第一能源 (FE) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to the FirstEnergy Corporate, first quarter 2025 earnings conference call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 FirstEnergy Corporate 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Karen Sagot, Vice President of Investor relations. Please go ahead, Karen.

現在我很高興將電話轉給投資人關係副總裁 Karen Sagot。請繼續，凱倫。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to FirstEnergy's first quarter 2025 earnings review. Our Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, Brian Tierney will lead our call today, and he will be joined by Jon Taylor, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝。大家早安，歡迎參加 FirstEnergy 2025 年第一季財報回顧。我們的董事長、總裁兼執行長 Brian Tierney 將主持今天的電話會議，我們的高級副總裁兼財務長 Jon Taylor 也將參加會議。

Our earnings release, presentation slides, and related financial information are available on our website at firstenergycorp.com/ir.

我們的收益報告、簡報投影片和相關財務資訊可在我們的網站 firstenergycorp.com/ir 上找到。

Today's discussion will include the use of non-GAAP financial measures and forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors discussed in our earnings news release during today's conference call and in our SEC filings could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.

今天的討論將包括使用非公認會計準則財務指標和前瞻性陳述，這些指標和陳述都存在風險和不確定性。我們在今天的電話會議中的收益新聞稿和我們提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中討論的因素可能會導致我們的實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述有重大差異。

The appendix of today's presentation includes supplemental information along with reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures. Please read our cautionary statement and discussion of non-GAAP financial measures on slides 2 and 3 of the presentation.

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。請閱讀簡報第 2 張和第 3 張投影片上的警告聲明和非 GAAP 財務指標的討論。

Now it's my pleasure to turn the call over to Brian.

現在我很高興將電話轉給布萊恩。

Thank you, Karen. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today and for your interest in FirstEnergy. We're off to a strong start this year, with results that reflect solid execution on our regulated strategies, robust capital investments, and financial discipline. We're on track to meet our 2025 core earnings guidance we provided in the fourth quarter call.

謝謝你，凱倫。大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們並對 FirstEnergy 感興趣。我們今年開局良好，業績反映了我們對受監管策略的穩健執行、強勁的資本投資和財務紀律。我們預計將實現我們在第四季度電話會議上提出的 2025 年核心獲利預期。

Today, we will review our financial performance and highlights for the quarter, provide updates on regulatory and legislative matters, detail some growth opportunities, and review the value proposition we offer shareholders.

今天，我們將回顧本季度的財務業績和亮點，提供監管和立法事項的最新信息，詳細介紹一些增長機會，並回顧我們向股東提供的價值主張。

For the first quarter of 2025, the company delivered GAAP earnings of $0.62 per share compared to $0.44 per share in 2024. Core earnings for the first quarter of this year were $0.67 per share, a significant improvement over $0.49 in the first quarter of last year.

2025 年第一季度，該公司的 GAAP 收益為每股 0.62 美元，而 2024 年為每股 0.44 美元。今年第一季的核心收益為每股 0.67 美元，較去年第一季的 0.49 美元有顯著改善。

Core earnings benefited from execution across our regulated businesses, including the impact of base rate cases that were approved last year in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey, as well as a return to more normal weather for the first quarter of this year.

核心獲利受益於我們所監管業務的執行，包括去年賓州、西維吉尼亞州和新澤西州批准的基準利率案例的影響，以及今年第一季天氣恢復正常。

In addition, the team did a nice job of managing operating expenses in the first quarter. O&M is in line with our plan, slightly lower than last year, and leadership continues to pursue further cost reductions. Consistent with our plan, we implemented organizational design changes in the 1st quarter aimed at creating a more sustainable and efficient operating structure that moves management and decision making closer to our customers, employees, and regulators.

此外，該團隊在第一季的營運費用管理方面做得很好。營運和維護符合我們的計劃，略低於去年，領導層繼續追求進一步降低成本。根據我們的計劃，我們在第一季實施了組織設計變革，旨在創建更永續、更有效率的營運結構，使管理和決策更貼近我們的客戶、員工和監管機構。

These changes, which allowed us to reduce headcount, involve flattening layers of management, consolidating functions, and better aligning work across the company. We are focused on becoming an agile and effective organization with continuous improvement as a part of our DNA going forward. Jon will provide more details later in the call.

這些變化使我們能夠減少員工人數，包括扁平化管理層級、整合職能以及更好地協調整個公司的工作。我們致力於成為一個敏捷、高效的組織，並將持續改進作為我們未來 DNA 的一部分。喬恩將在稍後的通話中提供更多細節。

Our investment program is on track and we are making positive impact on system reliability and resiliency. In the first quarter, we invested more than a $1 billion in our system through our Energize365 capital program. This is an increase of 15% compared to last year. We remain confident in our plan to deploy $5 billion of customer-focused investments this year, an 11% increase compared to 2024, as well as the $28 billion of investments in our plan through 2029.

我們的投資計劃正在順利進行，我們正在對系統可靠性和彈性產生積極影響。第一季度，我們透過 Energize365 資本計畫向我們的系統投資了超過 10 億美元。與去年相比，成長了 15%。我們仍然對今年部署 50 億美元以客戶為中心的投資計畫充滿信心，與 2024 年相比成長 11%，並且到 2029 年我們的計畫中還將投資 280 億美元。

We are pleased to make these investments that will deliver value and reliability improvements to our customers. Our refreshed and experienced leadership team is now in place, and they are bringing new energy to the company. Together we are committed to executing our strategies, meeting our commitments, and making FirstEnergy a premier electric company.

我們很高興進行這些投資，這將為我們的客戶帶來價值和可靠性的提升。我們煥然一新、經驗豐富的領導團隊現已到位，他們正在為公司注入新的活力。我們共同致力於執行我們的策略，履行我們的承諾，並將 FirstEnergy 打造成為一家一流的電力公司。

Reflecting our confidence, last month, the Board approved a 4.7% increase in our quarterly dividend. Subject to continued Board approval, the new quarterly payment of $0.445 per share equates to an annual rate of $1.78 per share. This represents an increase of 11% in annual declared dividends since 2023.

董事會上個月批准將季度股息提高 4.7%，這反映了我們的信心。經董事會繼續批准，新的季度支付額為每股 0.445 美元，相當於每年支付每股 1.78 美元。這意味著自 2023 年以來年度宣布股息增加了 11%。

Moving to slide 6, I'll discuss current regulatory and legislative activity. First, in Ohio, we are pleased that our base rate case is progressing. Last month, our Ohio companies and various interveners filed responses to the independent audit report that was published in late February. And public hearings were held earlier this month.

轉到投影片 6，我將討論目前的監管和立法活動。首先，在俄亥俄州，我們很高興看到我們的基本利率案例正在取得進展。上個月，我們的俄亥俄州公司和各種介入者對二月底發布的獨立審計報告提出了回應。本月初舉行了公開聽證會。

We initiated settlement discussions in the base rate case and hope to continue those through the pendency of the case. Hearings are scheduled to begin on May 5, and we look forward to the case proceeding expeditiously.

我們在基準利率案件中啟動了和解談判，並希望在案件審理期間繼續進行談判。聽證會定於 5 月 5 日開始，我們期待案件能夠迅速進行。

On the legislative front, there's been a tremendous amount of activity in Ohio with House Bill 15 and Senate Bill 2. We expect legislation to be sent to the governor in the May or June time frame that will provide a transparent and predictable regulatory structure for Ohio utilities. Key provisions of the House and Senate bills include establishing multi-year rate plans with forward test years, which we view as constructive.

在立法方面，俄亥俄州眾議院第 15 號法案和參議院第 2 號法案的審議工作十分活躍。我們預計立法將在五月或六月期間提交給州長，為俄亥俄州公用事業提供透明且可預測的監管結構。眾議院和參議院法案的主要條款包括制定具有遠期測試年份的多年期利率計劃，我們認為這是有建設性的。

We have been in active discussions with the governor, legislators, and other policymakers to offer perspective on certain aspects of the legislation. As it makes its way to being a final bill, our focus is on ensuring a reasonable transition to the new regulatory framework.

