密歇根天然氣 (DTE) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Eric, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the DTE Energy Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝你的支持。我叫艾瑞克，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時此刻，我歡迎大家參加 DTE Energy 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the call over to Barbara Tuckfield, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係總監芭芭拉·塔克菲爾德 (Barbara Tuckfield)。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Before we get started, I would like to remind you to read the safe harbor statement on Page 2 of the presentation, including the reference to forward-looking statements. Our presentation also includes references to operating earnings, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please refer to the reconciliation of GAAP earnings to operating earnings provided in the appendix.

謝謝大家，大家早安。在我們開始之前，我想提醒您閱讀簡報第 2 頁的安全港聲明，包括對前瞻性聲明的引用。我們的簡報也提到了營業收益，這是一項非公認會計準則財務指標。請參閱附錄中提供的 GAAP 收益與營業收益的調整表。

With us this morning are Jerry Norcia, Chairman and CEO; and Dave Ruud, Executive Vice President and CFO.

今天早上與我們在一起的有董事長兼執行長 Jerry Norcia；以及執行副總裁兼財務長 Dave Ruud。

And now I'll turn it over to Jerry to start the call this morning.

現在我將把它交給傑瑞，讓他在今天早上開始通話。

Thanks, Barb, and good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. I hope everyone is having a healthy and safe year so far. This morning, I'll give you a recap on the accomplishments we achieved in 2023 and provide highlights on how we are well positioned for 2024 and beyond. Dave will provide a financial update and wrap things up before we take your questions.

謝謝巴布，大家早安，謝謝您加入我們。我希望到目前為止每個人都度過一個健康安全的一年。今天早上，我將向您回顧我們在 2023 年的成就，並重點介紹我們如何為 2024 年及以後做好準備。在我們回答您的問題之前，戴夫將提供財務最新情況並總結一切。

As you know, 2023 was a challenging year for DTE as we faced significant headwinds from an unprecedented combination of weather and storm activity. I am very proud that our company came together to face these headwinds and execute on our plan that offset the majority of the challenges. We achieved operating earnings per share of $5.73 in 2023. This was a result of overcoming $300 million of the approximately $400 million of headwinds that we faced.

如你所知，2023 年對 DTE 來說是充滿挑戰的一年，因為前所未有的天氣和風暴活動組合給我們帶來了巨大的阻力。我感到非常自豪的是，我們公司齊心協力應對這些逆風，並執行我們的計劃來抵消大部分挑戰。 2023 年，我們實現了每股營業利潤 5.73 美元。這是我們克服了所面臨的約 4 億美元阻力中的 3 億美元的結果。

In the appendix, we included a summary of the headwinds and the onetime actions we took in 2023. As I said during the year, the fact that we were able to offset most of the challenges we faced while maintaining service excellence is a clear indication of our highly engaged team and our commitment to operating excellence. I couldn't be prouder of our team's effort in 2023 and our commitment to deliver for all of our stakeholders will continue into 2024 and beyond.

在附錄中，我們總結了2023 年的不利因素和我們採取的一次性行動。正如我在這一年中所說，我們能夠在保持卓越服務的同時克服所面臨的大部分挑戰，這一事實清楚地表明了我們高度敬業的團隊以及我們對卓越營運的承諾。我對我們團隊在 2023 年所做的努力感到非常自豪，我們為所有利害關係人提供服務的承諾將持續到 2024 年及以後。

This engagement of our team at DTE was recognized with our 11th consecutive Gallup Great Workplace Award. DTE was also recognized as one of Metro Detroit's Best and Brightest companies to work for as well as one of Time Magazine's best companies for future leaders. We continue to address our customers' most vital needs by investing heavily in our utilities to rebuild our aging infrastructure, improve reliability and support the transition to cleaner generation. There have been a number of developments that support our customer-focused investment agenda, including the filing of our distribution grid plan that provides a road map to improve reliability and automation of our system and our integrated resource plan that outlines our investment in Michigan's cleaner energy future while remaining very focused on customer affordability.

我們 DTE 團隊的這種敬業精神獲得了連續 11 屆蓋洛普最佳工作場所獎的認可。 DTE 也被評為底特律都會區最適合工作、最聰明的公司之一，以及《時代》雜誌最適合未來領導者的公司之一。我們透過大力投資公用事業來重建老化的基礎設施、提高可靠性並支持向清潔發電的過渡，繼續滿足客戶最重要的需求。有許多進展支持我們以客戶為中心的投資議程，包括提交我們的配電網計劃，該計劃提供了提高系統可靠性和自動化的路線圖，以及我們的綜合資源計劃，概述了我們對密西根州清潔能源的投資未來，同時仍非常關注客戶的承受能力。

In 2023, we made strides on our reliability improvement goals. I'll go over this in more detail on the next slide, but I can tell you that our efforts in this area are working. In circuits where upgrades were completed in the first half of 2023, customers experienced 33% fewer outages during the second half of the year compared to the second half of 2022. Also supporting our investment agenda is the constructive electric rate case order we received in December.

2023 年，我們在可靠性改善目標上取得了長足進步。我將在下一張幻燈片中更詳細地討論這一點，但我可以告訴您，我們在這一領域的努力正在發揮作用。在2023 年上半年完成升級的電路中，與2022 年下半年相比，客戶在下半年遇到的停電次數減少了33%。我們在12 月收到的建設性電價案例訂單也支持了我們的投資議程。

During the first half of this year, we expect to file our next electric rate case, which will underpin the continued investments in system reliability, grid modernization and cleaner generation. We also recently filed a rate case at DTE Gas to support important investments necessary to continue to renew our gas infrastructure, which will minimize leaks and reduce costs. So you can see that we continue to invest heavily in our utilities in 2023. DTE Electric invested $3.1 billion on continued improvements in reliability, and cleaner energy generation for our customers, while DTE Gas invested nearly $750 million on infrastructure and main renewal improvements.

今年上半年，我們預計將提交下一個電價案例，這將支持對系統可靠性、電網現代化和清潔發電的持續投資。我們最近也向 DTE Gas 提交了一份費率案例，以支持繼續更新我們的天然氣基礎設施所需的重要投資，這將最大限度地減少洩漏並降低成本。因此，您可以看到，我們在2023 年將繼續大力投資公用事業。DTE Electric 投資31 億美元，用於持續改進可靠性和為客戶提供清潔能源，而DTE Gas 投資近7.5 億美元，用於基礎設施和主要更新改進。

Reinvesting in utility infrastructure, the drive reliability improvements, far exceeds cash generated from operations, demonstrating our commitment to improving reliability for our customers. Another significant event in 2023 was the passing of new clean energy legislation in Michigan that the Governor signed in November. This energy policy creates a very clear road map for the development of additional solar, wind and storage assets that is generally consistent with the accelerated renewables build and cleaner generation path that we laid out in our IRP filing. This investment is supported by the Inflation Reduction Act that includes provisions, which reduced the cost of investments in our system, and we pass all of these benefits along to our customers.

對公用事業基礎設施的再投資，推動可靠性的提高，遠遠超過營運產生的現金，反映了我們對提高客戶可靠性的承諾。 2023 年的另一個重大事件是密西根州州長於 11 月簽署的新清潔能源立法的通過。這項能源政策為開發更多太陽能、風能和儲存資產制定了非常清晰的路線圖，該路線圖與我們在 IRP 備案中列出的加速再生能源建設和清潔發電路徑基本一致。這項投資得到了《通貨膨脹減少法案》的支持，其中包括降低我們系統投資成本的條款，我們將所有這些好處傳遞給我們的客戶。

Our effort to maintain affordability for our customers has been demonstrated over the last 4 years. Based on the outcome of our last rate order, the average annual growth of our residential electric bill is just over 1% since 2020 compared to a national average annual increase of over 6%. This is supported by a $300 million reduction in our fuel and purchased power costs that went into effect last December to lower customer bills. Through this significant reduction, along with our long history of cost savings through continuous improvement, we will continue to effectively manage affordability for our customers.

過去 4 年，我們在維持客戶負擔能力方面所做的努力得到了證明。根據我們上次電價指令的結果，自 2020 年以來，我們的住宅電費年均成長率略高於 1%，而全國平均年增長率超過 6%。去年 12 月我們開始削減 3 億美元的燃料和外購電力成本，以降低客戶的帳單。透過這項大幅削減，加上我們透過持續改善節省成本的悠久歷史，我們將繼續有效地管理客戶的負擔能力。

On the community front, DTE was honored to be named to the Civic 50 for the sixth consecutive year. This award presented by points of light, recognizes the most community-minded companies in the nation. I am proud that our team continues to put the communities we serve at the forefront each and every day in our decision-making. We have a robust investment agenda of $25 billion over the next 5 years, which is a $2 billion increase over the prior plan, and we have a 10-year capital plan of over $50 billion. 95% of our capital will be invested at our 2 utilities. Investments in our nonutility businesses are strategically focused on our customers' needs and align with our clean energy initiatives.

