Duke Energy Corp (DUK) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello everyone, and thank you for joining the Duke Energy first-quarter 2025 earnings call. My name is [Sammy] and I'll be coordinating your call today. (Operator Instructions)

大家好，感謝您參加杜克能源 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。我的名字是 [Sammy]，今天我將協調您的通話。（操作員指示）

I'd now like to hand over to your host, Abby Motsinger, VP, Investor relations to begin. Please go ahead, Abby.

現在我想將主持人、投資者關係副總裁 Abby Motsinger 交給她開始演講。請繼續，艾比。

Thank you, Sammy, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Duke Energy's first-quarter 2025 earnings review and business update. Leading our call today is Harry Sideris, President and CEO; along with Brian Savoy, Executive Vice President and CFO.

謝謝你，薩米，大家早安。歡迎閱讀杜克能源 2025 年第一季財報回顧和業務更新。今天主持我們電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Harry Sideris 以及執行副總裁兼財務長 Brian Savoy。

Today's discussion will include the use of non-GAAP financial measures and forward-looking information. Actual results may differ from forward-looking statements due to factors disclosed in today's materials and in Duke Energy's SEC filings. The appendix of today's presentation includes supplemental information along with a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures.

今天的討論將包括非公認會計準則財務指標和前瞻性資訊的使用。由於今天的材料和杜克能源向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中披露的因素，實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述不同。今天簡報的附錄包括補充資訊以及非公認會計準則財務指標的對帳。

With that, let me turn the call over to Harry.

說完這些，讓我把電話轉給哈利。

Thank you, Abby, and good morning, everyone. Before I discuss the quarter, let me start by saying how excited I am to be with you today on my first call as CEO. Since we announced our leadership succession in January, I've had the opportunity to spend time with many stakeholders, including our customers, investors, regulators and Duke Energy teammates. These conversations centered around the same theme, the critical role Duke Energy plays in powering the lives of our communities and serving the incredible power demand facing the nation.

謝謝你，艾比，大家早安。在討論本季之前，我首先想說，今天作為執行長第一次與大家通話，我感到非常興奮。自從我們一月份宣布領導層繼任以來，我有機會與許多利益相關者共度時光，包括我們的客戶、投資者、監管機構和杜克能源隊友。這些對話圍繞著同一個主題，即杜克能源在為社區生活提供電力和滿足國家面臨的巨大電力需求方面發揮的關鍵作用。

We are projecting low growth at levels I've never seen in my 30-year career, which will drive more than a decade of record infrastructure build. We are ready to meet the moment with a renewed focus on speed and agility and supported by the same spirit of innovation that has been at the heart of this company for over a century.

我們預計經濟成長將達到我 30 年職業生涯中從未見過的低水平，這將推動十多年來創紀錄的基礎設施建設。我們已準備好迎接新的挑戰，重新專注於速度和敏捷性，並以公司一個多世紀以來的核心創新精神為支撐。

As I assumed the CEO role during this pivotal point for our company and industry, Duke Energy's mission remains unchanged. Delivering long-term value for shareholders and superior service to our customers and communities by building a smarter energy future.

當我在公司和產業的關鍵時刻擔任執行長時，杜克能源的使命始終沒有改變。透過建構更智慧的能源未來，為股東提供長期價值，並為我們的客戶和社區提供優質服務。

Moving to the quarterly results. Today, we announced first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.76, which marks a strong start to the year. These results were $0.32 above last year. driven top line growth across our electric and gas utilities. The constructive regulatory outcomes we've delivered over the last several years provide line of sight to earnings growth with minimized rate case exposure in 2025 and 2026.

轉向季度業績。今天，我們宣布第一季調整後每股收益為 1.76 美元，這標誌著今年的開局強勁。這些結果比去年高出 0.32 美元，推動了我們的電力和天然氣公用事業的營收成長。我們在過去幾年中取得的建設性監管成果為獲利成長提供了前景，同時最大限度地降低了 2025 年和 2026 年的利率風險。

We remain confident in our outlook and are reaffirming our 2025 guidance range of $6.17 to $6.42, and our long-term EPS growth rate of 5% to 7% through 2029.

我們對我們的前景仍然充滿信心，並重申我們的 2025 年指導範圍為 6.17 美元至 6.42 美元，以及到 2029 年我們的長期每股收益增長率為 5% 至 7%。

Moving to slide 5. Meeting our customers' growing and evolving energy demands requires not only new generation but where possible, maintaining and enhancing our existing generation. In March, we received approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the operating license for our Oconee nuclear station for an additional 20 years.

