California Water Service Group (CWT) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the California Water Service Group first-quarter 2026 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Thank you.

各位女士、先生，感謝您稍候。此刻，我謹代表公司歡迎各位參加加州水務服務集團（California Water Service Group）2026 年第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）謝謝。

I will now turn the conference over to James Lynch, Senior Vice President. You may begin.

現在我將把會議交給資深副總裁 James Lynch。您可以開始了。

Thank you, Demi. Welcome everyone to our first-quarter 2026 results call for California Water Service Group. With me today is Martin Kropelnicki, our Chairman and CEO; and Greg Milleman, our Vice President of Rates and Regulatory Affairs. Replay dial-in information for the call can be found in our quarterly results earnings release, which was issued earlier today. The call replay will be available until June 29, 2026. As a reminder, before we begin, the company has a slide deck to accompany today’s earnings call. The slide deck was furnished with an 8-K and is also available on the company’s website at www.calwatergroup.com.

謝謝你，Demi。歡迎各位參加加州水務服務集團 2026 年第一季業績電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有：董事長兼執行長 Martin Kropelnicki，以及費率與法規事務副總裁 Greg Milleman。本次電話會議的重播撥入資訊可於我們今日稍早發布的季度業績新聞稿中查閱。電話會議重播將提供至 2026 年 6 月 29 日。提醒各位，在開始之前，公司已準備投影片簡報以配合今日的財報電話會議。該投影片簡報已隨 8-K 一併提交，亦可於公司網站 www.calwatergroup.com 取得。

Before looking at our first-quarter 2026 results, I’d like to cover forward-looking statements. During our call, we may make certain forward-looking statements. Because these statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from the company’s current expectations. As a result, we strongly advise all current shareholders and interested parties to carefully read the company’s disclosures on risks and uncertainties found in our Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, press releases, and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

在檢視我們 2026 年第一季業績之前，我想先說明前瞻性陳述。在本次電話會議中，我們可能會作出若干前瞻性陳述。由於這些陳述涉及未來事件，因此受到各種風險與不確定性影響，實際結果可能與公司目前預期存在重大差異。因此，我們強烈建議所有現有股東及有興趣的各方，仔細閱讀公司在 Form 10-K、Form 10-Q、新聞稿以及其他向美國證券交易委員會提交之報告中所揭露的風險與不確定性。

And now I’ll turn the call over to Marty.

接下來我把電話會議交給 Marty。

Thanks, Jim. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us this morning to review our first-quarter 2026. There are only six primary areas that we want to talk about today. The first one being obviously the quarter, and I would say Q1 results were in line with our expectations given the fact we had a delayed 2024 General Rate Case. And to remind everyone, in March, we did get a proposed decision, and there’s a comment period that follows that proposed decision, which is 30 days.

謝謝，Jim。各位早安，感謝各位今天早上加入我們，一同回顧 2026 年第一季的表現。今天我們主要想談六個重點領域。第一個當然是本季表現；我會說，鑑於 2024 年一般費率案（General Rate Case）延後，我們第一季的結果符合我們的預期。提醒各位，我們在 3 月收到了擬議決定（proposed decision），而在該擬議決定之後會有 30 天的意見徵詢期。

Our comments were filed, and then yesterday we received what’s called a revised proposed decision that I’ve asked Greg to talk about a little bit more in detail later on in our discussion today. I will generally say that the revised proposed decision we’re very happy with, and we are on the docket today for approval at the California Public Utilities Commission. In terms of the quarter, again, given in light of the rate case, there was stuff we could not book because of the delay. But given where we are, in line expectations, I think the highlight of the quarter is the fact that our infrastructure investment for the first quarter was up 17%, and we continue to make good progress on our PFOS treatment and cost recovery from the polluters who put to the ground and the waters that we treat.

我們已提交意見，並且在昨天收到所謂的修訂擬議決定（revised proposed decision）；我已請 Greg 在今天稍後的討論中更詳細說明。整體而言，我想說我們對修訂擬議決定非常滿意，而且我們今天已排入加州公用事業委員會（California Public Utilities Commission）的議程，等待核准。就本季而言，同樣地，考量費率案的情況，由於延後，有些項目我們無法入帳。但以目前進度來看，結果符合預期；我認為本季亮點在於第一季基礎設施投資年增 17%，同時我們在 PFOS 處理方面持續取得良好進展，並向將污染物排放至土壤及我們所處理水源的污染者追償成本。

On the business development side, there’s really two areas, obviously we remain focused on the Nexus acquisition deal, as well as we have filed our change of control applications in Texas to advance our purchasing of the minority interest in BVRT, which is the Texas partnership that we’ve been involved in for the last five years. Yesterday at our Board of directors meeting, the Board declared a 325th consecutive quarterly dividend, and that follows, of course, the 59th annual dividend increase that we had in January.

