CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to CenterPoint Energy's Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call with senior management. (Operator Instructions) I will now turn the call over to Jackie Richert, Senior Vice President of Corporate Planning, Investor Relations and Treausure. Ms. Richert, you may begin.

早安，歡迎參加 CenterPoint Energy 與高階管理層舉行的 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）我現在將電話轉給企業規劃、投資者關係和財務部高級副總裁 Jackie Richert。里克特女士，您可以開始了。

Good morning, and welcome to CenterPoint Energy's Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Jason Wells, our CEO; and Chris Foster, our CFO, will discuss the company's first quarter results. Management will discuss certain topics that will contain projections and other forward-looking information and statements that are based on management's beliefs, assumptions and information currently available to management.

早安，歡迎參加 CenterPoint Energy 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。 Jason Wells，我們的執行長；我們的財務長 Chris Foster 將討論公司第一季的業績。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 upon various factors as noted in our Form 10-Q, other SEC filings and our earnings materials. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements.

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陳述的義務。

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 a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures used in providing guidance, please refer to our news release and presentation on our website. We will use our website to announce material information. This call is being recorded. Information on how to access the replay can be found on our website.

我們將在今天的電話會議上討論某些非公認會計準則措施。在提供指導時，我們使用合併基礎上稀釋調整後每股收益的非公認會計原則每股收益衡量標準，稱為非公認會計原則每股收益。有關我們的指導方法以及提供指導時使用的非公認會計原則措施的調節的信息，請參閱我們網站上的新聞稿和演示文稿。我們將使用我們的網站公佈重大資訊。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 the call over to Jason.

現在我想把電話轉給傑森。

Thank you, Jackie, and good morning, everyone. Before spending most of my time discussing the impacts of and our response to Hurricane Beryl, I will very briefly touch on our results for the second quarter. I'll then turn it over to Chris for a regulatory update and a more detailed recap of our financial results.

謝謝你，傑基，大家早安。在花大部分時間討論颶風貝裡爾的影響和我們的應對措施之前，我將簡要介紹我們第二季度的業績。然後我會將其轉交給克里斯，以獲取監管更新和對我們財務表現的更詳細回顧。

For the second quarter, we reported GAAP and non-GAAP EPS of $0.36 per share. In addition, we are reaffirming our full year 2024 non-GAAP EPS guidance range of $1.61 to $1.63. Beyond 2024, we are also reaffirming our long-term guidance, where we expect to grow non-GAAP EPS and dividend per share growth at the mid-to-high end of our 6% to 8% range annually through 2030. Now, to turn to our primary area of focus.

第二季度，我們報告的 GAAP 和非 GAAP 每股收益為 0.36 美元。此外，我們重申 2024 年全年非 GAAP 每股盈餘指引範圍為 1.61 美元至 1.63 美元。 2024 年之後，我們也重申了我們的長期指導，預計到 2030 年，非 GAAP 每股收益和每股股息成長將保持在每年 6% 至 8% 範圍的中高端。

Earlier this month, Hurricane Beryl impacted our entire 5,000-square-mile service territory in the greater Houston area, causing power outages for nearly 2.3 million of our customers, or approximately 80% of our Houston electric customer base.

本月早些時候，颶風 Beryl 影響了我們在大休士頓地區整個 5,000 平方英里的服務區域，導致我們近 230 萬客戶（約占我們休士頓電力客戶群的 80%）停電。

We began tracking Hurricane Beryl and preparing for a possible impact nine days before Beryl made landfall. Initial forecasts showed that our service area in greater Houston would be spared a direct impact by the worst of the hurricane.

我們開始追蹤颶風“貝裡爾”，並在“貝裡爾”登陸前九天為可能的影響做好準備。初步預測顯示，我們在大休士頓的服務區域將不會受到最嚴重颶風的直接影響。

Nonetheless, we remained vigilant and planned for impact. We initially secured 3,000 mutual assistance crew members from locations safely outside of the projected path of the storm. We also coordinated with utilities across Texas and the region to ensure resource availability.

儘管如此，我們仍然保持警惕併計劃影響。我們最初從預計風暴路徑之外的安全地點招募了 3,000 名互助船員。我們還與德克薩斯州和該地區的公用事業公司進行協調，以確保資源可用性。

As the forecast trajectory changed, we quickly called on additional mutual assistance resources, ultimately activating and deploying over 15,000 CenterPoint mutual assistance crew members. Early in the morning on Monday, July 8, Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a powerful Category 1 hurricane with heavy rains, flooding, and up to 97-mile-hour winds that reached further inland than any storm experienced in Houston since 1983.

隨著預測軌蹟的變化，我們迅速調用了額外的互助資源，最終啟動並部署了超過 15,000 名 CenterPoint 互助人員。 7 月8 日星期一清晨，颶風貝裡爾作為1 級颶風登陸，帶來大雨、洪水和長達97 英里小時的風力，其到達內陸的距離比1983 年以來休斯敦經歷的任何風暴都要遠。

As part of our response, we restored power to over 1 million customers within 48 hours, replaced over 3,000 distribution poles on our system, walked over 8,500 circuit miles to repair damage, and deployed mobile generators at 28 sites across the greater Houston area to various critical facilities.

作為應對措施的一部分，我們在48 小時內為超過100 萬客戶恢復了供電，更換了系統中的3,000 多個配電桿，步行了8,500 多英里來修復損壞，並在大休斯頓地區的28 個站點部署了移動發電機關鍵設施。

Impacts to our distribution lines and facilities from vegetation, such as uprooted trees and related debris carried by the very high winds, were the primary cause of customer outages. In recent years, trees in the Houston area have been weakened due to a combination of high rainfall, prior drought conditions, as well as winter freezes. We trimmed or removed approximately 35,000 trees during our restoration process.

植被（例如連根拔起的樹木和強風帶來的相關碎片）對我們的配電線路和設施的影響是客戶停電的主要原因。近年來，由於高降雨量、先前的乾旱條件以及冬季結冰，休士頓地區的樹木已經衰弱。在修復過程中，我們修剪或移除了大約 35,000 棵樹。

Through discussion with one of our largest vegetation management companies, 60% of the vegetation it removed were trees that had fallen from outside of our rights-of-way. Over the last 18 months, we proactively worked to address the challenges these conditions present to our distribution system through increased vegetation management. In fact, in 2023, our Houston Electric business increased its vegetation management spend by over 30% from the prior year.

透過與我們最大的植被管理公司之一的討論，它清除的植被中有 60% 是從我們的通行權之外倒下的樹木。在過去 18 個月中，我們積極致力於透過加強植被管理來應對這些條件對我們的配送系統帶來的挑戰。事實上，到 2023 年，我們的休士頓電力公司的植被管理支出比前一年增加了 30% 以上。

We continue to execute and invest at a similar, higher level of vegetation management as we recognize the impacts of the challenging growing seasons experienced in the Houston area over the last three years, and the resulting threat they could have on our lines and infrastructure.

我們繼續執行和投資類似的、更高水準的植被管理，因為我們認識到過去三年休士頓地區經歷的充滿挑戰的生長季節的影響，以及它們可能對我們的線路和基礎設施造成的威脅。

In addition, Hurricane Beryl's destructive winds, in combination with already weakened trees, highlighted not only the urgency with which we need to execute on our vegetation management plan, but also the scope. As a result, we have doubled our vegetation management resources and are aggressively tackling the riskier line miles with trees nearby.

此外，颶風貝裡爾的破壞性大風，加上已經被削弱的樹木，不僅凸顯了我們執行植被管理計畫的迫切性，而且也凸顯了其範圍。因此，我們的植被管理資源增加了一倍，並積極應對附近有樹木的風險較高的線路里程。

We will trim or remove trees related to an incremental 2,000 miles of our system by December 31st of this year. This represents a nearly 50% increase compared to our planned work for 2024. The vegetation work we have begun is only a part of a more comprehensive plan to improve customer outcomes and directly address the customer concerns and frustrations voiced with respect to critical aspects of our emergency response.