移至投影片 5。滿足客戶日益增長和變化的能源需求不僅需要新一代能源，而且在可能的情況下，還需要維持和增強現有的能源。今年三月，我們獲得核能管理委員會的批准，將奧康尼核電廠的營運許可證延長20年。

With three generating units that produce more than 2,600 megawatts, Oconee is our first nuclear station to reach this milestone and will now power the Carolinas into the 2050s. As the operator of the largest regulated fleet in the nation, nuclear is foundational to our strategy, and we intend to seek similar extensions for each of our remaining reactors to extend their respective licensing periods.

奧康尼核電廠擁有三台發電機組，發電量超過 2,600 兆瓦，是我們第一座達到這一里程碑的核電廠，將為卡羅來納州供電至 2050 年代。作為全國最大的受監管機組的營運商，核能是我們策略的基礎，我們打算為剩餘的每個反應器尋求類似的延期，以延長其各自的許可期限。

In addition to extending the life of our nuclear fleet, we continue to pursue upgrade projects to efficiently increase the capacity of existing natural gas, nuclear and hydro units. Individually, these are small, ranging less than 10 megawatts up to 75 megawatts per unit. But in aggregate, they represent over 1 gigawatt of cost-effective incremental capacity to support our growing regions.

除了延長核電機組的使用壽命外，我們還將繼續推行升級項目，以有效提高現有天然氣、核能和水力發電機組的容量。單一核電廠的規模都很小，每個核電廠的發電量從不到 10 兆瓦到高達 75 兆瓦不等。但總體而言，它們代表超過 1 千兆瓦的經濟高效的增量容量，以支持我們不斷發展的地區。

Turning to new generation. We've taken several important steps this year to advance our all-of-the-above strategy to meet growing demand and replace aging infrastructure. In the Carolinas, we commenced early site activities for our first combined cycle unit in Person County, and we filed a CPCN for a second combined cycle at the site. In Indiana, we filed CPCNs for two combined cycles in February. In Florida, we're making investments in solar and battery storage projects approved in our multiyear rate plan.

轉向新一代。今年，我們採取了幾項重要措施來推進我們的全方位策略，以滿足日益增長的需求並更換老化的基礎設施。在卡羅來納州，我們開始了位於珀森縣的第一個聯合循環機組的早期現場活動，並為該現場的第二台聯合循環機組提交了 CPCN。在印第安納州，我們在二月提交了兩個合併週期的 CPCN。在佛羅裡達州，我們正在對多年期費率計劃中批准的太陽能和電池儲存項目進行投資。

In January, we joined a public private DOE grant application led by TVA to explore new nuclear technologies. The coalition has the potential to accelerate SMR technology development and increase our access to industry learnings and best practices.

今年一月，我們加入了由田納西河谷管理局 (TVA) 領導的公共和私人能源部撥款申請，以探索新的核子技術。該聯盟有潛力加速SMR技術的發展，並增加我們獲得產業學習和最佳實踐的機會。

And finally, we recently announced a strategic partnership with GE Vernova to secure up to 19 natural gas turbines. This agreement provides for timely delivery of critical infrastructure to meet our enterprise-wide resource plans, and serve the growing needs of our customers into the 2030s.

最後，我們最近宣布與 GE Vernova 建立戰略合作夥伴關係，以確保獲得多達 19 台天然氣渦輪機。該協議規定及時交付關鍵基礎設施，以滿足我們整個企業的資源計劃，並滿足我們客戶在 2030 年代日益增長的需求。

Moving to slide 6. We continue to work closely with regulators, policymakers and other stakeholders to advance regulatory and legislative priorities across our jurisdictions. In the Carolinas, we've had ongoing discussions with stakeholders in both states around merging our DC and DEP utilities.

移至幻燈片 6。我們繼續與監管機構、政策制定者和其他利害關係人密切合作，以推進我們管轄範圍內的監管和立法優先事項。在卡羅來納州，我們一直在與兩個州的利益相關者討論合併 DC 和 DEP 公用事業的事宜。

We are on track to file a merger application later this year with North Carolina and South Carolina commissions as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The proposed merger would create significant customer savings, simplify operations and regulatory processes and add operational flexibility to our system.

我們將於今年稍後向北卡羅來納州和南卡羅來納州委員會以及聯邦能源管理委員會提交合併申請。擬議的合併將為客戶節省大量成本，簡化營運和監管流程，並增加我們系統的營運靈活性。

We expect the application process to take about a year and are targeting January 2027 for the effective date of the merger. We also continue to advance storm securitization in North and South Carolina, and we're on track to issue securitization bonds in both states by the end of this year.

我們預計申請過程大約需要一年時間，合併的生效日期定於 2027 年 1 月。我們也繼續推動北卡羅來納州和南卡羅來納州的風暴證券化，並預計在今年年底前在這兩個州發行證券化債券。

Turning to Florida. In March, we began recovering 2024 hurricane costs over 12 months. The timely recovery of storm costs was a key objective into the year. And this constructive outcome supports our commitment to a strong balance sheet.