在業務發展方面，主要有兩個重點：我們仍專注於 Nexus 收購交易；此外，我們已在德州提交控制權變更（change of control）申請，以推進我們收購 BVRT 少數股權的計畫；BVRT 是我們過去五年參與的德州合夥事業。昨天在董事會會議上，董事會宣布連續第 325 次季度股利發放；當然，這也延續了我們在 1 月完成的第 59 次年度股利調升。

Additionally, as I mentioned on our year-end earnings call, we have officially kicked off our centennial year of operations, which means we’ve been going out to the regions that we operate doing employee and customer celebrations which has gotten off to a very, very good start. I’ll talk a little bit more about that later on today.

另外，如我在年終財報電話會議中提到的，我們已正式啟動營運百年（centennial year）紀念，這表示我們已前往各營運區域舉辦員工與客戶慶祝活動，目前進展非常、非常順利。我今天稍後也會再多談一些。

Before we get into some of the details in these six subject areas, I’m going to turn it over to Jim to actually go through the financial results for the quarter. Jim, I'm going to hand it off to you, please.

在深入討論這六個主題領域的細節之前，我先把時間交給 Jim，請他說明本季的財務結果。Jim，請接續。

All right, thanks, Marty. As Marty mentioned, the proposed decision on our California 2024 General Rate Case is expected later this afternoon, and having said that, our first-quarter results do not include the impact of the revenue requirement or any of the other provisions included in the revised proposed decision. Recall that the company does have an interim rates memorandum account, and that does authorize us to retroactively apply the decision back to January 1, once it’s finalized, so we’re not losing out on any of the potential benefit from the rate case for the time that the decision has been delayed.

好的，謝謝，Marty。如 Marty 所提到，我們加州 2024 年一般費率案的擬議決定預計在今天下午稍晚出爐；也因此，我們第一季的結果尚未納入修訂擬議決定中所包含的收入需求（revenue requirement）或其他條款的影響。請記得，公司設有臨時費率備忘錄帳戶（interim rates memorandum account），一旦決定最終定案，該帳戶授權我們可將決定追溯適用至 1 月 1 日，因此在決定延後期間，我們不會失去費率案可能帶來的任何潛在利益。

In Q1 of 2026, revenue was $214.6 million compared to $204 million in the first quarter of 2025. Net income for the quarter was $4 million or $0.07 per diluted share compared to the prior year first quarter of $13.3 million or $0.22 per diluted share.

2026 年第一季營收為 2.146 億美元，較 2025 年第一季的 2.04 億美元增加。本季淨利為 400 萬美元，或稀釋後每股盈餘 0.07 美元；相較之下，去年第一季淨利為 1,330 萬美元，或稀釋後每股盈餘 0.22 美元。

Moving to slide 6, you can see the impact of activity during the quarter. The primary earnings drivers were rate increases, which added $0.11 per diluted share, and accrued and unbilled revenue, which added $0.06 per diluted share. The accrued and unbilled revenue increase was due primarily to warm and dry weather during the last month of the quarter. The revenue increases were partially offset by an overall decrease in consumption for the quarter, increased appreciation and interest expense related to new capital investments, and an increase in the effective income tax rate due to a reduction in tax credits, which when combined with other items reduced EPS by about $0.32 per diluted share.

接著看第 6 張投影片，您可以看到本季各項活動的影響。主要獲利驅動因素為費率調升，使稀釋後每股盈餘增加 0.11 美元，以及應計及未開帳營收（accrued and unbilled revenue），使稀釋後每股盈餘增加 0.06 美元。應計及未開帳營收的增加，主要是由於本季最後一個月天氣溫暖且乾燥。營收增加部分被以下因素抵銷：本季整體用量下降、與新增資本投資相關的折舊與利息費用增加，以及因稅額抵減（tax credits）減少而導致有效所得稅率上升；上述因素合併其他項目，使稀釋後每股盈餘約減少 0.32 美元。

Turning to slide 7, we continue to make significant investments in our water infrastructure to ensure the delivery of safe and reliable water. As Marty mentioned, our capital investments for the quarter were up 17.6% to $129.5 million. Our total planned capital investments for 2026 is $627 million, and this reflects the amounts included in the revised proposed 2024 California Rate Case decision. It also includes our estimated expenditures in the other states.

再看第 7 張投影片，我們持續大幅投資於供水基礎設施，以確保提供安全且可靠的用水。如 Marty 所提到，我們本季資本投資增加 17.6%，達 1.295 億美元。我們 2026 年規劃的資本投資總額為 6.27 億美元，該數字反映修訂擬議的 2024 年加州費率案決定中所包含的金額。其中也包含我們對其他州的公用事業之估計支出。

The constructive impact our capital investment program is having on regulated rate base is presented on slide 8. If approved as requested, the 2024 California GRC and Infrastructure Improvement Plan, coupled with planned PFOS investments and capital investments in our utilities in the other states, would result in a compounded annual rate base growth of over 11%.