到今年 12 月 31 日，我們將修剪或移除與我們系統增量 2,000 英里相關的樹木。與我們計劃的2024 年工作相比，增加了近50%。沮喪。

This plan will also help us better prepare our response in key areas to future storms or hurricanes. I will walk through the three pillars of our comprehensive action plan to address our customers' concerns. Our first pillar relates to our resiliency investments.

該計劃還將幫助我們更好地準備在關鍵地區應對未來的風暴或颶風。我將介紹我們全面行動計畫的三大支柱，以解決客戶的擔憂。我們的第一個支柱與我們的彈性投資有關。

By accelerating the adoption of advanced construction standards, retrofitting existing assets on an accelerated basis, and using predictive modeling and AI, as well as other advanced technologies, we will harden our distribution system to help withstand more extreme weather and improve the speed of restoration. This is in addition to proactive steps we took nearly two years ago when we moved to constructing at the new national standard for high wind and extreme ice loading.

透過加快採用先進建設標準、加速改造現有資產、利用預測模型和人工智慧等先進技術，我們將強化配電系統，幫助抵禦更極端的天氣，提高恢復速度。這是我們近兩年前採取的積極措施的補充，當時我們開始按照新的強風和極端冰荷載國家標準進行建造。

Second, we will build a best-in-class customer communications program. Since the derecho that impacted Houston in May, our outage tracker has not been available for our customers. The tracker we previously used was hosted on a physical server that was not able to accommodate the demand of millions of users at one time. To keep our communities informed, we provided daily restoration updates, but we understand that for many, this was insufficient.

其次，我們將建立一流的客戶溝通計畫。自從 5 月影響休士頓的 derecho 以來，我們的客戶就無法使用我們的停電追蹤器。我們之前使用的追蹤器託管在一台實體伺服器上，無法同時滿足數百萬用戶的需求。為了讓我們的社區了解情況，我們提供每日恢復更新，但我們知道對許多人來說這還不夠。

As one component of our customer communication action plan, we are launching a new, more customer-oriented outage tracker later this week. Our new outage tracker will help provide our customers more of the information they need in a timely fashion. It will also be comparable to what our Texas Peer Utility customers experience. The new tracker is cloud-based, which will also allow us to scale to high levels of demand.

作為我們客戶溝通行動計畫的一部分，我們將在本週稍後推出一款新的、更以客戶為導向的斷電追蹤器。我們新的停電追蹤器將幫助我們的客戶及時提供更多他們需要的資訊。它也將與我們德克薩斯州同行公用事業客戶的體驗相媲美。新的追蹤器基於雲，這也將使我們能夠擴展到高水準的需求。

Third, we will strengthen our partnerships with government and community leaders. Effective emergency preparedness and response requires close coordination with government officials. We will hire a seasoned emergency response leader to help the company rapidly accelerate its planning capabilities and to develop close community partnerships to help ease the burden of storm events on our more vulnerable communities.

第三，我們將加強與政府和社區領袖的夥伴關係。有效的緊急準備和應變需要與政府官員密切協調。我們將聘請一位經驗豐富的緊急應變領導者，幫助公司快速提高規劃能力，並發展密切的社區合作夥伴關係，以幫助減輕風暴事件對我們更脆弱的社區帶來的負擔。

We believe the work underlying these three pillars will support our efforts to build and operate a grid that meets the demands of one of the most dynamic economies in the United States here in Houston. The initial set of specific actions we are taking is laid out on slide three.

我們相信，這三大支柱的基礎工作將支持我們建造和營運電網的努力，以滿足休士頓美國最具活力的經濟體之一的需求。我們正在採取的最初一組具體行動列在第三張投影片上。

We will also be taking additional actions as we continue to learn from our internal reviews and external independent review, as well as through engagement with emergency response experts, our customers, elected officials, and community stakeholders.

我們也將繼續從內部審查和外部獨立審查中學習，並透過與緊急應變專家、我們的客戶、民選官員和社區利益相關者的接觸，採取更多行動。

Our singular and overarching goal is to improve in every area of our emergency preparedness and response. Whether it is before, during, or after any future storm, we will be better prepared to support, communicate with, and serve our customers in these times of emergency.

我們唯一的總體目標是改善緊急準備和應變的各個領域。無論是在未來的任何風暴之前、期間或之後，我們都將做好更好的準備，在這些緊急情況下支援、溝通和服務我們的客戶。

As we begin to execute this initial plan, we will work to consistently provide updates on our progress. The men and women at CenterPoint go to work every day with an unrelenting focus on delivering safe, reliable, and resilient energy to our customers, while also striving to improve their experience.

當我們開始執行這項初步計劃時，我們將努力持續提供最新進展。 CenterPoint 的員工每天都堅持不懈地致力於為我們的客戶提供安全、可靠和有彈性的能源，同時努力改善他們的體驗。

We will continue to make customer-focused capital investments to achieve better outcomes for the nearly 3 million electric customers and over 4 million gas customers across our six-state footprint.

我們將繼續進行以客戶為中心的資本投資，為我們六個州的近 300 萬電力客戶和超過 400 萬天然氣客戶取得更好的成果。

And with that, I'll turn it over to Chris.

有了這個，我會把它交給克里斯。

Thanks, Jason. Before I get into my updates, I want to echo Jason's gratitude to our customers and our communities. Our team is focused on improving our resilience and emergency response capabilities, and I will speak to our financial plan to support those efforts in my remarks today.

謝謝，傑森。在開始更新之前，我想表達 Jason 對我們的客戶和社群的感激之情。我們的團隊專注於提高我們的復原力和緊急應變能力，我將在今天的演講中談到我們支持這些努力的財務計劃。

Today, I'd like to cover three areas of focus. First, the details of our second quarter financial results and guidance. Second, I'll provide a brief update of the progress we're making on our regulatory calendar. Third, I'll touch on our capital deployment status this quarter and forecasted storm costs. And finally, I'll provide an update on our financing plan.

今天，我想談三個重點領域。首先，我們第二季財務業績和指導的詳細資訊。其次，我將簡要介紹我們在監管日曆上的進展。第三，我將談談本季我們的資本部署狀況和預測的風暴成本。最後，我將提供我們融資計劃的最新資訊。

Again, as Jason noted, today we are reaffirming our full year 2024 non-GAAP EPS guidance range of $1.61 to $1.63. Which represents 8% growth at the midpoint from our 2023 actual results of $1.50. Beyond 2024, we are also reaffirming our guidance, where we expect to grow non-GAAP EPS at the mid to high end of the 6% to 8% range annually through 2030, as well as targeting dividend per share growth in line with earnings per share growth.

正如 Jason 指出的，今天我們再次重申 2024 年全年非 GAAP 每股收益指引範圍為 1.61 美元至 1.63 美元。這意味著我們 2023 年實際業績 1.50 美元的中間值增長了 8%。 2024 年之後，我們也重申了我們的指導方針，預計到 2030 年，非 GAAP 每股收益每年將增長 6% 至 8% 的中高端，並將每股股息增長目標與每股收益保持一致。成長。

Let's now move to the financial results shown on slide four. On a GAAP EPS basis, we reported $0.36 for the second quarter of 2024. On a non-GAAP basis, we also reported $0.36 for the second quarter of 2024, compared to $0.28 in the second quarter of 2023.

現在讓我們來看看第四張投影片上顯示的財務表現。根據 GAAP 計算，我們報告的 2024 年第二季每股收益為 0.36 美元。

Diving into more detail of the earnings drivers for the quarter, growth and rate recovery contributed $0.10, which is primarily driven by the ongoing recovery from various interim mechanisms for which customer rates were updated last year, as well as the interim rates in our Minnesota gas business that went into effect on January 1 of this year.