在社區方面，DTE 很榮幸連續第六年入選 Civic 50。該獎項由亮點頒發，旨在表彰全國最具社區意識的公司。我很自豪我們的團隊每天都將我們所服務的社區放在決策的最前沿。我們制定了未來 5 年 250 億美元的穩健投資議程，比先前的計畫增加了 20 億美元，我們的 10 年資本計畫超過 500 億美元。我們 95% 的資本將投資於我們的兩家公用事業公司。我們對非公用事業業務的投資策略性地專注於客戶的需求，並與我們的清潔能源計劃保持一致。

Our 2024 operating EPS guidance midpoint provides 7% growth from our 2023 original guidance midpoint. Our long-term operating EPS growth remains at 6% to 8%, with 2023 original guidance as the base of that growth and our 2024 annualized dividend of $4.08 per share is consistent with our practice of growing dividends in line with our operating EPS.

我們的 2024 年營運 EPS 指導中點較 2023 年原始指導中點成長 7%。我們的長期營運每股收益成長維持在6% 至8%，以2023 年最初的指導為成長基礎，我們的2024 年年化股息為每股4.08 美元，這與我們根據營運每股收益增加股息的做法是一致的。

Importantly, we will continue to have a strong balance sheet and investment-grade credit ratings to support this customer-focused capital investment plan.

重要的是，我們將繼續擁有強大的資產負債表和投資等級信用評級，以支持這項以客戶為中心的資本投資計畫。

Now let's turn to Slide 5. At DTE Electric, our significant capital investment plan is focused on building the grid of the future for our customers and supporting the transition to cleaner generation. Our recently filed distribution grid plan outlines our path to build the grid of the future. This plan includes the transition to a smart grid with full automation within 5 years, resulting in less frequent and shorter outages for our customers. We are also investing $9 billion on distribution infrastructure over the next 5 years, targeting reliability improvements of more than 60%.

現在讓我們轉向幻燈片 5。在 DTE Electric，我們重要的資本投資計劃專注於為我們的客戶建立未來的電網並支持向清潔發電的過渡。我們最近提交的配電網計畫概述了我們建造未來電網的路徑。該計劃包括在 5 年內過渡到完全自動化的智慧電網，從而減少客戶的停電頻率並縮短停電時間。我們還將在未來 5 年內投資 90 億美元用於配電基礎設施，目標是將可靠性提高 60% 以上。

During 2023, DTE Electric focused on improving the reliability of over 400 of our most challenging circuits, including trimming more than 5,000 miles of trees, installing more than 200 automated reclosers and maintaining our extensive network of electric infrastructure, including replacing pole top equipment in over 3,500 utility poles. We are continuing to accelerate our tree trimming program. We are also continuing our accelerated preventative maintenance by upgrading more than 10,000 miles of infrastructure with over 1,300 miles upgraded in 2023.

2023 年，DTE Electric 專注於提高400 多個最具挑戰性的電路的可靠性，包括修剪超過5,000 英里的樹木、安裝200 多個自動重合器以及維護我們廣泛的電力基礎設施網絡，包括更換超過20年的桿頂設備。3,500 支電線桿。我們正在繼續加快樹木修剪計劃。我們也將繼續加速預防性維護，升級超過 10,000 英里的基礎設施，其中 2023 年將升級超過 1,300 英里。

Finally, we are accelerating the rebuild of our 4.8 kV system and pursuing undergrounding. We did experience a large storm in January, and our team came together to achieve one of the fastest restorations for a storm of this size. The $2 billion increase in our DTE Electric 5-year plan is driven by investment and cleaner generation that is supported by the IRP, the recently passed energy legislation and our voluntary renewables program. Accelerating this investment provides more affordable energy for customers over the long term. Our voluntary renewables program is still exceeding our high expectations.

最後，我們正在加快 4.8 kV 系統的重建並尋求地下化。我們在一月份確實經歷了一場大風暴，我們的團隊齊心協力，實現了針對這種規模風暴的最快恢復之一。我們的 DTE Electric 5 年計畫增加了 20 億美元，這是由 IRP、最近通過的能源立法和我們的自願再生能源計畫支持的投資和清潔發電所推動的。從長遠來看，加速這項投資可以為客戶提供更實惠的能源。我們的自願再生能源計劃仍然超出了我們的高期望。

As I mentioned last year, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory recognized DTE as having the largest green tariff program in the country, fulfilling more load under contracted subscriptions than any other program.

正如我去年提到的，國家再生能源實驗室承認 DTE 擁有該國最大的綠色關稅計劃，在合約訂閱下履行的負荷比任何其他計劃都多。

Now let's turn to Slide 6. At DTE Gas, we are planning to invest $3.7 billion over the next 5 years to upgrade and replace our aging infrastructure. Over the years, we have made significant progress and recovered investment through our infrastructure recovery mechanism. Since the program began, we have renewed over 1,700 main miles and plan to complete over 200 more miles in 2024. Our natural gas balance program also continues to grow with over 13,000 customers currently subscribed. The program offers ways for customers to manage their carbon footprint through carbon offsets with our forestry partners in Northern Michigan as well as renewable natural gas.

現在讓我們轉向幻燈片 6。在 DTE Gas，我們計劃在未來 5 年內投資 37 億美元來升級和更換老化的基礎設施。這些年來，我們透過基礎設施回收機制，取得了重大進展，回收了投資。自該計劃啟動以來，我們已續簽了 1,700 多英里主要里程，併計劃在 2024 年再完成 200 多英里。我們的天然氣平衡計劃也在不斷發展，目前已有 13,000 多名客戶訂閱。該計劃為客戶提供了透過與我們在密西根州北部的林業合作夥伴以及可再生天然氣進行碳抵消來管理其碳足跡的方法。

And now let's discuss the opportunities at DTE Vantage on Slide 7. At DTE Vantage, we are planning to invest between $1 billion to $1.5 billion over the next 5 years. We continue to advance custom energy solutions, RNG and carbon capture and sequestration projects. One project that we'll highlight is the expansion of a long-term fixed fee custom energy solutions agreement with Ford Motor Company to build, own and operate and maintain the central utility plant and distribution infrastructure serving its facility in Tennessee.

現在讓我們在投影片 7 上討論 DTE Vantage 的機會。在 DTE Vantage，我們計劃在未來 5 年內投資 10 億至 15 億美元。我們繼續推進客製化能源解決方案、RNG 以及碳捕獲和封存專案。我們要重點介紹的一個項目是擴大與福特汽車公司簽訂的長期固定費用定制能源解決方案協議，以建設、擁有、運營和維護為其田納西州工廠提供服務的中央公用事業工廠和配電基礎設施。

In addition to the utility generation infrastructure, we will also provide distribution of hot and chilled water, steam, natural gas and electricity, domestic and sanitary water along with HVAC equipment and a wastewater treatment facility. Projects that are organic expansions like this one are attractive to us, given the long-term relationships, strong sites and a utility-like structure. This project, combined with other projects helps position us for future growth. Our development pipeline advantage remains strong. The IRA improves decarbonization opportunities as enhanced tax credits allow our projects to be more economic including carbon capture, RNG and combined heat and power projects.

除了公用發電基礎設施外，我們還將提供熱水和冷凍水、蒸汽、天然氣和電力、生活用水和衛生用水以及暖通空調設備和廢水處理設施的分配。鑑於長期合作關係、強大的場地和類似公用事業的結構，像這樣的有機擴張項目對我們很有吸引力。該項目與其他項目相結合有助於我們為未來的發展做好準備。我們的開發管道優勢依然強勁。 IRA 改善了脫碳機會，因為增強的稅收抵免使我們的專案更加經濟，包括碳捕獲、RNG 和熱電聯產專案。

The RNG market growth continues and is supported by the federal renewable fuel standard and California's low carbon fuel standard.

RNG 市場持續成長，並得到聯邦再生燃料標準和加州低碳燃料標準的支持。

With that, I'll turn it over to Dave to give you a financial update. Dave, over to you.

這樣，我會將其轉交給戴夫，為您提供最新的財務資訊。戴夫，交給你了。

Thanks, Jerry. Good morning, everyone. Let me start on Slide 8 to review our 2023 financial results. Operating earnings for the year were $1.2 billion. As Jerry mentioned, we achieved operating earnings per share of $5.73 in 2023. This was achieved after experiencing and overcoming additional headwinds with December being one of the warmest on record. You can find a detailed breakdown of EPS by segment, including our reconciliation to GAAP reported earnings in the appendix. I'll start the review at the top of the page with our utilities. DTE Electric earnings were $791 million for the year. This is $170 million lower than 2022. The main drivers of the earnings variance was warmer winter weather, cooler summer weather and higher storm expenses. There are also higher rate base costs, lower residential sales relative to '22 with the continuation of people returning to work and accelerated deferred tax amortization in 2022. This was all offset by the onetime O&M cost reductions that we implemented in 2023.