我們的資本投資計畫對受監管費率基礎（regulated rate base）所帶來的正面影響，呈現在第 8 張投影片。若依我們的申請獲得核准，2024 年加州一般費率案（GRC）與基礎設施改善計畫（Infrastructure Improvement Plan），再加上規劃中的 PFOS 投資以及我們在其他州公用事業的資本投資，將使費率基礎的年複合成長率超過 11%。

Moving to slide 9, we continue to maintain a strong liquidity profile to execute our capital plan, and we continue to pursue tuck-in M&A opportunities as we progress on the acquisitions in Nevada, Oregon, and BVRT. As of March 31, 2026, we had $58.1 million in unrestricted cash and $45.6 million in restricted cash, along with approximately $470 million available on our bank lines of credit.

接著看第 9 張投影片，我們持續維持強勁的流動性狀況，以執行我們的資本計畫；同時，隨著我們推進在內華達州、奧勒岡州以及 BVRT 的收購案，我們也持續尋求補強型（tuck-in）併購機會。截至 2026 年 3 月 31 日，我們擁有 5,810 萬美元的非受限現金與 4,560 萬美元的受限現金，此外，我們的銀行循環信用額度尚有約 4.70 億美元可用。

We maintain credit facilities totaling $600 million that are expandable to $800 million, with maturities that extend into March of 2028. We also have over $340 million remaining on the shelf registration we filed in connection with our ATM program after completing approximately $6.1 million of program sales during the first quarter. Importantly, both Group and Cal Water maintained strong credit ratings of A+ stable from S&P Global, underscoring the strength of our balance sheet.

我們維持總額 6.00 億美元、可擴增至 8.00 億美元的信用融資，且到期日延伸至 2028 年 3 月。此外，在第一季完成約 610 萬美元的 ATM 計畫銷售後，我們先前為 ATM 計畫所提交的架上註冊（shelf registration）仍有超過 3.40 億美元的額度可用。重要的是，Group 與 Cal Water 皆維持 S&P Global 給予的 A+（展望穩定）強勁信用評等，凸顯我們資產負債表的實力。

Turning to slide 10, we just declared our 325th consecutive quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share. We also announced our 2026 annual dividend of $1.34 per share. This is our fifty-ninth consecutive annual increase and is 8.1% higher than 2025.

接著看第 10 張投影片，我們剛宣布第 325 次連續季度股利，每股 0.35 美元。我們也公布 2026 年年度股利為每股 1.34 美元。這是我們連續第 59 年年度股利調升，較 2025 年高出 8.1%。

And with that, I’ll now turn the call over to Greg to discuss the revised proposed decision on the rate case.

接下來，我把電話會議交給 Greg，請他說明費率案修訂後的擬議決定。

Thanks, Jim. As Marty mentioned earlier, we received a revised proposed decision on our 2024 California General Rate Case yesterday, and a final decision is expected later today or shortly thereafter. The revised proposed decision provides clear visibility into revenue growth, including approximately $91 million in 2026, followed by $43 million in 2027 and $49 million in 2028. Importantly, it continues key regulatory mechanisms by Monterey-style memorandum accounts and authorizes cost balancing accounts such as our Pension Cost Balancing Account, health care cost balancing accounts, and a new General Insurance Liability Balancing Account, which helps stabilize earnings despite variability in customer usage and certain operating costs.

謝謝，Jim。如 Marty 先前提到，我們昨天收到 2024 年加州一般費率案（California General Rate Case）的修訂版擬議決定（revised proposed decision），預期最終決定將於今天稍晚或不久後出爐。該修訂版擬議決定對營收成長提供清楚能見度，包括 2026 年約 9,100 萬美元，接著 2027 年 4,300 萬美元，以及 2028 年 4,900 萬美元。重要的是，它延續了以 Monterey 式備忘錄帳戶（memorandum accounts）為核心的關鍵監管機制，並核准成本平衡帳戶（cost balancing accounts），例如我們的退休金成本平衡帳戶、醫療保健成本平衡帳戶，以及新的一般保險責任平衡帳戶（General Insurance Liability Balancing Account）；即使客戶用量與部分營運成本出現波動，這些機制也有助於穩定獲利。

While decoupling was not included, the decision introduces a new sales reconciliation mechanism and an updated rate design that better supports fixed cost recovery. Overall, we view the revised proposed decision as constructive and supportive of continued infrastructure investment and long-term earnings stability.