轉向佛羅裡達州。從三月開始，我們開始在 12 個月內收回 2024 年颶風造成的損失。及時收回風暴損失是今年的關鍵目標。這項建設性成果支持了我們對強勁資產負債表的承諾。

Finally, our Kentucky Electric rate case is progressing with hearings scheduled for later this month, and we expect to implement new rates later this year. I am incredibly proud of our strong performance in the first quarter, which is a result of continued operational excellence and the constructive outcomes the team has delivered. The fundamentals of the company are stronger than ever and provide visibility growth for years to come.

最後，我們的肯塔基州電力費率案正在取得進展，聽證會定於本月晚些時候舉行，我們預計將於今年稍後實施新的費率。我對我們第一季的強勁表現感到無比自豪，這是持續卓越營運和團隊取得的建設性成果的結果。公司的基本面比以往任何時候都更加強勁，並為未來幾年的成長提供了可見性。

With that, let me turn the call over to Brian.

說完這些，讓我把電話轉給布萊恩。

Thanks, Harry, and good morning, everyone. Moving to slide 7. We delivered a strong first quarter with reported and adjusted earnings per share of $1.76, a 22% increase over the first quarter of 2024. Within the segments, Electric Utilities & Infrastructure was up $0.33 compared to last year. Growth was driven by higher sales volumes, improved weather and the implementation of new rates partially offsetting these items were higher interest expense and depreciation.

謝謝，哈利，大家早安。移至幻燈片 7。我們第一季表現強勁，報告和調整後的每股收益為 1.76 美元，比 2024 年第一季成長 22%。在這些領域中，電力公用事業和基礎設施比去年上漲了 0.33 美元。成長的動力來自銷售量的增加、天氣的改善以及新利率的實施，但利息支出和折舊的增加部分抵消了這些因素的影響。

Moving to Gas, Utilities and Infrastructure. results were up $0.08 compared to last year, driven by new rates at Piedmont, North Carolina. And finally, the other segment was down $0.08, primarily due to higher interest expense. Overall, we are very pleased with the first quarter results, which were in line with our expectations and reflect the strength of the regulatory outcomes and operational performance we have consistently delivered.

轉向天然氣、公用事業和基礎設施。受北卡羅來納州皮埃蒙特新費率的推動，業績較去年同期上漲 0.08 美元。最後，其他部分下跌 0.08 美元，主要原因是利息支出增加。總體而言，我們對第一季的業績非常滿意，這符合我們的預期，並反映了我們一貫提供的監管結果和營運績效的強勁。

Turning to slide 8. Weather-normal volumes increased 1.8% versus last year, in line with our full-year projection of 1.5% to 2%. Residential volumes were up over 3% in the quarter. reflecting both customer growth and higher usage. We continue to see robust customer growth through the first quarter, concentrated in the Southeast and Indiana.

翻到第 8 張投影片。天氣正常情況下的產量較去年同期增加了 1.8%，與我們全年預測的 1.5% 至 2% 一致。本季住宅用電量成長超過 3%，反映出客戶成長和使用量上升。我們在第一季繼續看到強勁的客戶成長，主要集中在東南部和印第安納州。

As we look ahead, we continue to expect load growth to accelerate beginning in 2027 as economic development projects come online. Our economic development pipeline continues to grow and includes advanced manufacturing projects across multiple sectors as well as data centers.

展望未來，隨著經濟發展項目的上線，我們預計從 2027 年開始負載成長將繼續加速。我們的經濟發展管道不斷擴大，包括跨多個行業的先進製造項目以及資料中心。

We're streamlining processes across the organization to accelerate projects through the pipeline, which is yielding results. In April, we signed new letter agreements for nearly 1 gigawatt of data center projects and advanced manufacturing projects continue to ramp. The pipeline remains robust. And we continue to take a risk-adjusted approach as we evaluate which projects to include in our forecast.

我們正在簡化整個組織的流程，以加速專案的推進，並且正在取得成果。4月份，我們簽署了近1千兆瓦資料中心專案的新意向書，先進製造業專案持續加速推進。管道依然強勁。在評估哪些項目應納入預測時，我們將繼續採取風險調整的方法。

Turning to slide 9. As we've demonstrated over many years, our commitment to our current credit ratings and a strong balance sheet will remain a top priority as we execute our growth objectives. We are delivering on all credit supportive initiatives and are firmly on track to achieve 14% FFO to debt this year, and we expect to improve above 14% over the five-year plan. This provides over 100 basis points of cushion above our Moody's downgrade threshold and over 200 basis points above our S&P downgrade threshold.