謝謝，傑瑞。大家，早安。讓我從投影片 8 開始回顧我們 2023 年的財務表現。該年度營業利潤為 12 億美元。正如 Jerry 所提到的，我們在 2023 年實現了每股營業收益 5.73 美元。這是在經歷並克服了額外阻力（12 月是有史以來最溫暖的月份之一）之後實現的。您可以在附錄中找到按部門劃分的每股盈餘的詳細細目，包括我們對 GAAP 報告收益的調整。我將在頁面​​頂部使用我們的實用程式開始審查。 DTE Electric 全年獲利為 7.91 億美元。這比 2022 年減少了 1.7 億美元。收入差異的主要驅動因素是冬季天氣變暖、夏季天氣涼爽以及風暴費用增加。此外，隨著人們繼續重返工作崗位，基礎成本更高，住宅銷售相對於22 年有所下降，並且2022 年遞延稅款攤銷加速。這一切都被我們在2023 年實施的一次性運營和維護成本削減所抵銷。

Moving on to DTE Gas. Operating earnings were $22 million higher than 2022. The earnings variance was driven by onetime O&M cost reductions and IRM revenue in 2023, which was offset by warmer weather and higher rate base costs.

繼續討論 DTE 天然氣。營運收益比 2022 年增加 2,200 萬美元。收益差異是由一次性營運和維護成本削減以及 2023 年 IRM 收入推動的，但天氣變暖和費率基礎成本上升抵消了這一收入。

Let's move to DT Vantage on the third row. Operating earnings were $153 million for 2023. This is a $60 million increase from 2022 primarily due to new RNG projects and steel-related earnings that were mainly a result of opportunistic byproduct sales. On the next row, you can see Energy Trading finished the year with earnings of $105 million. As I discussed through the year, we experienced favorability in 2023 due to the robust contracted premiums in our physical power portfolio. A portion of this favorability from these contracted positions is expected to continue into 2024.

讓我們轉到第三排的 DT Vantage。 2023 年營業利潤為 1.53 億美元。這比 2022 年增加了 6000 萬美元，主要是由於新的 RNG 項目和鋼鐵相關收入（主要是機會性副產品銷售的結果）。在下一行中，您可以看到 Energy Trading 全年收益為 1.05 億美元。正如我在這一年中所討論的，由於我們的實體電力組合中的合約保費強勁，我們在 2023 年經歷了有利的情況。這些合約部位帶來的部分優惠預計將持續到 2024 年。

Finally, Corporate and Other was unfavorable by $15 million year-over-year, primarily due to interest expense. Again, I'm extremely proud of our team. We overcame the majority of the unprecedented headwinds that we faced in 2023, and we did this without sacrificing reliability and our deep commitment to customer service. Overall, DTE earned $5.73 per share in 2023.

最後，企業及其他業務年減 1500 萬美元，主要是由於利息支出。再次，我為我們的團隊感到非常自豪。我們克服了 2023 年面臨的大部分前所未有的阻力，並且在沒有犧牲可靠性和對客戶服務的堅定承諾的情況下做到了這一點。總體而言，DTE 2023 年每股收益為 5.73 美元。

Let's turn to Slide 9. Our 2024 operating EPS guidance midpoint is $6.69 per share, which provides 7% growth over our 2023 original guidance midpoint. And we continue to target 6% to 8% long-term growth from our 2023 original guidance. In 2024, DTE Electric growth will be driven by the investments in grid reliability and cleaner generation. DTE Gas will see continued customer-focused investments in main renewal and other infrastructure improvements that enhance performance of our transmission, compression, distribution and storage assets and support decarbonization. At DTE Vantage, 2024 earnings are largely driven by RNG projects and new custom energy solutions projects that serve as a base for growth going forward.

讓我們轉向幻燈片 9。我們的 2024 年營運 EPS 指導中點為每股 6.69 美元，比我們的 2023 年原始指導中點增長 7%。我們繼續將 2023 年的長期成長目標定為 6% 至 8%。到 2024 年，DTE Electric 的成長將由對電網可靠性和清潔發電的投資推動。 DTE Gas 將繼續以客戶為中心投資於主要更新和其他基礎設施改進，以提高我們的傳輸、壓縮、分配和儲存資產的效能並支援脫碳。在 DTE Vantage，2024 年收益主要由 RNG 項目和新的客製化能源解決方案項目推動，這些項目是未來成長的基礎。

At Energy Trading, you can see we are guiding to an earnings level that is slightly higher than the 2023 original guidance. This is due to the sustained robust margins that we have contracted and hedged in our structured physical power portfolio that are continuing into 2024. At Corporate and Other, the change is driven by higher interest expense and onetime tax items. Our long-term EPS growth rate of 6% to 8% from the original 2023 midpoint of guidance demonstrates our confidence in maintaining the growth trajectory we have achieved over many years.

在 Energy Trading，您可以看到我們所指導的獲利水準略高於 2023 年的原始指引。這是由於我們在結構化實體電力投資組合中收縮和對沖了持續強勁的利潤，這種利潤將持續到2024 年。在企業和其他方面，這項變化是由更高的利息支出和一次性稅收項目推動的。我們的長期每股盈餘成長率較最初的 2023 年指引中點為 6% 至 8%，這表明我們有信心維持多年來實現的成長軌跡。

Let's move to Slide 10 to highlight our strong balance sheet and credit profile. Going forward, we will continue to invest heavily into our utilities. The majority of this investment is funded by our strong cash from operations, which is shown on our cash and capital guidance slide in the appendix. Due to these strong cash flows, DTE has minimal equity issuances in our plan, targeting annual issuances of $0 to $100 million through 2026. Our 6% to 8% long-term growth plan includes debt refinancings and new issuances, and we continue to manage these future issuances through hedging and other opportunities. In 2023, we also extended our revolving credit facility with all 21 banks out to 2028. We continue to focus on maintaining our strong investment-grade credit rating and strong balance sheet metrics. We targeted FFO to debt ratio of 15% to 16%.

讓我們轉到投影片 10，重點介紹我們強勁的資產負債表和信用狀況。展望未來，我們將繼續大力投資公用事業。這項投資的大部分資金來自我們強大的營運現金，這在附錄中的現金和資本指導幻燈片中有所體現。由於現金流強勁，DTE 在我們的計劃中將股票發行量降至最低，目標是到2026 年每年發行0 至1 億美元。我們6% 至8% 的長期增長計劃包括債務再融資和新發行，我們將繼續管理這些未來的發行通過對沖和其他機會。 2023 年，我們也將與所有 21 家銀行的循環信貸安排延長至 2028 年。我們持續致力於維持強勁的投資等級信用評等和強勁的資產負債表指標。我們的目標是 FFO 與負債比率為 15% 至 16%。

Let me wrap up on Slide 11, and then we'll open the line for questions. Our team continues our commitment to deliver for all of our stakeholders. Our robust capital plan supports our customers as we execute on the critical investments that we need to make to improve reliability and transition to cleaner generation while focusing on customer affordability. The 2024 operating EPS midpoint provides 7% growth over the 2023 original guidance midpoint, and we continue to target long-term operating EPS growth of 6% to 8%. Our dividend growth remains strong as we continue to target dividend increases in line with operating EPS growth. DTE continues to be well positioned to deliver the premium total shareholder returns that our investors have come to expect with a strong balance sheet that supports our future capital investment plan.

讓我結束投影片 11，然後我們將開始提問。我們的團隊繼續致力於為所有利害關係人提供服務。我們穩健的資本計畫為我們的客戶提供支持，因為我們執行了提高可靠性和向清潔發電過渡所需的關鍵投資，同時專注於客戶的承受能力。 2024 年營運每股盈餘中點較 2023 年最初指導中點成長 7%，我們持續將長期營運每股盈餘成長目標定為 6% 至 8%。我們的股息成長依然強勁，因為我們繼續將股息成長目標與營運每股收益成長保持一致。 DTE 繼續處於有利地位，能夠透過支持我們未來資本投資計畫的強勁資產負債表，實現投資者所期望的優質股東總回報。

With that, I thank you for joining us today, and we can open the line for questions.

在此，我感謝您今天加入我們，我們可以開通提問熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Shar Pourreza with Guggenheim Partners.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Shar Pourreza 與 Guggenheim Partners 的線路。

Obviously, just real quick. CapEx is moving higher in the credit metrics just strong and obviously, you're highlighting that you have minimum equity needs in the current plan. I guess, can you just touch on funding sort of incremental spending opportunities maybe using some rule of thumb as we think about the percentage of equity needed to fund every new dollar of CapEx above this base plan. Maybe the answer is 0. And there's been obviously some mentions of an RNG sale in the media. Just given sort of the cash versus earnings attributes to that business, is that an accretive recycling opportunity?