深入了解本季獲利驅動因素的更多細節，成長和費率恢復貢獻了 0.10 美元，這主要是由於去年更新了客戶費率的各種臨時機制的持續復甦，以及我們明尼蘇達州天然氣的臨時費率該業務於今年1月1日起生效。

In addition, the Houston area continues to see strong organic growth, extending the long-term trend of 1% to 2% 3average annual customer growth. This sustained growth has been beneficial for our customers and investors alike.

此外，休士頓地區持續保持強勁的有機成長，延續了年均客戶成長 1% 至 2% 3 的長期趨勢。這種持續成長對我們的客戶和投資者都有好處。

O&M was $0.02 favorable for the quarter. This favorable variance was driven primarily by the fact that we incurred more of our expenses in the first quarter and had some of our scheduled activities diverted to attend to restoration efforts related to the major HO storm. Partially offsetting the favorable items from rate recovery in O&M were unfavorable weather and increased interest expense.

本季 O&M 利潤為 0.02 美元。這種有利的差異主要是由於我們在第一季產生了更多的費用，並且我們的一些預定活動被轉移到與主要的 HO 風暴相關的恢復工作上。不利的天氣和利息支出的增加部分抵消了維運費率恢復帶來的有利因素。

Weather and usage were $0.01 unfavorable when compared to the comparable quarter of 2023, driven primarily by a milder spring in our Minnesota gas service territory. Interest expense was $0.06 unfavorable, primarily driven by the new debt issuances since the first quarter of last year to fund customer-driven work across our electric and gas territories at a higher relative cost of debt. I now want to turn to an update on our broader regulatory calendar in progress, and I'll cover these sequentially from the dates filed.

與 2023 年同期相比，天氣和使用量不利了 0.01 美元，這主要是由於明尼蘇達州天然氣服務地區春季氣候溫和所致。利息支出為 0.06 美元，主要是由於自去年第一季以來發行新債券，以相對較高的債務成本為我們電力和天然氣領域客戶驅動的工作提供資金。我現在想談談我們正在進行的更廣泛的監管日曆的更新，我將從提交的日期開始按順序介紹這些內容。

Starting with Texas Gas, where last month, we received Railroad Commission approval of our now final settlement. As a reminder, our four Texas gas jurisdictions will now be consolidated on a go-forward basis for our ongoing rate adjustments. This new consolidation should benefit many customers through a lower impact on their bills from certain investments, and also a reduced administrative burden for other stakeholders.

從德州天然氣公司開始，上個月，我們收到了鐵路委員會對我們現在的最終和解的批准。提醒一下，我們的四個德州天然氣管轄區現在將在未來的基礎上進行整合，以進行持續的費率調整。這種新的整合應該會讓許多客戶受益，因為某些投資對他們的帳單的影響較小，並且還減輕了其他利害關係人的管理負擔。

Moving next to the filed Minnesota gas rate case. And as a reminder, we filed our rate case on November 1 of last year. As discussed on the last call, the interim rates for 2024 were approved in mid-December and went into effect on January 1.

接下來是已提交的明尼蘇達州天然氣費率案件。提醒一下，我們在去年 11 月 1 日提交了費率案件。正如上次電話會議中討論的那樣，2024 年的臨時費率於 12 月中旬獲得批准，並於 1 月 1 日生效。

The Minnesota Commission will consider interim rates for 2025 toward the end of this year, depending on how far along we are in the case. Hearings are scheduled to occur in the middle of December of this year. Ahead of those hearings, we intend to engage in settlement discussions with parties involved in the case. And as you may recall, we have settled our previous three rate cases in our Minnesota gas jurisdiction.

明尼蘇達州委員會將在今年年底考慮 2025 年的臨時費率，具體取決於案件進展。聽證會定於今年 12 月中旬舉行。在聽證會之前，我們打算與案件相關各方進行和解討論。您可能還記得，我們​​已經解決了明尼蘇達州天然氣管轄區之前的三起費率案件。

Now, turning to the Indiana electric rate case. We currently have a non-unanimous settlement pending approval. Hearings on this settlement will begin the first week of September with a new statutory deadline for a final order of February 3. We look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to achieve what we believe to be a reasonable outcome for all parties.

現在，轉向印第安納州電價案例。我們目前有一項非一致和解協議有待批准。有關此和解協議的聽證會將於9 月第一週開始，最終命令的新法定截止日期為2 月3 日。我們期待繼續與利害關係人合作，以實現我們認為對各方來說合理的結果。

I'll now touch on our largest jurisdiction, Houston Electric. Over the last month, we have been engaged with many stakeholders as part of settlement discussions in our pending rate case. Those discussions are ongoing, and we continue to provide regular updates to the ALJ in the case. In addition, as we execute on the actions we've laid out following Hurricane Beryl, we intend to work with stakeholders on how to amend our system resiliency plan with the PUCT.

我現在要談談我們最大的司法管轄區休士頓電力公司。上個月，我們與許多利益相關者進行了接觸，作為待決利率案件和解討論的一部分。這些討論正在進行中，我們將繼續定期向 ALJ 提供案件的最新情況。此外，當我們執行颶風 Beryl 後製定的行動時，我們打算與利害關係人合作，討論如何透過 PUCT 修改我們的系統彈性計畫。

The process is fluid, but at this stage, we have abated the schedule on the underlying system resiliency plan, which all parties have agreed to. This allows us to take the coming months to reflect stakeholder input and additional potential system resiliency concepts that emerge from our after-action review and the review of the PUCT. We currently anticipate filing a revised plan later in Q1 2025.

這個過程是不穩定的，但在現階段，我們已經減少了底層系統彈性計畫的時間表，各方都同意了。這使我們能夠在未來幾個月內反映利害關係人的意見以及我們的行動後審查和 PUCT 審查中出現的其他潛在系統彈性概念。目前，我們預計將在 2025 年第一季稍後提交修訂後的計劃。

Lastly, I want to briefly mention that next month we will file a notice of intent for our upcoming rate case for our Ohio gas business, which is approximately $1.4 billion in rate base.

最後，我想簡單提一下，下個月我們將為俄亥俄州天然氣業務即將推出的費率案例提交一份意向通知，該業務的費率基礎約為 14 億美元。

Next, I'll touch on our capital investments thus far in 2024, as shown on slide 6, including the anticipated impact of storm costs and their associated recovery. In the second quarter of 2024, we invested $800 million of base work for the benefit of our customers and communities.

接下來，我將介紹 2024 年迄今我們的資本投資，如投影片 6 所示，包括風暴成本及其相關恢復的預期影響。 2024 年第二季度，我們投資了 8 億美元的基礎工作，以造福我們的客戶和社區。

This excludes spending related to storm restoration. We now have a little less than 60% of our original 2024 capital expenditure target of $3.7 billion to be invested over the remainder of the year, excluding storm costs. We remain on track to meet our capital investment target, despite the interruptions of normal capital deployment from the storms we've experienced this year.

這不包括與風暴恢復相關的支出。現在，我們在今年剩餘時間內投資的 2024 年原始資本支出目標（37 億美元）略低於 60%（不包括風暴成本）。儘管今年經歷的風暴中斷了正常的資本部署，但我們仍有望實現資本投資目標。

Maintaining our target as we consider a revised version of the resiliency work is a reflection of the conservatism with which we plan each and every year. Although the cost invoicing is not final, total spending associated with the May storm events and Hurricane Beryl are currently estimated to be approximately $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion.

在我們考慮彈性工作的修訂版本時維持我們的目標反映了我們每年計劃的保守性。儘管成本發票尚未最終確定，但與 5 月風暴事件和颶風 Beryl 相關的總支出目前估計約為 16 億至 18 億美元。

We currently anticipate that we will securitize both the capital and non-capital portion of the $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion distribution costs to limit the impact to our customers on their bills, and will include approximately $100 million of transmission investments within the next T-cost recovery filing.