我們一直在與州長、立法者和其他政策制定者進行積極討論，以就立法的某些方面提出看法。隨著該法案成為最終法案，我們的重點是確保合理過渡到新的監管框架。

In New Jersey, we recently reached a settlement in our infrastructure investment program Energize New Jersey, which was approved by the BPU yesterday. The plan includes investments of $335 million over 3.5 years, of which approximately $202 million have formula great treatment.

在新澤西州，我們最近就基礎設施投資計畫「活力新澤西州」達成了和解，該計畫昨天獲得了 BPU 的批准。該計劃包括在三年半內投資 3.35 億美元，其中約 2.02 億美元用於配方優質治療。

It includes capital investments and grid modernization, system resiliency and substation modernization work, work that is designed to upgrade JCP&L's distribution grid in targeted neighborhoods with an expansion of smart grid technology. We are pleased to move forward with these investments, which are included in our capital plan.

其中包括資本投資和電網現代化、系統彈性和變電站現代化工作，這些工作旨在透過擴展智慧電網技術升級目標社區的 JCP&L 配電網。我們很高興推進這些投資，這些投資已包含在我們的資本計劃中。

Turning to slide 7, there are a number of opportunities for continued growth in our regulated footprint. In West Virginia, we are preparing our integrated resource plan which is due by the end of this year. The IRP covers a 10 year period and includes new load forecasts for the state, as well as our proposals to address West Virginia's future generation needs.

翻到第 7 張投影片，我們的監管足跡有許多持續成長的機會。在西維吉尼亞州，我們正在製定綜合資源計劃，預計今年年底完成。IRP 涵蓋 10 年的時間，包括該州的新負載預測，以及我們解決西維吉尼亞州未來發電需求的建議。

As we prepare for this filing, we continue exploring options to build new dispatchable generation in the state, which would allow for expanded growth and economic development. West Virginia's fully integrated regulatory framework provides it with a competitive advantage for economic development and a path for investment in new dispatchable generation.

在準備提交申請的同時，我們將繼續探索在該州建造新的可調度發電廠的方案，這將有利於擴大成長和經濟發展。西維吉尼亞州完全一體化的監管框架為其經濟發展提供了競爭優勢，並為投資新的可調度發電提供了途徑。

Under the existing regulatory framework, we would be prepared to make these investments to meet West Virginia's economic development aspirations. As I discussed in our last call, we remain excited about the data center development we are seeing across our footprint. Our plan through 2029 includes 2.6 gigawatts of data center demand that is active or contracted, with more in the project pipeline that would be incremental to our base plan.

在現有的監管框架下，我們準備進行這些投資以滿足西維吉尼亞州的經濟發展願望。正如我在上次電話會議中所討論的那樣，我們仍然對我們在整個業務範圍內看到的資料中心發展感到興奮。我們的 2029 年計畫包括 2.6 千兆瓦的活躍或已簽約的資料中心需求，還有更多的專案正在籌備中，這些需求將作為我們基本計畫的增量。

Earlier this month, Meta announced an investment of more than $800 million to build their new Bowling Green Data Center in our Toledo Edison service territory and is expected to come online by the end of the year. This data center will be optimized for Meta’s AI workloads. The transmission CapEx associated with this facility is included in the current capital plan.

本月初，Meta 宣布投資超過 8 億美元在我們的托萊多愛迪生服務區內建造新的 Bowling Green 資料中心，預計今年年底上線。此資料中心將針對 Meta 的 AI 工作負載進行最佳化。與該設施相關的傳輸資本支出已包含在當前資本計劃中。

In the first quarter of this year, we received 15 large load study requests for data centers representing approximately 9 gigawatts of load. 11 of these studies are for locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio. We have not experienced any slowdown of data center interest in our service territory.

今年第一季度，我們收到了 15 份大型資料中心負載研究請求，負載總額約 9 千兆瓦。其中 11 項研究針對賓州和俄亥俄州的地區。在我們的服務區域內，我們沒有發現資料中心興趣有任何放緩。

We are also excited about the significant growth opportunities for transmission investment. During the first quarter of 2025, the PJM Board approved approximately $3 billion of investment for the Valley Link joint venture between FirstEnergy, AEP, and Dominion. We believe this innovative collaboration will enhance our competitiveness in future open windows.

我們也對輸電投資的巨大成長機會感到興奮。2025 年第一季度，PJM 董事會批准向 FirstEnergy、AEP 和 Dominion 合資成立的 Valley Link 投資約 30 億美元。我們相信，這種創新的合作將增強我們在未來開放窗口中的競爭力。

Our investment in Valley Link, which will be owned by FirstEnergy transmission, recently filed for a forward-looking transmission rate at FERC, requesting a 10.9% base ROE with a 50 basis points incentive and a capital structure targeting 60% equity. The Valley Link investment, when combined with another $300 million recently approved by FirstEnergy subsidiaries, represents a new total company investment opportunity of approximately $800 million.

我們對 Valley Link 的投資（將由 FirstEnergy 輸電公司擁有）最近向 FERC 申請了前瞻性輸電費率，要求 10.9% 的基本 ROE、50 個基點的激勵以及 60% 股權目標資本結構。Valley Link 投資加上 FirstEnergy 子公司最近批准的另外 3 億美元投資，為公司帶來了約 8 億美元的新總投資機會。

Turning to slide 8. Today, we are reaffirming our 2025 core EPS guidance range of $2.40 to $2.60 per share, and we continue to target the top half of that range. This growth, when combined with our current dividend yield, represents a total annual shareholder return proposition of 10% to 12% with potential upside through PE expansion. We are also reaffirming our 6% to 8% core earnings compound annual growth rate based on our $28 billion capital investment program through 2029.

翻到第 8 張投影片。今天，我們重申 2025 年核心每股收益指引範圍為每股 2.40 美元至 2.60 美元，並且我們將繼續瞄準該範圍的上半部分。這一增長與我們目前的股息收益率相結合，代表著每年股東總回報率為 10% 至 12%，並且透過 PE 擴張還有潛在的上升空間。我們也重申，基於到 2029 年的 280 億美元資本投資計劃，我們的核心獲利複合年增長率將達到 6% 至 8%。

As you would expect in a fully regulated domestic business, our tariff exposure is de minimis, representing less than to 0.2% on our $28 billion capital investment program. Proactive management of our supply chain since COVID has resulted in a diversified supplier base with little exposure to single source suppliers.

正如您在完全受監管的國內業務中所期望的那樣，我們的關稅風險微乎其微，在我們 280 億美元的資本投資計劃中所佔比例不到 0.2%。自 COVID 以來，我們對供應鏈進行了積極管理，形成了多元化的供應商基礎，很少接觸單一來源的供應商。

In addition, the majority of our operations and maintenance expense is labor, which has no tariff exposure. We expect any meaningful increases in our CapEx program to be driven by increased investment opportunity rather than supply chain pricing. We are off to a good start in 2025, and we remain steadfast on delivering on our commitments with stable growth fueled by our strong organic investment program.

此外，我們的營運和維護費用大部分來自勞動力，不受關稅影響。我們預計，資本支出計畫的任何有意義的成長都將由投資機會的增加而不是供應鏈定價所推動。2025 年我們有一個良好的開端，我們將繼續堅定不移地履行承諾，在強大的有機投資計劃的推動下實現穩定增長。

I'm excited about the progress we are making to become a more efficient and customer-focused organization. We are committed to executing our strategy, delivering value, and driving results.

我對我們為成為一個更有效率、以客戶為中心的組織所取得的進展感到非常興奮。我們致力於執行我們的策略、創造價值並推動成果。

With that, I will turn the call over to Jon.

說完這些，我會把電話轉給喬恩。

Thanks, Brian, and good morning everyone. We feel very good about the start of the year and our ability to deliver on our commitments with all of our key financial metrics through Q1 in line with or in some cases better than our plan. You can find more details on our results, including reconciliations for core earnings in the strategic and financial highlights document we posted to the IR website yesterday afternoon.

謝謝，布萊恩，大家早安。我們對今年的開局感到非常滿意，我們有能力履行承諾，第一季的所有關鍵財務指標都符合計劃，在某些情況下甚至優於計劃。您可以在我們昨天下午發佈到 IR 網站的戰略和財務要點文件中找到有關我們業績的更多詳細信息，包括核心收益的對賬。

Looking at our first quarter results, core earnings of $0.67 a share is a 37% improvement from $0.49 a share in the first quarter of last year. Our solid results reflect strong top line revenue growth and financial discipline as a result of the capital investments we are deploying on behalf of our customers.