翻到第 9 張投影片。正如我們多年來所表明的那樣，在實現成長目標的過程中，我們對當前信用評級和強勁資產負債表的承諾仍將是重中之重。我們正在實施所有信貸支持舉措，並預計在今年實現 14% 的 FFO 與債務比率，並且我們預計五年計劃內該比率將提高到 14% 以上。這為我們的穆迪降級門檻提供了超過 100 個基點的緩衝，為我們的標普降級門檻提供了超過 200 個基點的緩衝。

As we disclosed in February, we expect to issue $1 billion of common equity this year via our DRIP and ATM programs. In the first quarter, we took advantage of a strong market pricing just over $530 million, more than half of our annual target. We've also completed close to 40% of our planned long-term debt issuances for 2025, and are on track to receive storm securitization proceeds by the end of the year in the Carolinas.

正如我們在二月所揭露的那樣，我們預計今年將透過 DRIP 和 ATM 計劃發行 10 億美元的普通股。第一季度，我們利用強勁的市場定價，實現 5.3 億美元以上的收入，超過年度目標的一半。我們也完成了 2025 年計畫長期債務發行的近 40%，並預計在今年年底前在卡羅來納州獲得風暴證券化收益。

Before I close, let me take a moment to talk about progress on our capital plan. We're continuing to advance our grid improvement plans. And as Harry highlighted, we're investing in our existing fleet and hitting a new gear in building generation. We invested more than $3 billion of capital in the quarter, and we're on track for $15 billion for the full year. As we think about our capital plan going forward, we're evaluating the impact of tariffs.

在結束之前，請允許我花點時間談談我們的資本計劃的進展。我們正在繼續推進電網改進計劃。正如哈利所強調的，我們正在投資現有車隊，並在發電建設方面邁出新的步伐。我們在本季投資了超過 30 億美元的資金，全年投資金額可望達到 150 億美元。當我們考慮未來的資本計劃時，我們正在評估關稅的影響。

It's important to remember that tariffs primarily affect capital, and the majority of our capital spend is American labor, which is not subject to tariffs. We currently estimate the impact of tariffs to be about 1% to 3% of our five-year capital plan. And we are confident in our ability to further minimize the impact leveraging our size and scale to work with suppliers across our diverse supply chain.

重要的是要記住，關稅主要影響資本，而我們的大部分資本支出是美國勞動力，不受關稅影響。我們目前估計關稅的影響約占我們五年資本計畫的 1% 至 3%。我們有信心，利用我們的規模與多元化供應鏈中的供應商合作，我們能夠進一步將影響降至最低。

Moving to slide 10. We remain confident in delivering our 2025 earnings guidance range of $6.17 to $6.42 and 5% to 7% earnings growth through 2029. We with the potential to earn the top half of the range as load growth accelerates in the back end of the plan.

移至投影片 10。我們仍有信心實現 2025 年 6.17 美元至 6.42 美元的盈利預期範圍，以及到 2029 年實現 5% 至 7% 的盈利增長。隨著計劃後期負載成長的加速，我們有潛力獲得該範圍的上半部。

Our track record of constructive regulatory outcomes provides a solid foundation and minimizes near-term regulatory exposure in our financial plan. We are well positioned to achieve our growth targets, which combined with our attractive dividend yield, provide a compelling risk-adjusted return for shareholders.

我們建設性監管結果的記錄提供了堅實的基礎，並最大限度地減少了我們的財務計劃中的短期監管風險。我們已準備好實現成長目標，再加上我們誘人的股息殖利率，為股東帶來令人信服的風險調整回報。

With that, we'll open the line for your questions.

好了，我們現在可以回答您的問題了。

Thank you very much. (Operator Instructions)

非常感謝。（操作員指示）

Shahriar Pourreza, Guggenheim Partners.

Shahriar Pourreza，古根漢合夥人。

Hey guys, good morning.

大家好，早安。

Good morning, Shar.

早安，莎爾。

Morning. Just I guess, first, it's -- obviously, it's been reaffirmed, but you're seeing, obviously, a fairly strong step-up in '27. You're signing more letters of agreements, '27 isn't that far off. I guess at what point could we start seeing some guideposts around incremental CapEx opportunities above your base plan like some of your peers have been doing.

早晨。我想，首先，顯然，這一點已經得到重申，但你顯然會看到，27 年出現了相當強勁的成長。你正在簽署更多的協議書，'27' 已經不遠了。我想，什麼時候我們才能開始看到一些有關高於你的基本計劃的增量資本支出機會的指導方針，就像你的一些同行所做的那樣。

So range of maybe possible upside CapEx opportunities that can go into plan as more deals are signed. I guess, are you considering this type of placeholder disclosure and could EEI be the podium for that? Thanks.