顯然，速度很快。信用指標的資本支出正在強勁上升，顯然，您強調當前計劃中的最低股本需求。我想，當我們考慮為高於此基本計劃的每一新資本支出提供資金所需的股本百分比時，您是否可以使用一些經驗法則來談談為增量支出機會提供資金。也許答案是 0。而且媒體上顯然已經提到了 RNG 出售的一些消息。考慮到該業務的現金與收益屬性，這是一個增值的回收機會嗎？

This is Dave. I'll take the first part of that. Yes, as you saw in our plan, we have really strong cash flow generation that allows us to maintain our FFO to debt at the rate of 15% to 16%, while issuing minimal equity. And it does give us some headroom to the downgrade thresholds, too. So we haven't given a rule of thumb for how much new equity we would have to use for any new CapEx, but we still have some flexibility within our plan that would allow us to kind of work around any new equity that we'd have to do. But our plan, as you saw, has $2 billion of new capital in it, which we were able to bring in really due to the cash flow generation and then some of the favorability that we're seeing from the IRA tax credit as well.

這是戴夫。我將採取第一部分。是的，正如您在我們的計劃中看到的那樣，我們擁有非常強大的現金流生成能力，這使我們能夠將 FFO 債務比率維持在 15% 至 16%，同時發行最低限度的股本。它確實也為我們提供了一些降級門檻的空間。因此，我們還沒有給出我們必須將多少新股本用於任何新資本支出的經驗法則，但我們的計劃仍然具有一定的靈活性，這將使我們能夠圍繞我們需要的任何新股本進行工作。得做。但正如您所看到的，我們的計劃中有 20 億美元的新資本，我們能夠引入這些資本實際上是由於現金流的產生，以及我們從 IRA 稅收抵免中看到的一些優惠。

I'll take the nonutility assets. Certainly, we're happy with all our assets there, but we're always looking for opportunities to -- there was an opportunity to create incremental value for our investors. We would take that opportunity in terms of optimizing the portfolio. But I would say at this moment, certainly, we don't have any incremental cash needs in our plan. And so there really isn't anything imminent at this time.

我會拿走非公用資產。當然，我們對那裡的所有資產感到滿意，但我們一直在尋找機會——有機會為我們的投資者創造增量價值。我們將利用這個機會來優化投資組合。但我想說，目前我們的計畫中當然沒有任何增量現金需求。所以目前確實沒有什麼迫在眉睫的事情。

Perfect. And then just lastly on just the regulatory, maybe just expectations for '24. You have a notice of a potential filing with the MPSC for March 1. I guess can you just elaborate on that filing? I guess what do you see different from the prior case, which wasn't easy to get through especially as we're kind of thinking about the IRM sales forecast, rate design, et cetera.

完美的。最後是監管，也許只是 24 世紀的期望。您收到了可能在 3 月 1 日向 MPSC 提交文件的通知。我想您能詳細說明一下該文件嗎？我想您認為與先前的案例有什麼不同，這個案例並不容易解決，特別是當我們正在考慮 IRM 銷售預測、費率設計等時。

Sure. So if you're referring to a potential electric rate case, we're looking to make a filing late in the first quarter, early second quarter. I would say that most of that filing will be about the capital investments we're making to upgrade the grid and transition to cleaner energy. So again, it will be a CapEx-driven filing is what we expect at this point.

當然。因此，如果您指的是潛在的電價案件，我們希望在第一季末、第二季初提交文件。我想說，大部分文件將涉及我們為升級電網和向清潔能源過渡而進行的資本投資。因此，我們目前預計這將是一個由資本支出驅動的備案。

Your next question comes from the line of Nick Campanella with Barclays.

你的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的尼克·坎帕內拉（Nick Campanella）。

I guess just a follow-up on the Vantage portfolio optimization comments. Just if you don't have cash needs in the current plan and there is an opportunity to do something, just how do we think about those use of proceeds?

我想這只是 Vantage 投資組合優化評論的後續行動。如果當前計劃中沒有現金需求並且有機會做某事，那麼我們如何考慮這些收益的用途？

If we did pursue some form of optimization, obviously, the cash proceeds would go to offsetting debt issuances and even potentially the repurchase of some equity. But as I said, there's really nothing imminent at this point in time.

如果我們確實追求某種形式的優化，顯然，現金收益將用於抵消債務發行，甚至可能用於回購一些股權。但正如我所說，目前確實沒有什麼迫在眉睫的事情。

And then I guess, just as you kind of wrap in the Michigan legislation to your outlook, you're probably looking at changes to the supply portfolio. Can you just remind us what your philosophy is in terms of owning these assets versus doing PPAs. Are you going to target to do a mix? Or do you want to do all renewable ownership? That would be helpful.

然後我想，就像您將密西根立法納入您的前景一樣，您可能正在考慮供應組合的變化。您能否提醒我們，您在擁有這些資產與執行購電協議方面的理念是什麼？你打算以混音為目標嗎？或者您想擁有所有可再生所有權嗎？那會有幫助的。

So we certainly like to own assets because we think it's much more accretive both for our customers in terms of providing lower cost. I think we've been able to show over and over is that ownership provides lower cost to our customers. And also, it provides a greater benefit to our investors in terms of EPS growth. So we prefer to own. I think you'll see in the IRP. In the IRP settlement, we did agree to share some ownership, and it breaks out somewhere between 2/3 and 1/3 ownership between us owning 2/3 and others only 1/3 in IRP piece. I think the legislation also did not talk about ownership, which we -- and was neutral on that point. So we are pleased with that. And in addition to that, it also provided for compensation mechanism for PPAs that will give us some upside as we sign PPAs.

因此，我們當然喜歡擁有資產，因為我們認為在提供更低的成本方面，這對我們的客戶來說更具增值性。我認為我們已經能夠一次又一次地證明，所有權可以為我們的客戶帶來更低的成本。而且，它在每股收益成長方面為我們的投資者帶來了更大的利益。所以我們更願意擁有。我想你會在 IRP 中看到。在IRP和解中，我們確實同意分享一些所有權，並且它在IRP部分中我們擁有2/3而其他人只擁有1/3之間的2/3和1/3所有權之間出現了分歧。我認為立法也沒有談論所有權，而我們在這一點上是中立的。所以我們對此感到滿意。除此之外，它還為購電協議提供了補償機制，這將在我們簽署購電協議時為我們帶來一些好處。

Next question comes from the line of Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自傑里米·托內特（Jeremy Tonet）與摩根大通的關係。

Just wanted to dive into the capital program a little bit more if we could. Looking at the $25 billion 5-year plan as you laid out there. Just wondering if you could peel back in a little bit more on the $2 billion increase in cleaner generation at DTE Electric. Just wondering what specific project opportunities, how you think about that new capital?

如果可以的話，我們只是想進一步深入了解資本計劃。看看你在那裡制定的 250 億美元的 5 年計畫。只是想知道您是否可以在 DTE Electric 增加 20 億美元的清潔發電方面再多花點錢。只是想知道具體的專案機會是什麼，您如何看待新資本？

Yes. Jeremy, if you'll recall, we updated -- we didn't provide an update at EEI as we're awaiting the outcome of a rate case to make sure that our capital plans were supported in which that happened. And so when we updated in December, it really reflected the IRP settlement and the new legislation were both in flight. And so I would say the combination of those 2 events, significant events created incremental opportunity in our clean generation space. It accelerated our journey in terms of building out renewables as well as a battery system. So that's really what drove the increase.

是的。傑里米，如果你還記得的話，我們更新了——我們沒有在 EEI 提供更新，因為我們正在等待利率案例的結果，以確保我們的資本計劃在發生這種情況時得到支持。因此，當我們在 12 月更新時，它確實反映了 IRP 和解和新立法都在實施中。所以我想說，這兩個事件的結合，重大事件為我們的清潔發電領域創造了增量機會。它加速了我們建造再生能源和電池系統的進程。所以這確實是推動成長的原因。

And then just thinking about the capital program, I guess, broader and if you think about the Vantage, the nonregulated side. Just wondering what you think about, I guess, run rate expectations for CapEx there? did some capital move from Vantage into regulated? Just trying to get a sense for how much capital could go there over time, how that could potentially shift depending on what regulated opportunities you see in front of you?

然後，我想，考慮更廣泛的資本計劃，如果你考慮 Vantage，即不受監管的方面。我想知道您對資本支出的運作率預期有何看法？是否有一些資本從 Vantage 轉移到受監管的領域？只是想了解隨著時間的推移，有多少資本可能會流向那裡，根據您看到的受監管機會，這種情況可能會發生怎樣的變化？

Yes. Right now, we're showing a $1 billion to $1.5 billion investment over the next 5 years and -- which is pretty consistent with our prior 5-year forecast. So we really haven't made any significant change there just yet.

