道明尼資源 (D) 2018 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning, and welcome to the Dominion Energy Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Steven Ridge, Director of Investor Relations for the safe harbor statements.

女士們、先生們，早安，歡迎參加 Dominion Energy 第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）現在，我想將電話轉給投資者關係總監 Steven Ridge 先生，以了解安全港聲明。

Good morning, and welcome to the Fourth Quarter 2018 Earnings Conference Call for Dominion Energy. I encourage you to visit the Investor Relations page on our website to view the earnings press releases and accompanying materials as well as a slide presentation that will follow this morning's prepared remarks.

早安，歡迎參加 Dominion Energy 2018 年第四季財報電話會議。我鼓勵您訪問我們網站上的投資者關係頁面，查看收益新聞稿和隨附材料以及今天上午準備好的發言之後的幻燈片演示。

Schedules in the earnings release kit are intended to answer detailed questions pertaining to operating statistics and accounting, and the Investor Relations team will be available immediately after the call to answer additional questions. The earnings release and other matters that will be discussed on the call today may contain forward-looking statements and estimates that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our SEC filings, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for a discussion of factors that may cause results to differ from management's projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations.

收益發布工具包中的時間表旨在回答與營運統計和會計有關的詳細問題，投資者關係團隊將在電話會議結束後立即回答其他問題。今天電話會議上討論的收益報告和其他事項可能包含前瞻性陳述和估計，這些陳述和估計受各種風險和不確定性的影響。請參閱我們的 SEC 文件，包括我們最近的 10-K 表年度報告和 10-Q 表季度報告，以了解可能導致結果與管理層的預測、預報、估計和預期不同的因素。

Also on this call, we will discuss some measures of our company's performance that differ from those recognized by GAAP. Reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, which we are able to calculate and report, are contained in the earnings release kit. Joining today's call are Tom Farrell, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer; Jim Chapman, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; and other members of the executive management team. I will now turn the call over to Jim.

此外，在本次電話會議上，我們將討論一些與 GAAP 不同的公司績效衡量指標。收益發布工具包中包含了我們的非 GAAP 指標與我們能夠計算和報告的最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的對帳。參加今天電話會議的有董事長、總裁兼執行長湯姆法雷爾 (Tom Farrell)、執行副總裁、財務長兼財務主管吉姆查普曼 (Jim Chapman) 以及執行管理團隊的其他成員。我現在將電話轉給吉姆。

Good morning. Dominion Energy reported operating earnings of $0.89 per share for the fourth quarter of 2018, which is above the midpoint of our guidance range of $0.80 to $0.95 per share. GAAP earnings for the quarter were $0.97 per share, which includes gains on the sales of noncore assets. For the full year, we reported operating earnings of $4.05 per share, which is also above the midpoint of our guidance range of $3.95 to $4.10 per share.

早安.Dominion Energy 公佈 2018 年第四季營業收益為每股 0.89 美元，高於我們每股 0.80 美元至 0.95 美元的指導範圍中點。本季的 GAAP 收益為每股 0.97 美元，其中包括非核心資產出售收益。我們報告的全年營業收益為每股 4.05 美元，也高於我們每股 3.95 美元至 4.10 美元的指導範圍中點。

Drivers relative to our guidance include lower O&M, income tax and depreciation expense as well as favorable weather, partially offset by a longer commissioning process for the Cove Point Liquefaction process -- projects during the first quarter and higher storm restoration expense in the third and fourth quarters. We are pleased that despite a challenging year, we achieved annual operating earnings per share growth of 12.5%. Operating segment performance for the fourth quarter and the full year are shown on Slide 4. GAAP earnings for the year were $3.74 per share. Differences between operating and reported earnings included gains on sale of noncore assets, unrealized losses on nuclear decommissioning trust funds and onetime rate credits issued to customers under Virginia legislation passed in March.

與我們的指導相關的驅動因素包括較低的營運和維護費用、所得稅和折舊費用以及有利的天氣，但部分被第一季度 Cove Point 液化工藝的較長調試過程以及第三季度和第四季度更高的風暴恢復費用所抵消。我們很高興，儘管經歷了充滿挑戰的一年，我們仍然實現了 12.5% 的年度每股營業收益成長。第四季和全年的營運部門業績顯示在投影片 4 上。全年 GAAP 收益為每股 3.74 美元。營業利潤與報告利潤之間的差異包括出售非核心資產的收益、核退役信託基金的未實現損失以及根據弗吉尼亞州三月份通過的立法向客戶發放的一次性利率抵免。

A reconciliation of operating earnings to reported earnings can be found on Schedule 2 of the earnings release kit.

營業收益與報告收益的對帳表可在收益發布工具包的附表 2 中找到。

Before we turn the page completely on 2018, we want to briefly highlight some of the important initiatives that we successfully executed during the year and that we believe will position us for success in 2019.

在徹底結束 2018 年之前，我們想簡要介紹一下我們在這一年中成功實施的一些重要舉措，我們相信這些舉措將為我們在 2019 年取得成功奠定基礎。

As mentioned, we achieved annual operating earnings per share growth of more than 10% despite a number of headwinds, including the dramatically altered financing plan. We grew the dividend per share by 10% year-over-year, consistent with the commitment we had previously made to shareholders and slightly lower than annual operating earnings per share growth. We sold noncore merchant assets at attractive valuation, improving our business risk profile and generating over $2.5 billion of sale proceeds, which we used to retire parent-level debt.

如上所述，儘管面臨包括融資計畫大幅改變在內的諸多不利因素，我們仍實現了每股年度營業收益成長 10% 以上。我們的每股股息年增了 10%，這與我們先前對股東的承諾一致，略低於年度每股營業收益成長率。我們以具有吸引力的估值出售了非核心商業資產，改善了我們的業務風險狀況，並產生了超過 25 億美元的銷售收益，我們用這些收益來償還母公司層面的債務。

We placed both the Cove Point Liquefaction project and Greensville Power Station into commercial service, collectively representing over $5 billion of invested capital. I'm pleased to report that Cove Point continues to operate at or above designed capacity and successfully completed the same-day loading of an export cargo and unloading of an import cargo during the fourth quarter, which we believe may be a first for the domestic LNG industry. Greensville is also operating as designed.

我們將 Cove Point 液化項目和 Greensville 發電站投入商業運營，總投資超過 50 億美元。我很高興地報告，Cove Point 繼續以設計容量或更高的容量運行，並在第四季度成功完成了當天裝載出口貨物和卸載進口貨物，我們相信這可能是國內液化天然氣行業的首例。格林斯維爾也按照設計運作。

We took meaningful steps to improve our credit profile, including reducing parent-level debt by about $8 billion through proceeds from equity issuance, noncore asset sales and a Cove Point asset level financing. As a result of these efforts, we achieved our parent-level leverage targets 2 years ahead of schedule. We also materially improved our cash flow coverage metric as measured by Moody's. These achievements in combination with the improved business risk profile due to asset sales and the addition of SCANA's high-quality regulated businesses resulted in the affirmation of our existing credit ratings and the lowering of our credit metric thresholds.

我們採取了有意義的措施來改善我們的信用狀況，包括透過發行股票、出售非核心資產和 Cove Point 資產級融資減少母公司層面的債務約 80 億美元。透過這些努力，我們提前兩年實現了母公司層面的槓桿目標。我們也大幅提高了穆迪衡量的現金流覆蓋率指標。這些成就加上資產出售帶來的業務風險狀況改善以及 SCANA 高品質監管業務的加入，使我們現有的信用評級得到肯定，信用指標門檻降低。

In Virginia, we worked with legislators, the Governor, customer groups and other important stakeholders to support the Grid Transformation & Security Act, a bipartisan law that provides a path to a sustainable and reliable energy future in the Commonwealth. And finally, we obtained all required regulatory approvals and subsequently closed our merger with SCANA, which we expect to provide near-term earnings of approximately $0.10 per share per year. Tom will talk more about this a little later, but we are pleased that we were able to offer significant value to SCANA customers, protections to SCANA employees and preserve transaction economics that our shareholders and credit providers expected.