雖然未納入用量與營收脫鉤（decoupling），但該決定引入新的銷售量調節機制（sales reconciliation mechanism），並更新費率設計，以更好地支持固定成本回收。整體而言，我們認為這份修訂版擬議決定具建設性，並支持持續的基礎設施投資與長期獲利穩定。

And now Marty will take us through the remainder of the deck.

接下來 Marty 會帶大家看完簡報其餘內容。

Thanks, Greg. And just echoing what I said earlier on, I’m very happy with the PD that’s going to the Commission today for approval, and obviously once it’s approved, we will issue an appropriate press release and related 8-K with more details of what’s included in that final decision. But I think it’s fair to say from Greg’s perspective managing our Rates Department and Jim’s perspective as being our Chief Financial Officer, I think we’re very happy with the outcome and look forward to getting the rate case wrapped up and moving on with our plans for 2026.

謝謝，Greg。也呼應我先前所說，我對今天送交委員會核准的 PD 感到非常滿意；當然，一旦核准，我們會發布適當的新聞稿以及相關的 8-K，提供最終決定所包含內容的更多細節。不過我想，從 Greg 管理我們費率部門的角度，以及 Jim 作為我們財務長的角度來看，我們對這次結果都非常滿意，也期待把費率案告一段落，並推進我們 2026 年的計畫。

Moving on to slide 12, just a quick update on where we are with our Nexus project. As you may recall, we announced that we reached an agreement with Nexus to acquire their Nevada and Oregon operations. We have continued to progress very well working with Nexus. They’re a great company to work with. We did file our change of control applications with both the State of Oregon and the State of Nevada. The State of Nevada has a 6-month statutory decision timeline, Oregon does not. We’re hoping the two will try to stay on track around the same time and we can drive to close these transactions as early as by the end of the year. In the interim, the subject matter experts continue to work very well together, and we are mapping their processes into our systems.

接著看第 12 張投影片，簡要更新我們 Nexus 專案的進度。如各位所記得，我們先前宣布已與 Nexus 達成協議，將收購其在內華達州與奧勒岡州的營運。我們持續與 Nexus 合作並取得良好進展。他們是一家非常好合作的公司。我們已向奧勒岡州與內華達州兩州提交控制權變更（change of control）申請。內華達州法定審查決定時程為 6 個月，奧勒岡州則沒有。我們希望兩州能盡量維持相近的進度，並力拚最早在年底前完成交易交割。在此期間，雙方的主題專家持續密切合作，我們也正將他們的流程對應整合到我們的系統中。

I’ve also had the pleasure of visiting all the sites in Oregon and Nevada, and very happy to say I was very pleased with all the employees that I met with. They are very, very professional and very, very sound operators, as well as an outstanding management team. In addition, since we last talked, I have had meetings with all the commissioners in the State of Oregon, as well as the commissioners in the State of Nevada as well as their staffs. Those meetings have all gone very well as well.

我也很榮幸造訪奧勒岡州與內華達州的所有據點，很高興地說，我對所見到的所有員工都非常滿意。他們非常、非常專業，營運也非常、非常穩健，管理團隊同樣出色。此外，自上次我們交流以來，我已與奧勒岡州所有委員，以及內華達州的委員與其幕僚會面。這些會議的進展也都非常順利。

When we conclude this acquisition of the Nexus assets, essentially it gives us almost 100,000 connections outside of the State of California in total, which is about 20% of our total connections, so again, diversifying out of California, expanding our footprint on the West Coast.

當我們完成對 Nexus 資產的收購後，基本上我們在加州以外的總接管數（connections）將接近 100,000，約占我們總接管數的 20%；因此，我們再次達成走出加州、在西岸擴大版圖的多元化布局。

In addition, and I think this is significant, it’s something we don’t talk a whole lot about, but for those of you that have been with us for a long time, if you remember in 2008 and 2009, we started talking more about water and the wastewater business and recycled water. And back then, we really had one to two wastewater treatment plants that we operated. When we get this deal closed with Nexus as well as the BVRT final buyout of the minority interest, we’ll have over 24 wastewater plants that will be operating in the western half of the US, and I think again that just goes to show our diversification out of California into wastewater and then also recycled water which I believe is going to play a very important role for water in the western half of the United States.

另外，我認為這點很重要：我們不常特別談，但長期關注我們的各位若還記得，2008 與 2009 年我們開始更常談到供水與污水處理業務，以及再生水。當時我們實際營運的污水處理廠大約只有 1 到 2 座。當我們完成與 Nexus 的交易，以及 BVRT 少數股權的最終買斷後，我們在美國西半部將有超過 24 座污水處理廠在營運；我認為這再次顯示我們從加州走向多元化，擴展至污水處理，並進一步布局再生水。我相信再生水將在美國西半部的水務領域扮演非常重要的角色。

Looking at slide 13 on the BVRT slide, we did file the change of control application with the Texas commission, that is on file with them. In addition, we added another 210 connections to our existing system. So we are waiting for the Texas commission there as well, and then once we close on the minority interest that still remains in BVRT, that will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Texas Water Services Company.