因此，隨著更多交易的簽署，一系列可能具有上行潛力的資本支出機會可能會被納入計畫。我想，您是否正在考慮這種類型的佔位符揭露，而 EEI 可以成為實現這一目標的平台？謝謝。

Yeah. Thanks for that, Shar. I'll start off and turn it over to Brian for any feedback he has on it as well. So we just updated our plan in February, as you know, $83 billion for the next five years, half of that going into the grid, half of it for a generation build.

是的。謝謝你，Shar。我將首先將其交給 Brian，以徵求他對此的任何反饋。因此，正如你所知，我們剛剛在二月更新了我們的計劃，未來五年將投入 830 億美元，其中一半用於電網建設，另一半用於發電建設。

We got several updates coming up with our IRP in the Carolinas being updated. We continue to work our pipeline. It's stable and growing, and as that continues and our updates to our IRP never say that order. We will continue to look at our plans, but we do have a wealth of investment opportunities and growth opportunities, and we'll continue to look at that and update you as that comes along.

隨著卡羅來納州 IRP 的更新，我們收到了幾份更新通知。我們將繼續推進我們的管道建設。它很穩定並且不斷發展，隨著這種情況的繼續，我們對 IRP 的更新永遠不會說出那個命令。我們將繼續審視我們的計劃，但我們確實擁有大量的投資機會和成長機會，我們將繼續關注這些機會，並在出現這些機會時及時向您通報。

And Brian, do you have anything to add?

布萊恩，您還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yeah, I would add, we're updating our resource plans, and we just actually filed our 10-year site plan in Florida, which calls for more resources than our previous plan. And Shar, we've kind of gotten on this annual cycle of updating capital in February.

是的，我想補充一下，我們正在更新我們的資源計劃，我們實際上剛剛在佛羅裡達州提交了我們的 10 年場地計劃，這比我們之前的計劃需要更多的資源。沙爾，我們基本上已經進入了每年二月更新資本的年度週期。

If there is a catalyst, we will definitely update the investment community. But until then, I would kind of look to February as our major capital update cycle, but we take all these things into consideration when we update.

如果有催化劑，我們一定會向投資界通報最新情況。但在那之前，我會把二月視為我們的主要資本更新周期，但我們在更新時會考慮所有這些因素。

Okay. Got it. And then just maybe a question for Brian. Just on credit metrics, I mean, obviously, the key thing is the visibility is improving. You guys are monetizing the tax credit you're getting storm cost recoveries.

好的。知道了。然後也許我想問布萊恩一個問題。僅就信用指標而言，顯然，關鍵是可見性正在提高。你們正在將因風暴成本恢復而獲得的稅收抵免貨幣化。

I guess when can we start seeing some more specificity around actual target ranges within the plan versus the 100 basis points, 200 basis guidance you guys have been out there for some time. Is there a point when you can start to disclose around actual ranges you guys decide to -- you can land that during the trajectory? Thanks.

我想，我們什麼時候才能開始看到有關計劃中實際目標範圍的更多具體信息，而不是你們一段時間以來提出的 100 個基點、200 個基點的指導。你們什麼時候可以開始披露你們決定的實際範圍——你們可以在彈道中著陸嗎？謝謝。

I appreciate the question, Shar. And it's something that we've been discussing a lot internally as we've continued to improve the credit profile of Duke and growing the operating cash flow and clearing some of these items that are in front of us like storm recovery and storm securitization. So I think we're going to continue to evaluate it, but we'll see this within maybe our next cycle in February, we'll give a more defined targeted range on where we would be on the credit.

我很感謝你提出這個問題，Shar。這是我們內部一直在討論的事情，因為我們一直在不斷改善杜克的信用狀況，增加經營現金流，並清理我們面臨的一些問題，如風暴恢復和風暴證券化。所以我認為我們會繼續評估它，但我們可能會在二月份的下一個週期內看到這一點，我們將對我們的信貸範圍給出更明確的目標範圍。

Okay. That was actually my question. I appreciate that. Thanks, guys.

好的。這實際上是我的問題。我很感激。謝謝大家。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies.

朱利安·杜穆林·史密斯（Julien Dumoulin-Smith），傑富瑞集團（Jefferies

Hey, good morning team. Thank you guys very much for the time. Hey, pleasure. Hey guys, just to follow up a little bit on what Shar have said. Picking at here. I mean 1 gigawatt of signed deals in April alone, quite a statement there.

嘿，大家早安。非常感謝你們抽出時間。嘿，很高興。嘿夥計們，我只是想稍微跟進一下 Shar 所說的內容。從這裡採摘。我的意思是，光是四月就簽署了1千兆瓦的交易，這是一個相當了不起的成績。

Just how are you thinking about the statement with respect to the cadence that you had contemplated? I mean, obviously, as you say, you've seen this accelerated load growth, but is it actually accelerating actively versus what you guys did contemplated initially.