從我們的第一季業績來看，核心收益為每股 0.67 美元，較去年第一季的每股 0.49 美元成長了 37%。我們的穩健業績反映了強勁的營業收入成長和財務紀律，這是我們為客戶部署的資本投資的結果。

Our rates and investment strategy significantly impacted our Q1 results, mainly from updated base rates in Pennsylvania, together with the full year impact of new base rates in New Jersey and West Virginia, which went into effect during the middle to latter part of Q1 of last year.

我們的利率和投資策略對我們的第一季業績產生了重大影響，主要來自賓州更新的基準利率，以及新澤西州和西維吉尼亞州新基準利率的全年影響，這些新基準利率於去年第一季中後期生效。

Additionally, as I'll speak to you in a minute, we continue to see the benefits of our strong formula rate investment program, reflecting solid regulatory outcomes that not only contribute to meaningful customer-focused investments, but also provide for solid regulated returns for our investors. This winter weather impacts were on balance consistent with our normal expectations. By contrast, in 2024 temperatures were significantly milder than normal with heating degree days 15% below normal.

此外，正如我稍後將與您討論的那樣，我們繼續看到強大的公式利率投資計劃帶來的好處，這反映了穩健的監管結果，這不僅有助於有意義的以客戶為中心的投資，而且還為我們的投資者提供了穩健的監管回報。今年冬季的天氣影響總體上與我們的正常預期一致。相較之下，2024 年的氣溫明顯比正常水準溫和，加熱度日數比正常低 15%。

The return to a more typical winter in the first quarter of this year resulted in much stronger customer demand as compared to last year, with total customer demand increasing more than 4%, led by a 10% increase in the high margin residential sector. On operating expenses, O&M was in line with our plan and 3.5% lower than last year, largely due to our continuous improvement in cost saving initiatives across the company.

今年第一季恢復了較為典型的冬季氣候，導致客戶需求較去年同期更加強勁，整體客戶需求成長超過 4%，其中高利潤率的住宅領域成長了 10%。在營運費用方面，O&M 符合我們的計劃，比去年下降了 3.5%，這主要歸功於我們全公司不斷改進成本節約措施。

Turning to our segment results for the first quarter in our distribution business, core earnings increased $0.10 a year, reflecting new rates in Pennsylvania and stronger customer demand. As a reminder, in December, new base rates in Pennsylvania were approved for a net annual increase of $225 million beginning in January, which includes the recovery of deferred costs and additional maintenance expenses.

談到我們分銷業務第一季的分部業績，核心收益每年增加 0.10 美元，反映了賓州的新費率和更強勁的客戶需求。提醒一下，12 月，賓州的新基準費率獲得批准，從 1 月開始每年淨增加 2.25 億美元，其中包括收回遞延成本和額外的維護費用。

In our integrated segment, core earnings also increased $0.10 this year, resulting from approved base rates in New Jersey and West Virginia in Q1 of last year, strong rate-based growth of 19% in formula rate transmission programs, higher customer demand, and lower O&M.

在我們的綜合部門，核心收益今年也增加了 0.10 美元，這得益於去年第一季度新澤西州和西弗吉尼亞州批准的基準利率、公式利率傳輸計劃的 19% 強勁利率增長、客戶需求增加以及 O&M 降低。

In the stand-alone transmission business, core earnings were $0.14 a share compared to $0.18 a share in the first quarter of 2024. Rate base increased 10% year-over-year, resulting from our Energize365 investment program, but this was offset by the final quarter of dilution from the 30% interest sale of first energy transmission to Brookville, which closed in March of 2024.

在獨立輸電業務中，核心收益為每股 0.14 美元，而 2024 年第一季為每股 0.18 美元。由於我們的 Energize365 投資計劃，費率基數同比增長了 10%，但這被 2024 年 3 月完成的向布魯克維爾出售首條能源輸送線路 30% 權益的最後一個季度稀釋所抵消。

Finally, in our corporate segment, results improved $0.02 a share compared to the first quarter of 2024 due to lower financing costs associated with lower holding company long-term debt of approximately $760 million and lower average revolver borrowings of $450 million. Overall, we feel very good about execution against our plan, which resulted in an improvement in our consolidated ROE of 40 basis points since Q4, up to 9.8% on a trailing twelve-month basis.

最後，在我們的企業部門，由於控股公司長期債務降低至約 7.6 億美元以及平均循環借款降低至 4.5 億美元，導致融資成本降低，因此業績與 2024 年第一季相比每股提高了 0.02 美元。總體而言，我們對計劃的執行情況感到非常滿意，這使我們的合併 ROE 自第四季度以來提高了 40 個基點，在過去十二個月中提高了 9.8%。

Looking at the full year, we are reaffirming our 2025 core earnings guidance of $2.40 to $2.60 a year and targeting the upper half of the range. Our2025 $5 billion investment plan is on track with capital deployment of over $1 billion in the first quarter. This is 15% above last year with the majority of the increase in formula rate programs.

縱觀全年，我們重申 2025 年核心獲利預期為每年 2.40 美元至 2.60 美元，目標是達到該範圍的上半部。我們的2025年50億美元投資計畫進展順利，第一季資本部署已超過10億美元。這比去年高出 15%，其中大部分是配方費率計劃的增加。

Our investment program is funded with internally generated cash flow and utility debt issuances. As discussed on our Q4 call, we plan to issue approximately $3.6 billion of debt of which $2 billion is new money to fund our capital programs.

我們的投資計劃由內部產生的現金流量和公用事業債務發行提供資金。正如我們在第四季度電話會議上所討論的那樣，我們計劃發行約 36 億美元的債務，其中 20 億美元是用於資助我們資本計劃的新資金。

We completed the first of these transactions earlier this month, pricing $600 million of five year senior unsecured notes for Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company or TrAIL at a coupon of 5%, representing 100 basis points spread to the five year treasury rate. We continue to see strong investor demand for our debt offerings reflected the attractive. Profile of our fully regulated diversified business combined with our strong balance sheet.

我們已於本月初完成了第一筆交易，為跨阿勒格尼州際線路公司（TrAIL）發行了價值 6 億美元的五年期無擔保優先票據，票面利率為 5%，相當於五年期國債利率的 100 個基點。我們繼續看到投資者對我們的債務產品的強勁需求，這反映了我們的吸引力。我們的完全受監管的多元化業務與強勁的資產負債表相結合的概況。

And on financial discipline, as Brian mentioned, the team is very focused on driving more efficiencies and cost reductions compared to our $1.365 billion base O&M plan for 2025. These opportunities include lower back office spending through the use of existing and new technology, optimizing our maintenance costs through more targeted capital investments and through various supply chain initiatives.

在財務紀律方面，正如 Brian 所提到的，與我們 2025 年 13.65 億美元的基本營運和維護計劃相比，團隊非常注重提高效率和降低成本。這些機會包括透過使用現有技術和新技術來降低後台支出，透過更有針對性的資本投資和各種供應鏈措施來優化我們的維護成本。

We are building this type of continuous improvement thinking into our culture and into the expectations of leaders across the organization. All of our leaders are highly engaged in ensuring that our operating costs support and enable the long-term objectives of the company.

我們正在將這種持續改進的思維融入我們的文化和整個組織領導者的期望中。我們所有的領導都高度致力於確保我們的營運成本支持並實現公司的長期目標。

So to close out our prepared remarks, we're happy with the start to the year with solid execution against our regulated strategies, our investment plan, and with financial discipline. Our earnings and financial performance across our key metrics are where we expect them to be, or even better.

因此，在結束我們的準備好的發言時，我們對今年的開始感到滿意，我們嚴格執行了監管策略、投資計劃和財務紀律。我們關鍵指標的收益和財務表現都達到了我們的預期，甚至更好。

Our first quarter core EPS of $0.67 a share is aligned with our plan and significantly stronger than last year with over $1 billion in capital investments during the quarter, we're on track with our plan and 15% above Q1 last year.