看第 13 張投影片（BVRT），我們已向德州委員會提交控制權變更申請，並已完成立案。此外，我們也在既有系統中新增了 210 個接管數（connections）。因此我們也在等待德州委員會的審查；一旦我們完成收購 BVRT 仍剩餘的少數股權，BVRT 將成為 Texas Water Services Company 的全資子公司。

Moving on to slide 14, we have started officially celebrating our centennial anniversary. I’d encourage everyone to take a look at our annual report. Our Corporate Communications team, headed by Shannon Dean, did an outstanding job going through kind of then, now, and next, which is the theme of the annual report. I’m also very happy that we’ve had over 41,000 people visit our centennial website which has a lot of information about the company, the rich history of the company, and how we grew from the idea that started with three World War I veterans to be the multibillion-dollar company that we are today.

接著看第 14 張投影片，我們已正式開始慶祝公司成立一百週年。我鼓勵大家看看我們的年報。由 Shannon Dean 領導的企業傳播團隊，以「過去、現在、未來」（then, now, and next）作為年報主題，做得非常出色。我也很高興我們的百週年網站已有超過 41,000 人造訪；網站包含大量公司資訊、豐富的歷史，以及我們如何從三位第一次世界大戰退伍軍人的一個想法，成長為今天這家數十億美元規模的公司。

If you’re interested in that site, I encourage you to look at it. You can visit it, and the URL is 100years.calwatergroup.com. In celebrating our 100-year anniversary, we have scheduled a number of events throughout the State of California that include both employees as well as local officials. We held our first one in Bakersfield. That was a big success, and we’ll have another one here in Southern California in June. The overall goal of the program and celebrating this at a regional level is it allows us to increase awareness of the company’s track record among the local communities and our public officials that we are allowed to serve.

如果你對那個網站有興趣，我鼓勵你去看看。你可以造訪它，網址是 100years.calwatergroup.com。為了慶祝我們的 100 週年，我們在加州全州安排了多場活動，參與者包括員工以及地方官員。我們在貝克斯菲爾德舉辦了第一場。那次非常成功，而我們將在 6 月於南加州再辦一場。這項計畫以及以區域層級來慶祝的整體目標，是讓我們能在我們獲准服務的地方社區與公職人員之間，提高對公司歷史績效與服務紀錄的認識。

In addition to getting people together to celebrate our success, we also are getting a lot of proclamations and resolutions from, for example, the Speaker of the California State Assembly, the City of Visalia, the City of Chico Chamber of Commerce, the Central Valley Asian Chamber of Commerce, and the San Joaquin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and there’s more to come. So it’s actually kind of fun to be out there talking about 100 years of service and reflecting on where we started to where we are today.

除了把大家聚在一起慶祝我們的成功之外，我們也收到了許多褒揚與決議案，例如來自加州州眾議院議長、維塞利亞市、奇科市商會、中央谷亞裔商會、以及聖華金西語裔商會等，而且後續還會有更多。所以，能在外面談論 100 年的服務、回顧我們從起步到今天的歷程，其實挺有趣的。

With that, I’m going to -- Demi, let's open it up for our Q&A, please, for the guests on the call.

那麼，接下來我想——Demi，請為線上的來賓開放 Q&A 問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Thank you. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press star, then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star 1 again. We’ll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster.

(接線員指示) 謝謝。提醒各位，如要提問，請在電話鍵盤上按星號，再按數字 1。若要取消提問，請再按一次星號 1。我們將稍作停頓，以彙整 Q&A 提問名單。

Davis Sunderland, Baird.

Davis Sunderland，Baird。

I appreciate all the information here. Two questions for me, maybe a PFAS question and then a balance sheet question. I guess I’ll just start. I know the EPA has been talking recently about microplastics and potentially regulating some other substances outside the initial PFAS guidelines. Just wondering if you guys have any early thoughts on this, and specifically if these might be treatable within your current plans or if this would be a further capital investment beyond what you’ve already laid out.

感謝各位提供的所有資訊。我有兩個問題，可能先問 PFAS，再問資產負債表。我想我就先開始。我知道 EPA 最近一直在談微塑膠，並且可能會在最初的 PFAS 指引之外，去規範其他一些物質。想請教你們是否有任何初步看法，特別是這些是否能在你們目前的計畫內處理，或是這會需要在你們已經提出的規劃之外，再額外投入資本支出。

Yeah, good question, David. And some of you have heard me talk about UCMR, which is really the unregulated contaminant list that the EPA publishes, and they update that list every so many years. If you really want to see what’s kind of coming down the pipe, no pun intended, on water regulation, you really want to monitor that UCMR list. Microplastics have shown up and have evolved on that list, and so it is certainly something that is a hotter topic at the EPA right now, and it is something that’s kind of been in water supply.

