道明尼資源 (D) 2019 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 conference over to Mr. Steven Ridge, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

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，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁 Steven Ridge 先生。先生，請繼續。

Good morning, and welcome. Earnings materials, including today's prepared remarks 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 reports 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.

早上好，歡迎光臨。收益資料（包括今天的準備好的評論）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。請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 提交的文件，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。

This morning, 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 are contained in the earnings release kit. I encourage you to visit our Investor Relations website to review the earnings conference call materials, including the earnings release kit.

今天上午，我們將討論一些與 GAAP 不同的公司業績衡量標準。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的最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的對帳。我鼓勵您造訪我們的投資者關係網站，查看收益電話會議資料，包括收益發布工具包。

The Investor Relations team will be available after today's call to answer any questions.

今天的電話會議結束後，投資者關係團隊將隨時解答您的任何問題。

Joining today's call are Tom Farrell, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer; Jim Chapman, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; as well as other members of the executive management team. I'll now turn the call over to Jim.

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。

Thank you, Steven, and good morning. Let me start by saying that we have a lot of ground to cover on today's call, which reflects the exciting progress we are making on our investment program, our financial targets and on our ESG efforts, including the introduction of an enterprise-wide net 0 emissions initiative.

謝謝你，史蒂文，早安。首先我要說的是，今天的電話會議有很多內容要討論，這反映了我們在投資計劃、財務目標和 ESG 工作方面取得的令人振奮的進展，包括推出全企業淨零排放計劃。

Over the last several years, Dominion Energy has transitioned into a larger, more regulated and more predictable company and this is reflected in our ability to extend our track record of delivering financial performance consistent with our guidance. I'm pleased to report on Slide 3, that the fourth quarter of 2019 was the 16th consecutive quarter of achieving operating earnings per share that, adjusted for normal weather, met or exceeded the midpoint of our guidance range. Quarterly operating earnings were $1.18 per share, which includes a benefit from better-than-normal weather of less than $0.01. Even without adjusting for weather, this was still the 16th consecutive quarter of results that aligned with our guidance range. 2019 full year operating earnings of $4.24 also exceeded the midpoint of our annual guidance range of $4.15 to $4.30 per share. When adjusted for about $0.02 of help relative to normal weather, these operating earnings for the year met the midpoint of our annual guidance range and represent a 5.5% increase over 2018 weather-normalized operating EPS.

在過去的幾年裡，Dominion Energy 已轉型為一家規模更大、監管更嚴格、更可預測的公司，這反映在我們能夠延續與指導方針相符的財務業績記錄。我很高興在幻燈片 3 上報告，2019 年第四季是連續第 16 個季度實現每股營業收益，經正常天氣調整後，達到或超過了我們指導範圍的中點。季度營業收益為每股 1.18 美元，其中包括因天氣好於正常水平而產生的不到 0.01 美元的收益。即使不考慮天氣因素，這仍然是連續第 16 個季度的業績符合我們的指導範圍。2019 年全年營業利潤為 4.24 美元，也超過了我們年度指導範圍每股 4.15 美元至 4.30 美元的中點。相對於正常天氣，在調整約 0.02 美元的幫助後，本年度的營業收入達到了我們年度指導範圍的中點，比 2018 年天氣正常化的營業每股收益增長了 5.5%。

GAAP earnings for the quarter and for the year were $1.32 and $1.73 per share, respectively. Recall that full year reported results were materially impacted during the first 2 quarters of the year by charges associated with the SCANA merger, including a substantial customer refund as approved by the South Carolina Public Service Commission. Adjusted for these merger and integration-related costs, our trailing 3-year aggregate GAAP earnings are actually higher than our total operating earnings over the same period. A summary of adjustments between operating and reported results are included in the appendix with a detailed reconciliation available on Schedule 2 of the earnings release kit.

本季和全年的 GAAP 收益分別為每股 1.32 美元和 1.73 美元。回想一下，今年前兩個季度，全年報告的業績受到與 SCANA 合併相關的費用的重大影響，其中包括南卡羅來納州公共服務委員會批准的大量客戶退款。經過這些合併和整合相關成本的調整後，我們過去 3 年的 GAAP 總收益實際上高於同期的總營業收益。附錄中包含了營運結果和報告結果之間的調整摘要，詳細的對帳表可在收益發布工具包的附表 2 中找到。

Turning now to Slide 4. As usual, our operating earnings guidance ranges assume normal weather, variations from which could cause results to be toward the top or the bottom of these ranges. We are initiating 2020 operating earnings guidance with a range of $4.25 to $4.60 per share. The midpoint of this range represents a 5% increase over our weather-normalized 2019 results, which aligns with the guidance we provided at our Investor Day last March. Select drivers in 2020 as compared to 2019 include increased earnings from regulated investment growth across our electric and gas businesses, lower interest expense due to lower average debt balances and a lower rate environment, the full year impact of the Millstone 0 carbon contract and lower depreciation expense associated with an anticipated extension of the useful life assumption for our regulated nuclear plants in Virginia.

現在轉到投影片 4。與往常一樣，我們的營業收入預測範圍假設天氣正常，天氣變化可能會導致結果接近這些範圍的頂部或底部。我們初步預計 2020 年營業利潤為每股 4.25 美元至 4.60 美元。該範圍的中點比我們天氣標準化的 2019 年結果增長了 5%，這與我們去年 3 月在投資者日提供的指導一致。與 2019 年相比，2020 年的部分驅動因素包括：電力和天然氣業務的受監管投資增長帶來的收益增加、平均債務餘額降低和利率環境降低導致的利息支出降低、Millstone 0 碳排放合約的全年影響以及與我們位於弗吉尼亞州的受監管核電站使用壽命假設預期延長相關的折舊費用降低。

Negative drivers include increased minority interest expense associated with the equity recapitalization of Cove Point, share dilution, lower New England capacity prices and a double outage year at Millstone. Note that the double outage year -- the double outage occurs every third year and will, therefore, be a positive driver in 2021. We are introducing first quarter consolidated operating earnings guidance of $1.05 to $1.25 per share. We are also affirming our post-2020 guidance of 5-plus percent annual operating EPS growth as well as our dividend per share growth rate of 2.5% per annum, subject, as is customary, to Board approval. We have successfully changed the way we manage and report our businesses, as shown on Slide 5, to better reflect the larger and more regulated nature of our operations. We expect that these realigned segments will also make it easier to model and analyze our company.

負面因素包括與 Cove Point 股權資本重組相關的少數股東權益支出增加、股份稀釋、新英格蘭容量價格下降以及 Millstone 的雙停電年。請注意，雙停電年——雙停電每三年發生一次，因此將成為 2021 年的積極推動因素。我們預計第一季綜合營業利潤為每股 1.05 美元至 1.25 美元。我們也確認了 2020 年後每年 5% 以上的年度營運每股收益成長率以及 2.5% 的每股股息成長率的指導，但按照慣例需經董事會批准。如投影片 5 所示，我們已成功改變管理和報告業務的方式，以更好地反映我們營運的更大和更規範的性質。我們期望這些重新調整的部分也將使我們的公司建模和分析變得更加容易。

On Slide 6, we provide annual operating income guidance at the new segment level. Let me take a moment and highlight a few points. First, except for Contracted Generation, which I'll explain in a minute, each of our segments exhibit strong operating earnings growth trends, driven primarily by regulated investment and general cost discipline. Contracted Generation's earnings trend is negatively impacted by the sale of Manchester and Fairless at the end of 2018 and by the double outage year at Millstone in 2020. As I mentioned previously, the double outage driver will reverse for 2021. Second, we've adjusted the CAGR of the Gas Distribution segment to exclude the impact of the addition of PSNC in 2019 to demonstrate the very strong core growth rate at the segment absent merger activity. Third, we are not showing a 2018 to 2020 CAGR for Dominion Energy South Carolina as the merger with SCANA did not conclude until 2019. Growth in 2020 is primarily driven by merger cost savings, which we expect to accrue to the benefit of our customers in South Carolina as part of our upcoming electric rate case. In other words, this growth is good for both customers and shareholders.