我們目前預計將把 15 億至 17 億美元的分銷成本的資本和非資本部分證券化，以限制對客戶帳單的影響，並將在下一個 T 成本中包括約 1 億美元的輸電投資恢復歸檔。

Based on the total current average residential electric bill, we estimate that these costs could result in an increase of a little more than 2%. As a reminder, the mechanism to recover storm costs in the state of Texas is very constructive and cost-effective for customers.

根據目前的平均住宅電費總額，我們估計這些成本可能會導致 2% 以上的成長。需要提醒的是，德州的風暴成本回收機制對於客戶來說非常有建設性且具有成本效益。

Texas TDUs are able to securitize non-T-cost storm-related costs in excess of approximately $100 million under existing statutory authority. As a result, we anticipate filing for securitization in the fourth quarter of this year, with securitization bond proceeds expected to be received towards the end of next year.

根據現有法定授權，德州 TDU 能夠將超過約 1 億美元的非 T 成本風暴相關成本證券化。因此，我們預計今年第四季將提交證券化申請，預計明年年底將收到證券化債券收益。

Finally, I want to touch on our balance sheet and how we're thinking about funding the storm costs I just discussed. As of the end of the second quarter, our calculated FFO-to-debt was 13.3%. Based on our calculation aligning with Moody's methodology as shown on slide 7, the second quarter tends to be our lightest quarter due to the timing of incremental financing relative to interim recovery mechanisms.

最後，我想談談我們的資產負債表，以及我們如何考慮為我​​剛才討論的風暴成本提供資金。截至第二季末，我們計算出的 FFO 負債比率為 13.3%。根據我們與投影片 7 所示的穆迪方法一致的計算，由於相對於臨時復甦機制的增量融資時機，第二季往往是我們最輕鬆的季度。

This quarter also had a temporary cash flow item that we expect to normalize through the next quarter. Taking a step back, as we continue to see the need to fund growth we are experiencing in Texas, we remain focused on the balance sheet. And with respect to our financing plans through the end of the year, we have evolved our approach. Recognizing the storm impacts.

本季還有一個臨時現金流項目，我們預計該項目將在下個季度正常化。退一步來說，由於我們繼續看到需要為德州正在經歷的成長提供資金，因此我們仍然專注於資產負債表。對於我們到年底的融資計劃，我們已經改進了我們的方法。認識風暴的影響。

As we remain committed to maintaining our current credit metrics in light of these incremental costs, we intend to pull forward $250 million of equity planned for 2025 into this year, which is in addition to the $250 million issued to date. This does not change our long-term equity guidance, rather should only be considered as an acceleration.

由於我們仍然致力於根據這些增量成本維持當前的信貸指標，因此我們打算將 2025 年計劃的 2.5 億美元股權推遲到今年，這是在迄今為止發行的 2.5 億美元之外的。這不會改變我們的長期股權指引，而應僅被視為一種加速。

We will also incorporate higher equity content into our upcoming debt issuances to enhance credit metrics until the anticipated securitization proceeds are received. We would also see this as pulling forward instruments we've been considering in our long-term plans as mentioned in recent quarterly calls. We remain confident in the continuation of our long-term execution.

我們也將在即將發行的債券中納入更高的股權含量，以增強信用指標，直到收到預期的證券化收益。我們也將這視為我們在最近的季度電話會議中提到的長期計劃中一直在考慮的推進工具。我們對繼續長期執行充滿信心。

The last thing I want to mention is we are making good progress related to the sale of our Louisiana and Mississippi gas LDCs. We, along with the filings, including filings with the Louisiana and Mississippi public service commissions, and we look forward to working constructively with the commissions to facilitate the approval proceedings.

我想提及的最後一件事是，我們在出售路易斯安那州和密西西比州天然氣最不發達國家方面取得了良好進展。我們連同這些文件，包括向路易斯安那州和密西西比州公共服務委員會提交的文件，我們期待與這些委員會進行建設性合作，以促進審批程序。

We still anticipate closing the sale late in the first quarter of 2025, and it is anticipated to result in after-cash tax proceeds of approximately $1 billion. As a reminder, a majority of these proceeds will be used to fund our capital investments at Houston Electric for the benefit of customers.

我們仍預計在 2025 年第一季末完成出售，預計將帶來約 10 億美元的稅後收益。謹此提醒，這些收益的大部分將用於為我們在休士頓電力的資本投資提供資金，以造福客戶。

And with that, I'll now turn the call back over to Jason.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉回給傑森。

Thank you, Chris. Regardless of the challenges we face, this management team remains firmly committed to delivering for all of our stakeholders, our customers, our communities, our regulators, our legislators and our investors.

謝謝你，克里斯。無論我們面臨什麼樣的挑戰，這個管理團隊仍然堅定地致力於為我們所有的利害關係人、我們的客戶、我們的社區、我們的監管機構、我們的立法者和我們的投資者提供服務。

Thank you, Jason. With that, operator, we're now ready for Q&A.

謝謝你，傑森。至此，操作員，我們現在準備好進行問答了。

Thank you. At this time we will begin taking questions. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。這時候我們就開始提問。 （操作員說明）

Shar Pourreza, Guggenheim Partners.

沙爾‧普爾雷扎，古根漢合夥人。

Hey guys. Good morning.

嘿夥計們。早安.

Morning Shar.

早安，莎爾。

Morning. Jason, maybe a little bit of a tough question to answer, but I guess, how do you see the commentary that we've all been listening to from customers, legislators, and kind of stakeholders impacting the current settlement negotiations in the Houston Electric rate case?

早晨。傑森，也許這是一個很難回答的問題，但我想，您如何看待我們一直從客戶、立法者和利益相關者那裡聽到的影響休斯頓電力費率當前和解談判的評論案件？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Shar. Clearly, as I've said in a number of different forums, we can and will be better. These are important issues for the greater Houston region, for Texas. Ultimately, though, the answer for getting better is continued investment and resiliency of our system.

是的。謝謝你的提問，莎爾。顯然，正如我在許多不同的論壇上所說的那樣，我們可以而且將會做得更好。對於大休士頓地區和德州來說，這些都是重要議題。但最終，變得更好的答案是持續投資和我們系統的彈性。

I think that needs to or will be reflected in the continued negotiations that are occurring from a settlement standpoint. There's, again, clear demand that we need to communicate better, that we need to mitigate the risk of these outages moving forward. And I think, ongoing settlement discussions are all just part of putting the company in a position to continue to be able to make that progress.

我認為，從和解的角度來看，這需要或將會反映在正在進行的持續談判中。再次明確要求我們需要更好地溝通，我們需要減輕這些中斷的風險。我認為，正在進行的和解討論只是讓公司能夠繼續取得進展的一部分。

Okay. Got it. Then, just lastly, obviously, Hurricane Beryl certainly highlighted more work needs to be done, and you had a level of resiliency spending bucketed as upside to the $44.5 billion CapEx plan. I guess, how do the recent events impact that bucket even directionally? How fast do you plan to ramp up in light of the increased urgency with the current regulatory construct that's out there? Thanks.

好的。知道了。然後，最後，顯然，颶風貝裡爾無疑強調了需要做更多的工作，並且您有一定程度的彈性支出，這被認為是 445 億美元資本支出計劃的上行空間。我想，最近發生的事件對這個桶子有何直接影響？鑑於當前監管結構的緊迫性日益增加，您計劃以多快的速度加快步伐？謝謝。

Yes, I think it's definitely an area of focus. We were investing in resiliency prior to that resiliency legislation. I think we heard loud and clear at the PUCT meeting last week that we need to continue to move forward. We've made commitments to move forward.

是的，我認為這絕對是一個重點領域。在彈性立法之前，我們就對彈性進行了投資。我認為我們在上週的 PUCT 會議上清楚地聽到我們需要繼續前進。我們已經做出了前進的承諾。

Ultimately, while we've pulled down the system resiliency plan, and we are working with outside experts, taking feedback, we'll obviously work with parties in the case, we plan to rapidly refile it. I think the short of it means there's probably more support for incremental resiliency investments.