在維吉尼亞州，我們與立法者、州長、客戶團體和其他重要利益相關者合作，支持《電網轉型與安全法案》，這是一項兩黨法律，為該州可持續和可靠的能源未來提供了道路。最後，我們獲得了所有必要的監管批准，並隨後完成了與 SCANA 的合併，我們預計合併將帶來每股約 0.10 美元的近期收益。湯姆稍後會詳細談論這一點，但我們很高興能夠為 SCANA 客戶提供巨大的價值，為 SCANA 員工提供保護，並保持我們的股東和信貸提供者所期望的交易經濟。

Moving now to 2019 earnings guidance. Operating earnings per share for 2019 are expected to be between $4.05 and $4.40 per share. This guidance range of $0.35 is narrower than in recent years reflecting the increasingly regulated nature of our operation. The midpoint of this range represents 5.6% growth relative to 2018's weather-normalized results.

現在轉向 2019 年獲利預測。預計2019年每股營業收益介於4.05美元至4.40美元之間。0.35 美元的指導範圍比近年來的要窄，反映了我們營運日益受到監管的性質。該範圍的中點相對於 2018 年天氣標準化結果增加了 5.6%。

As usual, our guidance assumes normal weather, variations from which could cause results to be toward the top or the bottom of this narrower guidance range. Positive factors as compared to last year include an additional quarter of commercial operations of the Cove Point Liquefaction project, the addition of the Southeast Energy Group operating segment, which includes all former SCANA operations and growth from regulated investment. Negative factors as compared to last year include the loss of earnings from 2018 asset sales, higher share count, higher pension expense and a return to normal weather. The midpoint of our 2019 guidance range assumes that ACP construction recommences during the third quarter of this year, which Tom will address momentarily. It excludes any contribution associated with the Blue Racer earnout, which could be 0, as well as any contribution associated with the resolution of the outstanding zero carbon energy procurement process in Connecticut, which Tom will also address.

像往常一樣，我們的指導假設天氣正常，天氣變化可能會導致結果趨向於這個較窄指導範圍的頂部或底部。與去年相比的積極因素包括 Cove Point 液化項目商業營運增加了四分之一、東南能源集團營運部門的加入（其中包括所有前 SCANA 營運）以及受監管投資的成長。與去年相比的負面因素包括 2018 年資產出售收益損失、股票數量增加、退休金支出增加以及天氣恢復正常。我們 2019 年指導範圍的中點假設 ACP 建設將在今年第三季重新開始，湯姆將立即解決這個問題。它不包括與 Blue Racer 盈利相關的任何貢獻（可能為 0），也不包括與解決康乃狄克州未解決的零碳能源採購流程相關的任何貢獻，湯姆也將解決這個問題。

Our operating earnings guidance for the first quarter of this year is $1.05 to $1.25 per share compared to $1.14 per share in the first quarter of 2018. Positive factors relative to Q1 2018 include the contribution from the Cove Point Liquefaction project and the addition of the Southeast Energy Group. Negative factors include timing of contributions from farmout, the loss of earnings from asset sales and a higher share count. While we are not providing formal 2020 operating earnings guidance on today's call, we do expect approximately 5% growth from 2019 to 2020, which aligns with achieving our most recent guidance regarding our 2017 to 2020, 6% to 8% compounded annual growth rate. This 2020 expectation also excludes impact of any Blue Racer earnout and the contribution from a resolution in Connecticut.

我們對今年第一季的營業利潤預期為每股 1.05 美元至 1.25 美元，而 2018 年第一季的營業利潤預期為每股 1.14 美元。與 2018 年第一季相關的正面因素包括 Cove Point 液化計畫的貢獻以及東南能源集團的加入。負面因素包括農場轉讓貢獻的時間、資產出售收益的損失以及更高的股份數量。雖然我們在今天的電話會議上沒有提供正式的 2020 年營業利潤預測，但我們預計 2019 年至 2020 年的營業利潤將增長約 5%，這與我們最近關於 2017 年至 2020 年 6% 至 8% 的複合年增長率的預測相一致。2020 年的預期還不包括 Blue Racer 獲利的影響以及康乃狄克州決議的貢獻。

Finally, we expect dividend per share growth in 2019 of 10%. Please note that all dividend declarations are subject to board approval. Major elements of our 2019 financing plan are included on Slide 8. In addition to a fairly standard debt financing program, we intend to replace and possibly increase the size of the mandatory convertible security that was issued to 3 years ago and which converts in the third quarter. Despite affirmed ratings and lower credit metric downgrade thresholds, we will continue to take steps to support our credit profile.

最後，我們預計2019年每股股息將成長10%。請注意，所有股利聲明均須經董事會批准。我們的 2019 年融資計畫的主要內容包含在投影片 8 中。除了相當標準的債務融資計劃外，我們還打算替換並可能增加 3 年前發行並在第三季轉換的強制性可轉換證券的規模。儘管評級得到確認且信用指標降級門檻降低，我們仍將繼續採取措施來支持我們的信用狀況。

Turning to Dominion Energy Midstream Partners. The merger of DM into Dominion Energy was completed earlier this week. We issued approximately 22 million shares in exchange for all outstanding Dominion Midstream common and preferred units. The merged assets now reside at subsidiaries of our parent company, though we intend for certain assets to migrate to Dominion Energy Gas Holdings during the year.

轉向 Dominion Energy Midstream Partners。DM 與 Dominion Energy 的合併已於本週稍早完成。我們發行了約 2,200 萬股股票，以換取 Dominion Midstream 所有已發行的普通股和優先股。合併後的資產目前位於我們母公司的子公司，但我們打算在年內將某些資產轉移至 Dominion Energy Gas Holdings。

Finally, we plan to make 2 distinct presentations for investors on March 25. The first presentation targeting the general investor community will include a number of informational updates, such as asset profiles -- asset profile updates, including for the newly added Southeast Energy Group, capital investment programs, opportunities under the Grid Transformation & Security Act in Virginia, O&M initiatives and long-term dividend growth and capital structure objectives. We believe that this brief presentation will provide reference information and insights that will help investors to better understand Dominion Energy's expanded operational footprint as well as drivers behind our expectation for 5%-plus growth in operating earnings per share beyond 2020.

最後，我們計劃在3月25日為投資者進行兩場不同的演示。第一次針對一般投資者群體的演示將包括許多資訊更新，例如資產概況——資產概況更新，包括新增加的東南能源集團、資本投資計劃、弗吉尼亞州電網轉型和安全法案下的機會、O&M 計劃和長期股息增長和資本結構目標。我們相信，這次簡短的介紹將提供參考資訊和見解，幫助投資人更了解 Dominion Energy 擴大的營運範圍，以及我們預期 2020 年後每股營業收益成長 5% 以上的驅動因素。

We're pleased to announce that in a second and separate presentation on that day, we will provide an update that will focus exclusively on our accomplishments and efforts on environmental, social and governance matters and how those efforts underpin our long-term strategy and position us to be -- to become an industry leader in sustainability. To our knowledge, this is the first instance of a major company from the energy infrastructure industry or otherwise to host an investor session dedicated exclusively to these matters. The target audience for this second presentation is members of the financial community with special focus on ESG topics. Both of these presentations will be webcast live on our Investor Relations website with an opportunity to submit questions electronically so that, in the event of capacity constraints at our New York City venue, all investors will be able to participate. We'll be providing additional information regarding these investor updates in the near future.