是的，David，問得很好。你們有些人聽我談過 UCMR，也就是 EPA 公布的「未受規範污染物清單」，而且每隔幾年就會更新一次。如果你真的想了解水務法規接下來會有哪些動向——無意雙關——你確實應該持續關注那份 UCMR 清單。微塑膠已經出現在那份清單上，且相關內容也在演進，因此這確實是 EPA 目前更熱門的議題之一，而且它也一直存在於供水議題中。

It’s something that you will likely see regulations establishing the MCL to make sure there are no microplastics in the water. So there’s more to come from the EPA on that. Obviously, they go through a scientific process, and then they come up with standards. Those standards get handed off to the states, and the State Department of Health is responsible for implementing those standards at the state level. So do I believe you ultimately will have a standard that will come out on microplastics? Yes, I do.

你很可能會看到法規建立 MCL（最高污染物濃度），以確保水中沒有微塑膠。所以 EPA 在這方面後續還會有更多動作。顯然，他們會走一套科學流程，然後制定標準。這些標準會交由各州，州衛生部門負責在州層級落實執行。所以我是否相信最終會針對微塑膠推出一個標準？是的，我相信會。

And I think as a society, we’ve gotten a lot better at not putting microplastics into the ground or into the ocean, so I think that part of it is kind of actually improving. But I do think at some point we will actually have a standard that will evolve that will help us treat for it. And as part of that process, the EPA will also talk about what are the appropriate methods and techniques to treat the water that has microplastics in it.

而且我認為，作為一個社會，我們在避免把微塑膠排放到土壤或海洋方面已經做得更好了，所以這部分其實是在改善。但我確實認為，某個時間點我們會形成一套標準，進而協助我們進行處理。在這個過程中，EPA 也會討論哪些方法與技術適合用來處理含有微塑膠的水。

Yeah, I think it’s uncertain or unclear right now whether or not our current treatment that we’re putting in place for PFAS will be effective for the microplastics, and that will depend largely on the EPA.

是的，我認為目前還不確定、也不清楚我們正在為 PFAS 建置的現行處理方式，是否會對微塑膠有效，而這在很大程度上將取決於 EPA。

Super helpful, and thank you, guys. Maybe then just turning, Jim, to balance sheets. I appreciate all the comments on liquidity and available credit, but maybe if you could just talk a bit about how you’re thinking about equity issuance and capital needs more broadly throughout the balance of the year. That’d be super helpful.

非常有幫助，謝謝各位。那接著轉到資產負債表這邊，Jim。我很感謝你們對流動性與可用授信的所有說明，但也想請你談談，在今年剩餘期間，你們如何看待增資發行（股權發行）以及更廣泛的資本需求。那會非常有幫助。

Yeah, I think we’re going to, knock on wood, we feel very confident that we’ll be successful in closing both BVRT and the Nexus acquisitions in Nevada and Oregon. And so that will be incremental to our normal cadence of debt and equity issuances. We’ll take a look in terms of the timing on when we anticipate that’s going to occur and right-size or determine what the most efficient way that we can actually approach the capital markets to fund those transactions when the time comes.

是的，我想我們會——敲敲木頭——我們非常有信心能成功完成 BVRT 以及在內華達與俄勒岡的 Nexus 併購案交割。因此，這將是在我們正常的債務與股權發行節奏之外的增量需求。我們會就預期發生的時間點來評估，並適度調整或決定在時機到來時，以最有效率的方式進入資本市場來為這些交易提供資金。

I think that there are some pretty interesting instruments out there relative to forwards that will allow us to time it a little closer to where we can minimize any sort of dilution that could occur in terms of the difference between the time we raise the equity and the time we actually close the transactions. And so we’ll be looking into that. We believe when the transactions close, it would likely occur towards the end of the year, and that’s when I would take a look at when we would look to raising the capital for those. Otherwise, we would continue to rely on our ATM and our normal lines of credit taken out by long-term debt as we work through our capital programs and fund our other capital needs.

我認為市場上有一些相當有意思的工具，特別是與遠期（forwards）相關的工具，能讓我們把時點拉得更接近，從而把可能發生的稀釋降到最低，也就是在我們募集股權資金與實際完成交易交割之間的時間差所造成的稀釋。因此我們會研究這些工具。我們認為交易完成交割很可能會落在年底附近，而那也將是我會評估何時為這些交易募集資金的時間點。除此之外，在我們推進資本計畫並滿足其他資本需求的過程中，我們會持續依賴 ATM（隨市發行）以及我們一般的授信額度，並以長期負債來取代（或搭配）使用。

Yeah, Jim, if you don’t mind me jumping in, David, it’s probably worth mentioning that you recall we have our PFAS program, which is fairly substantial. And we have a separate application before the Commission that we’re waiting to hear on, because that will add further pressure on Jim on the capital side. But the flip side of that is we’ve been very successful on the litigation side.