是的。目前，我們計劃在未來 5 年內投資 10 億至 15 億美元，這與我們先前 5 年的預測非常一致。所以我們確實還沒有做出任何重大改變。

We will see that can be a little lumpy depending on the projects that come in to. So the project that Jerry was talking about on the -- in the prepared remarks, that one will have a little more capital associated with it in '24. So can be a little bit lumpy as it comes in.

我們會發現，根據所涉及的項目，這可能會有點不穩定。因此，傑瑞正在談論的項目 - 在準備好的演講中，該項目將在 24 年擁有更多與之相關的資本。所以進來時可能會有點凹凸不平。

And then I just wanted to see, I guess, as it relates to CCS, if you could dive in a little bit more in, I guess, how you think about time line for when that could become more real, I guess, as far as capital is moving in there. And as far as the, I guess, the regulatory environment being supportive enough where you feel comfortable to kind of move forward there?

然後我只是想看看，我想，因為它與 CCS 相關，如果你能更深入一點，我想，你如何考慮何時變得更加真實，我想，到目前為止因為資本正在進入那裡。我想，就監管環境而言，監管環境是否足夠支持，讓您能夠放心地繼續前進？

I would say that in terms of carbon capture and storage, we're well advanced on 3 projects, and we're finalizing our arrangements with counterparties and some conditions precedent there to make sure that we got a viable transaction. But I would say it's feeling better than 50-50 that we're going to start executing on some capital there in that new business line. So pretty exciting. They're small projects. Each of them are -- each of the 3 are anywhere between $50 million to $100 million, pretty simple projects that doesn't require a lot of pipeline, pretty short pipelines. Most of the pipelines are right on the property of the customer. So as the wealth. So we're deep into it and we'll continue to give you updates on that. But it's a nice synergy with our utility -- electric utility because we're -- as we think about future power plants and using natural gas, we're going to need to capture the carbon and store it. So I think dipping our toes into this new business line creates value for investors, but also creates value for future utility investments that we'll need to make.

我想說，在碳捕獲和封存方面，我們在 3 個項目上取得了很大進展，並且我們正在與交易對手敲定我們的安排以及一些先決條件，以確保我們獲得可行的交易。但我想說，我們將開始在新業務線中執行一些資本，感覺比 50-50 更好。非常令人興奮。它們都是小項目。這 3 個項目中的每一個都在 5,000 萬美元到 1 億美元之間，都是非常簡單的項目，不需要大量的管道，管道非常短。大多數管道都位於客戶的財產上。財富亦如此。因此，我們正在深入研究這一問題，並將繼續為您提供最新資訊。但這與我們的公用事業——電力公用事業，因為我們——當我們考慮未來的發電廠和使用天然氣時，這是一個很好的協同作用，我們將需要捕獲碳並儲存它。因此，我認為涉足這項新業務不僅可以為投資者創造價值，還可以為我們未來需要進行的公用事業投資創造價值。

And one last quick one, if I could, just as far as refinancing new bonds. How much of the I guess the open rate exposure on refinancings has been hedged at this point in derisked?

如果可以的話，最後一個快速的問題是為新債券再融資。我想，此時再融資的未平倉利率敞口有多少已經被對沖並消除了風險？

So as you saw, we have about $2 billion of refinancings coming up at the end of the year this year. And the majority of that is hedged. It's $1.7 billion has been hedged of that at rates that are a little bit better than what we're seeing out there in the market now. So we just -- we continue to like our overall debt portfolio, like -- and with the rates we're getting that that's all included within our 5-year plan and consistent with our strong investment-grade credit rating and our 15% to 16% FFO to debt that allows us to issue minimal equity within our plan. I know it's a little more of an answer than you were asking, but we're in a good place with that.

正如您所看到的，今年年底我們將進行約 20 億美元的再融資。其中大部分都是對沖的。 17 億美元的對沖利率比我們現在在市場上看到的要好一些。因此，我們繼續喜歡我們的整體債務投資組合，就像我們得到的利率一樣，這一切都包含在我們的 5 年計劃中，並且與我們強大的投資級信用評級和 15% 的利率一致。16%的FFO 為債務，這使我們能夠在計劃內發行最低限度的股本。我知道這個答案比你問的要多一些，但我們在這方面處於一個很好的位置。

Your next question comes from the line of Durgesh Chopra with Evercore ISI.

您的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Durgesh Chopra。

Just maybe can you comment on the financial implications of the January storm. That's part one. And then part 2, as we think about the rest of the year, what level of contingency you have in the plan as it relates to worse-than-expected storms, bad weather similar to what we had last year. So those 2 things, please.

也許您可以評論一月風暴的財務影響。這是第一部分。然後是第二部分，當我們考慮今年剩餘時間時，計劃中的意外事件程度如何，因為它與比預期更嚴重的風暴和與去年類似的惡劣天氣有關。那麼這兩件事，請。

We've -- just let me take the storm expense. We've certainly have increased our storm expense in our planning process as we've seen storms increase over time and the cost that, that brings. So we feel pretty comfortable about the plan that we're carrying right now. And as you know, we also carry one standard deviation of weather, for example, in the winter, warmer than normal weather and/or in the summer, one standard deviation of cooler than normal weather. So that's how we're planning. And at this point in time, we feel pretty good about our plan. We're moving along and right on track. I think the storm that came in January consumed some of the storm expense budget. But of course, as you would expect, we're working to replenish some of that so that we can carry a full summer storm budget. So that's really where we're at with that.

我們已經——讓我承擔風暴費用。我們在規劃過程中肯定增加了風暴費用，因為我們看到風暴隨著時間的推移而增加，並帶來了成本。因此，我們對目前正在進行的計劃感到非常滿意。如您所知，我們還帶有一個天氣標準差，例如，在冬天，比正常天氣溫暖和/或在夏天，比正常天氣涼爽一個標準偏差。這就是我們的計劃。此時此刻，我們對我們的計劃感覺非常好。我們正在沿著正確的軌道前進。我認為一月份發生的風暴消耗了一些風暴費用預算。但當然，正如您所期望的，我們正在努力補充其中的一些，以便我們能夠承擔完整的夏季風暴預算。這就是我們現在的處境。

Next question comes from the line of David Arcaro with Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的大衛·阿卡羅（David Arcaro）。

Let's say, you've got a renewable energy plan filing coming later this year, I think. Wondering if that could be an opportunity to reassess again and potentially increase the renewables in your outlook?

比方說，我想您將在今年稍後提交一份再生能源計畫。想知道這是否是一個重新評估並可能增加您對再生能源前景的機會？

Well, certainly, our voluntary renewable plan is progressing really well, David. I'll just tell you that we've got 2,500 megawatts described in our voluntary program and 2,600 in our 5-year plan. So we're -- it's likely that over time, it will increase. We'll -- obviously, our next filing will address the next couple of years of in-service requirements for our large industrial customers that we signed up and commercial customers. So it could potentially be upside to our plan in the future as we continue to update our plan. So hopefully, that helps.

好吧，當然，我們的自願再生能源計劃進展得非常順利，大衛。我只想告訴您，我們的自願計畫中描述了 2,500 兆瓦，我們的 5 年計畫中描述了 2,600 兆瓦。所以我們——隨著時間的推移，它很可能會增加。顯然，我們的下一份文件將解決我們簽約的大型工業客戶和商業客戶未來幾年的使用要求。因此，隨著我們繼續更新我們的計劃，這可能會對我們的未來計劃產生積極影響。希望這會有所幫助。

And I was wondering, does your current plan kind of fully embed the opportunities arising from the legislation as you're thinking about maybe beyond the renewable energy targets, but also considering energy efficiency and the FCM and the potential upside on PPA contracts?

我想知道，您目前的計劃是否完全包含了立法帶來的機會，因為您正在考慮可能超出可再生能源目標，但也考慮能源效率和 FCM 以及 PPA 合約的潛在優勢？

I would say that our current plan does anticipate incremental build-outs for the IRP in legislation. So I told you our 5-year plan for voluntary is 2,600 megawatts. We have an additional 1,800 megawatts that comes in as part of the IRP and a 5-year plan. So that's all built in to the $7 billion clean generation number that you see on our slides. In terms of PPAs, we're going to have to continue to assess what value -- the incremental value that will bring as we go along here. But it could bring incremental value.

我想說的是，我們目前的計劃確實預計在立法中逐步擴大 IRP。所以我告訴你們，我們自願的五年計畫是 2,600 兆瓦。作為 IRP 和 5 年計畫的一部分，我們還有額外的 1,800 兆瓦。因此，這一切都包含在您在我們的投影片上看到的 70 億美元的清潔發電數字中。就購電協議而言，我們將不得不繼續評估什麼價值——我們在過程中將帶來的增量價值。但它可以帶來增量價值。

And then as we look out past that, we're going to be having to file a new IRP that will take into account this legislation even more. And so that will give us an opportunity to bring some more capital in maybe near the end of the 5-year plan, but really probably a little bit past that, just more opportunity to do this clean energy generation.