我們第一季的核心每股收益為 0.67 美元，與我們的計劃一致，並且比去年同期大幅增長，本季度的資本投資超過 10 億美元，我們按照計劃順利進行，並且比去年第一季高出 15%。

Our base O&M of $340 million reflects strong financial discipline and is in line with our plan and improvement to the first quarter of last year, and first quarter cash flow of $637 million is better than our plan and significantly better than our results from Q1 2024. This is the type of performance that supports our value proposition, including the total shareholder return opportunity that we are focused on delivering for our shareholders.

我們 3.4 億美元的基礎營運和維護反映了強有力的財務紀律，符合我們的計劃並比去年第一季度有所改善，第一季 6.37 億美元的現金流好於我們的計劃，並且明顯好於我們 2024 年第一季度的業績。這種績效支持了我們的價值主張，包括我們致力於為股東提供的總股東回報機會。

Thank you for your time this morning. We are highly focused on delivering on our commitments to all of our stakeholders. Now let's open the call to your Q&A.

感謝您今天上午抽出時間。我們高度重視履行對所有利害關係人的承諾。現在讓我們開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Michael Lonegan, Evercore ISI.

邁克爾·洛內根（Michael Lonegan），Evercore ISI。

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. Just wondering how you would characterize the settlement discussions in Ohio, with the hearing starting May 5. Do you feel like you're close to reaching an agreement and what are the key areas that remain up for debate between the parties?

嗨，早安。感謝您回答我的問題。我只是想知道您如何描述俄亥俄州的和解討論，聽證會將於 5 月 5 日開始。您是否覺得雙方即將達成協議？雙方還有哪些關鍵領域需要爭論？

Yeah, thank you for the question, Michael. I characterized the settlement discussions as productive and constructive. We began them, we had a number of parties who were engaged, the key parties were engaged in the discussions. Those discussions will continue and they're focused on the type of things that you would anticipate, cap structure, ROE, and the like.

是的，謝謝你的提問，麥可。我認為此次和解談判富有成效且具建設性。我們開始了這些活動，有多個參與者，關鍵各方都參與了討論。這些討論將會繼續，重點關注您所預期的事情類型、上限結構、ROE 等。

So nothing that's unusual or surprising, and I think the parties came to the table interested in discussing in settlement and hoping that we'd be able to get there. We're looking forward to the hearings beginning on May 5 and believe that will lead us to an expeditious outcome for the base rate case and look forward to continuing the settlement discussions through the pendency of the case.

所以沒有什麼不尋常或令人驚訝的事情，我認為雙方都有興趣討論和解，並希望我們能夠達成目標。我們期待 5 月 5 日開始的聽證會，並相信這將使我們迅速得出基準利率案件的結果，並期待在案件審理期間繼續進行和解談判。

Great, thank you. And then you talked about a significant increase in large load studies since the last call, and you highlighted no slowdown. The prior disclosure based on the data center pipeline was, for $350 million of incremental CapEx through '29 and beyond '29, you had highlighted $300 million to $400 million of incremental spending opportunities. Just wondering, as we stand today, what would you say the upside is to these numbers?

太好了，謝謝。然後您談到自上次通話以來大負載研究的顯著增加，並且強調沒有放緩。根據資料中心管道的先前披露，對於 29 年及 29 年以後 3.5 億美元的增量資本支出，您強調了 3 億至 4 億美元的增量支出機會。只是想知道，就我們今天的情況而言，您認為這些數字的優勢是什麼？

Yeah, Michael, I'd say it's about the same. So in terms of people seeing in other areas, data centers and hyper scales and the like pulling back, we actually had the announcement from Meta of the Toledo, data center that they specifically That is associated with being ready for their AI complement. So people are not in our service territory pulling back from that, but continuing forward. And I just say there's no change to that long-term outlook for CapEx at this point.

是的，邁克爾，我認為差不多。因此，就人們在其他領域看到的情況而言，資料中心和超大規模等正在撤退，我們實際上已經從托萊多資料中心的 Meta 那裡得到了公告，他們特別強調這與為他們的 AI 補充做好準備有關。因此，我們服務範圍內的人們不會後退，而是會繼續前進。我只是說，目前資本支出的長期前景並沒有改變。

Great, thanks for taking my question.

太好了，感謝您回答我的問題。

Thank you, Michael.

謝謝你，麥可。

Shahriar Pourreza, Guggenheim Securities.

Shahriar Pourreza，古根漢證券公司。

Hey, good morning, everyone. It's actually Alex on for Shar.

嘿，大家早安。其實是 Alex 代替 Shar 上場。

Good morning, Alex.

早安，亞歷克斯。

Good morning. So I just want to touch on the Ohio legislation. So you mentioned, you expect the bill to be sent to the governor on the May, June time frame. Obviously a lot of positive momentum behind these bills, but do you see one bill being favored over another, or do you see the bills getting combined into one or more as more of a likely scenario and just sort of how should we be thinking about the overall process going forward? Thanks.

早安.所以我只想談談俄亥俄州的立法。所以您提到，您預計該法案將在五月或六月期間送交州長。顯然，這些法案背後有很多積極的勢頭，但您是否認為其中一項法案比另一項法案更受青睞，或者您認為這些法案合併為一項或多項法案是更有可能出現的情況，我們應該如何看待未來的整體進程？謝謝。

Yeah, I can't say at this point, Shar. I think they are both moving forward. They've both been voted out of their respective chambers, and how leadership decides to handle that going forward, we still don't have any particular insight into. I think the key provisions of both bills that are of importance to us. Things like the multi-year rate cases with forward-looking test years are things that are in both, and our focus now is on moving from the current framework that we have that has base rate cases and EPS to the new framework that has the multi-year base rate cases with forward-looking test years, and trying to make that transition as smoothly as possible.

是的，我現在還不能說，Shar。我認為他們都在前進。他們倆都已被各自的議院投票淘汰，至於領導層將如何處理這個問題，我們仍然沒有任何特別的了解。我認為這兩項法案的關鍵條款對我們來說都很重要。諸如多年期利率案例與前瞻性測試年份之類的情況都是兩者兼而有之的，我們現在的重點是從現有的包含基準利率案例和每股收益的框架轉向包含多年期基準利率案例與前瞻性測試年份的新框架，並嘗試使這一過渡盡可能平穩。

Great, thanks. And just as a follow up, should the legislation pass as is and assuming you remain an ESP 4, if the cap isn't unfrozen, how should we think about the timing of your next base rate case? And can you just talk about the different levers you can pull on to offset the potential impact of not having the cap lifted in the near term? Thanks.

太好了，謝謝。作為後續問題，如果立法按原樣通過，並假設您仍然是 ESP 4，如果上限沒有解凍，我們應該如何考慮下一個基準利率案例的時間？您能否談談可以利用哪些不同的手段來抵消短期內不取消上限的潛在影響？謝謝。

Thank you for that, Alex. So there are a couple of things that could play out there. One is, of course, we would go back and try and seek to get the cap lifted. If that doesn't happen, we have opportunities to shift CapEx around both within Ohio and the other jurisdictions until we can get in for a new base rate case.

謝謝你，亞歷克斯。因此，有幾件事可能會發生。一是，當然，我們會回去嘗試並尋求取消上限。如果這種情況不發生，我們有機會在俄亥俄州和其他司法管轄區內轉移資本支出，直到我們能夠進入新的基準利率案例。

And then I anticipate that we'd be going in for a new base rate case under the new framework as early as the first of 2026. And we'd expect rates to be in effect for that as early as 1127. So, a number of levers that we can pull between now and then, we're not giving up on the cap persisting in ESP4, but we have a number of levers to pull as we get our way into that new framework.

然後我預計我們最早會在 2026 年初在新框架下進入新的基準利率狀況。我們預計利率最快將於 11 月 27 日生效。因此，從現在到那時，我們可以採取多種手段，我們不會放棄在 ESP4 中持續存在的上限，但是，當我們進入新的框架時，我們可以採取多種手段。

Great thanks. I'll leave it there. Thanks for taking my questions.

非常感謝。我就把它留在那裡。感謝您回答我的問題。

Thanks, Alex.

謝謝，亞歷克斯。

Nick Campanella, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的尼克·坎帕內拉。

Hey, thanks for taking my questions. I just wanted to follow up quick, good to see you guys moving forward towards settlement. Is there just any chance that you could deal with ESP in that discussion, or is that going to be more up to commission interpretation you think since we're still waiting on the legislation to be finalized? I was just trying to see if there's a window where we can get more clarity on ESP sooner than later.