您對於您所考慮的節奏的陳述有何看法？我的意思是，顯然，正如你所說，你已經看到了這種加速的負載增長，但與你們最初設想的相比，它是否真的在積極加速。

Maybe I'm not asking specifically about the CapEx, but just in terms of the cadence of adding a single gigawatt in a single month of data center deals specifically, I mean, are you seeing more than what you even talked about back in February? Or maybe another way to ask that is, where are you within that range of the 3% to 4% that you laid out just a handful of months ago as you see these data points coming in?

也許我並不是專門詢問資本支出，而只是就數據中心交易中一個月內增加一千兆瓦的節奏而言，我的意思是，您是否看到比二月份談論的還要多？或者換一種問法，當您看到這些數據點出現時，您處於幾個月前製定的 3% 到 4% 範圍內的哪個位置？

Yeah, Julien. Our pipeline continues to be robust and continues to grow. And we've really focused on accelerating getting projects through what we call our funnel to get them from the pipeline through these letter agreement stages to shore them up. So this 1 gigawatt that we just signed is working through our process. It's been contemplated in our plans.

是的，朱利安。我們的管道繼續保持強勁並持續成長。我們真正專注於加速專案通過我們所謂的漏斗，使它們從管道中通過這些信函協議階段來鞏固它們。因此，我們剛剛簽署的這 1 千兆瓦合約正在按照我們的流程進行。我們的計劃中已經考慮到了這一點。

And we'll continue to work that large pipeline that we have to move more of these through our funnel to look at how we go to in the future. So we feel very comfortable and confident that we have a great pipeline, and we continue to find ways to work through that faster for our customers.

我們將繼續努力，透過漏斗將更多的產品轉移到這個大型管道上，以了解未來的發展方向。因此，我們感到非常放心和自信，我們擁有一條優秀的管道，我們將繼續尋找方法為我們的客戶更快地完成這項工作。

Got it. Understood. And then if I can pivot slight differently. I mean big announcement the other day with your friends at [GV] here. How do you think about the '19 turbine commitments, I mean, just against what you guys have in the plan.

知道了。明白了。然後如果我能稍微改變一下方向。我的意思是前幾天和你在 [GV] 的朋友們一起宣布了重大消息。您如何看待 19 台渦輪機的承諾，我的意思是，與您的計劃相比。

How do you think about that juxtaposing versus what's formal in the plan versus what's possible here again, I know that it's not a formal commitment on your side per se, but just curious how that fits and what that might suggest about future activities and future generation needs?

您如何看待這種並列，與計劃中的正式內容以及這裡可能出現的內容相比，我知道這本身並不是您的正式承諾，但我只是好奇這如何適應以及這對未來活動和後代需求有何啟示？

We were very pleased with the partnership with GE. We talked about meeting the moment at Duke and serving the tremendous load growth that we have ahead of us, and innovative agreements and framework agreements like this gives us the flexibility as we're moving projects through that funnel, that we're able to have the supply chain shored up in terms of turbines and other agreements that we have so that we could quickly serve these customers as they want to come on. So this is important to shore up and give us the flexibility as we move these projects into fruition that we're able to deliver them to the customer quickly because that's what they want. So these agreements are great.

我們對與通用電氣的合作感到非常高興。我們討論了在杜克大學如何應對當前的情況並應對我們面臨的巨大負載增長，像這樣的創新協議和框架協議為我們在推進項目過程中提供了靈活性，使我們能夠在渦輪機和其他協議方面鞏固供應鏈，以便我們能夠在客戶需要時迅速為他們提供服務。因此，在我們推進這些專案的過程中，鞏固並給予我們靈活性非常重要，這樣我們才能快速地將它們交付給客戶，因為這是他們想要的。所以這些協議非常棒。

Got it. Excellent. In '25 seems like you're trending well already. I mean, too early to talk about, shall we say, moving within the range, but how do you think about putting more latitude against shoring up where you are against the longer-term outlook, just even '26 here in derisking some of the future years?

知道了。出色的。在 25 年，你似乎已經呈現良好的趨勢。我的意思是，現在談論在範圍內移動還為時過早，但是您如何看待在長期前景下給予更多自由度來鞏固現狀，甚至在 26 年降低未來幾年的風險？

Yeah. Julien, I think we look at our five-year plan and our 5% to 7% growth and feel very good about that growth outlook. And good start to '25 obviously helps every year in front of it. So we think that 2026 planning has been underway for many months now as we think about the years ahead, and we're well positioned to deliver on that growth range as we look at the plan.