我們很高興地宣布，在當天的第二次單獨演講中，我們將提供最新情況，重點介紹我們在環境、社會和治理問題上取得的成就和努力，以及這些努力如何支撐我們的長期戰略並使我們成為可持續發展領域的行業領導者。據我們所知，這是能源基礎設施產業或其他產業的大型公司首次舉辦專門討論這些議題的投資者會議。第二次演講的目標受眾是金融界成員，特別關注 ESG 主題。這兩場演講都將在我們的投資者關係網站上進行網路直播，並提供電子方式提交問題的機會，以便在我們紐約市場地容量受限的情況下，所有投資者都能夠參加。我們將在不久的將來提供有關這些投資者更新的更多資訊。

I will now turn the call over to Tom.

我現在將電話轉給湯姆。

Thank you, Jim, and good morning. For the second straight year, we have set a company record for the lowest OSHA recordable incident rate in our history, 0.55, which is an 8% improvement over what was a record-setting performance in 2017. This achievement is equally impressive when compared to a peer average that is nearly twice as high. Safety does not just happen. These results represent years of focus on making sure that every employee returns home in the same condition in which they arrived at work that day. We're going to get to continue to improve until we achieve the only acceptable safety statistic, 0 injuries.

謝謝你，吉姆，早安。我們連續第二年創下了公司歷史上最低的 OSHA 可記錄事故率記錄，為 0.55，比 2017 年創紀錄的表現提高了 8%。與幾乎高出兩倍的同業平均值相比，這項成就同樣令人印象深刻。安全不是憑空而來的。這些成果體現了我們多年來的專注，即確保每位員工回家時都能保持上班時的良好狀態。我們將繼續改進，直到實現唯一可接受的安全統計數據，即 0 受傷。

Now to our business updates. I will begin by addressing our merger with SCANA, which closed at the beginning of this year. Our new operating segment, the Southeast Energy Group, comprises all of the former SCANA operations. Rodney Blevins, one of our most experienced utility operators now leads the segment. He is working among the over 5,000 able and dedicated colleagues that now comprise the Southeast Energy Group. The group's high-quality businesses and our colleagues who operate them enhance Dominion's best-in-class portfolio of state-regulated utility operations. For example, customer growth at SEG's electric and gas utilities were 1.7% and 2.8% respectively, during 2018. North and South Carolina, despite the challenges related to new nuclear development in the latter, are considered to be among the most constructive regulatory jurisdictions in the country. In 2020, we will file a rate case in South Carolina that, subject to commission approval, will reflect recovery of traditional electric utility capital investment that is not currently being recovered in rates. Those new rates, subject to approval, will become effective on January 1, 2021. Over the coming months, we will continue to build trust with customers, employees, regulators and policymakers by keeping our commitments and being a transparent and responsible corporate citizen. We look forward to discussing the Southeast Energy Group in greater detail in our investor meeting in March.

現在來看看我們的業務更新。我首先要談的是今年年初我們與 SCANA 完成的合併。我們的新營運部門東南能源集團由前 SCANA 的所有業務組成。羅德尼·布萊文斯 (Rodney Blevins) 是我們最有經驗的公用事業營運商之一，目前領導該部門。他與東南能源集團現有 5,000 多名能力出眾、盡職盡責的同事一起工作。該集團的優質業務和經營這些業務的同事增強了 Dominion 一流的受國家監管的公用事業營運組合。例如，2018 年 SEG 電力和天然氣公用事業的客戶成長率分別為 1.7% 和 2.8%。北卡羅來納州和南卡羅來納州儘管面臨新核能開發的挑戰，但仍被認為是美國最具建設性的監察區之一。2020 年，我們將在南卡羅來納州提起費率訴訟，經委員會批准後，該訴訟將反映目前尚未透過費率收回的傳統電力公用事業資本投資的回收。這些新費率經批准後將於 2021 年 1 月 1 日生效。在接下來的幾個月裡，我們將繼續信守承諾，成為一個透明、負責任的企業公民，與客戶、員工、監管機構和政策制定者建立信任。我們期待在三月的投資者會議上更詳細地討論東南能源集團。

Next, I'll turn to updates related to the Grid Transformation & Security Act adopted last year in Virginia. In less than a year, we have filed for and received Virginia State Corporation Commission approval for projects representing over $1 billion of capital investment. We expect that number to grow significantly over the next several years as we continue to invest to make our system increasingly sustainable and reliable for our customers. First, we received approval from the SCC for approximately $300 million offshore wind projects, which will be completed under a fixed cost construction agreement. This pilot has the support of Governor Northam and Virginia's General Assembly, and will provide important early learning that we believe will lay the foundation for commercial-scale offshore wind for Virginia's clean energy future. Construction of the project is expected to begin this second quarter with a commercial in-service date in late 2020. Second, we received approval from the SCC for phases 2 and 3 of our strategic undergrounding program representing a capital investment of about $240 million. This effort improves the reliability of our system and substantially reduces the duration of restoration times following severe weather events. Third, we received an order granting our certificate of public necessity and convenience for our U.S. 3 utility-scale solar farms, representing 240 megawatts at a capital cost of around $410 million. We remain committed to advancing our goal of having 3,000 megawatts of additional renewable generating capacity in-service or under development by 2022, and we expect to make regular filings under the GTSA with the commission for additional projects in the future.

接下來，我將介紹維吉尼亞州去年通過的《電網轉型與安全法案》的最新進展。在不到一年的時間裡，我們已向維吉尼亞州公司委員會提交了總額超過 10 億美元資本投資的專案申請並獲得了批准。我們預計，隨著我們繼續投資使我們的系統對客戶而言越來越可持續和可靠，這一數字將在未來幾年大幅增長。首先，我們獲得了SCC批准的約3億美元的離岸風電項目，該項目將根據固定成本建設協議完成。該試點計畫得到了諾瑟姆州長和維吉尼亞州議會的支持，並將提供重要的早期經驗，我們相信這將為維吉尼亞州清潔能源未來的商業規模離岸風電奠定基礎。該項目預計將於今年第二季開工，並於 2020 年底投入商業營運。其次，我們獲得了 SCC 的批准，可以實施戰略地下化計畫的第 2 和第 3 階段，資本投資約為 2.4 億美元。這項工作提高了我們系統的可靠性，並大大縮短了惡劣天氣事件後的恢復時間。第三，我們收到一項命令，授予我們在美國 3 個公用事業規模的太陽能發電場的公共必要性和便利性證書，這些發電場的發電量為 240 兆瓦，資本成本約為 4.1 億美元。我們仍致力於實現到 2022 年新增 3,000 兆瓦再生發電容量的目標，我們預計未來將根據 GTSA 定期向委員會提交其他專案的備案。

Next, we received partial approval from the SCC for our initial grid transformation application. The commission approved nearly $100 million of capital over 3 years associated with important physical and cybersecurity investments. The commission asked for more information to support capital investment associated with other aspects of our grid mod strategy, including smart meters, intelligent grid devices and an enhanced customer information platform that allows more sophisticated and convenient customer experience. We will provide that data when we refile our application later this summer. A decision on the refiled application would be expected 6 months after.