然後，當我們展望過去時，我們將不得不提交一份新的 IRP，該 IRP 將更多地考慮到這項立法。因此，這將使我們有機會在五年計劃即將結束時引入更多資金，但實際上可能會稍晚一點，只是有更多機會進行清潔能源發電。

Your next question comes from the line of Andrew Weisel with Scotiabank.

您的下一個問題來自豐業銀行的安德魯‧韋塞爾 (Andrew Weisel)。

First question is on the $300 million of lower fuel cost savings. Very impressive number. Can you just give a little more detail, first of all, is that a year-over-year reduction? And how much of that relates to the fuel cost itself, the natural gas prices being lower than 2022 levels. Maybe as a follow-up, just quickly, do you have an early read in 2024 in terms of forward curves?

第一個問題是節省 3 億美元的燃料成本。非常令人印象深刻的數字。您能否提供更多細節，首先，這是同比減少嗎？其中有多少與燃料成本本身有關，天然氣價格低於 2022 年的水準。也許作為後續行動，您是否對 2024 年遠期曲線有初步了解？

Yes, the $300 million reduction in '23, that was really the recovery of the over-collection that was in 2022. So in 2023, we were kind of on our plan and just recovering what we needed to recover into -- recovering from '22 and 2023 and then comes off our books for 2024. So far for this year, there's a little bit under recovery left, but we're forecasting things to be pretty flat with our plan for this year.

是的，23 年減少了3 億美元，這確實是2022 年過度收集的恢復。因此，在2023 年，我們按照我們的計劃進行了恢復，只是恢復了我們需要恢復的內容——從“恢復”中恢復。22 日和 2023 年，然後是 2024 年。到目前為止，今年還有一點復甦，但我們預測情況將與我們今年的計劃相當持平。

And in the gas business, we're fully recovered there. We're in a good position there.

在天然氣業務方面，我們已經完全康復。我們在那裡處於有利地位。

Then one more, if I could just sort of ask you to elaborate on the nonutility CapEx. So I'm going to ask similar questions in a different way. Last year, the CapEx was $167 million. That was well below guidance of $300 million to $400 million and now you're guiding to $550 million to $650 million for 2024. Can you just walk us through that a little bit? I heard you mentioned there's some lumpiness, maybe certain investments were deferred. I'm guessing some of the high spending this year is related to that Ford announcement. I guess just overall, how confident are you in that 2024 number, given how high it is?

還有一個問題，我可否請您詳細說明非效用資本支出。所以我將以不同的方式問類似的問題。去年，資本支出為 1.67 億美元。這遠低於 3 億至 4 億美元的指導，現在您的 2024 年指導為 5.5 億至 6.5 億美元。您能給我們簡單介紹一下嗎？我聽說你提到有些不順利，也許某些投資被延後了。我猜今年的一些高支出與福特的公告有關。我想總體而言，考慮到 2024 年的數字有多高，您對這個數字有多大信心？

Good question, Andrew. It's the capital investment really follows the development projects that we do within that business. And last year, we did 3 RNG projects and one custom energy solutions projects, but a smaller one and that allows us to continue with the growth we need in that business and meet our targets. This year, you're right, the Ford project that we're doing that we talked about in the prepared remarks, makes us confident that we're going to invest this. We talked about this a year or so ago. We had about $200 million of investment planned for this year from that. We've expanded that deal with them, and that's going to make up a good portion of the capital investment or nonutility this year. Still working other projects as well. But it's really that custom energy solutions project with Ford that's going to take up a big chunk of that capital investment in '24.

好問題，安德魯。資本投資確實遵循我們在該業務中所做的開發項目。去年，我們完成了 3 個 RNG 項目和一個客製化能源解決方案項目，但規模較小，這使我們能夠繼續實現該業務所需的成長並實現我們的目標。今年，你是對的，我們正在做的福特項目，我們在準備好的發言中談到過，讓我們有信心投資這個項目。我們大約一年前討論過這個問題。今年我們計劃投資約 2 億美元。我們已經擴大了與他們的合作範圍，這將佔今年資本投資或非公用事業的很大一部分。仍在進行其他項目。但事實上，與福特合作的客製化能源解決方案專案將佔據 24 年資本投資的很大一部分。

Your next question comes from the line of Michael Sullivan with Wolfe Research.

您的下一個問題來自沃爾夫研究中心的邁克爾·沙利文。

Maybe just wanted to ask on the trading business that did really well in '23. And I think, Dave, you mentioned some of that flows through in the '24, but just how conservative do you feel that range is for '24? And is this like a new normal that could extend even beyond '24 based on what you're seeing?

也許只是想問 23 年表現非常好的貿易業務。我想，戴夫，你提到了 24 世紀的一些變化，但你認為 24 世紀的範圍有多保守？根據您所看到的情況，這是否是一種新常態，甚至可能延續到 24 年後？

Yes, Michael, you're right. We did have some really nice favorability in 2023. And again, this is due to the premiums we get on the structured physical power portfolio. So it's all contracted and hedged, just had really nice premiums in '23. As we said, we expect some of that to continue on into '24, probably not to the same extent as '23. But some of those contracts, they're one and 2 years. So we see some of them coming into '24 as well. Going forward, we'll have to see what happens. We're not guiding to anything higher than that. We hit the same level of contracts as a business we've been in for a long time. We get the same level of contracts. We've just seen really good premiums in '23, and we're seeing those come back down. So it's probably not something we're going to guide to going forward, but it is good favorability and the exact same risk profile that we've always had, too.

是的，邁克爾，你是對的。 2023 年，我們確實獲得了一些非常好的優惠。這又是由於我們在結構化實體電力投資組合上獲得的溢價。所以它都是簽約和對沖的，只是在 23 年有非常好的溢價。正如我們所說，我們預計其中一些會持續到 24 年，但程度可能不會達到 23 年的程度。但其中一些合約的期限為一年或兩年。所以我們看到其中一些也進入了 24 年。展望未來，我們必須看看會發生什麼。我們不會指導任何比這更高的事情。我們簽訂的合約水準與我們長期從事的業務相同。我們獲得相同級別的合約。我們剛剛在 23 年看到了非常好的保費，現在我們看到這些保費有所回落。因此，這可能不是我們未來要指導的事情，但它是良好的好感度，並且與我們一直擁有的風險狀況完全相同。

And then I just wanted to pivot to the PBR proceeding at the Michigan PSC. And just what are your guys thoughts on kind of where that stands and how that ultimately plays out?

然後我只想轉向密西根 PSC 的 PBR 程序。你們對目前的情況以及最終的結果有何看法？

Michael, it's moving in the right direction in terms of sort of narrowing the variables that we'd be looking at for PBR. So we felt that, that was quite constructive in the latest release from the commission on that process. We still feel it'll be a symmetrical sort of benefit and incentive to perform. So we feel good about that. That's still holding together. And we expect that there's really no time line stipulated for the conclusion of the process. So we're thinking sometime between the middle of the year to early next year is when this process will conclude. But we're feeling that it will -- it will be a productive process and a well-balanced process.

Michael，在縮小我們為 PBR 考慮的變數方面，它正朝著正確的方向發展。因此，我們認為，委員會關於該流程的最新版本非常具有建設性。我們仍然認為這將是一種對稱的福利和績效激勵。所以我們對此感覺良好。那仍然保持在一起。我們預計該過程的結束實際上沒有規定時間表。因此，我們正在考慮今年年中到明年初之間的某個時間，這個過程將會結束。但我們感覺這將是一個有成效的過程，也是一個平衡的過程。

Next question comes from the line of Sophie Karp with KeyBanc.

下一個問題來自 Sophie Karp 與 KeyBanc 的關係。

A couple of questions here. I guess staying on the Energy Trading business topic, right. Could you elaborate a little more on what market conditions are enabling this relative strength and like what should we watch for in terms of this potentially reversing in the future or continuing for longer, if you will?

這裡有幾個問題。我想還是停留在能源交易業務主題。您能否詳細說明哪些市場條件促成了這種相對強勢，以及我們應該關注什麼，以防止這種情況在未來可能發生逆轉或持續更長時間？如果您願意的話？

These are markets where we bid into utilities within PJM and New England mainly and to serve their load. And as we bid in, we get contracts and those contracts will have premiums associated with them. We just saw really nice premiums in '23 some of which carry on into '24. So we'll be able to -- as we go through '24, we'll be able to let you know more about what we see for future years on those premiums. And then the rest of that business is really gas physical business, which again is contracted and hedged. So it's really just kind of success of our trading group and setting up the structured physical and hedge positions that is making it have these successful years.