嘿，謝謝你回答我的問題。我只是想快速跟進一下，很高興看到你們在解決問題方面取得進展。您是否有機會在討論中處理 ESP 問題，或者您認為這是否更多地取決於委員會的解釋，因為我們仍在等待立法最終確定？我只是想看看是否有一個機會讓我們能夠盡快更清楚地了解 ESP。

Yeah, Nick, I don't think it would be in that base rate case settlement. As you know we have a current active open case for ESP 6, and so we would try and handle as much of the base rate case issues as we could in those settlement discussions.

是的，尼克，我不認為它會在那個基本利率案件和解中。如您所知，我們目前正在審理 ESP 6 的未決案件，因此我們將盡力在和解討論中處理盡可能多的基本利率案件問題。

And then I think there are, the three other ways for things to play out around the ESP. One is if there would be legislation that would direct the commission to have a smooth transition. Two, if not that, we still think that legislatively they would expect there to be a smooth transition between the current framework and the next one, and we think the commission would pick up on that and try and make that transition as smoothly as possible.

然後我認為，圍繞 ESP 還有其他三種方式可以發揮作用。一是是否有立法指導委員會實現平穩過渡。二，如果不是這樣，我們仍然認為，從立法角度來看，他們會期望當前框架和下一個框架之間有一個平穩過渡，我們認為委員會會注意到這一點，並嘗試使過渡盡可能平穩。

And then, as I discussed earlier in response to a question, if we're unsuccessful in those, I think there are opportunities for us to move CapEx around both within Ohio and in other jurisdictions and then get in as quickly as possible as we could for a new base rate case under the new framework.

然後，正如我之前回答問題時所討論的那樣，如果我們在這些方面不成功，我認為我們有機會在俄亥俄州和其他司法管轄區內轉移資本支出，然後儘快進入新框架下的新基準利率案例。

So a lot of levers for us to pull, and we'll be pulling all of those as timely as we can and communicating the results of that to the investment community as quickly as possible. At the end result on all this, Nick, we're looking at investment between the end of our current base rate period of May 30 of last year and when we get new rates in effect.

因此，我們需要利用許多槓桿，我們會盡可能及時地利用所有這些槓桿，並儘快將結果傳達給投資界。尼克，最終的結果是，我們正在考慮在去年 5 月 30 日當前基準利率期結束和新利率生效之間進行投資。

So if we have to go to a new base rate case under the new framework, there would be very little for the commission to review in time and magnitude and at the very worst, there would be an incremental, 15 months or so on the regulatory lag that we would face. Potentially on a reduced amount given the actions we could take.

因此，如果我們必須在新框架下採取新的基準利率案例，那麼委員會需要審查的時間和規模就非常少，最糟糕的情況是，我們將面臨大約 15 個月的監管滯後。考慮到我們可以採取的行動，數量可能會減少。

Hey, that's great. I -- sorry about my confusion there on the process. Thanks for the clarifications. Just as it relates to you -- you're kind of talking about a lot of different levers to offset what seems to be kind of a shifting environment with this ESP and you have -- you're at the high end of your '25 guidance now. You have this 6% to 8% long term EPS CAGR. So do you still kind of expect, regardless of the outcome, do you expect to be able to offset that be within the range, and be able to kind of grow linearly here in '26, or how should we kind of think about that with this overhang?

嘿，那太好了。我——很抱歉我對這個過程感到困惑。感謝您的澄清。正如它與您相關的那樣——您正在談論許多不同的槓桿來抵消這種 ESP 似乎不斷變化的環境，而且您——您現在正處於 25 年指導的高端。您擁有 6% 至 8% 的長期 EPS CAGR。那麼，無論結果如何，您是否仍然期望能夠抵消這一影響，並且能夠在 26 年實現線性增長，或者我們應該如何看待這一懸而未決的問題？

Yeah, so we do anticipate being able to offset that. And as we've talked about the growth, we're not -- haven't been talking about linear exactly year, year to year. We've been talking about a compound annual growth rate over the investment horizon in that 6% to 8% period, all the while within that 6% to 8%.

是的，所以我們確實希望能夠抵消這一點。正如我們討論的成長一樣，我們並沒有討論逐年線性成長。我們一直在談論投資期間的複合年增長率，即 6% 到 8% 之間，一直在 6% 到 8% 之間。

So we're confident about our ability to stay in that range and deliver those results regardless of the outcome around this the base rate case and how the levers that we could pull on the ESP.

因此，無論基準利率情況的結果如何，也無論我們如何利用 ESP，我們都對自己保持在該範圍內並實現這些結果的能力充滿信心。

Thank you, Brian.

謝謝你，布萊恩。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Jeremy Tonet, JP Morgan.

摩根大通的傑里米·托內特 (Jeremy Tonet)。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Good morning, Jeremy.

早上好，傑里米。

Maybe picking up on the last question if I couldn't appreciate the sensitive nature of it all, but is there any other color you could provide to frame, I guess, what you'd be looking to solve for if things kind of progress, legislation as it is right now versus the size of the levers that you have just trying to get a sense of how manageable, easy or not easy it is to kind of work around what these items could be.

如果我不能意識到這一切的敏感性，也許我會回答最後一個問題，但是，如果事情有所進展，您能否提供其他框架來闡述您希望解決的問題，目前的立法與您擁有的槓桿規模相比，只是想了解解決這些問題的可管理性、難易程度。

Yeah, so remember we're just talking about the investment that we've made and are going to make since May 31, 2024. So it's a limited universe in a limited time frame. And so we have made assumptions about what would happen with ESP 6. We've now modified those, not anticipating that would go forward, assuming that we will be in ESP 4, and then we'll be modifying how we do this going forward. So it's a modest and manageable amount of dollars in a modest and manageable amount of time.

是的，請記住，我們只是在談論自 2024 年 5 月 31 日以來我們已經進行的投資以及將要進行的投資。所以這是一個有限時間範圍內的有限宇宙。因此，我們對 ESP 6 會發生什麼事做出了假設。我們現在已經修改了這些，沒有預料到它們會繼續發展，假設我們將在 ESP 4 中，然後我們將修改我們未來的做法。因此，這是在適度且可控的時間內獲得的適度且可控的金額。

Yeah, Jeremy, I would say, I mean, we would be looking to move capital around. We have plenty of opportunities to do that. We have the Grid Mod 2 CapEx that we could accelerate into 2026. We have the PAL tip where we could, move some of the Ohio based capital into that CapEx program. We have opportunities in Maryland.

是的，傑里米，我想說，我的意思是，我們會尋求轉移資本。我們有很多機會做到這一點。我們有 Grid Mod 2 資本支出，可以加速到 2026 年。我們有 PAL 建議，可以將部分俄亥俄州的資本轉移到該 CapEx 計劃中。我們在馬裡蘭州有機會。

In West Virginia with transmission CapEx, so we have a lot of opportunities to redeploy capital if and when we need to do that. And if you go back and look at the history of what we've done over the last two years with our capital program, I mean we've moved, a couple $300 million of capital around in a given year, so that's not something that we're overly concerned about at this point in time.

西維吉尼亞州有輸電資本支出，因此如果需要的話，我們有很多機會重新部署資本。如果你回顧一下我們過去兩年在資本計畫方面所做的事情，你會發現我們在某一年轉移了大約 3 億美元的資本，所以這不是我們目前過於擔心的事情。

As we're talking to legislative legislatures and policy makers in Ohio, we see there is a strong desire to move from the current framework to the new framework. We're not seeing a signal from them that they don't want investment in Ohio, and that lends itself to a smooth transition either through raising the caps in the ESP 4 or some other mechanism. So the signals we aren't getting is not don't invest in Ohio, it's we're changing how we're doing regulation in Ohio, and we've heard from everyone that we -- that they expect a smooth transition.