接下來，我們獲得了 SCC 對我們初始電網轉型申請的部分批准。該委員會批准在三年內投入近 1 億美元的資金用於重要的實體和網路安全投資。委員會要求提供更多資訊來支援與我們的電網改造策略其他方面相關的資本投資，包括智慧電錶、智慧電網設備和增強的客戶資訊平台，以提供更複雜、更便利的客戶體驗。我們將在今年夏天晚些時候重新提交申請時提供該數據。預計 6 個月後將對重新提交的申請做出決定。

I want to offer a few remarks related to recently proposed legislation supported by Governor Northam and bipartisan legislative leadership that establishes a path for addressing our coal ash empanelments. We support the policymakers' desire to resolve this issue permanently through annual rider recovery. The legislation would provide for full cost recovery of operating expense and capital investment associated with the recycling of coal ash for beneficial use and the construction of on-site lined landfills for disposal of the residual coal ash. We believe that, that legislation provides a fair balance between Dominion Energy's customers and its shareholders, and allocates the cost of this program equitably among large and small users of electricity.

我想就諾瑟姆州長和兩黨立法領導層支持的最近提出的立法發表一些評論，該立法為解決我們的煤灰問題開闢了道路。我們支持政策制定者希望透過年度騎士恢復來永久解決這一問題的願望。該法案將規定對與回收利用煤灰以供有益使用以及建設現場襯砌垃圾掩埋場以處置殘留煤灰有關的營運費用和資本投資進行全額成本回收。我們相信，該立法在 Dominion Energy 的客戶和股東之間提供了公平的平衡，並在電力大用戶和小用戶之間公平分配了該計劃的成本。

I'll now address Millstone and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. With regard to Millstone, it's important to recognize the extent of the progress that has been made to date on ensuring the long-term viability of this critically important resource to Connecticut. We began engaging in the legislative process 3 years ago. We have diligently followed the law and the requirements established by both DEEP and PURA, and each agency has determined Millstone is an at-risk resource. Former Governor Malloy made an announcement in late December awarding Millstone a 10-year agreement for 9 million megawatt hours per year. The awarded price for the first 3 years of the contract is approximately equal to the New England wholesale power price.

我現在要談談米爾斯通和大西洋海岸輸油管。關於米爾斯通，重要的是要認識到迄今為止在確保康乃狄克州這項至關重要的資源的長期可行性方面所取得的進展。我們三年前就開始參與立法進程。我們一直嚴格遵守法律以及 DEEP 和 PURA 制定的要求，並且每個機構都已確定 Millstone 是一種高風險資源。前州長馬洛伊於 12 月底宣布授予 Millstone 一份為期 10 年、每年 900 萬兆瓦時的電力協議。合約前三年的授予價格大約等於新英格蘭批發電價。

That is not an acceptable result for the company and our 1,500 Millstone colleagues who work safely every day to provide half of the power and 90% of zero carbon power to the State of Connecticut. In order to ensure the plant's viability, we must have pricing that recognizes energy security, environmental and economic benefits. We have and will continue to engage constructively with Governor Lamont's team in seeking a solution work for the state, the region, our company and our employees. We are confident that these issues will be resolved in a manner that provides the long-term financial assurance required for Millstone's continued operation.

對於公司和我們 1,500 名 Millstone 同事來說，這不是一個可接受的結果，他們每天安全工作，為康乃狄克州提供一半的電力和 90% 的零碳電力。為了確保工廠的可行性，我們的定價必須考慮到能源安全、環境和經濟效益。我們已經並將繼續與拉蒙特州長的團隊進行建設性接觸，尋求對州、地區、我們公司和我們的員工有利的解決方案。我們相信，這些問題將得到解決，並為 Millstone 的持續營運提供所需的長期財務保障。

As to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header projects, we remain highly confident in the successful and timely resolution of all outstanding permit issues as well as the ultimate completion of the entire project for the following reasons. First, our customers critically need this project to heat and electrify homes, businesses and industries; assist in the transition away from coal-fired power generation; support economic and renewable energy development; and reduce reliance on a single source of gas delivery. Our customers, state regulatory commissions and FERC have all attested independently to the need for this project. Second, we have followed the established rules with regard to permitting environmental protections. Years of painstaking surveying, data collection and scientific analysis stand behind all of our permit applications. In fact, most of our permits are setting new national standards in minimizing environmental impact. Without speaking for the permitting agencies, these professionals have followed the letter in the spirit of the rules, regulations and established precedents that guide their action on our permit applications. Third, we are actively pursuing multiple paths to resolve all outstanding permit issues, including judicial, legislative and administrative avenues. We are not alone in these positions. We have the support of the agencies, our customers and varied industry interests. Our current expectation is that full construction could restart in the third quarter. This reflects our belief that the biological opinion issue and any impediments with the crossing the Appalachian Trail should be resolved no later than this fall. Based on this schedule, key segments of the project, including from Buckingham County located in Central Virginia to the presently planned terminus in Hampton Roads in Eastern Virginia, and in Lumberton in Southeastern North Carolina would enter commercial service by the end of 2020 with the balance of the project being delivered in early 2021. The cost of the project based on this schedule is expected to be $7 billion to $7.5 billion, excluding financing costs, an increase of approximately $500 million since the update we provided in November.

對於大西洋海岸管道和供應總管項目，我們對於成功及時解決所有未決的許可問題以及最終完成整個項目仍然充滿信心，原因如下。首先，我們的客戶迫切需要這個專案來為家庭、企業和工業提供暖氣和電力；協助擺脫燃煤發電；支持經濟和再生能源發展；並減少對單一天然氣供應源的依賴。我們的客戶、州監管委員會和聯邦能源管理委員會均已獨立證明了該專案的必要性。第二，我們在環境保護許可方面嚴格遵守既定規則。我們所有的許可證申請都經過了多年艱苦的勘測、資料收集和科學分析。事實上，我們的大多數許可證都在為最大限度地減少環境影響制定新的國家標準。這些專業人士並不代表許可機構發言，但他們嚴格遵守規則、法規和既定先例的精神，指導他們處理我們的許可申請。第三，我們正在積極尋求多種途徑來解決所有懸而未決的許可問題，包括司法、立法和行政途徑。持這種立場的並非只有我們。我們得到了各機構、客戶和各行業利益團體的支持。我們目前的預期是，全面建設可能會在第三季重新開始。這反映了我們的信念：生物學觀點問題以及穿越阿巴拉契亞山道的任何障礙都應在今年秋天之前得到解決。根據這項時間表，該項目的主要路段，包括從位於維吉尼亞州中部的白金漢縣到目前計劃中的弗吉尼亞州東部漢普頓路的終點站，以及北卡羅來納州東南部的倫伯頓，將於 2020 年底投入商業運營，其餘部分將於 2021 年初交付。根據這項時間表，該專案的成本預計為 70 億美元至 75 億美元（不包括融資成本），比我們 11 月提供的最新成本增加了約 5 億美元。

Similarly, we expect that the Supply Header project would enter commercial service in late 2020, with a project cost of $650 million to $700 million. While we believe that the Appalachian Trial crossing issue should be resolved in time to recommence construction along the entire route during the third quarter, we intended to continue to build key segments that will deliver partial service to our customers by the end of 2020. The completion of the remaining section, which could involve an appeal in Supreme Court would complement the first phase of service by the end of 2021. Under this alternative, total project cost would increase an additional $250 million, resulting in total project cost of $7.25 billion to $7.75 billion, excluding financing costs. In either case, we're currently working with customers to set rates that balance customer needs with preserving a fair project return. It's important to understand that the average basis differential over the last 5 years has been $1.79 per dekatherm, which significantly exceeds the rate of this project.