是的，Jim，如果你不介意我插一句，David，這裡可能值得一提的是，你應該記得我們有 PFAS 計畫，規模相當可觀。而且我們在委員會那邊還有一個獨立的申請案正在等待結果，因為那會在資本面進一步增加 Jim 的壓力。但另一方面，我們在訴訟方面非常成功。

Just last week, we received another $6.5 million gross from the polluters’ trusts that have been set up. So we have recovered about $66.5 million in gross receipts in our recovery process going after polluters, which nets us just about $50 million. That $50 million will be a direct offset to our PFAS program and help keep those costs lower for our customers. So we’re approaching about 20% to 25% of those estimated PFAS costs being covered through our legal efforts, and our legal team continues to do a very good job at leading our industry efforts at recovering on that.

就在上週，我們又從已設立的污染者信託中收到 650 萬美元的總額款項。因此，在我們追究污染者責任的追償流程中，我們累計已回收約 6,650 萬美元的總收入，淨額約為 5,000 萬美元。這 5,000 萬美元將直接抵減我們的 PFAS 計畫支出，並有助於讓客戶承擔的成本更低。因此，透過法律行動，我們已接近讓估計 PFAS 成本中的約 20% 到 25% 得到覆蓋，而我們的法務團隊也持續表現出色，帶領本產業在這方面的追償工作。

So that will help a little bit. And for some perspective on that, we initially anticipated 2 basic segments of the program. One is treatment and one is well replacement, with our objective to get the treatment in by the end of 2028, and then the well replacements will take some longer time. Of the total amount we plan to spend on PFAS, about $60 million of that is for the wells, and the remainder is for treatment.

所以這會有一些幫助。再提供一些背景，我們最初預期該計畫有兩個基本部分。一個是處理（treatment），另一個是水井汰換（well replacement）；我們的目標是在 2028 年底前完成處理端的建置，之後水井汰換將需要更長的時間。在我們計畫用於 PFAS 的總支出中，約有 6,000 萬美元是用於水井，其餘則用於處理。

Super helpful details, guys. I appreciate it very much and best of luck tonight with the meeting and the GRC. I know it’s been a long road and excited to have it behind us.

各位，這些細節非常有幫助。我非常感謝，也祝你們今晚的會議以及 GRC 一切順利。我知道這一路走來不容易，也很期待能把這件事告一段落。

(Operator Instructions) There are no further questions at this time. I’ll now turn the call back over to Martin Kropelnicki, CEO, for closing remarks.

(接線員指示) 目前沒有其他問題。我現在把電話交回給執行長 Martin Kropelnicki 作結語。

Thank you, Demi. Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. Obviously, I think the big thing to watch for moving forward is really what happens at the Commission today. We’re hoping for approval, and again I think we’re very happy with the revised proposed decision that’s on the docket for today.

謝謝你，Demi。也謝謝各位今天加入我們。很明顯，我認為接下來最需要關注的重點，是真正要看今天委員會會發生什麼。我們希望能獲得核准；同時我想我們對今天議程上修訂後的擬議決定也非常滿意。

As we move into the second quarter, what are we going to be focused on? Obviously, we have to implement the results of the rate case, and while that sounds like an easy task, there’s a lot involved in doing that. Obviously, there’s a retroactive piece that goes back to January 1 that Jim and his team will have to work on, and we’ll give a lot of clarity around that as we wrap up the quarter and put out the appropriate disclosures and financials for our second-quarter 10-Q.

當我們進入第二季，我們會聚焦在什麼？很明顯，我們必須落實費率案（rate case）的結果；雖然聽起來像是很容易的工作，但實際上牽涉很多事項。顯然，其中有一部分需要追溯至 1 月 1 日，Jim 和他的團隊必須處理；我們會在本季結束、並發布第二季 10-Q 的適當揭露與財務資訊時，對此提供更清楚的說明。

In addition, there are thousands of table changes that have to take place on the billing cycle with the new tariffs. And so the Rates team working with our Customer Service team, the Accounting team, and the IT team will be making those tariff changes and doing the appropriate testing to make sure our tariffs are accurately being billed. We anticipate, assuming an approval today, we’d anticipate starting billing the new tariffs on July 1 of this year.