在第 6 張投影片上，我們提供了新細分層面的年度營業收入指引。請容許我花一點時間強調幾點。首先，除了合約發電（我稍後會解釋），我們的每個部門都表現出強勁的營業利潤成長趨勢，這主要受到受監管投資和一般成本紀律的推動。2018 年底曼徹斯特和費爾萊斯的出售以及 2020 年米爾斯通的雙重停電年對 Contracted Generation 的盈利趨勢產生了負面影響。正如我之前提到的，2021 年雙重停電驅動因素將會逆轉。其次，我們調整了燃氣分銷部門的複合年增長率，以排除 2019 年增加 PSNC 的影響，從而證明在沒有合併活動的情況下，該部門的核心增長率非常強勁。第三，我們沒有顯示 Dominion Energy South Carolina 2018 年至 2020 年的複合年增長率，因為與 SCANA 的合併直到 2019 年才完成。2020 年的成長主要得益於合併成本的節省，我們預計，作為我們即將推出的電價案例的一部分，這將使南卡羅來納州的客戶受益。換句話說，這種成長對客戶和股東都有好處。

Finally, these segment level operating income CAGRs, of course, don't reflect equity issuance at the parent over the period shown, including shares issued in exchange for SCANA stock early last year, and which act to produce a consolidated EPS growth rate that is slightly below the segment level growth numbers shown here.

最後，這些部門層面的營業收入複合年增長率當然不反映所示期間母公司的股票發行，包括去年年初為交換 SCANA 股票而發行的股票，這些股票產生的合併每股收益增長率略低於此處顯示的部門層面的增長數字。

On Slide 7, we show expected 2020 operating EPS contribution by segment. This page underscores 2 of the key investment themes we have emphasized. First, that the strategic progression of our company has resulted in having approximately 95% of our operating earnings derived from regulated and regulated-like operations; and second, that around 70% of our operating earnings come from state-regulated utility operations centered around 5 highly attractive states, including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Utah. Going forward, we plan to provide this segment level operating guidance annually. We have also simplified or added to our existing disclosures, including with regards to weather impacts, customer growth, rate base estimates, Millstone hedging, fixed income and other topics. We hope you find these changes, which are included in our earnings release kit and in the appendix of today's presentation, helpful.

在投影片 7 上，我們展示了各部門預計的 2020 年營運每股收益貢獻。本頁強調了我們強調的兩個關鍵投資主題。首先，我們公司的策略發展使我們約 95% 的營業收入來自受監管和類似受監管的營運；其次，我們約 70% 的營業收入來自受國家監管的公用事業運營，主要集中在 5 個極具吸引力的州，包括維吉尼亞州、北卡羅來納州、南卡羅來納州、俄亥俄州和猶他州。展望未來，我們計劃每年提供該細分領域的營運指導。我們也簡化或增加了現有的揭露內容，包括有關天氣影響、客戶成長、利率基準估計、Millstone 對沖、固定收益和其他主題的內容。我們希望您發現這些包含在我們的收益發布工具包和今天簡報附錄中的變更是有幫助的。

Turning to Slide 8. We've summarized our current capital structure. We now have distinct and aligned financing entities related to our Dominion Energy Virginia, Dominion Energy South Carolina and Gas Transmission & Storage operating segments. These financing vehicles are, in addition to our parent level entity, SEC registrants and therefore, will continue to file 10-Ks and 10-Qs. For the Gas Distribution and the Contracted Generation segments, we show here the aggregate of existing financing balances across the individual opco entities, which, primarily due to their smaller size, are financed in the private market.

翻到幻燈片 8。我們總結了目前的資本結構。我們現在擁有與 Dominion Energy Virginia、Dominion Energy South Carolina 和 Gas Transmission & Storage 營運部門相關的獨特且一致的融資實體。除了我們的母公司實體之外，這些融資工具也是美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 的註冊人，因此將繼續提交 10-K 和 10-Q。對於天然氣分銷和合約發電部門，我們在此展示各個 opco 實體的現有融資餘額總和，這些實體主要是由於規模較小，在私人市場上融資。

Let me now address credit more generally. I frequently remind our investors that we manage our balance sheet to a target credit rating range and not just to one of the specific credit metrics. Also that the cash coverage metrics, such as FFO or CFO pre-working capital to debt, represent only a small weighting within the overall rating methodologies employed by our credit rating agencies.

現在讓我更廣泛地討論一下信用。我經常提醒我們的投資者，我們要根據目標信用評級範圍來管理我們的資產負債表，而不僅僅是根據某個特定的信用指標。此外，現金覆蓋率指標（例如 FFO 或 CFO 營運資本與債務比率）在我們的信用評級機構採用的整體評級方法中僅佔很小的權重。

Nonetheless, on Slide 9, we illustrate the meaningful improvement we have achieved in the cash coverage metric over the last 4 years and which we expect will continue to gradually improve over the next several years. We've included in the appendix additional detail on the calculation of this metric for 2019. On a related topic, strong performance of our retirement plan assets, combined with an earnings-neutral fourth quarter contribution more than offset a year-on-year reduction in discount rates, resulting in an increase in the overall funded balance of these plans by around 7 percentage points. This leads me to our 2020 CapEx and financing plan. Slide 10 provides our 2020 capital investment plan, which are broadly in line though a little higher in aggregate than the forecast we provided at our Investor Day due to a handful of small positive revisions and timing deltas.

儘管如此，在第 9 張投影片上，我們展示了過去 4 年我們在現金覆蓋率指標方面取得的有意義的改善，並且我們預計未來幾年將繼續逐步改善。我們在附錄中包含了有關 2019 年該指標計算的更多詳細資訊。在相關議題上，我們的退休計畫資產表現強勁，加上第四季獲利中性的貢獻，足以抵銷折扣率的年減，導致這些計畫的整體資金餘額增加了約 7 個百分點。這讓我想到了我們 2020 年的資本支出和融資計畫。投影片 10 提供了我們的 2020 年資本投資計劃，該計劃與我們在投資者日提供的預測大致一致，但由於一些小的積極修訂和時間增量，總體上略高於我們的預測。

And Slide 11 provides an overview of our 2020 external financing plan. A couple of things to highlight here. First, consistent with previous guidance, our common equity plans for the year include only around $300 million via our DRIP program. You may recall that we have previously forecast $300 million to $500 million of ATM issuance in 2020, but subsequently announced that we would use proceeds from the Cove Point equity recapitalization to reduce or eliminate that issuance which is reflected here. Next, I'll point out that during 2020, we intend to issue up to $1.8 billion of privately placed fixed income securities at Dominion East Ohio, which, as a result of the Dominion Energy Gas Holdings reorganization we completed last November, is currently levered only on an intercompany basis. We currently expect this issuance in the midyear, and we'll use proceeds to retire current level debt.

投影片 11 概述了我們 2020 年的外部融資計畫。這裡有幾件事要強調。首先，與先前的指導一致，我們今年的普通股計畫僅包括透過 DRIP 計畫籌集的約 3 億美元。您可能還記得，我們之前曾預測 2020 年 ATM 發行量將達到 3 億至 5 億美元，但隨後宣布我們將使用 Cove Point 股權資本重組的收益來減少或取消該發行量，這在這裡有所體現。接下來，我要指出的是，在 2020 年期間，我們計劃在 Dominion East Ohio 發行高達 18 億美元的私募固定收益證券，由於我們去年 11 月完成的 Dominion Energy Gas Holdings 重組，該證券目前僅在公司間基礎上進行槓桿操作。我們目前預計此次發行將在年中完成，並將利用所得款項償還現有債務。

Finally, as is the norm, this annual financing plan does not reflect any opportunistic refinancing activities which may arise during the year. For example, in 2019, we rebalanced the capital structure at Dominion Energy South Carolina via a series of bond repurchases. In this fourth quarter, we took advantage of an attractive financing environment to replace existing debt with an equity credit preferred security that's priced at an all-time industry low. We will continue to monitor opportunities to similarly strengthen our balance sheet in an earnings supportive manner.