同樣，我們預計 Supply Header 專案將於 2020 年底投入商業運營，專案成本為 6.5 億至 7 億美元。雖然我們相信阿巴拉契亞試驗穿越問題應該能夠及時解決，以便在第三季度重新開始整條路線的建設，但我們打算繼續建造關鍵路段，以便在 2020 年底前為客戶提供部分服務。剩餘部分的完成可能涉及向最高法院上訴，並將於 2021 年底完成第一階段的服務。根據此方案，專案總成本將增加 2.5 億美元，導致專案總成本達到 72.5 億美元至 77.5 億美元（不包括融資成本）。無論哪種情況，我們目前都在與客戶合作設定費率，以平衡客戶需求並維持公平的專案回報。重要的是要了解，過去 5 年的平均基礎差異為每十億熱量單位 1.79 美元，大大超過了該項目的費率。

And of course, cost is not the only factor driving our customers' demand. Additional and diversified supply is critical, given that they are forced to turn away new customers due to the lack of infrastructure. When extreme weather occurs, such as the existing polar vortex in the Midwest or the bitter cold that affected the Mid-Atlantic in both 2016 and 2018, the concept of reliable and redundant energy supply assumes a new and much more serious meaning. Policymakers understand the gravity of the situation. Disruptions to the region's limited supply of existing gas delivery infrastructure and weather-driven demand spikes have and will continue to result in higher prices, forced curtailments and lower reliability for customers until the project is complete.

當然，成本並不是推動客戶需求的唯一因素。由於缺乏基礎設施，他們被迫拒絕新客戶，因此額外且多樣化的供應至關重要。當極端天氣發生時，例如美國中西部地區現有的極地渦旋或2016年和2018年影響中大西洋地區的嚴寒天氣，可靠和冗餘能源供應的概念就會具有新的、更為嚴肅的含義。政策制定者了解情勢的嚴重性。在該項目完成之前，該地區現有的天然氣輸送基礎設施供應有限，而天氣因素導致的需求激增，這已經並將繼續導致價格上漲、被迫限電和客戶可靠性降低。

To be clear, we believe that there are multiple paths that will allow us to complete the entire 600-mile project. As was the case regarding the challenges we faced in the development of the Cove Point Liquefaction project and the closing of our merger with SCANA, large projects require transparency and determination. We have an abundance of both. We will continue to accrue AFUDC equity earnings and expect ACP to contribute to our operating earnings in 2019, 2020 and for decades to come.

需要明確的是，我們相信有多條途徑可以讓我們完成整個 600 英里的專案。正如我們在開發 Cove Point Liquefaction 專案和完成與 SCANA 合併時面臨的挑戰一樣，大型專案需要透明度和決心。我們兩者都擁有。我們將繼續累積 AFUDC 股權收益，並預計 ACP 將在 2019 年、2020 年及未來幾十年為我們的營業收益做出貢獻。

In summary, during 2018, we set a new company record for safety performance for the second consecutive year. We delivered 2018 operating earnings per share that exceeded the midpoint of our guidance range and initiated 2019 guidance that implies over 5% annual growth to 2018 weather-normalized results. Our 2019 dividends per share are expected to grow 10% subject to board approval. We successfully executed several major initiatives, including merchant asset sales, $8 billion of parent-level debt reduction, the buy-in of Dominion Energy Midstream Partners and the commercial in-service of the Cove Point Liquefaction project and Greensville Power station that support our earnings and credit objectives and position the business to continue to deliver visible, diversified and regulated growth in the future. We completed the SCANA merger, adding exciting new businesses to our best-in-class regulated portfolio. We continued progress towards successful resolution for both Millstone and ACP. And we advanced capital programs that will help to support 5%-plus earnings growth into the next decade. With that, we're happy to take your questions.

總而言之，2018 年，我們連續第二年創下了公司安全績效的新紀錄。我們實現的 2018 年每股營業收益超出了我們的預期範圍中點，並啟動了 2019 年預期，這意味著 2018 年天氣正常化結果的年增長率將超過 5%。經董事會批准，我們 2019 年每股股息預計將成長 10%。我們成功實施了幾項重大舉措，包括商業資產出售、80 億美元的母公司層面債務減免、收購 Dominion Energy Midstream Partners 以及 Cove Point Liquefaction 項目和 Greensville 發電站的商業運營，這些舉措支持了我們的盈利和信貸目標，並使業務在未來繼續實現可見、多樣化和規範的增長。我們完成了 SCANA 合併，為我們一流的受監管投資組合增添了令人興奮的新業務。我們繼續努力，成功解決 Millstone 和 ACP 的問題。我們推進了資本計劃，這將有助於支持未來十年 5% 以上的獲利成長。我們很樂意回答您的問題。

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

（操作員指示）我們的第一個問題來自古根漢合夥公司的 Shahriar Pourreza。

Couple of questions here. First on sort of Millstone. You obviously are excluding the zero carbon procurement in your outlook. Is this a pricing issue given what's currently proposed, i.e., it's not very accretive to your growth? Or are you kind of implying that a closure is still in the mix, if you get the pricing as currently proposed? So just trying to figure out why it's been excluded.

這裡有幾個問題。首先是磨石。您的展望顯然排除了零碳採購。考慮到目前的提議，這是否是一個定價問題，即它對您的成長沒有太大的促進作用？或者您暗示，如果按照目前提議的價格，關閉仍在進行中？所以只是想弄清楚為什麼它被排除在外。

Shahriar, it's Jim. Good questions. So the way we think about that is that if you look at the table right now, as you know, within this 10-year contract, for the first 3 three years, it's basically roughly equivalent to market pricing, so no need for us to have a contract for that. So we're hopeful that there will be a contract for that period, the value of these other attributes we've talked about for Millstone. So if that comes into place, the contribution from such a contract for the relevant period would be an adder to our guidance -- earnings guidance. Doesn't necessarily mean it would change our growth rate, but it will be an adder to the existing guidance. So that's what we mean by that, that's excluded. There will be a potential for an adder for the time period in which a federal contract comes into place.

沙赫里亞爾，我是吉姆。好問題。因此，我們對此的看法是，如果你看一下現在的表格，你就會知道，在這個 10 年期合約中，前 3 年基本上相當於市場定價，所以我們不需要為此簽訂合約。因此，我們希望能有一份針對該時期的合同，以及我們為 Millstone 討論過的其他屬性的價值。因此，如果這一目標得以實現，那麼此類合約在相關期間的貢獻將會對我們的指引——獲利指引——產生補充作用。這並不一定意味著它會改變我們的成長率，但它會對現有的指導產生影響。這就是我們所說的排除。在聯邦合約生效的時間內，可能會出現加法器。

Okay. Is it palatable for you as currently proposed? Or is there -- or is sort of a shutdown still something that's in -- a potential given what's in store there?

好的。目前的提議對您來說可以接受嗎？或者是否存在——或者考慮到那裡的情況，某種關閉是否仍有可能？

Shahriar, we have a new administration in place. We've been working very constructively with them. So I'm not going to -- we're not here to do any saber rattling today. Our position hasn't changed. We have to have a clear financial path for Millstone. That proposal from Governor Malloy's outgoing proposal does not meet that standard.

沙赫里亞爾，我們已經成立了新政府。我們一直在與他們進行非常建設性的合作。所以我不會——我們今天來這裡不是為了進行任何武力威脅。我們的立場沒有改變。我們必須為 Millstone 制定明確的財務路徑。馬洛伊州長即將提出的提案不符合該標準。

Got it. Okay. Good. And then Tom, let me just ask you, and you touched on it very -- you touched on it in your prepared remarks around the economics of, sort of, the pipe Atlantic Coast, especially with this sort of second delay and cost increase. Can you just be a little bit more specific on how the conversations are going? But more importantly, what sort of the impact this sort of legislation, I think it's Bill No. 1718, that's advancing to the general assembly. Do you -- is there a viability to this thing? And so just what are your thoughts there?