最終，雖然我們已經取消了系統彈性計劃，並且我們正在與外部專家合作，以獲取回饋，但我們顯然會與案件中的各方合作，我們計劃迅速重新歸檔。我認為，它的不足意味著可能會為增量彈性投資提供更多支援。

I'll give you one example. In the filing, we proposed continued sectionalization of our system, which is an important part of isolating outages, helping minimize the overall number. We proposed a pace of about 20 years in that program.

我給你舉一個例子。在文件中，我們建議繼續對系統進行分區，這是隔離中斷的重要組成部分，有助於最大限度地減少總數。我們在該計劃中提出了大約 20 年的步伐。

I think that's a program that we need to revisit. I don't think the 20-year pace is no longer a pace that folks expect of us. If anything, I think the bias will be towards accelerating incremental resiliency investment as opposed to delaying it.

我認為我們需要重新審視這個計劃。我不認為20年的步伐不再是人們對我們期望的步伐。如果有什麼不同的話，我認為人們會傾向於加速增量彈性投資，而不是推遲它。

Got it. Okay. Appreciate it. I'll pass it to someone else. Thank you, guys.

知道了。好的。欣賞它。我會把它傳給別人。謝謝你們，夥計們。

Steve Fleishman, Wolfe Research.

史蒂夫‧弗萊什曼，沃爾夫研究中心。

Yes, hi, good morning.

是的，嗨，早安。

Good morning.

早安.

Good morning. So, just on the, I guess, first, a question on the financing plan, the comment on the equity content in the upcoming refinancing, should we assume that's more like a junior subordinated, or could that be like a convertible? Any more color on the likely type of financing there?

早安.因此，我想，首先，關於融資計劃的問題，對即將到來的再融資中股權內容的評論，我們是否應該假設這更像是初級次級債券，或者可能像可轉換債券？關於可能的融資類型還有更多的資訊嗎？

Morning, Steve. It is fair to say that we're certainly looking at different versions of hybrids to pull in more equity content into the plan. And as I mentioned this morning, the other piece is just to pull forward $250 million. Again, to be clear, that doesn't change the overall guide from 2024 to 2030 of the $1.75 billion total.

早安，史蒂夫。可以公平地說，我們當然正在考慮不同版本的混合動力，以將更多的股權內容納入計劃中。正如我今天早上提到的，另一部分只是籌集 2.5 億美元。再次需要明確的是，這不會改變 2024 年至 2030 年 17.5 億美元總額的整體指引。

It's just a pull forward of that piece. And as you can imagine, the point there is to just be able to have that in place to comfortably position the balance sheet until we get the anticipated securitization proceeds. Currently thinking those are probably going to be end of year next year.

這只是那件作品的前拉。正如您可以想像的那樣，關鍵是要能夠輕鬆地調整資產負債表，直到我們獲得預期的證券化收益。目前認為這些可能會在明年年底進行。

Okay. And then maybe you could just give us some color on how the rating agencies are reacting to this event and spend in your updated plan. And it's going to be a little while before we know and see the securitization, so just thoughts on kind of their willingness to be patient.

好的。然後也許您可以給我們一些關於評級機構對這一事件的反應以及在更新計劃中的支出的信息。我們還需要一段時間才能了解並看到證券化，所以只需考慮一下他們是否願意耐心等待。

Sure thing. I think it's fair to say we're having a conversation, Steve, obviously, about both how we're thinking about the plan that Jason has referenced, where we're going to aggressively move forward here in 2024 to do some critical work in the immediate sense. Longer term, we're also talking about some initial thinking on moving forward, ideally in Q1 with a subsequent revised system resiliency plan filing.

當然可以。我認為可以公平地說，史蒂夫，我們正在進行對話，顯然，我們正在討論傑森提到的計劃，以及我們將在 2024 年積極推進該計劃，在以下方面開展一些關鍵工作：直接的感覺。從長遠來看，我們還在討論一些關於前進的初步想法，最好是在第一季提交隨後修訂的系統彈性計劃。

I think in this case, Texas has had a consistent construct in the state for utilities to securitize costs above the $100 million point. Certainly, that's the case here. And so, sharing certainly that history and consistent history of the state as well in terms of its overall construct. So, fairly fluid conversations, you can imagine, just given how quickly we're moving on a few fronts, but certainly sharing all of our different activities.

我認為在這種情況下，德州對於公用事業公司將 1 億美元以上的成本進行證券化有著一致的構想。當然，這裡就是這種情況。因此，當然要分享國家的歷史和一貫的歷史，以及國家的整體結構。因此，您可以想像，考慮到我們在幾個方面的進展速度有多快，對話相當流暢，但肯定會分享我們所有不同的活動。

Okay. Great. Thank you.

好的。偉大的。謝謝。

Jeremy Tonet, JPMorgan Securities.

傑里米·託內特，摩根大通證券。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Good morning, Jeremy.

早上好，傑里米。

I wanted to pick up on the storm commentary. Thank you for the detail today. Just pulling it all together, looking at your post-hurricane action plan in the items you laid out here, how do you feel about, I guess, how Houston Electric can respond to the next storm out there? Do you think you have the pieces in place now to see a better response, even if everything's not in place altogether? Just wondering how you guys think you stand now.

我想聽聽風暴評論。謝謝你今天的詳細介紹。將所有內容放在一起，看看您在此處列出的項目中的颶風後行動計劃，我想您對休士頓電力公司如何應對下一場風暴有什麼看法？即使一切還沒有完全到位，您是否認為現在已經做好了準備，可以看到更好的反應？只是想知道你們現在的處境如何。

Yes, no, thanks for the question. I do feel confident. As I mentioned yesterday in the Senate hearing, it offers no relief to the customers impacted by Beryl. We were moving with pace and urgency after the derecho to move to a fully scalable outage tracker platform that would offer estimated times of restoration consistent with industry-leading practices and had begun the work to overhaul our communications.

是的，不，謝謝你的提問。我確實感到有信心。正如我昨天在參議院聽證會上提到的那樣，它並沒有為受 Beryl 影響的客戶帶來任何緩解。在 derecho 之後，我們正在快速且緊迫地轉向完全可擴展的斷電追蹤平台，該平台將提供與行業領先實踐一致的估計恢復時間，並已開始徹底改革我們的通訊。

That's why I feel confident that if a named storm threatens the Texas Gulf Coast region, we'll be in a much better position to communicate before, during, and after that storm. I think giving our customers the information they unfortunately lack during Hurricane Beryl, but it's that work that we've been doing in advance that I think helps on the communication front.

這就是為什麼我有信心，如果一場命名風暴威脅到德州墨西哥灣沿岸地區，我們將能夠在風暴之前、期間和之後更好地進行溝通。我認為向我們的客戶提供他們在颶風貝裡爾期間不幸缺乏的信息，但我認為正是我們事先所做的工作在溝通方面有所幫助。

Equally, it offers no relief to the customers that experienced this pain during Beryl, but we had been working on bringing a lot of the innovative predictive modeling to target enhanced vegetation management and resiliency investments for work.

同樣，它也無法緩解 Beryl 期間經歷過這種痛苦的客戶，但我們一直在努力引入許多創新的預測模型，以增強植被管理和工作彈性投資。

That's why I'm confident that as we execute on the incremental resiliency commitments that we've made to Governor Abbott and others, it will have a meaningful impact for our communities. The last month has been tough on the City of Houston. We understand the role we play, but that's also why I have confidence looking forward.