當我們與俄亥俄州的立法機構和政策制定者交談時，我們發現他們強烈希望從現有框架轉向新框架。我們沒有看到他們不想在俄亥俄州投資的訊號，這有助於透過提高 ESP 4 的上限或其他機制來實現平穩過渡。因此，我們沒有收到的訊號不是不要在俄亥俄州投資，而是我們正在改變我們在俄亥俄州的監管方式，我們從每個人那裡聽說——他們期待平穩過渡。

Got it. That's very helpful there. And then kind of shifting gears towards settlement talks going back there again, I appreciate the sensitive nature to it all, but just wondering if you can frame it all, I guess which parties are involved in the settlement conversations such as staff or just who's more receptive, who's less receptive in any color in general you can provide in the parties would be helpful.

知道了。這非常有幫助。然後再次轉向和解談判，我理解這一切的敏感性，但我只是想知道您是否可以概括這一切，我猜想哪些各方參與了和解對話，例如工作人員，或者誰更容易接受，誰不太接受，總的來說，您可以在各方中提供任何顏色信息，這將會有所幫助。

Yes. So Jeremy, we really can't talk it with any specificity around that, but we'll say that all the parties were involved initially we felt that the discussion tone and tenor was productive and constructive and along that vein we're going to continue the dialogue. You'll remember during Grid Mod 2 discussions we did file a partial settlement that was ultimately approved, and we think that's an avenue that's open to us in this instance as well.

是的。所以傑里米，我們真的無法就此進行任何具體討論，但我們可以說，各方最初都參與其中，我們覺得討論的基調和基調是富有成效和建設性的，我們將繼續沿著這一思路進行對話。您會記得，在 Grid Mod 2 討論期間，我們確實提交了一份最終獲得批准的部分和解協議，我們認為在這種情況下這也是一條可行的途徑。

Got it. I'll leave it there. Thank you.

知道了。我就把它留在那裡。謝謝。

Thank you, Jeremy.

謝謝你，傑瑞米。

David Arcaro, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的戴維‧阿卡羅。

Hey, thanks so much good morning.

嘿，非常感謝，早安。

Good morning, David.

早安，大衛。

I was wondering if you could give a perspective on New Jersey and the recent commission efforts to look at cost efficiencies and the affordability considerations there. What is your latest perspective on what strategy might be possible to address any affordability concerns in the state.

我想知道您是否可以對新澤西州以及委員會最近為研究成本效率和可負擔性所做的努力發表一些看法。您對解決該州負擔能力問題的策略有何最新看法？

David, are you referring specifically to the PJM capacity auction?

大衛，您具體指的是 PJM 容量拍賣嗎？

That seems to be the driving factor behind what looked like a specific effort from the New Jersey commission to look for cost efficiencies among the utilities, but yeah, I think stemming from the increase in the capacity auction pricing.

這似乎是新澤西州委員會為尋求公用事業成本效率而做出的具體努力背後的驅動因素，但我認為，是的，這源於容量拍賣價格的上漲。

So look, I think, commissions as well as FirstEnergy are very concerned about the coming price increases associated with the capacity auction. It would be one thing if the capacity auction pricing that we're facing was bringing new capacity, new dispatchable capacity to the market, and the customers were actually getting some value out of that.

所以，我認為，委員會和 FirstEnergy 都非常擔心與容量拍賣相關的即將到來的價格上漲。如果我們面臨的容量拍賣定價能夠為市場帶來新的容量、新的可調度容量，而客戶實際上也能從中獲得一些價值，那將是一回事。

We don't see that as being the case. So, we think that commissions and the company are going to do everything that we can to try and mitigate that impact on our customers. The commission yesterday in New Jersey asked us to go back.

我們認為事實並非如此。因此，我們認為委員會和公司將盡一切努力減輕對客戶的影響。新澤西的委員會昨天要求我們回去。

And take a look with our in-state peers about how we could postpone the impact of those capacity auction price increases for the next four months. For the first four months, we're going to do that and we're going to be as constructive and productive as we can in trying to make that happen. These price increases are real and they have real impact on our customers and we're so concerned about that.

並與我們州內的同行一起研究如何在未來四個月內推遲容量拍賣價格上漲的影響。在前四個月裡，我們會這樣做，並且會盡可能地建設性和有成效地努力實現這一目標。這些價格上漲是真實的，並且對我們的客戶產生了真正的影響，我們對此非常擔心。

Again, if it was addressing the problem, we could be supportive, but it's not bringing the capacity to the market. This is what I would say, David, is you always want to do good things, and to the degree you have good things to do more of those. If there are things that are harmful, stop doing the things that are harmful. We think a continuation of these extremely high priced capacity auctions that don't bring new capacity to the market are harmful, and that harmful impact should be either mitigated or stopped on a prospective basis.

再說一次，如果它能解決問題，我們可能會提供支持，但它並不能為市場帶來產能。大衛，我想說的是，你總是想做好事，當你有好事時，你會做更多這樣的好事。如果有有害的事情，就停止做有害的事情。我們認為，繼續進行這些無法為市場帶來新產能的極高價格產能拍賣是有害的，並且應該在未來減輕或停止這種有害影響。

Absolutely, I appreciate that color. And maybe along those same lines, how has the conversation involved? We've also got Pennsylvania, looking at the same issues this week as well, in terms of the future of resource adequacy in the PJM market. How are you thinking about the potential solutions or how is that conversation evolved, whether it's contracted generation, utility owned generation, have any options bubble to the surface in terms of getting more likely or more support among the different stakeholders.

絕對的，我很欣賞那個顏色。或許沿著同樣的思路，對話進展如何？本週，我們也將關注賓州的相同問題，即 PJM 市場未來的資源充足性。您如何看待潛在的解決方案，或者對話如何發展，無論是合約發電還是公用事業自有發電，是否有任何選擇可以在不同利益相關者之間獲得更多或更多的支援。

Look, I think something that faces a lot of opposition wherever you raise it. Is a specter of re-regulation, putting the genie back in the bottle. I don't think that's a winner anywhere, and I think there are ways that you can address the resource adequacy problem without having to do that.

你看，我認為無論你在哪裡提出這個問題都會面臨很多反對。這是一種重新監管的幽靈，將精靈放回瓶子裡。我認為這樣做並不是一種勝利，而且我認為有其他方法可以解決資源充足性問題而不必這樣做。

Certain states have other models that we pointed to that work for adding new types of generation. New York has done that with NYSERDA and NYPA. You've seen Texas do that with their Generation loan program. You've seen California do it for certain types of generation that they've added. So I think there are a number of models out there that work. I think the only way these problems are going to be resolved is by the states taking action themselves to address the problems for their own states.

某些州有我們指出的其他模型，可用於增加新類型的發電。紐約已經與紐約州能源研究與開發局 (NYSERDA) 和紐約州電力管理局 (NYPA) 合作完成了這項工作。您已經看到德克薩斯州透過其 Generation 貸款計劃實現了這一點。您已經看到加州針對他們所添加的某些類型的發電設施採取了這種做法。所以我認為有很多模型是可行的。我認為解決這些問題的唯一方法是各州自己採取行動解決自己的問題。

So I've recently spoken with Governor Shapiro in Pennsylvania and applaud his efforts to keep prices lower in the state of Pennsylvania. I see that Governor Murphy in New Jersey has also asked FERC to take action on this, and I think it's leadership by the governors in the states that are going to address this problem most directly, and I applaud those two governors' efforts.

因此，我最近與賓州州長夏皮羅進行了交談，並對他為保持賓州價格低位所做的努力表示讚賞。我看到新澤西州州長墨菲也要求聯邦能源管理委員會就此採取行動，我認為各州州長的領導才能最直接解決這個問題，我讚賞這兩位州長的努力。

Okay, great. Very helpful. Thanks so mush

好的，太好了。非常有幫助。非常感謝

Thank you, David.

謝謝你，大衛。

Carly Davenport, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的卡莉·達文波特。

Hey, good morning. Thanks so much for taking the questions. Maybe to start, just as you think about the current macro environment and potential for an economic slowdown, is there anything that you're seeing or hearing from your industrial customers in particular that you think could pose potential risk or is worth watching around that 2% low growth forecast that's embedded in the plan?

嘿，早安。非常感謝您回答這些問題。首先，當您思考當前的宏觀環境和經濟放緩的可能性時，您是否從工業客戶那裡看到或聽到任何可能帶來潛在風險或值得關注的計劃中嵌入的 2% 低成長預測？

It's a great question, Carly. I was just watching on CNBC earlier today, Beth Hammack from the Cleveland Fed talking about issues, these issues, and from a macro standpoint, she's saying, look the tariffs add a fair amount of uncertainty to what's going on in the economy, and that makes it difficult for people to make Incremental investments and know that those investments are going to be either supported by tariffs or undercut by tariffs.