知道了。好的。好的。然後湯姆，讓我問你一下，你在準備好的演講中非常詳細地談到了大西洋海岸管道的經濟狀況，特別是這種第二次延誤和成本增加。能否更具體地說明談話的進展？但更重要的是，這種立法會產生什麼樣的影響，我認為這是法案號。1718，這就是推進到大會。你——這個東西有可行性嗎？那麼您的想法是什麼？

Well. So that's -- I think that's 2 different questions in that. So as I understand, the first one is about -- are you talking about conversation with customers?

出色地。所以——我認為這是兩個不同的問題。據我了解，第一個問題是關於—您是在談論與客戶的對話嗎？

Correct.

正確的。

Okay. Diane -- I'll let Diane answer that question in just a second, Diane Leopold. With respect to the legislation, I would just say, I think the simplest answer is to say that legislation has a long way to go in the general assembly.

好的。黛安——黛安·利奧波德，我馬上就讓黛安來回答這個問題。關於立法，我只想說，我認為最簡單的答案就是立法在大會上還有很長的路要走。

This is Diane Leopold. With respect to the contract, there are provisions in the contract to discuss both rates and terms. And as Tom discussed, given the latest schedule and costs that we talked about today, we're already working with customers to set these rates and terms, partial and service options, the actual rates for the service, et cetera. And we're confident we're going to be able to balance the customer needs and provide them with their critical need for this project in both cost and noncost items, while preserving a fair return for the project, but we really don't want to go into any more detail than that.

這是黛安·利奧波德。關於合同，合約中有討論費率和條款的條款。正如湯姆所討論的，考慮到我們今天討論的最新時間表和成本，我們已經在與客戶合作設定這些費率和條款、部分和服務選項、服務的實際費率等等。我們有信心，我們將能夠平衡客戶的需求，並在成本和非成本項目方面滿足他們對該專案的關鍵需求，同時為專案保留公平的回報，但我們真的不想談論更多細節。

Let me add just one thought also on the legislation. I think it's also fair to say that in its present form -- it's not likely to come through the general assembly process in its present form.

讓我再補充一點關於該立法的想法。我認為也可以公平地說，以目前的形式——它不太可能透過大會程序實現。

Our next question comes from Steve Fleishman with Wolfe Research.

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

So just to follow up on the ACP contracts. Tom, you mentioned the $1.79 dekatherm last 5 year. Just could you give us a sense of where the contract pricing of ACP is now versus that?

所以只是為了跟進 ACP 合約。湯姆，你提到了過去 5 年 1.79 美元的十億熱量單位。您能否向我們介紹一下 ACP 目前的合約定價狀況？

No, Steve, we can't. That's all through confidential agreements with the customers, but I can tell you that this -- it's significantly lower than $1.79.

不，史蒂夫，我們不能。這一切都是透過與客戶達成的保密協議來實現的，但我可以告訴你，這遠低於 1.79 美元。

Yes. Okay. And then what is pricing now -- like, more like now as opposed to the last 5 years. Is it in that ballpark, too?

是的。好的。那麼現在的定價是多少——與過去 5 年相比，現在的定價更接近現在。它也在這個範圍內嗎？

Yes. I mean, the last few days, when it was cold, it wasn't as cold on the East Coast, obviously, as it was on the Midwest. But I believe it was somewhere $5, $6 versus the Henry Hub. It certainly has value there. But that 5-year average actually is summer and wintertime. It is averaged through the entire year, not just the price spikes of the winter. So it continues to show value and increase that you see in these cold times.

是的。我的意思是，過去幾天天氣很冷，但東海岸顯然沒有中西部那麼冷。但我相信與亨利港相比，價格大約在 5 到 6 美元之間。它在那裡確實有價值。但這五年的平均值其實是夏季和冬季。這是全年的平均值，而不僅僅是冬季的價格高峰。因此，它將繼續顯示出在寒冷時期所看到的價值和成長。

Okay. And then just in terms of going back to -- there was a question -- I just want to clarify the comments on the convert. So that your intention is to issue a new convert when that one's done or just remarket that debt?

好的。然後回到剛才的問題——我只是想澄清一下關於皈依者的評論。那麼，您的意圖是，在債務完成後發行新的轉換債券，還是只是重新行銷該債務？

Yes, good question. We are required, based on the terms of the existing unit, to remarket the debt. That doesn't represent an increase in debt, it's just remarketing, which will be this year. But this is our last outstanding mandatory convertible security. So the equity converts into common equity, the equity's [gone] in August. And we view that as an attractive security to us, and we think there is demand for it in the capital markets', our perception. So we do plan to replace it. Will it be exactly the same as the securities we've issued in the past? Could be slightly different. But some form of that hybrid capital or mandatory convertible or otherwise, we plan to use to replace the $1.4 billion that effectively goes away in the middle of this year, in August.

是的，好問題。根據現有單位的條款，我們需要重新行銷債務。這並不代表債務增加，而只是重新行銷，將在今年進行。但這是我們最後一筆未償還的強制可轉換證券。因此，股權轉換為普通股，股權在八月就消失了。我們認為這是對我們有吸引力的證券，我們認為資本市場對它有需求，這是我們的看法。所以我們確實計劃更換它。它會和我們過去發行的證券一模一樣嗎？可能略有不同。但我們計劃使用某種形式的混合資本或強制可轉換資本或其他形式來取代今年年中（8 月）實際上已經消失的 14 億美元。

And then one last question, just back to ACP. So I think there's been some concern that it's often hard to get an en banc hearing. But obviously, this is, obviously, a pretty important case. So just maybe you could give some color on why this -- it might be different this time and your ability to get that hearing.

最後一個問題，回到 ACP。所以我認為人們擔心全庭審理往往很困難。但顯然，這顯然是一個非常重要的案例。所以也許您可以解釋為什麼會這樣——這次的情況可能有所不同，而且您有能力獲得聽證會。

Well, Steve, this is Tom. You're quite right, en banc proceedings are -- they don't happen every day of the week, they don't happen every month. This case, I don't know if you've had a chance to read the brief that was filed on behalf of ACP last week, but I think it sets the story out pretty well. There are 50 pipelines that go underneath the Appalachian Trail today, about 50, that are now all in question. We have significant support from a variety of folks. I think you'll see 10 or more friends of the court file brief -- a brief or briefs sometime late next week. The Department of Justice will weigh in before February 11 on the importance of this. But that's -- we'll see what happens. There is other avenues, as I've mentioned. There -- you can always appeal to Supreme Court, obviously. And there is legislative efforts underway, and there are other potential administrative avenues we're looking at that we haven't been able to pursue very thoroughly because of the government shutdown. So the en banc is an important milestone, but it's not by any stretch the only avenue to make sure we finish this pipe, in which we are highly confident.

嗯，史蒂夫，這是湯姆。你說得對，全庭審理並不是每週每天都在發生，也不是每個月都在發生。對於這個案子，我不知道您是否有機會閱讀上周代表 ACP 提交的簡報，但我認為它很好地闡述了這個故事。目前，阿巴拉契亞山道地下有 50 條管道，大約 50 條，現在都受到了質疑。我們得到了各界人士的大力支持。我認為您將在下週晚些時候看到 10 位或更多的法庭之友提交一份或多份簡報。司法部將在 2 月 11 日之前評估此事的重要性。但那是——我們拭目以待。正如我所提到的，還有其他途徑。顯然，你隨時可以向最高法院上訴。目前立法工作正在進行中，我們也考慮其他潛在的行政途徑，但由於政府關門，我們還無法徹底實施。因此，全庭審理是一個重要的里程碑，但絕不是確保我們完成這項任務的唯一途徑，我們對此非常有信心。

Our next question comes from Rose-Lynn Armstrong with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Rose-Lynn Armstrong。

You talked about discussing long-term dividend growth.

您談到了討論長期股息成長。

I'm sorry. Is that -- I'm sorry, was that a question? I'm sorry, I didn't hear the whole thing.