這就是為什麼我相信，當我們履行向艾伯特州長和其他人做出的增量彈性承諾時，它將對我們的社區產生有意義的影響。上個月對休士頓市來說是艱難的一個月。我們了解我們所扮演的角色，但這也是我對未來充滿信心的原因。

Got it. Thank you for that. Just to follow up here, you mentioned that 60% of the downfall came from outside of your right-of-ways. What can you do about that going forward? Also, I guess just the assets overall, how did the hardened assets perform during the hurricane? Just want to see what value you think has been delivered with prior hardening here.

知道了。謝謝你。在此跟進，您提到 60% 的失敗來自於您的通行權之外。未來你能做些什麼？另外，我猜只是整體資產，硬化資產在颶風期間表現如何？只是想看看您認為在此之前的強化已帶來什麼價值。

Yeah. Again, it offers no relief to the customers, but we are seeing the value of resiliency investments. We saw very minimal structural damage on our transmission system substations. Strategically, it makes sense to put the first investments in the backbone of the system from a resiliency standpoint. We've begun some of the incremental sectionalization work and hardening of distribution circuits. That work saved over 150,000 outages in the communities that we deployed that.

是的。同樣，它並沒有為客戶帶來任何緩解，但我們看到了彈性投資的價值。我們看到我們的輸電系統變電站的結構損壞非常小。從戰略上講，從彈性的角度來看，將第一筆投資放在系統的骨幹上是有意義的。我們已經開始了一些增量分區工作和配電電路的加固。這項工作在我們部署的社區中避免了超過 150,000 次中斷。

I think moving forward from a resiliency standpoint, it's the acceleration of that work on the distribution grid that will have the most meaningful impact to minimizing outages going forward. The key issue, though, at the end of the day was, candidly, there was little structural damage on the system.

我認為，從彈性的角度來看，配電網工作的加速將對最大限度地減少未來的停電產生最有意義的影響。但坦白說，最終的關鍵問題是，系統幾乎沒有出現結構性損壞。

It was well less than even 0.5% of our poles failed. But what really caused the outages were, as you pointed out, 60% of the trees impacting our lines were outside of our right-of-way. Candidly, we don't have any authority today to trim and manage those trees. We are doing the work to identify the trees that create those hazards.

我們的燈桿失敗率遠低於 0.5%。但正如您所指出的，真正導致停電的原因是，影響我們線路的樹木中有 60% 位於我們的通行權之外。坦白說，我們今天沒有任何權力來修剪和管理這些樹木。我們正在努力識別造成這些危害的樹木。

We are proactively trying to work with property owners to access that property and address those trees, which are a safety issue, obviously, for the residential homeowner, as an example. A tree can just as easily fall into their home as it could into the power line. But we don't have authority today unless granted by the homeowner. So, looking to work with community leaders, our regulators, elected officials to make sure that we can continue to work at pace to address this vegetation that threatens our system moving forward.

我們正在積極嘗試與業主合作，以進入該物業並解決這些樹木問題，這對住宅業主來說顯然是一個安全問題。一棵樹就像掉進電線一樣容易掉入他們的家中。但今天我們沒有權力，除非得到房主的授權。因此，希望與社區領袖、監管機構、民選官員合作，確保我們能夠繼續加快步伐，解決威脅我們系統前進的植被問題。

Got it. Thank you for that.

知道了。謝謝你。

Nicholas Campanella, Barclays.

尼古拉斯·坎帕內拉，巴克萊銀行。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions this morning. I appreciate all the details.

嘿，早安。感謝您今天早上回答我的問題。我很欣賞所有的細節。

Good morning, Nick.

早安，尼克。

Morning. Just wanted to follow-up. As we kind of contemplate pulling forward some of this equity from '25 into '24, and then you also talked about doing this equity content financing as well, I know you talked about some kind of one-time issues in the 12-month episode of debt. Where do you think you kind of end at the base year, just based on the current plan today?

早晨。只是想跟進。當我們考慮將部分股權從 25 年推進到 24 年時，然後您也談到了進行股權內容融資，我知道您在 12 個月的劇集中談到了某種一次性問題的債務。僅根據今天的當前計劃，您認為基準年的結果是什麼？

Sure. Good morning. I think if you saw this report this morning, as you can imagine, some of this is just the differing methodologies. But from this standpoint, in the S&P methodology, there's the assumption that the securitization proceeds do come through, which moves us up to well above the downgrade threshold, up to 12.9%.

當然。早安.我想如果你今天早上看到這份報告，你可以想像，其中一些只是方法論的不同。但從這個角度來看，在標準普爾方法論中，假設證券化收益確實實現，這使我們的評級遠高於降級門檻，高達 12.9%。

At Moody's, right, they treated slightly differently, so it takes us from that roughly 14% to 13.3% where we are this morning. I do have to emphasize, though, Nick, keep in mind that last year this was the same situation. This is a bit of the trough that occurs in Q2 before we pick back up.

在穆迪（右），他們的處理方式略有不同，因此我們的股價從今天早上的大約 14% 升至 13.3%。不過，我必須強調，尼克，請記住去年也是同樣的情況。這是我們回升之前第二季出現的低谷。

And we've got a one-time item that we believe in Q3 that you'll be able to see come through further improving FFO to debt. Hard for me to be specific about year end, but just you can imagine where we are at this point is it's a transitory impact year of the time period that will pass between now and the securitization proceeds.

我們有一個一次性項目，我們相信在第三季您將能夠看到透過進一步改善 FFO 與債務的關係來實現。我很難具體說明年底的情況，但你可以想像我們目前所處的位置，這是從現在到證券化進程之間的一個短暫影響年。

Okay. Thanks for that. And then I guess you spoke about doubling some of the labor efforts around the tree trimming. Can you remind us, because you do have this 1% to 2%, I think it's an O&M reduction forecast in the long-term plan? Does that need to be reassessed? Can you execute on that, even net of these veg management increases? How do we think about that? Does that stuff get deferred? I'll leave it there. Thanks.

好的。謝謝你。然後我猜你談到了將修剪樹木的一些勞動力加倍。您能否提醒我們，因為您確實有這1%到2%，我認為這是長期計畫中的維運減少預測？這是否需要重新評估？即使扣除這些蔬菜管理的增加，你還能執行嗎？我們對此有何看法？這些東西會被延後嗎？我會把它留在那裡。謝謝。

Thanks for the question, Nick. I think we continue to see opportunity to drive efficiency in our O&M practices to help support that overall 1% to 2% reduction in O&M. We continue to highlight, as we have in the past, a classic example of that is the benefit of deploying the next generation of smarter meters on the gas side. So, we see plenty of opportunity to continue to be efficient, which is, I think, obviously in our customers' interest, but also helps free up some opportunity to accelerate in other areas.

謝謝你的提問，尼克。我認為我們繼續看到提高維運實踐效率的機會，以幫助支持運維整體減少 1% 到 2%。正如過去一樣，我們繼續強調一個典型的例子，那就是在天然氣方面部署下一代智慧儀表的好處。因此，我們看到了許多繼續保持高效率的機會，我認為這顯然符合我們客戶的利益，也有助於釋放一些在其他領域加速發展的機會。

As I highlighted, we increased proactively our vegetation management over 30% last year in 2023, and we still achieved that 1% to 2% reduction year over year in 2023. We will always make the investment that's needed to drive an improvement in service, but I still feel like we've got a number of opportunities across the full scope of the company's operations to achieve on a consolidated basis that 1% to 2% O&M reduction.

正如我所強調的，我們去年在2023 年主動將植被管理增加了30% 以上，並且到2023 年我們仍然實現了同比減少1% 到2% 的目標。 ，但我仍然覺得我們在公司的整個營運範圍內有很多機會在綜合基礎上實現 1% 到 2% 的營運和維護減少。

That's helpful. Thanks so much.

這很有幫助。非常感謝。

Durgesh Chopra, Evercore.

杜爾吉什喬普拉，Evercore。

Good morning. Thank you for giving me time. Just, I think, Chris, you mentioned 2% will increase distribution spending. I had two questions related to that. First, the confidence level in $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion. I guess where I'm getting at with that is have you basically take on it? He doesn't have to call us or you're still incurring costs and that number could be significantly higher.