最後，按照慣例，該年度融資計劃並未反映年內可能出現的任何機會性再融資活動。例如，2019 年，我們透過一系列債券回購重新平衡了南卡羅來納州 Dominion Energy 的資本結構。在第四季度，我們利用有吸引力的融資環境，以價格處於行業歷史最低水平的股權信用優先證券取代現有債務。我們將繼續監測機會，以支持獲利的方式加強我們的資產負債表。

Turning now to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which Tom will address in greater detail in a moment. Since about a year ago, when we announced the last material increase in our estimated total capital cost for ACP, discussions have been ongoing between the project owners and the anchor shipper customers regarding the equitable sharing of those increases within the contract tariff. Those negotiations have been productive, and we expect to formalize an agreement in the coming weeks. As part of those discussions, the major project customers have confirmed their willingness to take on higher project rates given the strategic importance of ACP as an alternative pipeline option to the region. As a reminder, these are 20-year take-or-pay agreement with regulated utility customers and no commodity exposure. This customer negotiation process -- progress allows us to provide guidance related to the project's economic contribution after entering commercial service.

現在來談談大西洋海岸管道，湯姆稍後將對此進行更詳細的討論。大約一年前，當我們宣布 ACP 預計總資本成本最後一次大幅增加時，專案業主和主要托運人客戶一直在討論如何在合約關稅範圍內公平分攤這些增加的成本。這些談判富有成效，我們預計在未來幾週內正式達成協議。作為討論的一部分，主要項目客戶已確認，鑑於 ACP 作為該地區替代管道選擇的戰略重要性，他們願意承擔更高的項目費率。提醒一下，這些是與受監管的公用事業客戶簽訂的 20 年照付不議協議，不涉及商品風險。這個客戶談判過程－進展使我們能夠提供與專案投入商業服務後的經濟貢獻相關的指導。

As shown on Slide 12, we expect the 2022 earnings contribution to be between $0.20 and $0.25 per share, which includes Supply Header and assumes a full year of commercial in-service. This estimate also reflects the transition from AFUDC to contract-based cash earnings potential. We expect this contribution to increase over time as we expand the project via compression and laterals. There is no change to our expected contribution this year of mid- to high teen cents per share.

如投影片 12 所示，我們預計 2022 年的收益貢獻將在每股 0.20 美元至 0.25 美元之間，其中包括供應頭，並假設整整一年的商業營運。這一估計也反映了從 AFUDC 到基於合約的現金獲利潛力的轉變。我們預計，隨著我們透過壓縮和橫向擴展項目，這項貢獻將隨著時間的推移而增加。我們今年預期的每股貢獻中高十幾美分沒有改變。

In related news, we're announcing today that we have agreed to acquire certain modestly sized gas transmission and storage assets from Southern company, subject to HSR regulatory approval. The first is Pivotal LNG, which liquefies and delivers LNG as fuel for transportation in the Southeast U.S., primarily from a new LNG production facility located in Jacksonville, Florida. Tom will discuss how this asset together with Cove Point, support the expansion of our LNG strategy to include maritime transportation. The second asset being acquired is Southern Company's 5% stake in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which upon closing will bring the project ownership to 53% Dominion Energy and 47% Duke Energy.

相關新聞：我們今天宣布，我們已同意從南方公司收購某些中等規模的天然氣輸送和儲存資產，但須獲得 HSR 監管部門的批准。第一家是 Pivotal LNG，該公司主要從位於佛羅裡達州傑克遜維爾的一座新液化天然氣生產設施將液化天然氣液化並輸送作為燃料，供美國東南部的交通運輸使用。湯姆將討論該資產如何與 Cove Point 一起支持我們的 LNG 策略擴展到海上運輸。收購的第二項資產是南方電力公司在大西洋海岸輸油管項目中所持有的 5% 股份，交易完成後，該項目所有權將分別由 Dominion Energy 和 Duke Energy 分別持有 53% 和 47%。

Note that the governance arrangements for the project company remains such that it will continue to be recognized on an unconsolidated equity method basis in Dominion's financial statements. Likewise, there is no change to Southern Company's status as one of the anchor customers for the project through its Virginia natural gas local distribution company. The near-term financial impact of the acquisition of these 2 assets is positive, but relatively small, and the increased ACP ownership is reflected in the earnings contribution estimates I provided previously. Total cash consideration for these acquisitions is around $175 million.

請注意，專案公司的治理安排保持不變，它將繼續在 Dominion 的財務報表中以非合併權益法為基礎確認。同樣，南方公司透過其維吉尼亞天然氣本地分銷公司作為該專案主要客戶之一的地位也沒有改變。收購這兩項資產的短期財務影響是正面的，但相對較小，而 ACP 所有權的增加反映在我先前提供的獲利貢獻估算中。此次收購的總現金對價約為 1.75 億美元。

Turning to Santee Cooper. Our interest remains limited to a management proposal arrangement designed to cooperatively improve operational efficiency from our nearly colocated utility footprint. Consistent with our previous messaging on this topic, while the potential financial impact of any such arrangement would not be a material near-term financial driver for Dominion, we are glad to participate if selected by the Department of Administration and the South Carolina General Assembly, especially if the collaborative approach results in cost savings that can be passed on to our and Santee Cooper's customers in the state. We will provide updates as warranted as that process moves into the next phase.

轉向桑蒂庫柏。我們的興趣仍然僅限於旨在透過我們幾乎共置的公用事業足跡合作提高營運效率的管理提案安排。與我們先前就此主題所傳遞的訊息一致，儘管任何此類安排的潛在財務影響不會成為 Dominion 近期的重大財務驅動力，但如果被行政部門和南卡羅來納州議會選中，我們很樂意參與，特別是如果協作方式可以節省成本，並可將此惠及我們和 Santee Cooper 在該州的客戶。隨著該進程進入下一階段，我們將提供必要的更新。

Finally, let me offer just a brief comment on the recent third quarter related to the PJM capacity market structure, commonly referred to as MOPR-Ex. We will continue to monitor that situation as it winds towards resolution. In the meantime, we do not see this as a material financial risk for our company given the even balance of supply and demand at Dominion Energy Virginia. Further, if we determine it to be in the best interest of our customers, we have the option to make a fixed resource requirement or FRR election. This would require a notification to PJM and where we'd also notify the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

最後，請容許我簡單評論一下最近第三季與 PJM 容量市場結構（通常稱為 MOPR-Ex）相關的情況。我們將繼續關注事態發展，直至問題解決為止。同時，鑑於 Dominion Energy Virginia 的供需平衡，我們並不認為這會為我們公司帶來重大財務風險。此外，如果我們確定這符合客戶的最佳利益，我們可以選擇做出固定資源要求或 FRR 選舉。這需要通知 PJM，我們還需要通知維吉尼亞州公司委員會和北卡羅來納州公用事業委員會。

With that, let me conclude my remarks by reiterating the key investment themes that I spoke to on our last quarterly call. We are highly regulated -- we are highly regulated, with about 95% of our company's operating earnings derived from regulated and regulated-like operations. 70% of our earnings are from utility operations centered around 5 attractive states. Another 25% of our earnings are from FERC-regulated transmission and storage operations primarily serving utility customers under long-term capacity contracts. During 2019, we grew our regulated rate base by approximately 6%. We continue to expect 5-year rate base CAGR of approximately 7%, consistent with our expectations at Investor Day. We are executing on our previously announced 5-year and $26 billion growth capital plan that will modernize, strengthen and improve the sustainability of the services we offer to our customers. And finally, this customer-focused approach also benefits our shareholders as demonstrated by our growing track record of meeting and affirming our financial guidance, including a 16th consecutive quarter of meeting or exceeding our guidance midpoint.

最後，請容許我重申我在上次季度電話會議上談到的關鍵投資主題。我們受到嚴格監管—我們受到嚴格監管，我們公司約 95% 的營業收入來自受監管和類似受監管的營運。我們的 70% 收入來自以 5 個有吸引力的州為中心的公用事業營運。我們另外 25% 的收入來自 FERC 監管的輸電和儲存業務，主要為長期容量合約下的公用事業客戶提供服務。2019 年，我們的監管利率基數成長了約 6%。我們繼續預期 5 年利率基準複合年增長率約為 7%，與我們在投資者日的預期一致。我們正在執行先前宣布的 5 年期 260 億美元成長資本計劃，該計劃將使我們向客戶提供的服務現代化、加強並提高其永續性。最後，這種以客戶為中心的方法也使我們的股東受益，這從我們不斷增長的達到和確認財務指導的記錄中可以看出，包括連續 16 個季度達到或超過指導中點。

I'll now turn the call over to Tom.