對不起。這是──對不起，這是一個疑問嗎？抱歉，我沒有聽清楚全部內容。

I'm sorry. It looks like she accidentally disconnected her line. We'll go to our next questioner, Greg Gordon with Evercore ISI.

對不起。看起來她不小心斷了線。我們將請下一位提問者 Evercore ISI 的 Greg Gordon 提問。

Thanks for the updated guidance range. I know that you had given sort of an interim guidance update in early January and the illustrative guidance range at the time for 2020 was $4.35 to $4.47. Now if I did take the current guidance for '19 and I just extrapolate 5% growth around, should I be extrapolating 5% growth from the low and the high ends to come up with what you guys believe your current 2020 implied guidance range should be, to get the low end and the high end? I just want to be clear on that.

感謝更新的指導範圍。我知道您在 1 月初給出了某種中期指導更新，當時 2020 年的指導範圍為 4.35 美元至 4.47 美元。現在，如果我確實採用了 2019 年的當前指導，並且我只是推斷出 5% 的增長率，那麼我是否應該從低端和高端推斷出 5% 的增長率，以得出你們認為當前 2020 年隱含指導範圍應該是多少，以獲得低端和高端？我只是想明確這一點。

Yes, Greg, thanks. It's Jim. We're not really talking about a guidance range for 2020 yet. We've given this indicative 5%. So we think about it more in terms of midpoints. So midpoint 2019 to '20, that's where our minds are right now. We'll get more granular with the guidance range as we go through time.

是的，格雷格，謝謝。是吉姆。我們還沒有真正談論 2020 年的指導範圍。我們給出了指示性的 5% 的數值。因此我們更從中點的角度來考慮這個問題。所以，2019 年到 2020 年的中期，這就是我們現在的想法。隨著時間的推移，我們將更加詳細地闡述指導範圍。

Okay, I just wanted to make sure that I was translating that 2020 statement properly. Appreciate it. In terms of other questions, I think most of mine have been answered, so I'll give you back the time.

好的，我只是想確保我正確翻譯了 2020 年的聲明。非常感謝。至於其他問題，我想我的大部分問題都已經得到解答了，所以我會把時間還給你。

Our next question comes from Christopher Turnure with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的克里斯多福·特努爾。

Tom, you mentioned the alternative plan for ACP and the slightly higher cost estimate and longer time frame for that. Could you just expand upon the exact permit scenario that would underpin that plan?

湯姆，你提到了 ACP 的替代計劃，其成本估算略高，時間範圍也更長。您能否詳細說明一下該計劃的具體授權方案？

It all has -- we have all of our permits. So let's -- we didn't mention in the script. For example, we did get our last real permit, significant permit, which is the air permit for the Buckingham Compressor Station. So what now is in front of us is these court challenges on a variety of pieces. For example there's no challenge for what's between Buckingham County and Lumberton, North Carolina. That has to do with these issues in the mountains and the national parks, et cetera. So all those different time frames and the different amounts are based on different scenarios on when we finish the court challenges.

一切都已——我們已獲得所有許可證。所以——我們沒有在劇本中提到。例如，我們確實獲得了最後一份真正的許可證，重要的許可證，即白金漢壓縮機站的空氣許可證。因此，現在我們面臨的是針對各種案件的法庭挑戰。例如，白金漢縣和北卡羅來納州的蘭伯頓之間的問題就不存在挑戰。這與山區、國家公園等地的問題有關。因此，所有這些不同的時間框架和不同的金額都是基於我們完成法庭挑戰的不同情況。

Okay, so there is not one particular path there. So the alternative is not, if you fail the en banc, then you do that?

好的，那裡沒有一條特定的路徑。所以替代方案是不是就是，如果你未能通過全庭審理，那麼你就這麼做？

Correct. There are other -- there are multiple paths here. And I know people are focused understandably and justifiably on the en banc, but that's not the only path here. There are -- there is -- technically, if we don't get the en banc or we lose the en banc, there is the -- you have the judicial path to Supreme Court. There is a legislative path that we're working on quite vigorously. And there are, as I mentioned, administrative paths that we have identified, but haven't been able to fully pursue because of the government shutdown. But the primary focus right now for us is our en banc proceeding. We think that decision is erroneous and upends almost 50 years of agency precedent.

正確的。還有其他——這裡有多條路徑。我知道人們關注全庭審理是可以理解且合理的，但這並不是唯一的途徑。從技術上講，如果我們沒有獲得全庭審理或失去了全庭審理，那麼我們就有通往最高法院的司法途徑。我們正在積極推動立法進程。正如我所提到的，我們已經確定了一些行政途徑，但由於政府關門，我們還無法完全實施。但我們現在的主要重點是全體法官的審理程序。我們認為該決定是錯誤的，顛覆了近 50 年的代理先例。

Okay. And then just following up on the strategy here with ACP. The biological opinion is, I guess, technically what's caused the temporary stop in construction right now. What I'm wondering, given the gravity of the Forest Service opinion and the en banc process, were you to not succeed on the Forest Service side, call it, in the second quarter or midyear, does it make sense to continue construction at that time or hold off on construction until you get more clarity there? I think last time I checked, you had drawn around $1 billion of the project-level debt, so far you spent a good amount, but you're not maybe fully committed at this point in terms of spending, in my opinion.

好的。然後就依照 ACP 的策略來執行。我猜，從技術上來說，生物學觀點是導致目前施工暫時停止的原因。我想知道的是，考慮到林務局意見和全庭程序的重要性，如果您在第二季度或年中未能在林務局方面取得成功，那麼在那時繼續施工或推遲施工直到您獲得更明確的結論是否有意義？我認為上次我檢查時，您已經提取了大約 10 億美元的項目級債務，到目前為止您已經花費了相當多的金額，但我認為，就支出而言，您目前可能還沒有完全投入。

Well, I'll let Jim give you the numbers on what has been spent. I just -- there are so many variables in that question, I just think it's hard for us to -- really to answer it. We'd have to see -- I think we're going to win on the biological opinion issue quite -- I have high confidence in that. They've -- this is the second time around. They followed the dictates of the court and what the court was interested in and reissued it. So we would have to see -- we assume it's going to get affirmed, and if it's not, we'll have to see what the court said, then we'll have to make a decision around that. But we think all of that is taken into account in these different time frames we've given you because we can proceed from Buckingham, which is sort of almost middle of the pipeline all the way down to Lumberton and up into Hampton Roads.

好吧，我會讓吉姆告訴你花費的具體數字。我只是——這個問題中有太多的變數，我只是認為我們很難——真正回答它。我們必須拭目以待——我認為我們將在生物學觀點問題上取得勝利——我對此很有信心。他們──這是第二次了。他們遵循朝廷的命令和朝廷所關心的事情並重新頒布了該法令。所以我們必須看看——我們假設它會得到肯定，如果沒有，我們必須看看法院怎麼說，然後我們必須就此做出決定。但我們認為，所有這些都已在我們給出的不同時間範圍內考慮在內，因為我們可以從白金漢宮出發，這幾乎是管道的中間部分，一直到倫伯頓，再到漢普頓錨地。

Chris, let me just add. You mentioned correctly that back in October when we published our third quarter Q, we noted that the amount of capital drawn on that project-level construction facility was a little over $1 billion, $1.15 billion, I think it was, on 100% basis. And so that number as of 12/31 is about $1.4 billion, not drastically different. That's on a 100% basis, so that would imply total spend. That's of course, 50% of the cash capital is represented in draws on the project-level facility. So double it to get, on 100% basis, the total amount spent, which would be about -- approaching $2.8 billion as of 12/31. And those numbers will be, of course, in the K.