我們主要在這些市場中競標 PJM 和新英格蘭地區的公用事業並為其提供服務。當我們投標時，我們會獲得合同，這些合同將有與之相關的溢價。我們剛剛在 23 年看到了非常好的溢價，其中一些一直持續到 24 年。因此，當我們進入 24 年時，我們將能夠讓您更多地了解我們對未來幾年保費的看法。然後，該業務的其餘部分實際上是天然氣實體業務，再次進行簽約和對沖。因此，這實際上是我們交易團隊的成功，並建立了結構化的實物和對沖頭寸，使其取得了這些年的成功。

And how much visibility do you have in that? It sounds like maybe less than 12 months out because you would be updating us as you go?

您對此有多少知名度？聽起來可能不到 12 個月，因為您會隨時向我們通報最新情況？

That's right. It is most of these contracts are one year, some go a little longer, but most of them work for one year and then kind of see where they come in again the next year. That's why we continue to guide usually the $25 million. We went to $35 million because we see that, but we're not pushing to something higher than that in the future years.

這是正確的。這些合約大多都是一年期，有些合約期限更長一些，但大多數合約都工作一年，然後看看明年會再次出現。這就是為什麼我們繼續指導通常為 2500 萬美元的原因。我們的預算達到了 3500 萬美元，因為我們看到了這一點，但我們不會在未來幾年推動比這個更高的目標。

And then I just wanted to be clear on what you're saying about your capital plan. How much of the new energy law opportunities is reflected in it? It sounds like what you're saying is that you have reflected opportunities that would be presented by the new energy law in Michigan in your plan already. So the incremental opportunities stemming from this legislation should be fairly limited. Am I hearing this correctly?

然後我只是想澄清一下你所說的關於你的資本計劃的內容。新能源法的機會有多少體現在其中？聽起來你的意思是，你已經在你的計劃中反映了密西根州新能源法將帶來的機會。因此，這項立法帶來的增量機會應該相當有限。我聽得對嗎？

I would say, in the first 5 years, that's correct, Sophie. We've -- the IRP and the legislation is reflected in the 5-year plan. And we'll continue to update that as we go forward. Now beyond the 5-year plan, there is some further acceleration that we could see, but we'll continue to update that each and every year and hopefully, in November between November and the end of the year.

我想說，在最初的五年裡，這是正確的，蘇菲。我們的 IRP 和立法已反映在五年計劃中。我們將繼續更新這一點。現在，在 5 年計劃之後，我們可以看到一些進一步的加速，但我們將繼續每年更新，希望是在 11 月到年底之間的 11 月更新。

Your next question comes from the line of Julien Dumoulin-Smith with Bank of America.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith。

Just with respect to the last question there on the -- what's reflected in the plan. Just -- I just want to clarify on the PPA ownership piece or the PPA earnings piece, the compensation mechanism there, that is reflected for the 1/3 piece in the IRP settlement and therefore, in your outlook, right? So again, as you talk about this, the different pieces, the substantive upside from the legislation really moves beyond the 5-year period at this point, just on the compensation specifically.

關於計劃中反映的內容的最後一個問題。只是 - 我只是想澄清一下 PPA 所有權部分或 PPA 收益部分，那裡的補償機制，反映在 IRP 結算中的 1/3 部分，因此，在您的前景中，對嗎？所以，當你再次談論這個問題時，不同的部分，立法的實質好處實際上已經超出了 5 年期限，只是在具體的賠償方面。

So again, the ownership component is reflected in our capital plan, the $7 billion component of clean energy generation that's in our plan. The financial compensation mechanism, we'll have to see what levels we sign the PPAs, obviously, as you know, it's a (inaudible) the price that we signed the PPAs for. So as we sign those, we'll continue to update our plan, but it will provide some incremental value in our plan as we go forward, if that's what you're asking?

同樣，所有權部分也反映在我們的資本計劃中，即我們計劃中的 70 億美元清潔能源發電部分。財務補償機制，我們必須看看我們簽署購電協議的水平，顯然，如你所知，這是我們簽署購電協議的（聽不清楚）價格。因此，當我們簽署這些協議時，我們將繼續更新我們的計劃，但隨著我們的前進，它將為我們的計劃提供一些增量價值，如果這就是您所要求的？

Yes, right. So the FCM is included at least preliminary to the extent to which that might need to be updated later.

是的，沒錯。因此，至少初步包含了 FCM，以便日後可能需要更新。

There's thoughts. We have something in there for now. But as we sign PPAs, there should be some upside in the plan to that what we have in there now.

有想法。我們現在裡面有一些東西。但當我們簽署購電協議時，該計劃應該比我們現在的計劃有一些好處。

I know it was back and forth here a little bit. All right. Excellent. And then just coming back to the top of the roster on the Q&A. Real quickly on the RNG conversation briefly. Sounds like that was noncommittal and frankly, but seems like opportunistic to these that's what you might see something of interest to you given where your balance sheet sits. Is there something about like resolution and IRS regs on RNG and how that's treated under IRA that's driving some decision [spree] here for you guys? Or I just want to make sure I heard that right, that it doesn't seem like that's a particularly pressing subject for you guys?

我知道這裡有一點來回。好的。出色的。然後回到問答列表的頂部。關於 RNG 的簡短對話真的很快。聽起來這似乎是不置可否且坦率地說，但對於這些人來說似乎是機會主義的，鑑於您的資產負債表所處的位置，您可能會看到一些您感興趣的東西。是否有一些關於 RNG 的決議和 IRS 法規以及 IRA 下如何對待這些問題，正在推動你們做出一些決定[瘋狂]？或者我只是想確保我沒聽錯，這對你們來說似乎不是一個特別緊迫的話題？

Yes. I would say that it's not imminent, some sort of optimization of our Vantage portfolio. We like the returns. We like the cash flows from it. And actually, the IRA Inflation Reduction Act has been quite beneficial to that business from an ITC, investment tax credit perspective. It's made projects more attractive and higher return. And we're also seeing positive movement in some of the markets, like the federal market moved in a very positive direction and our renewable fuel standard that is. And in California, the California Air Resources Board is looking to tighten up the carbon intensity targets. So I think as that plays out, that will provide even more upside in those markets as we see them today.

是的。我想說的是，我們的 Vantage 產品組合的某種優化並不是迫在眉睫的。我們喜歡回報。我們喜歡它帶來的現金流。事實上，從 ITC 投資稅收抵免的角度來看，IRA 通膨削減法案對該業務非常有利。它使項目更具吸引力和更高的回報。我們也看到一些市場出現積極的變化，例如聯邦市場朝著非常積極的方向發展，以及我們的再生燃料標準。在加州，加州空氣資源委員會正在尋求收緊碳強度目標。因此，我認為隨著這種情況的發展，正如我們今天所看到的那樣，這將為這些市場帶來更多的上漲空間。

So it doesn't sound like you're too worried about the way the IRS [strikes] came amount in terms of being..

所以聽起來你並不太擔心國稅局（IRS）[罷工]的方式…

We are monitoring that, and we are commenting, but we're not overly concerned. We don't think that it's really consistent with what the congressional intent was there either. So we're just continuing -- we're continuing to watch and monitoring comment, but not overly concerned.

我們正在監控這一情況，我們正在發表評論，但我們並不過分擔心。我們認為這也不符合國會的意圖。所以我們只是繼續——我們將繼續觀察和監控評論，但不會過度擔心。

Next question comes from the line of Gregg Orrill with UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的格雷格‧奧裡爾 (Gregg Orrill)。

Just following up on the RNG, are you able to provide how much that contributed in 2023? and also the steel business?

剛跟進RNG，你能提供一下2023年貢獻了多少嗎？還有鋼鐵業務？

Yes. We saw -- we did see some good upside from the RNG because we brought in 3 new projects in '22 and in '23 and associated with some of that, there's some tax credits that come with that, that helped out in '23. The steel business was the other part that gave us the favorability that we saw in 2023. And probably a little over half of what we saw there. And that was due to some opportunistic sales of some of our byproducts, some of the other products we're making within that business and some other kind of onetime things that we've done there. So it's yes, some good onetime opportunity that we saw in the steel business and the RNG development.

是的。我們看到——我們確實看到了RNG 的一些良好的優勢，因為我們在22 年和23 年引入了3 個新項目，與其中一些項目相關，隨之而來的是一些稅收抵免，這在23 年有幫助。鋼鐵業務是我們在 2023 年看到的好感的另一部分。而且可能略多於我們在那裡看到的一半。這是由於我們的一些副產品、我們在該業務中生產的其他一些產品以及我們在那裡做過的其他一些一次性事情的一些機會主義銷售。所以，是的，我們在鋼鐵業務和 RNG 發展中看到了一些很好的一次性機會。

And how are you thinking about the returns in the RNG business, just how they're trending?