我現在將電話轉給湯姆。

Thank you, Jim, and good morning. First, a reminder that safety is our first core value. On Slide 14, we have recast our historic safety results to incorporate our mergers with Questar and SCANA. As you can see, the overall trend reflects a continuous focus on employee health and welfare. Pro forma for past mergers, our company-wide OSHA recordable incident rate decreased in 2019 for an 11th time over the last 13 years.

謝謝你，吉姆，早安。首先，提醒大家安全是我們的首要核心價值。在投影片 14 上，我們重塑了我們的歷史安全結果，以納入我們與 Questar 和 SCANA 的合併。如您所見，整體趨勢反映出對員工健康和福利的持續關注。根據以往合併的經驗，我們全公司的 OSHA 可記錄事故率在 2019 年下降，這是過去 13 年來的第 11 次下降。

Turning now to our consistent national leadership as it relates to environmental, social and governance matters. Over the course of the last year, we have intensified our efforts to reduce emissions of all types. As shown on Slide 15, we have already reduced carbon emissions by around 50% since 2005, which is nearly twice as much as the most recently reported industry average. We have followed a similar path for methane emissions, which have fallen by around 25% since 2010, a significant reduction driven by industry-leading efforts.

現在談談我們在環境、社會和治理問題上一貫的國家領導地位。在過去的一年裡，我們加強了減少各類排放的力道。如投影片 15 所示，自 2005 年以來，我們已經減少了約 50% 的碳排放量，幾乎是最近報告的行業平均值的兩倍。我們在甲烷排放方面也採取了類似的路徑，自 2010 年以來，甲烷排放量下降了約 25%，這是由業界領先的努力推動的顯著減少。

Further, as shown on the next slide, we have reduced coal-fired generation's contribution to company-wide electricity production by 80% from 52% in 2005 to 12% in 2019. And we estimate that coal-fired generation today accounts for less than 8% of our total regulated investment base.

此外，如下一張投影片所示，我們已將燃煤發電對全公司電力生產的貢獻從 2005 年的 52% 降至 2019 年的 12%，降幅達 80%。我們估計，目前燃煤發電占我們總監管投資基數的不到 8%。

Turning to Slide 17. I'm pleased to announce a new commitment to achieve net 0 emissions by 2050. The goal includes both carbon dioxide and methane emissions and covers all of our businesses, including electricity generation and gas infrastructure. This represents a significant expansion from the company's previous greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, which included a commitment to cut methane emissions from our natural gas operations by 50% between 2010 and 2030 and carbon emissions from our power generating facilities by 80% between 2005 and 2050.

翻到第 17 張投影片。我很高興地宣佈在 2050 年實現淨零排放的新承諾。該目標包括二氧化碳和甲烷排放，涵蓋我們的所有業務，包括發電和天然氣基礎設施。這代表著公司先前溫室氣體減排目標的顯著擴展，其中包括承諾在 2010 年至 2030 年期間將天然氣業務產生的甲烷排放量減少 50%，並在 2005 年至 2050 年期間將發電設施產生的碳排放量減少 80%。

Reducing emissions as fast as possible and achieving net 0 emissions company-wide requires immediate and direct action. That is why the company continues to make meaningful steps to extend licenses for its 0 carbon nuclear generation fleet, promote customer energy efficiency programs, invest heavily in wind and solar power, reduce the amount of coal-fired generation on our system, enhance gas infrastructure leak detection, systematically replace legacy gas distribution lines and harvest agricultural methane emissions to be repurposed as renewable natural gas. All of these initiatives are included in our capital investment plan guidance through 2023 and will extend well beyond that.

盡快減少排放並實現全公司淨零排放需要立即採取直接行動。這就是為什麼公司繼續採取有意義的措施來延長其零碳核發電機組的許可證，推動客戶能源效率計劃，大力投資風能和太陽能，減少我們系統中的燃煤發電量，加強天然氣基礎設施洩漏檢測，系統地更換傳統的天然氣分配管道，並收集農業甲烷排放以重新用作可再生天然氣。所有這些舉措都包含在我們 2023 年之前的資本投資計畫指引中，並且將遠遠超出此範圍。

Over the long term, achieving these goals will require supportive legislative and regulatory policies and broader investments across the economy. This includes support for the testing and deployment of technologies, such as large-scale energy storage and carbon capture, which, though still early stage, have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly when deployed in conjunction with carbon-free generation. And we will never lose sight of our fundamental responsibility to customers: provision of safe, reliable and affordable energy. We have issued a press release this morning that addresses the topic in additional detail. And you should expect to hear more about our plans, including in upcoming climate and corporate and social responsibility reports. Though certain approaches will undoubtedly evolve over the coming decades to reflect the most up-to-date assumptions, our commitment to net 0 emissions will not change.

從長遠來看，實現這些目標需要支持性的立法和監管政策以及更廣泛的經濟投資。這包括對大規模儲能和碳捕獲等技術的測試和部署的支持，這些技術雖然仍處於早期階段，但如果與無碳發電結合使用，則有可能顯著減少溫室氣體排放。我們永遠不會忘記對客戶的基本責任：提供安全、可靠且負擔得起的能源。我們今天早上發布了一份新聞稿，對這個主題進行了更詳細的討論。您應該會聽到更多關於我們計劃的信息，包括即將發布的氣候、企業和社會責任報告。儘管某些方法無疑會在未來幾十年內不斷發展以反映最新的假設，但我們對淨零排放的承諾不會改變。

I'm pleased to report that our work on reducing emissions and enhancing our ESG disclosures was recognized with a leadership rating by CDP, an influential nonprofit that monitors and measures environmental impact. These ratings put Dominion Energy in the upper echelon of not just U.S. utility companies but all companies of all industries globally. In addition, Just Capital, an organization that promotes corporate responsibility in partnership with Forbes, has ranked Dominion among America's top 100 corporate citizens. It is, of course, nice to receive accolades like these, but we are not declaring victory.

我很高興地報告，我們在減少排放和加強 ESG 揭露方面的工作得到了 CDP 的領導力評級的認可，CDP 是一家監測和衡量環境影響的有影響力的非營利組織。這些評級使 Dominion Energy 不僅在美國公用事業公司中處於領先地位，而且在全球所有行業的所有公司中也處於領先地位。此外，與《富比士》合作推動企業責任的組織 Just Capital 將 Dominion 評選為美國百大企業公民之一。當然，獲得這樣的讚譽是件好事，但我們並沒有宣布勝利。

In addition to minimizing our own operational environmental footprint in line with the carbon and methane goals I just described, we are also embracing the notion of Beyond Dominion Energy as it relates to our ability to transform the emissions profiles of our customers and energy end users, as shown on Slide 19, in the transportation sector, which accounts for 29% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. We are leading the way in the development of the largest electric school bus program in the nation. We are enhancing the resiliency and flexibility of our electric grid to enable the more rapid deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure as enabled in Virginia by the Grid Transformation & Security Act, and we are developing infrastructure that will make liquefied natural gas, compressed renewable natural gas and potentially hydrogen fuels more available and more affordable for use in transportation applications, including maritime shipping vessels.

除了按照我剛才描述的碳和甲烷目標盡量減少我們自己的營運環境足跡之外，我們還接受了超越自治領能源的概念，因為它與我們改變客戶和能源最終用戶的排放狀況的能力有關，如幻燈片 19 所示，在交通運輸領域，該領域占美國溫室氣體排放量的 29%。我們在全國最大的電動校車專案開發中處於領先地位。我們正在增強電網的彈性和靈活性，以便更快地部署電動車充電基礎設施，就像維吉尼亞州透過《電網轉型和安全法案》所允許的那樣，我們還在開發基礎設施，使液化天然氣、壓縮再生天然氣和潛在的氫燃料在運輸應用（包括海運船舶）中更容易獲得、更便宜。

In the agricultural sector, which accounts for 9% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, we are partnering with the nation's largest hog and dairy producers to capture methane from farm operations. These partnerships have already committed $700 million of shared investment to capture methane emissions and use RNG to serve homes, businesses and vehicle fleets. These are large and ambitious, multi-decade plans that are consistent with the spirit of Dominion Energy and its nearly 20,000 employees.