早安.謝謝你給我時間。只是，我想，克里斯，你提到 2% 將增加分銷支出。我有兩個與此相關的問題。首先，16億至18億美元的信心水準。我想我的意思是你基本上接受它了嗎？他不必打電話給我們，否則您仍然會產生費用，而且這個數字可能會高得多。

So that's one. And second, what that 2% is over used, assuming I guess, cost recovery over what timeframe over multiple years. Maybe just to if you could elaborate on that, please. Thank you.

這就是其中之一。其次，假設我猜想，這 2% 的過度使用是在多年的時間範圍內進行的成本回收。也許只是想請您詳細說明一下。謝謝。

Sure thing. Happy to. Good morning, Durgesh. I think there's really two pieces there. I think the first is -- I'll hit the second one first in terms of time frame. At this stage, we would be compiling the costs. The thing to keep in mind is that the existing construct in the state does allow for the entity to combine events that occur, including multiple events over a calendar year, into one securitization. So, again, we would seek to file that and ultimately assume, in this situation, end of year 2025 time frame for recoveries there.

當然可以。很高興。早上好，杜爾吉什。我認為那裡確實有兩塊。我認為第一個是——我將在時間框架上首先解決第二個。在此階段，我們將編製成本。需要記住的是，該州的現有結構確實允許實體將發生的事件（包括一年內的多個事件）合併到一個證券化中。因此，我們將再次尋求歸檔，並最終假設在這種情況下，到 2025 年底即可實現恢復。

As it relates to the overall kind of profile itself, the thing to keep in mind here is that we do already have a good feel of the asset-based costs associated with both the derecho and Hurricane Beryl. The primary driver beyond that is most commonly the labor costs, right?

由於它與整體概況本身相關，因此這裡要記住的是，我們確實已經對與 derecho 和颶風 Beryl 相關的基於資產的成本有了很好的了解。除此之外的主要驅動因素通常是勞動成本，對嗎？

The costs associated with nearly 15,000 individuals that were doing work on our system. And so, we do have a pretty good feel of how those are forecasted at this stage, which informs the disclosure this morning at the high end of $1.8 billion.

與在我們系統上工作的近 15,000 人相關的成本。因此，我們確實對現階段的預測有一個很好的了解，這為今天早上披露的 18 億美元的上限提供了資訊。

So, again, it's going to be a somewhat similar profile, just given the crews and the associated contracts are very similar as to what we saw in the situation with the derecho, and we're well over 75% of those costs already in. So, it gives us confidence to inform the profile that you see today.

因此，這將是一個有點相似的概況，只是考慮到船員和相關合約與我們在 derecho 的情況下看到的非常相似，而且我們已經支付了超過 75% 的成本。您今天看到的個人資料。

Excellent. Thank you. Just one quick clarification, Chris. The 2%, I think you mentioned the 2% impact on customer bills. I guess where I was going with the time frame is that assumes that $1.8 billion is collected over how many years?

出色的。謝謝。只是一個快速澄清，克里斯。 2%，我想你提到了 2% 對客戶帳單的影響。我想我的時間框架是假設多少年收集到 18 億美元？

Sure. Traditionally, in the statutory requirement in Texas, it's 15 years.

當然。傳統上，根據德克薩斯州的法定要求，該期限為 15 年。

Thank you. I appreciate the time.

謝謝。我很感激時間。

David, cargo, Morgan Stanley.

大衛，貨運，摩根士丹利。

Morning. I'm wondering if you might be able to comment on the legislative outlook from here. I'm curious if there are legislative initiatives that you might pursue or support, just any ideas that may be being explored by lawmakers in the state to help improve resiliency?

早晨。我想知道您是否可以從這裡對立法前景發表評論。我很好奇您可能會追求或支持哪些立法舉措，或者該州的立法者可能正在探索任何有助於提高彈性的想法？

A couple of the topics that have come up early on are consistent with my previous discussion around vegetation management. I think the question is, does the state of Texas, do we need to do something different to be able to attack these hazard trees that are outside of right-of-ways and do so in a manner that is obviously constructive with property owners? I think that's obviously a place to look.

早期提出的幾個主題與我先前關於植被管理的討論一致。我認為問題是，德克薩斯州是否需要採取一些不同的措施來攻擊這些超出通行權的危險樹，並以一種對業主明顯有建設性的方式進行？我認為這顯然是一個值得一看的地方。

The other thing that's come up is sort of the unique aspect of the market here in Texas, the fact that we have a service relationship with customers but not a commercial relationship. It's, at the end of the day, inexcusable that we don't have customer contact information at each address since we have that service-related responsibility. There may be something around that as well.

出現的另一件事是德州市場的獨特之處，即我們與客戶有服務關係，但沒有商業關係。歸根結底，我們沒有每個地址的客戶聯絡訊息，這是不可原諒的，因為我們負有與服務相關的責任。可能也有一些事情圍繞著這一點。

Clearly, yesterday, there was a lot of feedback on mobile generation. Right now, we want to be constructive with the policy objectives of the state. As I mentioned in the Senate hearing, we have an order by the PUCT that we cannot allow a customer to go more than 12 hours without power in a load shed event.

顯然，昨天有很多關於行動世代的回饋。現在，我們希望對國家的政策目標具有建設性。正如我在參議院聽證會上提到的，PUCT 有一項命令，規定我們不能允許客戶在斷電事件中中斷電力超過 12 小時。

Those assets are necessary to comply with that order, but if policymakers want to change that direction, obviously, we will work to support the policy direction of the state. There's a lot of different things being discussed now, and I think that they will come into greater focus as we approach the end of the year and, obviously, the start of the legislative session next year.

這些資產是遵守該命令所必需的，但如果政策制定者想要改變這個方向，顯然，我們將努力支持國家的政策方向。現在正在討論很多不同的事情，我認為，隨著年底的臨近，以及明年立法會議的開始，這些問題將成為人們更加關注的焦點。

Okay. That's helpful. Thanks. Maybe, Chris, just wondering if you might be able to clarify, is there a target for when you would expect to get back. At the FFO/Total debt level, you would expect to get back into the target range and get above 14%? For example, at Moody's?

好的。這很有幫助。謝謝。也許，克里斯，只是想知道你是否能夠澄清一下，你預計何時回來是否有一個目標。在 FFO/總債務水準上，您預計會回到目標範圍並超過 14%？例如，在穆迪？

Sure, David. I think what you'll see there naturally is that you'll have the adjustment upward from S&P that will take place, and then Moody's does so upon receipt of proceeds. Again, so you'd be looking at roughly Q4 of next year in this timeframe.

當然，大衛。我認為您自然會看到標準普爾將進行向上調整，然後穆迪在收到收益後就會進行調整。同樣，在這個時間範圍內，您大約會看到明年第四季。

Okay, understood. Thanks so much.

好的，明白了。非常感謝。

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies.

朱利安·杜穆蘭-史密斯，杰弗里斯。

Hey. Good morning, team. Thank you, guys, for the time. I hope you guys are hanging in there. Just maybe on the puts and takes, obviously, you talked about some of the accelerated equity here on '24. Just can we talk a little bit about your thoughts on the positive offsets here to the pressure points, whether it's additional OpEx in the form of these storms, to the extent to which there's any realized interest expense or ultimately just lost sales? How do you think about the good guys and bad guys in the offset there to maintain the outlook here in the very near term?

嘿。早上好，團隊。謝謝你們，夥計們，花時間。我希望你們能堅持下去。顯然，也許就看跌期權和看跌期權而言，您在 24 年談到了一些加速股本。我們能否談談您對壓力點的積極抵銷的想法，無論是這些風暴形式的額外營運支出，還是在多大程度上實現了利息支出或最終只是銷售損失？您如何看待補償中的好人和壞人以維持近期的前景？

Sure thing, Julien. In the very near term, as you can imagine, there was a usage impact associated with the storm itself. We also had a situation where we were having to adjust work temporarily as it related to the literal storm response and restoration. But ultimately, as we're looking through the remainder of the year, as you saw, we reaffirmed this morning, gives us confidence that we've got both two things going on.