是的。朱利安，我認為，我們審視了我們的五年計畫和 5% 至 7% 的成長率，對這一成長前景感到非常樂觀。25 年的良好開端顯然對未來每一年都有幫助。因此，我們認為，在考慮未來幾年時，2026 年的規劃已經進行了好幾個月，而且從規劃來看，我們已準備好實現這一成長範圍。

Great, guys. Alright, thank you so much.

太棒了，夥計們。好的，非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Durgesh Chopra, Evercore ISI Group.

Durgesh Chopra，Evercore ISI 集團。

Good morning team. Thank you for giving me time. Congrats Harry, once again. (multiple speakers) you guys have discussed the DEP and DEC merger in the past. Maybe just a little bit more color, what are the financial implications of that merger, when approved cost savings? I know there's going to be some operations streamlining. But just any color you can share there would be appreciated.

大家早安。謝謝你給我時間。再次恭喜 Harry。 （多位發言者）你們過去曾討論過 DEP 和 DEC 的合併。也許只是稍微詳細一點，當批准節省成本時，這次合併的財務影響是什麼？我知道將會有一些操作精簡。但只要您能分享任何顏色，我們都會很感激。

Yes, sir, yes. We're excited about the opportunity to merge our DEC and DEP utilities, something we've contemplated since the merger back in 2012. Stakeholders are very supportive of this. It does generate a lot of savings over time for our customers over $1 billion. So that will help with the affordability to our rates for our customers going forward.

是的，先生，是的。我們很高興有機會合併我們的 DEC 和 DEP 公用事業，這是我們自 2012 年合併以來就一直在考慮的事情。利害關係人對此非常支持。隨著時間的推移，它確實為我們的客戶節省了超過 10 億美元。因此，這將有助於我們的客戶今後能夠負擔得起我們的費用。

It really focuses on operational savings, fuel savings from running a combined system, managing our reserve margins as a whole instead of separately allowing us to put plants in the best location and optimize that. It's less regulatory proceedings, which are regulators like as well as us.

它真正關注的是營運節省、透過運行聯合系統節省燃料、整體管理我們的儲備利潤，而不是單獨管理，允許我們將工廠設置在最佳位置並進行最佳化。它的監管程序較少，監管機構也和我們一樣。

So it continues to provide a lot of benefits for our customers. So we continue to work with our stakeholders on finalizing the details. Like I mentioned earlier, we plan to file later this summer with the North Carolina and South Carolina commissions as well as FERC and look to be running as one utility in January of 2027.

因此它繼續為我們的客戶提供許多好處。因此，我們將繼續與利害關係人合作，敲定細節。正如我之前提到的，我們計劃在今年夏天晚些時候向北卡羅來納州和南卡羅來納州的委員會以及聯邦能源管理委員會提交申請，併計劃在 2027 年 1 月作為公用事業公司運營。

Got it. Okay. Sounds like a ton of room for making improvements on the customer front. Great. Just one quick follow-up on the data center, 1 gigawatt signing. Can you just size how many customers is that? Just trying to get a flavor for, are these one or two large customers or just the megawatts per customer, if you will? Thank you.

知道了。好的。聽起來在客戶方面還有很大的進步空間。偉大的。關於資料中心，只需快速跟進一下，1 千兆瓦的簽約。你能估算一下有多少顧客嗎？只是想了解一下，這些是一兩個大客戶還是只是每個客戶的兆瓦數？謝謝。

Yeah. The 1 gigawatt we talk about is actually two customers.

是的。我們說的1千兆瓦，其實是兩個客戶。

Okay. Thanks so much.

好的。非常感謝。

Carly Davenport, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的卡莉·達文波特。

Hey, good morning, thank you for taking my question. (multiple speakers) -- good morning, thank you for taking my question. maybe just to start, [IRP] has been pretty topical throughout earnings season here as we look at some of the potential legislation coming through reconciliations.

嘿，早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。 （多位發言者）－早安，謝謝您回答我的問題。也許只是開始，[IRP] 在整個收益季節都是非常熱門的話題，因為我們正在研究透過和解產生的一些潛在立法。

Can you just provide your latest views on the outlook both for transferability and the future of the tax credits that support a lot of these renewables projects? And can you just remind us in terms of what is actually baked into the financial plan from a transferability perspective?

您能否就可轉讓性和支持許多再生能源項目的稅收抵免的未來前景提供一下您的最新看法？您能否從可轉移性的角度提醒我們財務計畫中實際上包含哪些內容？

Yeah, I'll take that one, Carly. We appreciate the -- what Congress has ahead of them and how many priorities they'll be weighing as they work through the budget reconciliation process. We tend to look at this from the customers' perspective, and really our overarching objective is to maintain affordability for our customers, and that's what we've framed our advocacy around.