這是一個很好的問題，卡莉。我今天早些時候在 CNBC 上看到克利夫蘭聯邦儲備銀行的貝絲·哈馬克談論這些問題，從宏觀角度來看，她說，關稅給經濟形勢增添了相當大的不確定性，這使得人們很難進行增量投資，也不知道這些投資是會受到關稅的支持還是會受到關稅的削弱。

So we're seeing that from a macro standpoint across our across our footprint, we're not seeing a huge impact yet. What we have seen is some steel manufacturers have been slowing some of their production related to automotive demand that has come down somewhat in the near term. And we're watching that would also remind you that industrial load is a much smaller portion of our margin than residential is, and we have generally demand type pricing on the industrial load.

因此，從宏觀角度來看，我們還沒有看到巨大的影響。我們看到，一些鋼鐵製造商已經放慢了與汽車需求相關的生產速度，因為短期內汽車需求下降。我們正在觀察這一點，這也會提醒您，工業負荷在我們的利潤中所佔的比例比住宅負荷要小得多，而且我們通常對工業負荷採用需求型定價。

So we don't anticipate significant impact from an income standpoint in the near term associated with the near term uncertainty that we're dealing with, but the quicker there's certainty from an investment cycle standpoint, I think the quicker we'll be able to see people be able to make those investment decisions and get on with investing in their business, whatever the answer is from a tariff standpoint.

因此，我們預計短期內我們所面臨的不確定性不會對收入產生重大影響，但從投資週期的角度來看，確定性越快，我認為我們就能越快看到人們能夠做出投資決策並繼續投資他們的業務，無論從關稅的角度來看答案是什麼。

Great, that's helpful. Thank you. And then maybe just a high level question on the earnings guidance, targeting the top half of the '25 range and you mentioned the sizes cash flow tracking above plan as well to start the year. Can you just talk a little bit about, what's driving that to give you confidence at this point in the year to sort of target the top end of the range?

太好了，很有幫助。謝謝。然後也許只是一個關於盈利預測的高層問題，目標是 25 年範圍的上半部分，並且您提到了年初上述計劃的現金流跟踪規模。您能否簡單談談，是什麼讓您有信心在今年這個時候瞄準最高目標？

Yeah. Carly, this is Jon. So I think, we, we've laid out our base O&M plan for the year. We are targeting, lower O&M performance relative to that target. We have teams in place and leadership in place that are driving towards a slightly lower number to give us flexibility around our operating costs. And so that's what the team is working on and that's what's going to give us the flexibility as we think about targeting the upper half of the range.

是的。卡莉，這是喬恩。所以我認為，我們已經制定了今年的基本營運和維護計劃。我們的目標是降低相對於該目標的 O&M 效能。我們已組建團隊並建立了領導團隊，致力於將這一數字略微降低，讓我們能夠靈活地控制營運成本。這就是團隊正在努力的方向，這將為我們在考慮瞄準範圍的上半部分時提供靈活性。

Great. Thanks so much for the color.

偉大的。非常感謝這個顏色。

Thank you, Carly.

謝謝你，卡莉。

Bill Appicelli, UBS.

瑞銀的比爾·阿皮塞利。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Good morning, Bill.

早安，比爾。

Just on West Virginia, can you just remind us what's in the plan, the base capital plan, and then what does the IRP represent, I guess there's a potential upside, and then how do you manage the affordability of some of the options that you may propose?

就西維吉尼亞州而言，您能否提醒我們該計劃中有哪些內容，基本資本計劃，然後 IRP 代表什麼，我猜它有潛在的優勢，然後您如何管理您可能提出的一些選項的可負擔性？

Yeah, so there's a lot in play right now in West Virginia, Bill. What is in the current plan is current investment in TND and investment for the current coal-fired power plants that we have, Fort Martin and Harrison. Just so people understand, and there was people misreported, not the investment community, but the general press misreported on my comments in the last call.

是的，比爾，現在西維吉尼亞州有很多事情要做。目前的計劃是對 TND 的當前投資以及對我們現有的燃煤發電廠 Fort Martin 和 Harrison 的投資。只是想讓人們明白，有人誤報了，不是投資界，而是一般媒體誤報了我上次通話中的評論。

When we put in place the investments for ELG in those two plants, we had to put a terminal date on those plants when we made those investments and filings with the commission. For Fort Martin, that was 2035 and for Harrison that was 2040. Investments in keeping those plans running through that period is in the current CapEx plan.

當我們為 ELG 在這兩家工廠進行投資時，我們必須在進行這些投資並向委員會提交文件時為這些工廠設定一個終止日期。對馬丁堡來說，這個時間是 2035 年，而對哈里森來說，這個時間是 2040 年。維持這些計劃在此期間運作的投資已包含在當前的資本支出計劃中。

What would be incremental to that would be the result of the IRP that we're putting together now and the parallel plans that we would put in place to add combined cycle generation for the state. That the range of what that could be in the scenarios is very wide. So my proposal would be to start with a combined cycle that would be about 1,000 megawatts. That would be a$1 billion-plus.

對此進行增量的將是我們現在正在製定的 IRP 的結果，以及我們將實施的為該州增加聯合循環發電的平行計劃。場景中可能出現的情況範圍非常廣泛。因此我的建議是從一個約 1,000 兆瓦的複合循環開始。那將達到10多億美元。

And then as you firm up plans for what would happen from an environmental standpoint, from a cost standpoint, from a rate standpoint, you could firm up the plans is what would happen with Fort Martin and Harrison. And you could add incremental plans that look like the first combined cycle that we added going forward.

然後，當你從環境角度、成本角度、費率角度確定了計劃後，你就可以確定馬丁堡和哈里森的計劃。您還可以新增增量計劃，這些計劃看起來像是我們今後新增的第一個聯合循環。

And I could see us adding between one and four combined cycles of about 1,000 megawatts that would -- could ultimately replace Fort Martin and Harrison or be incremental to them and bring incremental economic development to the state of West Virginia. It would just add the flexibility that West Virginia would have in an uncertain environment and allow them to attract things like data centers, transformer manufacturers and the like, who are desirous to site in West Virginia.

我可以預見我們將增加一到四個約 1,000 兆瓦的聯合循環，最終可以取代馬丁堡和哈里森，或對它們產生增量作用，並為西弗吉尼亞州帶來增量經濟發展。這只會增加西維吉尼亞州在不確定的環境中所擁有的靈活性，並允許他們吸引那些渴望在西維吉尼亞州建廠的資料中心、變壓器製造商等。

Okay. That's clear. Thank you. And then the shifting gears on the -- we're making some progress here on the co-location docket at FERC, we've had some changes within the commission this week, so I guess what do you expect in terms of timing, now that the reply comments have been filed from FERC and do you have any sense of what form that may take? Is it just going to be an order or there -- and when do you think we may actually have the clarity from the commission that parties both on the generation side and transition side can move forward.

好的。這很清楚。謝謝。然後是轉變方向——我們在聯邦能源管理委員會 (FERC) 的共置案卷上取得了一些進展，本週委員會內部發生了一些變化，所以我想您預計時間方面會怎樣，現在聯邦能源管理委員會已經提交了回复意見，您是否知道可能採取什麼形式？這僅僅是一個命令嗎？或者—您認為什麼時候我們才能真正從委員會得到明確的答复，讓發電方和過渡方都能向前邁進。

There are so many different types of co-location, and when people talk about co-location, they think they're using co-location to mean one thing, and it really means many things to many different people. There's co-location where you take existing capacity out of the capital markets, and I think that would be a difficult thing to do. And then there's co-location where people add incremental capacity to the markets, like what you're seeing at Three Mile Island in Palisades, where they're bringing incremental capacity to the market and would like to locate data centers and other loads next to that. And I think the pathway forward for that second type of co-location is going to be much smoother than for the former.