在占美國溫室氣體排放量 9% 的農業領域，我們正在與美國最大的生豬和乳製品生產商合作，捕獲農場運作過程中產生的甲烷。這些合作夥伴已經承諾共同投資 7 億美元用於捕獲甲烷排放並使用 RNG 為家庭、企業和車隊提供服務。這些都是宏大而雄心勃勃的數十年計劃，與 Dominion Energy 及其近 20,000 名員工的精神相一致。

Many of these efforts are well underway, including our solar, offshore wind, nuclear relicensing and energy efficiency programs. Others are in more nascent stages, including our electric school bus, RNG and marine LNG programs. Over the coming months and years, you should expect to hear more on these strategies as we work diligently to reduce the emissions profiles of our company and our customer. I will address several of these now.

許多努力正在順利進行中，包括我們的太陽能、離岸風能、核能再許可和能源效率計劃。其他項目尚處於起步階段，包括我們的電動校車、RNG 和船用 LNG 項目。在未來的幾個月和幾年裡，隨著我們努力減少公司和客戶的排放量，您應該會聽到更多有關這些策略的消息。我現在將討論其中的幾個問題。

Turning to Slide 20. Late last year, we announced plans to install over 2.6 gigawatts of wind generation capacity, approximately 27 miles off the coast of Virginia, a major milestone for a project we began developing in 2013. Since that announcement, we have achieved several additional milestones, including selecting Siemens Gamesa as our preferred turbine supplier and entering into an agreement with 3 prominent trade unions to support the onshore electric interconnection work. We will begin ocean survey work in April, which will help to support the submission of the construction and operations plan at the end of this year. We expect to commence construction in 2024, upon timely completion of the BOEM permitting process, with full in-service by the end of 2026.

翻到第 20 張投影片。去年年底，我們宣布計劃在距離維吉尼亞海岸約 27 英里的地方安裝超過 2.6 千兆瓦的風力發電容量，這是我們 2013 年開始開發的專案的一個重要里程碑。自從宣布這一消息以來，我們又取得了幾個里程碑，包括選擇西門子歌美颯作為我們的首選渦輪機供應商，並與三個著名工會達成協議，以支持陸上電力互聯工作。我們將於四月開始海洋勘測工作，這將有助於支持今年年底提交建設和營運計畫。我們預計將於 2024 年開始建設，屆時將及時完成 BOEM 許可程序，並於 2026 年底全面投入使用。

We will continue to work to refine the preliminary capital cost estimate of approximately $8 billion, the vast majority of which will occur in the '24 to '26 time frame as major components are fabricated and installed. Cost reductions as well as any tax benefits that we achieve will accrue directly to the benefit of our customers. Dominion Energy Virginia will be the sole equity owner of this regulated asset. We will seek recovery via a rider from the Virginia State Corporation Commission. While the existing GTSA provides a strong framework for regulated cost recovery for offshore wind investments, a legislation, which was supported by the governor's office in recent legislative committee meetings, is working its way through the current Virginia General Assembly session that, if enacted, would provide additional regulatory clarity.

我們將繼續努力完善約 80 億美元的初步資本成本估算，其中絕大部分將在 2024 年至 2026 年期間完成，因為主要零件已經製造和安裝完畢。我們實現的成本降低以及任何稅收優惠都將直接惠及我們的客戶。Dominion Energy Virginia 將成為該受監管資產的唯一股權所有者。我們將透過弗吉尼亞州公司委員會的附加條款尋求賠償。雖然現有的 GTSA 為離岸風電投資的監管成本回收提供了強有力的框架，但一項在最近的立法委員會會議上得到州長辦公室支持的立法正在本屆弗吉尼亞州議會審議，如果該立法獲得通過，將提供額外的監管明確性。

Our related 12-megawatt pilot project will begin turbine installation in May and is expected to achieve commercial operation in late summer of this year. The lessons learned on this project will be invaluable to the successful completion of our full-scale deployment. The pilot is the first and only offshore wind project in Federal waters to have completed the BOEM permitting process, which included a cumulative impact analysis. We expect to leverage the right-of-way and other work already performed under the pilot project to facilitate routing the export cable to shore and connecting it to the onshore electric transmission system.

我們相關的12兆瓦試點計畫將於5月開始安裝渦輪機，預計今年夏末實現商業營運。該專案的經驗教訓對於我們成功完成全面部署將具有無價的價值。該試點項目是聯邦水域第一個也是唯一一個完成 BOEM 許可流程的離岸風電項目，其中包括累積影響分析。我們希望利用試點計畫下已經完成的通行權和其他工作，以促進將輸出電纜佈線到岸上並將其連接到陸上電力傳輸系統。

Also in Virginia, our weather-normalized sales increased 1.4% year-over-year, driven primarily by increased data center and residential demand. We connected nearly 34,000 new accounts, about 10% more than last year, including 26 data centers, which set another annual record. Earlier this year, PJM revised upwards their peak load assumptions for our service territory to reflect, among other things, continued strong data center growth. PJM's DOM zone summer peak load growth is now expected to be 1.2% per year over the next 10 years and 1% annually over the next 15. These rates are double the PJM system-wide growth rates and rank our zone as one of the fastest-growing regions among the 13 states that comprise PJM.

此外，在維吉尼亞州，我們的天氣標準化銷售額年增 1.4%，主要受資料中心和住宅需求成長的推動。我們連接了近3.4萬個新帳戶，比去年增加了約10%，其中包括26個資料中心，創下了年度新高。今年早些時候，PJM 上調了我們服務區域的尖峰負載假設，以反映資料中心持續強勁成長等因素。PJM DOM 區域夏季尖峰負載成長率預計在未來 10 年內為每年 1.2%，在未來 15 年內為每年 1%。這些成長率是 PJM 系統範圍內成長率的兩倍，使我們的區域成為 PJM 13 個州中成長最快的地區之一。

Turning to Slide 21. Last month, the State Corporation Commission approved our U.S. forward solar CPCN application, the second such approval in the last 12 months. We expect subsequent rider approval in April. Overall, we have now achieved 57% of our commitment to Virginians to have 3,000 megawatts of solar in development or in operation by the end of 2021. To date and inclusive of around $800 million of spending in 2019 alone, Dominion Energy's enterprise-wide total solar investment now stands at approximately $4 billion with an additional nearly $3 billion expected through 2023. We anticipate continued solar investment for years to come, which is why we expect to improve our current ranking of fourth among the largest utility owners of solar in the country.

翻到第 21 張投影片。上個月，州公司委員會批准了我們的美國遠期太陽能 CPCN 申請，這是過去 12 個月內第二次獲得此類批准。我們預計後續附加條款將於四月獲得批准。總體而言，我們目前已實現對維吉尼亞州人民的承諾的 57%，即到 2021 年底開發或營運 3,000 兆瓦的太陽能。迄今為止，光是 2019 年一年的支出就達到約 8 億美元，Dominion Energy 整個企業的太陽能總投資現已達到約 40 億美元，預計到 2023 年還將增加近 30 億美元。我們預計未來幾年將繼續對太陽能進行投資，這就是為什麼我們期望提高我們在全國最大的太陽能公用事業所有者中的第四名的排名。

Phase 2 of our grid modernization program is before the commission. Representing around $500 million of Capex, the request includes deployment of automated metering, a new customer information platform and investments in grid resiliency and telecommunications that are essential to delivering the products and services that our customers desire and which provides for a system more capable of withstanding climate-related risks. We are optimistic that we will receive approval next month.