是的，我會接受這個，卡莉。我們了解國會面臨的挑戰以及他們在預算協調過程中需要權衡的優先事項。我們傾向於從客戶的角度來看待這個問題，而我們的首要目標是維持客戶的可負擔能力，這也是我們所倡導的理念。

The savings our customers receive from these energy credits fall right in line to what the President wants to do, which is delivering on this promise to reduce power bills across the country. As you know, each one of these dollars that we earn in energy tax credits goes back to our customers.

我們的客戶透過這些能源信用所獲得的節省完全符合總統想要做的事情，也就是兌現降低全國電費的承諾。如您所知，我們賺取的每一分能源稅收抵免都會回饋給我們的客戶。

The nuclear tax credits are most important to us. Our well-run, low-cost nuclear plants earn over $500 billion of tax credits that go directly to reducing our customers' bills. Nuclear has broad support in Washington. And we were pleased to see last week 26 representative sign a letter, stressing the importance of the nuclear tax credit and transferability to the President's objective of affordable and reliable energy. So we continue to work with folks in Washington to advocate to help our customers lower their bills, reduce credits, and we will continue to do that as they work through the process.

核稅抵免對我們來說至關重要。我們運作良好、成本低廉的核電廠獲得了超過 5000 億美元的稅收抵免，這些抵免直接用於減少客戶的帳單。核能受到華盛頓的廣泛支持。我們很高興看到上周有 26 位代表簽署了一封信，強調核稅抵免和可轉移性對於總統實現可負擔和可靠能源目標的重要性。因此，我們繼續與華盛頓的人們合作，倡導幫助我們的客戶降低帳單，減少信用額度，並且我們將在他們完成整個過程的過程中繼續這樣做。

Great. I appreciate that. And then maybe just as we think about the macro, is there anything that you're seeing or hearing from, in particular, your industrial customer base in terms of activity levels potentially being impacted by a higher degree of economic and policy uncertainty at this point?

偉大的。我很感激。然後也許就像我們思考宏觀一樣，您是否看到或聽到什麼，特別是您的工業客戶群在活動水平方面可能受到更高程度的經濟和政策不確定性的影響？

It's obviously the topic everyone is talking about, Carly, and we're in close communication with our large customers as we always are. And we've not seen any changes to their production schedules or expectations for '25.

卡莉，這顯然是大家都在談論的話題，我們一如既往地與大客戶保持著密切的溝通。我們沒有看到他們的生產計劃或 25 年的預期有任何變化。

But I would say, there's somewhat of a cautionary stance, right? Because (inaudible) everybody is waiting for the finalization of where the tariff policies might land and their inputs reliance on the global supply chain, all factor into that equation. So I would say that today, it's no change, no need jerk reactions from our customers, but kind of a cautionary stance.

但我想說，這多少有點謹慎的立場，對吧？因為（聽不清楚）每個人都在等待關稅政策最終落地，以及他們對全球供應鏈的投入依賴程度，所有這些都被納入這個等式中。所以我想說，今天，這沒有什麼變化，我們的客戶不需要做出任何反應，而是謹慎的立場。

And that's -- that makes sense given where we are. So we think our 1.5% to 2% load growth for 2025 is intact fully in the first quarter was evidence that we're right in line with that.

考慮到我們現在的狀況，這是有道理的。因此，我們認為 2025 年第一季 1.5% 至 2% 的負載成長目標將完全保持不變，這證明我們完全符合這一目標。

We also see the potential, Carly for some of our customers to increase production because the tariffs actually help their business, think about steel producers and those type of folks. So we're in contact with some of those customers as well.

卡莉，我們也看到了一些客戶增加產量的潛力，因為關稅實際上有助於他們的業務，想想鋼鐵生產商和那些類型的人。因此我們也與其中一些客戶保持聯繫。

That's great. Very clear. Thanks so much for the time.

那太棒了。非常清楚。非常感謝您抽出時間。

Thank you.

謝謝。

We currently have no further questions, so I'd like to hand back to Harry Sedaris for some closing remarks.

目前我們沒有其他問題，因此我想將發言時間交還給哈里·塞達里斯 (Harry Sedaris)，請他作最後發言。

All right. Thank you everyone, and thank you for your investment in Duke Energy. Our IR team is standing by if you have any further questions during the day, and I hope everybody has a great day.

好的。謝謝大家，也謝謝大家對杜克能源的投資。如果您在白天有任何其他問題，我們的 IR 團隊將隨時待命，希望大家度過愉快的一天。

This concludes today's call. Thank you very much for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

今天的電話會議到此結束。非常感謝您的加入。現在您可以斷開線路了。