當然可以，朱利安。正如您可以想像的那樣，在短期內，風暴本身會對使用產生影響。我們還遇到了一種情況，我們不得不暫時調整工作，因為這與實際的風暴響應和恢復有關。但最終，正如您所看到的，當我們展望今年剩餘時間時，我們今天早上重申了這一點，這讓我們相信我們已經完成了這兩件事。

One, the ability for the mutual aid and other crews who joined our colleagues to really effectively work to restore customers quickly. But also, as I mentioned, we have been able to retain confidence in achieving the base CapEx plan as well. So net of the different factors, including interest expense, we're confident that we're still able to reaffirm this morning.

一是互助組和其他與我們同事一起真正有效地工作以快速恢復客戶的能力。而且，正如我所提到的，我們也能夠對實現基本資本支出計畫保持信心。因此，扣除包括利息支出在內的不同因素，我們有信心今天早上仍然能夠重申這一點。

All right, fair enough. And then just coming back to the mobile gen, I mean, that's been getting a certain amount of attention here. And obviously, perhaps they were contemplated for a slightly different circumstance.

好吧，很公平。然後回到行動時代，我的意思是，這已經得到了一定程度的關注。顯然，也許他們是為了稍微不同的情況而考慮的。

How do you think about developing a more refined program here to target more of these localized distribution-related outages with vegetation management issues that you've encountered here? And ultimately, how does this work in, because of which you evaluate this or otherwise, into a revised timeline on the resiliency filing here? I know that there's various permutations there as well.

您如何考慮在這裡制定一個更完善的計劃，以解決您在這裡遇到的更多與局部配送相關的停電以及植被管理問題？最終，這將如何發揮作用，因此您對此或其他方面進行評估，以納入此處彈性歸檔的修訂時間表？我知道那裡也有各種排列。

Yeah, I mean, I strongly believe we have the most comprehensive mobile gen program consistent with what has been asked of us by the state and its policy objectives. The legislation was passed in 2021, and there was a focus on load shed events. Those are sort of larger units tied to substations.

是的，我的意思是，我堅信我們擁有最全面的行動發電計劃，符合國家及其政策目標對我們的要求。該法案於 2021 年通過，重點在於減載事件。這些是與變電站相連的較大裝置。

And as I mentioned yesterday, there's been 115 instances since that legislation started to be discussed where there were tight system conditions on our cotton. Those systems, those units may be to be utilized. We had also utilized in 2021 one of the medium-sized units for storm restoration and got a significant amount of pushback.

正如我昨天提到的，自從該立法開始討論以來，我們的棉花出現了 115 起系統條件緊張的情況。可以利用那些系統、那些單元。 2021 年，我們也利用了其中一台中型設備進行風暴恢復，但卻遭到了極大的阻力。

And I think the legislature clarified that in 2023. And as soon as we got that clarification in the fall of 2023, we increased the number of small units. And so, I'm proud that we were able to scale to 18 small units out of a total of 30. The other 12 we borrowed from our utility peers to be part of the storm response. And so, as I said yesterday, we manage a number of different risks, whether those are load shed events or storm response. We've got a portfolio of assets to kind of meet those needs.

我認為立法機關在 2023 年澄清了這一點。因此，我很自豪我們能夠從總共 30 個小型單位中擴展到 18 個。因此，正如我昨天所說，我們管理許多不同的風險，無論是減載事件還是風暴響應。我們擁有資產組合來滿足這些需求。

Now, obviously, as I said, if the policy objectives of the state change, we will change with them. But I think today we are maintaining a diversified portfolio for the diversified set of risks that we manage.

現在，顯然，正如我所說，如果國家的政策目標發生變化，我們也會隨之改變。但我認為今天我們正在維持多元化的投資組合，以應對我們管理的多元化風險。

Operator, I think we're going to have time for one more question.

接線員，我想我們還有時間再問一個問題。

Anthony Crowdell, Mizuho.

安東尼克勞德爾，瑞穗。

Hey, thanks for squeezing me in. I appreciate it. Just two quick ones. I'm not sure if one was answered. If I look on slide 3 and the plan and everything else, if I remember correctly, your system resiliency plan was between $2.2 billion and $2.7 billion. $2.2 billion was the base case. Then, what's on slide 3 be accomplished as a $2.7 billion number, or that would be above the $2.7 billion number?

嘿，謝謝你讓我加入。就兩個快的。我不確定是否有人回答。如果我查看幻燈片 3 和計劃以及其他所有內容，如果我沒記錯的話，您的系統彈性計劃在 22 億美元到 27 億美元之間。 22 億美元是基本假設。那麼，投影片 3 的內容是 27 億美元，還是高於 27 億美元？

Anthony, morning. I was thinking about it within the $2.7 billion. Keep in mind that we provide that higher end as an articulation of the ability to accelerate some work, and that's really what you're seeing here is a pretty aggressive acceleration here in 2024 to make sure we're doing more work on the system.

安東尼，早安。我是在27億美元之內考慮的。請記住，我們提供更高的目標是為了加速某些工作的能力，這實際上是您在 2024 年在這裡看到的相當積極的加速，以確保我們在系統上做更多的工作。

Great. And then a follow-up to an earlier question, you guys identified a lot of the outages occurred due to, I think, trees that are on customer's property. You guys didn't really have any responsibility over it. I mean, does undergrounding become more of a solution in your service territory than maybe years past? Thanks.

偉大的。然後是對先前問題的跟進，你們發現很多停電是由於客戶財產上的樹木造成的。你們其實對此沒有任何責任。我的意思是，與過去幾年相比，地下工程是否在您的服務區域中成為更多的解決方案？謝謝。

Yeah, thanks, Anthony. It's a great question, and I think one where there's certainly going to be a greater push for undergrounding, and it will play probably an even more prominent role in our resiliency efforts going forward. But what I think is important as well as to kind of balance it, about 60% of our customers today receive service through underground lines.

是的，謝謝，安東尼。這是一個很好的問題，我認為肯定會加大對地下化的推動，並且它可能會在我們未來的彈性工作中發揮更加突出的作用。但我認為重要的是，為了平衡這一點，今天大約 60% 的客戶透過地下線路獲得服務。

It's a pretty significant penetration of undergrounding already in the system. But the point of weakness is those communities are often fed with overhead lines kind of at the feeder level. That's where we saw the tree damage.

這是對系統中已有地下設施的相當大的滲透。但弱點是這些社區通常透過饋線級別的架空線路供電。這就是我們看到樹木受損的地方。

And so, I think we have to find a balance between undergrounding where it makes sense and where we have overhead lines, making sure that they are hardened and more resilient so that they're not the single point of failure, so to speak, from an outage standpoint. So, it's a little bit of an all of the above, but I would imagine that undergrounding takes an even greater prominence moving forward.

因此，我認為我們必須在有意義的地下和架空線路之間找到平衡，確保它們堅固且更有彈性，這樣它們就不會成為單點故障，可以說，停電的角度。所以，這只是上述所有一點，但我認為地下化在未來會變得更加突出。

Great. Thanks for taking my questions.

偉大的。感謝您回答我的問題。

Thanks Anthony.

謝謝安東尼。

Great. Operator, with that, that will now conclude our Q&A for the day. I appreciate everyone dialing in. I think with that, we'll conclude the call.

偉大的。接線員，今天的問答就到此結束。感謝大家撥電話。

This concludes CenterPoint Energy's second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Thank you for your participation and have a good day.

CenterPoint Energy 2024 年第二季財報電話會議至此結束。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。