我們的電網現代化計劃第二階段已提交委員會審議。該請求代表約 5 億美元的資本支出，包括部署自動計量、新的客戶資訊平台以及對電網彈性和電信的投資，這些對於提供客戶所需的產品和服務至關重要，並且可以提供一個更能抵禦氣候相關風險的系統。我們樂觀地認為下個月就能獲得批准。

Our other investment programs shown on Slide 22, such as electric transmission, nuclear relicensing, distribution undergrounding, pump storage, renewable-enabling quick-start generation and rural broadband, are tracking in line with our expectations. Virginia General Assembly has been in session for about 5 weeks and is scheduled to conclude in less than a month. There are 2 proposals currently pending that I believe warrant highlighting. One is related to offshore wind, which I previously addressed. The other relates to our nation-leading initiative to replace diesel with electric school buses. We have already selected a vendor and worked with local school districts in our service territory to allocate an initial delivery of 50 school buses by year-end. Pending legislation calls for replacing an additional 1,500 buses by 2025, representing an estimated Dominion capital investment of approximately $400 million which will be eligible for cost recovery subject to commission approval.

投影片 22 中展示的其他投資項目，例如電力傳輸、核能再許可、配電地下化、抽水蓄能、再生能源快速啟動發電和農村寬頻，都符合我們的預期。維吉尼亞州議會已開會約五週，預計將在不到一個月的時間內結束。我認為目前有 2 個提案尚待審議，值得強調。其中一個與海上風電有關，我之前已經提到過。另一個與我們在全國領先的以電動校車取代柴油校車的舉措有關。我們已經選定了供應商，並與我們服務區域內的當地學區合作，在年底前分配 50 輛校車的首批交付。正在審議的立法要求到 2025 年更換另外 1,500 輛公車，這意味著 Dominion 預計需要投資約 4 億美元，經委員會批准後才有資格收回成本。

Ultimately, we would place all 13,000 diesel school buses in our Virginia service territory. Not only will this effort dramatically improve the air quality for our students and their communities, it will provide valuable real-world experience with vehicle-to-grid battery technology as the first 1,500 buses, while idle, represent up to 60 megawatts of effective battery storage. We are monitoring other active pieces of legislation, all of which we expect to represent a reasonable and balanced approach to statewide energy policy priorities.

最終，我們將把所有 13,000 輛柴油校車安置在維吉尼亞服務區內。這項努力不僅將大大改善我們的學生及其社區的空氣質量，還將為車輛到電網電池技術提供寶貴的實際經驗，因為首批 1,500 輛公車在閒置時可產生高達 60 兆瓦的有效電池儲存量。我們正在監控其他有效的立法，我們希望所有這些立法都能代表對全州能源政策優先事項的合理和平衡的方法。

Turning now to South Carolina on Slide 23. We are pleased with the work done by our team members to provide for a smooth integration while maintaining their historically excellent levels of reliability and customer service. Around midyear, we plan to file an electric rate case as stipulated in the merger agreement. Our most recent earned return was around 7.5% and our current authorized return is 10.25%. The most significant driver of the under earnings is related to normal course, safety, customer growth and reliability utility investment over the last 8 years. This is not currently captured in rates. We believe the case will conclude by year-end with an outcome that appropriately balances the interest of customers and shareholders.

現在轉到第 23 張投影片上的南卡羅來納州。我們對團隊成員所做的工作感到非常滿意，他們不僅確保了順利的整合，還保持了他們歷來卓越的可靠性和客戶服務水準。我們計劃在年中左右按照合併協議的規定提起電費訴訟。我們最近的收益回報率約為 7.5%，目前的授權回報率為 10.25%。獲利不足的最重要驅動因素與過去 8 年的正常進程、安全性、客戶成長和可靠性公用事業投資有關。目前利率尚未反映這一點。我們相信該案件將在年底前結案，並給出一個能夠適當平衡客戶和股東利益的結果。

Turning to Gas Distribution. Recently, we have begun to hear of investor concern that, at least in some states, municipal level ordinances could limit overall demand growth for natural gas utility service. While that may be true elsewhere, we simply do not see any evidence of slowing customer or investment growth in the states in which we operate gas utilities: Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Compounded annual customer growth across this segment was 1.5% over the last 3 years and as high as 2.6% and in Utah and North Carolina, with no signs of abating anytime soon. For many of our customers, the alternative to natural gas for home heating is fuel oil or even wood, which have significantly higher carbon signatures. And in certain communities within reach of our system, a lack of energy infrastructure is constraining growth and impacting everyday quality of life.

轉向天然氣分配。最近，我們開始聽到投資者擔心，至少在一些州，市政法令可能會限制天然氣公用事業服務的整體需求成長。雖然其他地方可能確實如此，但在我們經營天然氣公用事業的州，例如猶他州、愛達荷州、懷俄明州、俄亥俄州、西維吉尼亞州、北卡羅來納州和南卡羅來納州，我們根本沒有看到客戶或投資成長放緩的任何跡象。過去 3 年，該領域的年複合客戶成長率為 1.5%，猶他州和北卡羅來納州的成長率更是高達 2.6%，短期內沒有減弱的跡象。對於我們的許多客戶來說，家庭供暖的天然氣替代品是燃料油甚至木材，而這些燃料的碳含量明顯更高。在我們系統涵蓋範圍內的某些社區，能源基礎設施的缺乏正在限制發展並影響日常生活品質。

Further, we are an industry leader in minimizing the emissions footprint of natural gas utility operations, including through promoting energy efficiency, utilizing innovative technologies and increasing access for our customers to renewable natural gas. We also continue to invest hundreds of millions of dollars every year in modernizing our distribution infrastructure, which improves safety, reduces emissions and is recoverable in the form of riders or trackers that will continue over the course of at least the next decade. Regulators continue to approve new investments like our on-system peaking storage facility in Utah that will improve system reliability for decades to come. Our Gas Distribution segment is focused on being part of the solution to a sustainable future.

此外，我們在減少天然氣公用事業營運的排放足跡方面處於行業領先地位，包括透過提高能源效率、利用創新技術和增加客戶獲得再生天然氣的機會。我們還將繼續每年投資數億美元用於現代化我們的配送基礎設施，這提高了安全性，減少了排放，並且可以以騎手或追蹤器的形式進行回收，這種回收將在未來至少十年內持續下去。監管機構繼續批准新的投資，例如我們位於猶他州的系統高峰儲存設施，這將提高未來幾十年的系統可靠性。我們的天然氣分銷部門致力於成為永續未來解決方案的一部分。

Finally, let me now discuss our Gas Transmission & Storage business. First, RNG. We are the largest agricultural waste-to-energy investor in the United States, with investments of $700 million across our partnerships over the next 10 years. These investments will grow as the offtake market matures. Through these efforts, we capture otherwise fugitive methane from livestock and convert it to pipeline quality natural gas for use in homes, businesses and vehicle fleets. Every captured unit of methane is the equivalent of eliminating 25 units of carbon dioxide. Dominion is uniquely positioned to lead the industry in this effort, given the geography of our assets.

最後，讓我來討論一下我們的天然氣輸送和儲存業務。首先，RNG。我們是美國最大的農業廢棄物能源投資者，未來 10 年內將透過合作夥伴關係投資 7 億美元。隨著承購市場的成熟，這些投資將會增加。透過這些努力，我們捕獲了牲畜產生的原本會逸散的甲烷，並將其轉化為管道品質的天然氣，供家庭、企業和車隊使用。每捕獲一個單位的甲烷就相當於消除25個單位的二氧化碳。鑑於我們資產的地理位置，Dominion 具有獨特的優勢，可以引領產業發展。

At Investor Day last year, we identified marine LNG as one of the many innovative ideas we were working to advance. By way of background, crews and cargo vessels primarily consume diesel or fuel oil, each of which is a major contributor of greenhouse gas and other emissions. The maritime industry is taking steps encouraged by recent global regulation to reduce its emissions footprint, which is expected to result in a material shift to LNG. This expected growth in LNG as a fuel source allows Dominion attractive opportunity to provide natural gas liquefaction and LNG distribution services to a growing list of maritime customers. As Jim mentioned, we are acquiring an interest in existing Florida-based operation that currently services marine vessels with an onshore liquefier coupled with marine fuel delivery infrastructure. Customer contracts in this business are typically long term take-or-pay with no commodity exposure.