克里斯，讓我補充一下。您正確地提到，早在 10 月我們發布第三季財報時，我們就注意到，該項目級建設設施提取的資本金額略高於 10 億美元，我認為是 11.5 億美元，以 100% 計算。因此，截至 12 月 31 日的數字約為 14 億美元，差異並不大。這是按 100% 計算的，因此這意味著總支出。當然，50% 的現金資本是以專案級設施的提取形式呈現的。因此，將其翻倍，以 100% 為基礎，得出總支出金額，截至 12 月 31 日約為 28 億美元。當然，這些數字將以 K 為單位。

Our next question comes from Rose-Lynn Armstrong with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Rose-Lynn Armstrong。

There you are, Rose-Lynn.

你在這裡，羅斯琳。

I'll try again.

我會再試一次。

I think you got cut off in the middle of the question, I'm sorry.

我覺得你的問題在中間被打斷了，很抱歉。

I did. I apologize. So getting to the indication earlier that you would discuss long-term dividend growth at the analyst meeting, can you just give us a little preview of that today? I believe, previous comments regarding 2020 were that the policy was predicated on the MLP market and now, of course, with the rollout, how are you thinking about dividend policy going forward?

我做到了。我很抱歉。那麼，剛才您表示會在分析師會議上討論長期股息成長，今天您能否向我們稍微預告一下呢？我相信，先前關於 2020 年的評論是，該政策是以 MLP 市場為前提的，現在，當然，隨著該政策的推出，您如何考慮未來的股息政策？

Thanks, Rose-Lynn. So let me just refresh everybody on the background here. So we announced the expected dividend policy. Of course, they are all subject, as you all know, each quarter to board approval. But we said in 2017 that looking forward, we had a very robust MLP market. We had Cove Point expectations coming online, et cetera. But because of the unique nature of the take-or-pay contracts at Cove Point, the very significant cash flows flowing out of that, the recapture of the capital costs that we would see through drops into the MLP that we would grow the dividend 10% a year in '18, '19 and '20. And then when we got to '21, we'd have to see what the landscape looked like at that time. After the FERC ruling in March of last year that destroyed the viability of the MLP market over time, we said not too long after that day, I don't remember the exact date, Rose-Lynn, we said something along the lines of we're going to keep 10% in '18, we expect to keep 10% in '19. And depending upon what happens, we are going to ask FERC to reconsider, we didn't know what exactly was going to happen, that it could go from 6% to 10% depending upon what happened with MLPs. I think we have since said that the expectation -- obviously, the MLP market is no longer there, so you start already at the bottom of that. But we recognize that it's not going to be 10% in '20, highly unlikely. And that over time, we will bring the dividend growth rate, not going to be a cut in our dividend, that's not even in contemplation, but the notion is we will bring our growth rate of our dividends more in line with our peers after this year. So starting in 2020, some -- we'll talk more about that in March, but there will be some effort to bring them more in line with our peer group. I don't know if that answers your question, I hope it does.

謝謝，Rose-Lynn。因此，讓我在此向大家重新介紹一下背景。因此我們公佈了預期的股利政策。當然，正如大家所知，這些都需要每季經過董事會的批准。但我們在 2017 年表示，展望未來，我們的 MLP 市場非常強勁。我們對 Cove Point 的預期即將上線，等等。但由於 Cove Point 照付不議合約的獨特性，從中流出的現金流非常可觀，透過收回 MLP 中看到的資本成本，我們將在 2018 年、2019 年和 2020 年每年將股息提高 10%。然後，當我們到達 21 世紀時，我們必須看看當時的情況是什麼樣的。去年 3 月，聯邦能源管理委員會 (FERC) 的裁決摧毀了 MLP 市場長期的生存能力，在那之後不久，我們就說，我不記得具體的日期了，Rose-Lynn，我們說了類似這樣的話：我們將在 2018 年保持 10%，我們預計在 2019 年也保持 10%。根據具體情況，我們將要求聯邦能源管理委員會重新考慮，我們不知道具體會發生什麼，根據 MLP 的情況，它可能會從 6% 上升到 10%。我想我們已經說過預期——顯然，MLP 市場已不復存在，所以你已經從底部開始了。但我們意識到，2020 年這一比例不會達到 10%，這是極不可能的。隨著時間的推移，我們將提高股息成長率，不會削減股息，這甚至不在考慮範圍內，但我們的想法是，今年之後，我們的股息成長率將與同業更加一致。因此，從 2020 年開始，我們將在 3 月更多地討論這個問題，但我們將做出一些努力，使它們與我們的同行更加一致。我不知道這是否回答了你的問題，我希望如此。

Okay. And you think -- what's your -- I guess, if we look at it from a payout ratio perspective, can you talk about where you'd hope to see the payout ratio over time?

好的。您認為——您的——我想，如果我們從派息率的角度來看，您能否談談您希望看到派息率隨著時間的推移達到什麼水平？

Rose-Lynn, it's Jim. We will talk about that at the end of March. But we'll be setting the dividend growth rate to reach a target payout ratio that's more in line with peers, as Tom said.

羅斯琳，我是吉姆。我們將在三月底討論這個問題。但正如湯姆所說，我們將設定股息成長率，以達到與同業更一致的目標派息率。

Our last question will come from Jonathan Arnold with Deutsche Bank.

我們的最後一個問題來自德意志銀行的喬納森·阿諾德。

Okay. I think you just answered one of our questions, which Jim, it's the payout that you'd bring in line with peers, not the growth rate. I just wanted to be clear that we're understanding you correctly on that.

好的。我認為你剛剛回答了我們的一個問題，吉姆，這是你與同行保持一致的支出，而不是成長率。我只是想清楚地表明我們對此的理解是正確的。

That's exactly right. That's exactly right.

完全正確。完全正確。

Okay. And peers, you'll also share with us what you view as the right peer group to be in the March meeting, presumably?

好的。各位同行，您能否與我們分享您認為適合參加三月會議的同行群體？

Exactly.

確切地。

Okay. And then just on ACP. When you guys are talking about customers, are you -- does that include the anchor utility customers, your affiliate customers? And does whatever you kind of negotiate with them need to be approved by the state regulatory bodies? I'm just curious on that.

好的。然後就在 ACP 上。當你們談論客戶時，這是否包括主力公用事業客戶、附屬客戶？您與他們進行的任何談判是否都需要國家監管機構的批准？我只是對此感到好奇。

The discussions are with -- sorry, this is Diane Leopold. The discussions are with all of the customers, and every customer has something different with respect to what they will need to finalize the deal, but we are in active discussions with all of the customers now.

討論對像是－抱歉，我是黛安‧利奧波德 (Diane Leopold)。我們正在與所有客戶進行討論，每個客戶對於完成交易的需求都有不同，但我們現在正在與所有客戶進行積極的討論。

And then to the question of, is it subject to SCC approval, if it is outside of normal?

然後問題是，如果它超出正常範圍，是否需要獲得 SCC 批准？

You're talking about -- when you say SCC, you're referring to -- in Virginia?

您說的 SCC 是指維吉尼亞州的 SCC 嗎？

Yes.

是的。

In Virginia, it's just a matter of -- it's like any other part of our fuel costs. So that will -- it'll be part of the fuel cost case and whenever 2021 or 2022, along with all the other ins and outs of our fuel costs.

在維吉尼亞州，這只是一個問題——它就像我們的燃料成本的任何其他部分一樣。因此，它將成為燃料成本案例的一部分，無論是 2021 年還是 2022 年，以及我們燃料成本的所有其他細節。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude this morning's conference call. You may disconnect your lines, and enjoy your day. Thank you.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，今天早上的電話會議到此結束。您可以斷開線路並享受這一天。謝謝。