您如何看待 RNG 業務的回報以及它們的趨勢？

We have noticed it's gotten a little more competitive as more people have come in. We used to say we got high double-digit unlevered after-tax returns. We're still seeing good returns, particularly what we see it is in our conversion projects, we have projects that now make power that we can convert to make in RNG. And so in those projects, we continue to see wjat we would say a very strong returns. And then there's still a good development pipeline that has strong returns as well.

我們注意到，隨著越來越多的人加入，它的競爭變得更加激烈。我們過去常說，我們獲得了兩位數的高無槓桿稅後回報率。我們仍然看到了良好的回報，特別是我們在轉換項目中看到的，我們現在有一些項目可以轉換為 RNG 中的電力。因此，在這些項目中，我們繼續看到非常強勁的回報。此外，還有一個良好的開發管道，也能帶來豐厚的回報。

Yes, we're still seeing unlevered returns and I would say, north of 10% unlevered after tax, so in the teens, low teens.

是的，我們仍然看到無槓桿回報，我想說，稅後無槓桿回報率超過 10%，所以在十幾歲左右。

Your next question comes from the line of Anthony Crowdell with Mizuho.

你的下一個問題來自安東尼·克勞德爾和瑞穗的對話。

Just 2 quick ones. Most of them have been already answered my questions, but just I think you talked about a potential rate filing late first quarter, early second quarter electric filing. Just do you expand the undergrounding program in that filing or as much as you'd like to disclose thoughts on expanding the undergrounding and the filing?

就2個快的。他們中的大多數已經回答了我的問題，但我認為您談到了第一季末、第二季初電子申報的潛在利率申報。您只是在該文件中擴展了地下計劃，還是想披露有關擴展地下計劃和文件的想法？

Anthony, we put 5 miles underground in last year in 2023, and it went really well. And what we're doing is proposing that we continue to do more. This is going to take a few years to ramp, Anthony, as we kind of work with our commission. We actually had the commission staff out looking at some of the undergrounding that we did in the last few days. And so they -- I think there's a process here to make sure that we're working together with our commission, come up with a reasonable plan. I would say the key part of it is we need to ensure that on an NPV basis, undergrounding is going to be least equivalent or better than putting it up in the air. We've got 19,000 miles of infrastructure to replace that's very old. It's a 4.8 kV system. So a huge opportunity from a customer perspective to improve infrastructure for the future. And we'd like to put as much of that underground as we can, but we're going to have to prove out the concept. So we're in the early stages of proving it out and to ourselves and then secondly, to our commission. So that's where we're at with it. I think it's going to take a few years before we can ramp it, but we feel pretty good about how smoothly the first 5 miles went. It's all directional bore through very highly congested urban areas. So a very cool project. More to come on that.

安東尼，去年 2023 年我們在地下埋了 5 英里，進展非常順利。我們正在做的是建議我們繼續做更多的事情。安東尼，這將需要幾年的時間才能完成，因為我們正在與我們的委員會合作。實際上，我們讓委員會工作人員出去查看了過去幾天我們所做的一些地下工程。所以他們——我認為這裡有一個流程來確保我們與我們的委員會合作，制定出合理的計劃。我想說，其中的關鍵部分是我們需要確保在 NPV 的基礎上，地下埋藏至少與空中埋藏相當或更好。我們有 19,000 英里的基礎設施來取代非常舊的基礎設施。這是一個 4.8 kV 系統。因此，從客戶的角度來看，這是改善未來基礎設施的巨大機會。我們希望盡可能地將其置於地下，但我們必須證明這個概念。因此，我們正處於向我們自己以及我們的委員會證明這一點的早期階段。這就是我們現在的處境。我認為我們需要幾年的時間才能提高速度，但我們對前 5 英里的順利進展感到非常滿意。它是穿過非常擁擠的城市地區的全方位鑽孔。這是一個非常酷的項目。未來還會有更多內容。

And then just a quick follow-up. I guess, I'll throw it to you, Dave or Jerry, if you want to take this, it's fine. Just I guess on a credit metric basis, where did you end 2023, and I think your target range is 15% to 16%. When do you believe you'll hit that target range?

然後進行快速跟進。我想，我會把它扔給你，戴夫或傑瑞，如果你想拿這個，沒問題。只是我猜測，在信用指標的基礎上，2023 年你的目標範圍是 15% 到 16%。您認為什麼時候能夠達到目標範圍？

Yes. We did end '23 right around 15%, Anthony. And as we look through the 5-year plan, we stay within that range throughout the 5-year plan that we talked about, even with the minimal equity that we're issuing.

是的。安東尼，23 年結束時，我們的成功率確實在 15% 左右。當我們審視這個五年計畫時，我們在整個五年計畫中都保持在這個範圍內，即使我們發行的股本很少。

Your next question comes from the line of Ryan Levine with Citi.

你的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Ryan Levine。

Hoping to follow up on the utility ownership versus PPA and some of the generation assets. Is your plan largely solidified at that point? Or is there opportunity to convert some of the owned assets into PPAs given the incentives that the law provides.

希望跟進公用事業所有權與購電協議和一些發電資產的情況。那時你的計畫已經基本確定了嗎？或者考慮到法律提供的激勵措施，是否有機會將部分自有資產轉換為購電協議。

I'll let -- Ryan, thanks for the question. I'll let Dave sort of elaborate, but I'll start by saying that we prefer to own the assets for really 2 reasons. One is if you look at the value to our customers, it's much more affordable for our customers for us to own the assets. And then secondly, for investors, it provides a much greater significant EPS growth opportunity if we own. So we don't see converting any current ownership to PPAs. Dave, did you want to add to that?

我會讓——瑞安，謝謝你的提問。我會讓戴夫詳細闡述一下，但我首先要說的是，我們更願意擁有這些資產，原因有兩個。一是如果你看看我們客戶的價值，我們的客戶更能負擔得起擁有這些資產。其次，對於投資人來說，如果我們持有的話，它會提供更重要的每股盈餘成長機會。因此，我們認為不會將任何當前所有權轉換為購電協議。戴夫，你想補充一下嗎？

That's exactly right. It's better for our customers. We've gotten really good at developing these projects. And we're the leading renewable developer in the state and continue to do it and what we see as the lowest price, which is kind of borne out through the auctions that we're in. So we think it's better for our customers. And then on an EPS basis, investing the capital is better for our shareholders as well. So I don't know that we'll be converting any. We'll do what we need to do. But and the FCM it's great. It's a great addition for the PPAs that we do, but it's still much better for our customers and much better value if we continue to develop these.

完全正確。這對我們的客戶來說更好。我們非常擅長開發這些項目。我們是該州領先的可再生能源開發商，並將繼續這樣做，我們認為價格最低，這在我們參與的拍賣中得到了證實。所以我們認為這對我們的客戶來說更好。然後，在每股盈餘的基礎上，投資資本對我們的股東來說也更好。所以我不知道我們會進行任何轉換。我們會做我們需要做的事情。但是 FCM 非常棒。對於我們所做的購電協議來說，這是一個很好的補充，但如果我們繼續開發這些產品，對我們的客戶來說仍然會更好，價值也會更高。

And are you still pursuing opportunities to build dedicated pipelines to chemical plants near your service territory, but that you maybe have been pursuing in the last few quarters?

您是否仍在尋找機會在您的服務區域附近建造通往化工廠的專用管道，但您可能在過去幾個季度一直在尋求這種機會？

Are you referring to carbon capture and storage, Ryan, when you're..

你指的是碳捕獲和儲存嗎，瑞安，當你…

More on carbon dedicated pipes, right?

更多關於碳專用管的信息，對吧？

Yes, we are. We've got 3 transactions that are well advanced with large carbon dioxide producers, and we're looking to capture that CO2 source and store it underground essentially under property. These are very short pipelines, a couple of thousand feet each less than a mile. So we're looking to finalize those arrangements and also satisfy some of the technical conditions precedent that we want to accomplish before we get too far into that business.

是的我們是。我們已經與大型二氧化碳生產商達成了 3 筆交易，進展順利，我們正在尋求捕獲二氧化碳源並將其儲存在地下（主要是在地下）。這些管道非常短，每條管道長幾千英尺，不到一英里。因此，我們希望最終確定這些安排，並滿足我們希望在深入開展業務之前實現的一些先決技術條件。

I would now like to turn the call back over to Jerry Norcia for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

我現在想將電話轉回給傑裡·諾西亞 (Jerry Norcia) 致閉幕詞。請繼續。

Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us today. I'll just close by saying we're feeling great about 2024 and also our long-term plan as well as our position for future years. Have a great morning and stay healthy and safe.

好的，謝謝大家今天加入我們。最後我想說的是，我們對 2024 年以及我們的長期計劃以及未來幾年的定位感到非常滿意。祝您早晨愉快，保持健康和安全。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining, and you may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入，現在您可以斷開線路了。