在去年的投資者日上，我們將船用液化天然氣列為我們努力推動的眾多創新概念之一。背景是，船員和貨船主要消耗柴油或燃料油，而這兩者都是溫室氣體和其他排放的主要來源。受近期全球法規的鼓勵，航運業正在採取措施減少其排放足跡，預計這將導致向液化天然氣的實質轉變。液化天然氣作為燃料來源的預期成長為 Dominion 提供了極具吸引力的機會，為越來越多的海運客戶提供天然氣液化和液化天然氣分銷服務。正如吉姆所提到的，我們正在收購現有佛羅裡達州業務的權益，該業務目前為船舶提供陸上液化器和船用燃料輸送基礎設施服務。該業務的客戶合約通常是長期照付不議合約，不涉及商品風險。

This initial acquisition will support a broader marine LNG strategy that would include Cove Point, where we're partnering with an existing export customer to redirect a portion of their liquefied natural gas inventory to provide LNG to constrained markets along the East Coast and to provide fuel for marine vessels under 0 commodity risk take-or-pay contracts. Importantly, this arrangement does not and will not alter the existing 20-year take-or-pay export contract revenues or terms. While modest initially, this market has the potential to support the significant decarbonization of the country's marine industry in addition to radically reducing pollution at our nation's ports. Overall, inclusive of the acquisition from Southern Company, we expect to deploy approximately $200 million on this strategy over the next 5 years. This is an innovative element of our long-term Beyond Dominion Energy effort to help our customers, new and old, meet their emissions reduction targets.

此次初步收購將支持更廣泛的海上液化天然氣戰略，其中包括 Cove Point，我們正與 Cove Point 的現有出口客戶合作，將其部分液化天然氣庫存重新定向，為東海岸受限市場提供液化天然氣，並根據 0 商品風險照付合約為船舶提供燃料。重要的是，這種安排不會改變現有的20年照付不議出口合約的收入或條款。雖然最初規模不大，但這個市場除了能大幅減少我國港口的污染外，還能支持我國海洋產業的大幅脫碳。總體而言，包括從南方鐵路公司的收購在內，我們預計在未來 5 年內將為這項策略投入約 2 億美元。這是我們長期超越 Dominion Energy 努力的創新元素，旨在幫助我們的新舊客戶實現他們的減排目標。

Turning now to an update on activities related to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, as shown on Slide 24. 2 weeks from yesterday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments related to the Appalachian Trail crossing aspect of our U.S. Forest Service permit. We remain optimistic that the court will issue an order reversing the Fourth Circuit in the May or June time frame.

現在來看看與大西洋海岸管道相關的活動的最新情況，如幻燈片 24 所示。從昨天開始的兩週內，最高法院將聽取有關美國森林服務局許可證中阿巴拉契亞山道穿越部分的口頭辯論。我們仍然樂觀地認為，法院將在五月或六月期間發布推翻第四巡迴法院判決的命令。

We continue to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a reissued biological opinion and are pleased that FERC reinitiated formal consultation yesterday. We applaud the service for taking the time to consider thoroughly the feedback provided by the court during the prior judicial proceedings and we believe an updated biological opinion will be issued during the first half of this year. Upon receipt of the updated biological opinion, we intend to notify FERC and anticipate thereafter, the recommencement of construction across major portions of the pipeline.

我們繼續與美國魚類和野生動物管理局合作重新發布生物學意見，並很高興聯邦能源管理委員會昨天重新啟動了正式諮詢。我們讚賞該服務部門花時間徹底考慮法院在先前的司法程序中提供的回饋，我們相信更新後的生物學意見將在今年上半年發布。收到更新的生物學意見後，我們打算通知聯邦能源管理委員會，並預計此後將重新開始管道主要部分的建設。

We're also pleased with the progress related to projects' Nationwide 12 Permit, which was issued by and subsequently voluntarily remanded to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Last month, the Corps adopted repromulgated regulations that would allow for ACP to seek reissuance of the permit.

我們也對計畫全國 12 號許可證的進展感到滿意，該許可證由美國陸軍工程兵團頒發，隨後自願交還給該部隊。上個月，工程兵團通過了重新頒布的法規，允許 ACP 申請重新頒發許可證。

As it relates to the Buckingham County compressor station air permit, which was vacated late last year, I repeat my message from our last earnings call. We can deliver a very material amount of contracted volumes to customers on our existing schedule, even if permit resolution delays the in-service date of the project's third compression station. We are working on a number of solutions, which we expect will resolve the issue during the second half of this year. We believe that the options we are evaluating will satisfy the court's concerns, which centered on process not the substance of the permit itself.

由於它與去年年底撤銷的白金漢縣壓縮機站空氣許可證有關，我重申了上次收益電話會議上的信息。即使許可證決議推遲了該專案第三個壓縮站的投入使用日期，我們也可以按照現有時間表向客戶交付大量合約規定的貨物。我們正在研究多種解決方案，預計今年下半年將解決這個問題。我們相信，我們正在評估的選項將滿足法院的關注，這些關注的重點是流程而不是許可證本身的實質內容。

Based on our expectation of the biological opinion being reissued during the first half of the year, we are confirming our project time line that calls for construction completion by the end of next year and commissioning to be completed shortly thereafter. Project costs of approximately $8 billion are in line with the high end of the judicial option range we provided about a year ago. This estimate incorporates the various potential approaches to permitting issues and construction plans and timing, including as it relates to the Buckingham Compressor Station, which are being contemplated in the customer discussions that Jim described. Also as noted, we have agreed to acquire the 5% ownership in the project from Southern Company, further underscoring our confidence in the successful completion of the project.

根據我們對今年上半年重新發布的生物學意見的預期，我們確認了專案時間表，要求在明年年底前完成建設，並在不久後完成調試。項目成本約為 80 億美元，與我們大約一年前提供的司法選擇範圍的高端一致。該估算涵蓋了許可問題和施工計劃及時間安排的各種潛在方法，包括與白金漢壓縮機站相關的方法，這些方法正在 Jim 描述的客戶討論中進行考慮。另外如上所述，我們已同意從南方公司收購該專案 5% 的所有權，這進一步強調了我們對該專案成功完成的信心。

With that, I will summarize today's call as follows: our first value is safety, and we achieved another year of record safety performance. We introduced a net 0 emissions by 2050 target that accounts for carbon and methane emissions across both electric and gas operations. We achieved weather-normalized operating earnings that exceeded the midpoint of our guidance range for the 16th consecutive quarter. We further improved our credit metrics and successfully completed the restructuring of our operating segments. We introduced 2020 earnings guidance that represents a 5% year-over-year increase, consistent with previous messaging. We confirmed our earnings per share growth expectations of 5-plus percent post-2020, and we are making significant progress across our capital investment programs to the benefit of our customers.

因此，我將今天的電話會議總結如下：我們的首要價值是安全，我們又取得了創紀錄的安全業績。我們提出了在 2050 年實現淨零排放的目標，該目標考慮了電力和天然氣營運中的碳和甲烷排放。我們實現了天氣正常化的營業利潤，連續第 16 季超出了我們預期範圍的中點。我們進一步改善了信用指標，並成功完成了經營分部的重組。我們推出了 2020 年獲利預測，與先前的資訊一致，年增 5%。我們確認了 2020 年後每股收益成長 5% 以上的預期，而我們的資本投資計畫正在取得重大進展，這將使我們的客戶受益。

We will now be happy to answer your questions.

我們現在很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Shar 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 Shar Pourreza。

So thanks for the additional disclosures on the ACP slides. With the AFUDC rate versus returns once gas is flowing, can you just elaborate if you're expecting any sort of step down there in your assumptions? I guess what returns are you kind of assuming in your $0.20 to $0.25 per share contribution once the pipe's in service, post these contract negotiations? And curious if these negotiations built in any potential further cost increases?