此外，隨著新費率表（tariffs）上線，帳單週期中將有數千項表格變更需要進行。因此，費率團隊將與客服團隊、會計團隊及 IT 團隊合作，進行這些費率表變更並做適當測試，以確保我們的費率表能被正確計費。在假設今天獲得核准的前提下，我們預期將於今年 7 月 1 日開始以新費率表計費。

And then in addition to that, obviously we’re staying very focused on our M&A side, and really the Nexus transaction and the BVRT transaction, answering the Commission’s questions on the change of control applications, as well as doing all the integration work and being ready to do a quick close and integrating those assets onto our platform once it’s approved by the appropriate Commission. So it’s going to be a busy second quarter, and then throw in the 100-year celebrations on top of that. We have a lot going on, but certainly the team remains laser focused on the tasks at hand.

另外，顯然我們也會持續高度聚焦在併購（M&A）方面，特別是 Nexus 交易與 BVRT 交易；我們將回覆委員會對控制權變更申請（change of control applications）的問題，同時進行所有整合作業，並在獲得相關委員會核准後，準備迅速完成交割，將這些資產整合到我們的平台上。所以第二季會非常忙碌，此外還要加上 100 週年慶祝活動。我們有很多事情在進行，但團隊仍會高度專注於眼前的任務。

The last thing I want to do before we hang up is note that this is Greg’s last earnings call with us. And if you know Greg Miller, he’s not a person that wants a lot of hoopla or fanfare, but I couldn’t let the morning go without recognizing his contributions to California Water Service Group. We recruited Greg Miller from Valencia Water in 2013, where Greg served as Senior Vice President of Administration. And believe it or not, we’re Greg’s third job out of college. He started off with Arthur Andersen and then went to Valencia Water, and then he joined us.

在我們掛線前，我最後想提的是：這是 Greg 與我們一起參與的最後一場法說會（earnings call）。如果你認識 Greg Miller，你會知道他不是喜歡大張旗鼓或鋪張排場的人，但我不能不在今天早上肯定他對 California Water Service Group 的貢獻。我們在 2013 年從 Valencia Water 延攬 Greg Miller，當時 Greg 擔任行政資深副總裁（Senior Vice President of Administration）。而且你可能不相信，我們是 Greg 大學畢業後的第三份工作。他先在 Arthur Andersen 任職，之後到 Valencia Water，接著加入我們。

We brought Greg in as a Manager of Special Projects. We were very impressed with him when we met Greg and didn’t really have a spot for him, but we thought he was a very high-quality senior hire from within the water industry. Within a year, he was promoted to Director of Operations, helping the Operations team focus on deploying capital more quickly and more efficiently and making sure that plant is getting into service as quickly as possible. In 2017, he was named Interim Director of Rates to help lead our rate case efforts, and in 2019, he was named Vice President of Rates for California. And then in 2022, when Paul Townsley retired, he took the helm as our Vice President of Rates and Regulatory Affairs to lead our overall rate strategy for all of our operating companies.

我們讓 Greg 以「特殊專案經理」（Manager of Special Projects）的職務加入。我們第一次見到 Greg 時就對他印象深刻，當時其實沒有一個明確的職缺，但我們認為他是水務產業中非常優秀的高階人才。一年內，他就升任營運總監（Director of Operations），協助營運團隊更快速、更有效率地部署資本支出，並確保廠站（plant）能盡快投入服務。2017 年，他被任命為臨時費率總監（Interim Director of Rates），協助領導我們的費率案工作；2019 年，他被任命為加州費率副總裁（Vice President of Rates for California）。接著在 2022 年 Paul Townsley 退休時，他接任我們的費率與法規事務副總裁（Vice President of Rates and Regulatory Affairs），負責領導所有營運公司整體的費率策略。

Greg has only been with us 13 years, and from a Cal Water standpoint, that’s not a lot of time. We have a lot of employees that are in their 30 to 40 years of service with the company. But Greg’s impact on the company has been nothing short of outstanding. And if you look at our rate cases over the decade that he’s been with us, the 13 years he's been with us, we have done the best with our rate cases under his leadership and his management.

Greg 在我們公司任職只有 13 年；以 Cal Water 的角度來看，這不算很長的時間。我們有許多員工在公司服務 30 到 40 年。但 Greg 對公司的影響可說是非常卓越。如果你回顧他在我們任職的這十多年、這 13 年間的費率案，在他的領導與管理之下，我們在費率案上的成果是最好的。

So I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to tell Greg thank you and to wish him and Jen all the best in retirement, and we look forward to keeping in touch as we do with all of our retirees. So Greg, thank you.

因此，如果我不把握這個機會向 Greg 道謝，並祝福他與 Jen 退休生活一切順利，那我就失禮了；我們也期待像與所有退休同仁一樣，未來能持續保持聯繫。所以，Greg，謝謝你。

And with that, Demi will wrap it up, and we’ll see everyone next quarter. Thank you very much.

接下來 Demi 會做最後收尾，我們下個季度再見。非常感謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes this call. Thank you all for joining, and you may now disconnect.

各位女士、先生，本次電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與，現在可以掛線。