to address that profile. And so again, it starts to reduce a little bit of regulatory lag, smooths rate increases for our customers and overall reduces the administrative burden. So we're excited about making that filing next week.

這份過去一年的兩年文件開始解決這個問題。如此一來，它開始減少一點監管滯後，為我們的客戶提供平穩的費率上漲，並總體上減輕管理負擔。因此，我們很高興下週提交該文件。

Operator, we have time for 1 more question.

接線員，我們還有時間回答 1 個問題。

The last question will come from David Arcaro with Morgan Stanley.

最後一個問題將由摩根士丹利的大衛·阿卡羅提出。

Congrats to both Dave and Jason as well. I was wondering just on the Houston Electric rate case filing. I appreciate the color there. And just wondering if you could dig a little more into -- have there been any changes in your expectations in terms of the size of the revenue requirement asked? Does it give you an opportunity to capture any kind of chunkier capital projects that might have been completed in the fourth quarter this year? Or any O&M savings, things like that as you head into that second quarter timing?

也祝賀戴夫和傑森。我想知道休士頓電力費率案件備案。我很欣賞那裡的顏色。只是想知道您是否可以更深入地了解一下 - 您對所要求的收入要求的規模的期望是否有任何變化？它是否讓您有機會捕捉可能在今年第四季完成的任何類型的大型資本項目？或者在進入第二季度時有任何運營和維護節省，類似的事情嗎？

Yes, David, I appreciate the question. And the short answer is no. I don't think the extension was for that reason. Really, with the fact that we have now the opportunity for DCRF and TCOS a year.

是的，大衛，我很欣賞這個問題。簡短的回答是否定的。我不認為延期是出於這個原因。事實上，我們現在有一年的 DCRF 和 TCOS 機會。

The rate case -- Houston Electric largely becomes a rate case that centers around cost of capital, around depreciation rates and any deferred regulatory assets and liabilities.

利率案例－休士頓電力在很大程度上成為一個以資本成本、折舊率以及任何遞延監管資產和負債為中心的利率案例。

As I mentioned, we have the opportunity to seek recovery of capital that we're spending now and through the fourth quarter, up until the time we file that rate case through the DCRF and TCOS mechanisms. And so I wouldn't really look at this extension as an opportunity for us to address any capital. It really is going to be a case that involves -- revolves around cost of capital, O&M and regulatory assets.

正如我所提到的，我們有機會尋求收回我們現在和第四季度支出的資本，直到我們透過 DCRF 和 TCOS 機制提交利率案例。因此，我不會真正將這次延期視為我們解決任何資本問題的機會。這確實是一個涉及資本成本、營運和維護以及監管資產的案例。

And back to sort of the first part of your question, no, there's no fundamental change. I think we're looking at the potential for a small revenue decline, potentially a flat revenue increase.

回到你問題的第一部分，不，沒有根本的改變。我認為我們正在考慮收入小幅下降的可能性，也可能是收入持平的成長。

We have been clear that we're going to advocate for a higher cost of capital. But we -- as we forecast what that calendar year test year is going to look like, we have reduced O&M more than the increases that we would propose from a cost of capital. So I think that should put us in a standpoint of filing for a revenue requirement, again, relatively flat, potentially modest decrease as we've communicated in the past.

我們已經明確表示，我們將提倡提高資本成本。但是，當我們預測日曆年測試年的情況時，我們減少的營運和維護費用比我們建議的資本成本增加還要多。因此，我認為這應該讓我們處於申​​請收入要求的立場，同樣，正如我們過去所傳達的那樣，相對平穩，可能適度下降。

Okay. Great. That's helpful. And maybe just on the floating rate debt, the $1.8 billion you still get out there, do you plan to continue to reduce that and term it out going forward? Or is the level it's at now the comfortable balance overall as you think about capitalization?

好的。偉大的。這很有幫助。也許僅就浮動利率債務而言，您仍然可以獲得 18 億美元，您是否計劃繼續減少債務並在未來償還？或者，當您考慮資本化時，目前的水平是否總體上是舒適的平衡？

Sure. Dave, I think, first of all, I got to give some credit to the team for working down even what we walked into this year was 27% floating rate debt as a percent of the total. We're now at about 10%. So really good progress there.

當然。戴夫，我認為，首先，我必須讚揚團隊的努力，即使我們今年遇到的浮動利率債務佔總債務的比例為 27%。我們現在大約是 10%。所以這方面的進展確實很好。

As we look at near-term financing, even looking into earlier next year, just as an example for what we think, how we think this is manageable. We're looking at roughly $700 million at CMP. And just to give you a feel for that, that component of our outstanding floating rate already sits at 5.8%. And so as you can imagine, given where things are right now, we think it's pretty manageable. In fact, we might be opportunistic in going after that relatively soon.

當我們審視短期融資時，甚至展望明年早些時候，這只是我們的想法的一個例子，我們認為這是如何管理的。我們預計 CMP 的投資額約為 7 億美元。為了讓您感受到這一點，我們的浮動利率部分已經達到 5.8%。正如你可以想像的那樣，考慮到目前的情況，我們認為這是相當容易管理的。事實上，我們可能會在相對較快的時間內追求這一目標。

So just to give you an example of we're already looking here and have laid out kind of the next couple of years for you in terms of what's in front of us, and think it's manageable at this stage, even with the longer-for-higher kind of macro theme that's going on right now.

因此，只是給您舉個例子，我們已經在考慮這裡，並根據我們面前的情況為您制定了未來幾年的計劃，並認為在現階段這是可以管理的，即使是更長期的情況-現在正在發生的更高類型的宏觀主題。

Okay. Before we go off the call, I would just want to thank all of our shareholders and analysts that are on the call that have believed in me and our story. And just stick with us because the best is yet to come. Thank you.

好的。在我們結束電話會議之前，我只想感謝所有參加電話會議的股東和分析師，他們相信我和我們的故事。請繼續關注我們，因為最好的尚未到來。謝謝。

This concludes CenterPoint Energy's Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Thank you for your participation.

CenterPoint Energy 第三季財報電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。