感謝您在 ACP 幻燈片上提供的額外揭露。一旦天然氣開始流動，AFUDC 利率與回報率之間的關係，您能否詳細說明一下，在您的假設中，是否預計會出現任何形式的下降？我猜，一旦管道投入使用，在合約談判結束後，您預計每股 0.20 到 0.25 美元的貢獻會帶來什麼回報？並且好奇這些談判是否會導致成本進一步增加？

Shar, it's Jim. Thanks for that. Yes, there has been, as we said in our prepared remarks, quite the substantial discussions with the anchor customers, the anchor shippers. And those discussions don't really revolve around ROE, it revolves around a rate. So what the guidance we've given is, is for the first full year of operation at that rate. And that will, of course, imply an ROE, which folks can do the math on, but it's reflective of the expected rate for the anchor shippers. Now when you do calculate that ROE that's implied by that math, you'll get to a number that is reflective of the first full year of operation only, meaning, over time, as that project expands through laterals or compression or whatever, that's not reflected in that year 1 ROE, but the -- that will all flow from the input, which is a agreed upon customer rate and cost.

莎爾，我是吉姆。謝謝。是的，正如我們在準備好的發言中所說，我們已經與主要客戶和主要托運人進行了相當實質的討論。這些討論其實不是圍繞著 ROE 展開，而是圍繞著利率。因此，我們給出的指導是針對以該速度運作的第一年。當然，這意味著 ROE，人們可以計算一下，但它反映了主要托運人的預期利率。現在，當您計算出該數學公式所暗示的 ROE 時，您將獲得一個僅反映運營第一年全年的數字，這意味著，隨著時間的推移，當該項目通過橫向或壓縮或其他方式擴展時，這不會反映在第一年的 ROE 中，而是 - 所有這些都將來自投入，即商定的客戶費率和成本。

Got it. And then is there a point in time, Jim, that you can sort of update us on laterals and compression? Is there -- and then where is sort of your intentions are there at that point?

知道了。那麼，吉姆，您能否在某個時間點向我們介紹橫向和壓縮的最新情況？有嗎——那你當時的意圖是什麼？

No. What we can say is that we are optimistic that there will be expansions over time. Sorry, this is Diane Leopold. But we're right now focused on getting the base project in.

不。我們可以說的是，我們樂觀地認為隨著時間的推移，它將會擴展。抱歉，我是黛安·利奧波德。但我們現在專注於基礎專案的實施。

Our next question comes from Greg Gordon with Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Greg Gordon。

Tom, I may have -- you covered a lot, and you've made a ton of progress. So congratulations. I don't recall if you mentioned whether you think there'll be any substantial legislative activity in Virginia this year? And if so, what we should be monitoring?

湯姆，我可能已經——你已經涵蓋了很多內容，並且取得了很大的進步。恭喜你。我不記得您是否提到您認為今年弗吉尼亞州是否會有任何實質性的立法活動？如果是的話，我們該監控什麼？

Thanks, Greg. We mentioned 2 things in particular, the legislation that would allow for up to 1,500 diesel school buses to be converted to electric between now and 2025. And there are bills in both the House and Senate that are working their way through. Today is what we call Crossover Day in Virginia, where each of the Houses has to finish work on its own bills. So the House has to finish work on all House bills, and then everything goes over to the Senate, and they can no longer work on House bills after tonight. And the same is true for the Senate. So there are bills on the electric school bus in both houses. And there are bills related to providing even further regulatory clarity around our 2.6 gigawatt offshore wind farm.

謝謝，格雷格。我們特別提到了兩件事，從現在到 2025 年，立法將允許最多 1,500 輛柴油校車轉換為電動車。眾議院和參議院正在審議一些法案。今天是維吉尼亞州的交叉日，各院都必須完成各自法案的審議工作。因此，眾議院必須完成所有眾議院法案的審議工作，然後所有議案都移交給參議院，今晚之後參議院就不能再審議眾議院法案了。參議院的情況也是如此。因此，兩院都提出了有關電動校車的法案。還有一些法案旨在為我們的 2.6 千兆瓦離岸風電場提供進一步的監管明確性。

Other than that, Greg, there's been a large amount of legislative activity, some bills are no longer viable, others are. And we just are monitoring all those, working on them. Until they work their way through the legislative process, it's really -- it's premature to comment on them.

除此之外，格雷格，還有大量的立法活動，有些法案不再可行，有些則仍然可行。我們只是在監控所有這些情況，並努力解決它們。在他們的立法程序完成之前，現在對他們發表評論還為時過早。

Great. And what would be -- what's your expected -- how do we reword this, what would be the outcome that you would expect coming from the legislation with regard to offshore wind, if it does pass, and what type of regulatory framework would that entail?

偉大的。您的預期是什麼？我們如何重新表達這一點？如果該法案獲得通過，您預期離岸風電相關立法將產生什麼結果？這將帶來什麼樣的監理框架？

Well, again, Greg, I just -- the bills are there pending, and I think they speak for themselves. They have language in them that increase regulatory clarity.

好吧，格雷格，我再說一次——這些法案還在等待通過，我認為它們不言自明。其中的語言可以提高監管的清晰度。

Our next question comes from Michael Weinstein with Crédit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的麥可溫斯坦。

What impact does the FERC MOPR have on Virginia, the offshore wind projects? And what is your -- I guess, your decision process at VEPCO versus an FRR tariff?

FERC MOPR 對維吉尼亞州的離岸風電專案有何影響？我想，您在 VEPCO 的決策過程與 FRR 關稅相比是怎麼樣的？

Michael, it's Jim. Let me start there. We -- as we mentioned, look, we don't expect that, that MOPR, as proposed, will have really any financial impact on Dominion. As you know, our capacity and load in Virginia, Dominion Energy Virginia, is pretty well balanced. So no near-term impact. And if we foresaw that some change with MOPR and PJM rules would mean that we would not be potentially receiving capacity payments on new build generation, we could very easily, in the interest of our customer -- customers in Virginia, just elect that FRR option, which we think is pretty straightforward. It already exists for another utility in the Virginia regulatory framework. So we just don't see FRR -- the MOPR in general being an impact to our business one way or the other.

麥可，我是吉姆。讓我從這裡開始。正如我們所提到的，我們並不認為 MOPR 的提議會對 Dominion 產生任何財務影響。如您所知，我們在維吉尼亞州的產能和負荷（Dominion Energy Virginia）相當平衡。因此短期內不會產生影響。如果我們預見到 MOPR 和 PJM 規則的某些變化意味著我們將無法獲得新建發電的容量付款，那麼我們可以很容易地為了我們客戶（弗吉尼亞州的客戶）的利益而選擇 FRR 選項，我們認為這非常簡單。維吉尼亞州監管框架中的另一家公用事業公司已經採用了這個制度。因此，我們只是沒有看到 FRR——MOPR 總體上會以某種方式對我們的業務產生影響。

Okay. So for now, I mean, I guess, later on, you might make that election, if it does impact the ability to bid into the auction for the offshore wind, correct?

好的。所以就目前而言，我的意思是，我想，稍後您可能會做出這樣的選擇，如果它確實影響到競標離岸風電的能力，對嗎？

Correct.

正確的。

One other question. The $8 billion for ACP is a little higher, I guess, you're at the high end of the range now. What are some of the factors that are pushing that up towards the high end of the range? Is it the Buckingham issue or something else?

還有一個問題。我想，ACP 的 80 億美元稍微高一點，現在已處於該範圍的高端。哪些因素促使這價格上漲至該範圍的高端？這是白金漢宮的問題還是其他問題？

This is Diane Leopold again. So we run a lot of scenarios, incorporating where we are with permitting issues, and based on the timing of that, construction scenarios, certainly including Buckingham Compressor Station options. And all of those have been taken into account in the customer negotiations that are factoring into revised rates. But really, that's what took us to the $8 billion, which is in line or just above the high end of that judicial option range.

我又是黛安·利奧波德。因此，我們運行了許多場景，結合我們所處的許可問題，並根據時間安排，制定施工方案，當然包括白金漢壓縮機站選項。所有這些都已在客戶談判中考慮在內，並納入修改費率的考慮。但實際上，這正是我們花費 80 億美元的原因，該金額與司法選擇範圍的上限一致或略高。

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

今天上午的電話會議到此結束。您可以斷開線路並享受這一天。謝謝。