共置有很多種類型，當人們談論共置時，他們認為共置意味著一件事，但對於不同的人來說，它實際上意味著很多事情。有一種共置方式，就是將現有容量從資本市場中取出，我認為這是一件很難的事情。然後還有共置，即人們向市場增加增量容量，就像你在帕利塞茲的三哩島看到的那樣，他們正在向市場帶來增量容量，並希望在其旁邊設置數據中心和其他負載。我認為第二種共置方式的前進之路將比第一種方式順利得多。

And to your point, we're going to have to wait and see how the FERC will order on those things. But I think in net new incremental capacity with co-location is going to be an easier path than taking existing capacity out of the market.

正如您所說，我們將拭​​目以待，看看聯邦能源管理委員會將如何處理這些事情。但我認為，與將現有容量撤出市場相比，透過共置增加淨新增容量將是更容易的途徑。

Okay. And but I mean, as far as the some timing around clarity from FERC, I mean, Commissioner Christie or Chairman Christie's been cleared to move quickly, but I mean, do you have any sense of is that in the coming months or is that this could spill into latter part of the year?

好的。但我的意思是，就聯邦能源管理委員會澄清的時間而言，我的意思是，克里斯蒂委員或克里斯蒂主席已被批准迅速採取行動，但我的意思是，您是否覺得這會在未來幾個月內發生，或者是否會延續到今年下半年？

I would say the coming months. I know that FERC is having their technical conference on that in June. I look forward to speaking at that and sharing our views on that, but I think this will be a month-long process for it to play out, but I don't think it has to spill into next year.

我想說的是未來幾個月。我知道聯邦能源管理委員會 (FERC) 將於 6 月就此召開技術會議。我期待就此發表演講並分享我們的觀點，但我認為這將是一個長達一個月的過程，但我認為它不必延續到明年。

Okay. All right, thank you.

好的。好的，謝謝。

Thanks, Bill.

謝謝，比爾。

Andrew Weisel, Scotia Bank.

蘇格蘭銀行的安德魯·韋塞爾。

Hey, thanks. Good morning, everybody.

嘿，謝謝。大家早安。

First question on Ohio.

第一個問題是關於俄亥俄州的。

Good morning, Andrew.

早安，安德魯。

Hi, I know you can't get too specific on settlement talks, but my question is just on timing. I know hearings begin on May 5, and I know it'd be great to get a settlement done before that if possible. That's only 10, 11 days from now. My question is that the legislation is expected to be sent to the governor in the May, June time frame. Does one need to happen prior to the other? Does one depend on the other? And could a settlement happen before the legislation becomes official?

你好，我知道你不能具體說明和解談判的情況，但我的問題只是時間問題。我知道聽證會將於 5 月 5 日開始，如果可能的話，在此之前達成和解會很好。距離現在只有 10 到 11 天了。我的問題是，該立法預計將在五月或六月期間提交給州長。其中一個是否需要先於另一個發生？一個依賴另一個嗎？在立法正式生效前能達成和解嗎？

So that's a good question, Andrew. I don't think those two things are going to be related timing wise. I think the new legislation will go forward on its own timeline and the base rate case will go forward on its own timeline. I think the fact that the new legislation contemplates a base rate case and those are the issues that we're going to be handling in the hearing, in the adjudicated case, if it goes that way and settlement, if it goes that way, I think would be fairly easy for those things to move forward on parallel paths, and the timing of one doesn't have to impact the other.

這是個好問題，安德魯。我認為從時間上來看這兩件事不會有關聯。我認為新立法將按照自己的時間表推進，基準利率案也將按照自己的時間表推進。我認為，新立法考慮到了基準利率案件，而這些都是我們將在聽證會上、在裁決案件中處理的問題（如果情況如此）以及和解（如果情況如此），我認為這些事情將很容易沿著平行的道路向前推進，而且一個事情的時間不必影響另一個事情。

Okay, great. My next question is industrial sales trends. You talked a little bit about this earlier, but I noticed in the quarter, the industrial group was down 3%. And really, if I look back over the past several quarters, it's been a downward trend. Anything you can talk to either looking backward or I'd also be interested in anything you've been seeing over the past few weeks since Liberation Day. Obviously it's been a little chaotic in general over the past few weeks, but any kind of trends you could point to overall would be very helpful. Thanks. (multiple speaker)

好的，太好了。我的下一個問題是工業銷售趨勢。您之前談到了這一點，但我注意到本季工業集團下降了 3%。事實上，如果回顧過去幾個季度，它一直呈下降趨勢。您可以談論任何回顧過去的事情，或者我對您自解放日以來過去幾週所見的任何事也感興趣。顯然，過去幾週總體上有點混亂，但您能指出的任何整體趨勢都會非常有幫助。謝謝。（多位發言者）

Yeah, the last two quarters have been impacted by the slowdown in the steel sector, as Brian mentioned earlier. We started to see that in the third quarter of last year and so we're continuing to see that that's kind of tied to the automotive sector. I mean, if you adjusted the year over year comp for leap year, that extra day that '24 had in it, industrial is down about 1.6%, and that's primarily all steel.

是的，正如 Brian 之前提到的，過去兩個季度受到了鋼鐵業放緩的影響。我們從去年第三季開始看到這種情況，因此我們繼續看到這與汽車行業有密切的聯繫。我的意思是，如果你根據閏年調整同比數據，即 24 年中的額外一天，工業產值將下降約 1.6%，而且主要都是鋼鐵產值。

All the data centers that we had in our plan for 2025 are still on track, maybe a little bit delayed in terms of construction, and so some of that might push out a little bit, but they're still on track. They're still coming online, and so we anticipate some of the growth that we had anticipated in that industrial class to be more towards the back end of 2025.

我們 2025 年計劃中的所有資料中心都仍在按計劃進行，可能在建設方面略有延遲，因此其中一些可能會稍微推遲，但它們仍在按計劃進行。它們仍在上線，因此我們預計該工業類別的成長將更多地發生在 2025 年末。

Okay, thanks. Good reminder on the leap day. Easy to forget that one. If I could just squeeze one clarifying thing, in the PJM transmission stuff for Valley Link and the $300 million -- I guess there's $800 million altogether for your company. Just remind me, was that already included in the CapEx plan or is that incremental?

好的，謝謝。閏日的良好提醒。很容易忘記這一點。如果我可以擠出一點來澄清的話，在 PJM 為 Valley Link 提供的傳輸服務和 3 億美元中——我想你們公司總共可以獲得 8 億美元。提醒我一下，這是否已經包含在資本支出計畫中，還是增量的？

Yeah. So a couple of things there, Andrew. The component that's associated with Valley Link is not in the CapEx plan because that's an investment that will be handled on the equity method. The $300 million is included in the CapEx plan.

是的。安德魯，這裡有幾件事。與 Valley Link 相關的部分不在資本支出計畫中，因為這是將按權益法處理的投資。這 3 億美元包含在資本支出計畫中。

Okay. I guess I should have said is that included in your financial plan?

好的。我想我應該說這是否包含在你的財務計劃中？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. Terrific. Thank you.

好的。了不起。謝謝。

Thank you, Andrew.

謝謝你，安德魯。

Anthony Crowdell, Mizuho Securities.

瑞穗證券的安東尼克勞德爾 (Anthony Crowdell)。

Hey, good morning team. I wanted just two quick ones. I wanted a follow up from Carly's question earlier. I think it was more towards the drivers that get you to the high end, this year. Is that something I could bake in post '25 and maybe carry that through my forecast model?

嘿，大家早安。我只想要兩個快速的。我想要跟進卡莉之前提出的問題。我認為今年更多的是針對那些讓你達到高端的驅動程式。這是我可以在 25 年後實現的，並且可以透過我的預測模型來實現的嗎？

Well, yeah, I mean, listen, we're driving towards more efficient O&M. We're trying to build in some flexibility into the plan. We have a team of people working at that. And if that were -- if we're successful in executing that, which I think we will be, we'll continue that momentum into 2026 and beyond. So that's kind of our target in terms of what we are aiming for in terms of a company and I feel really good about what I've seen so far and the momentum that we have for this year.

嗯，是的，我的意思是，聽著，我們正在努力實現更有效率的營運和維護。我們正在嘗試在計劃中增加一些靈活性。我們有一個團隊致力於此。如果是這樣 — — 如果我們成功執行了這個目標，我認為我們會成功，我們將把這種勢頭延續到 2026 年及以後。就我們公司而言，這就是我們的目標，我對目前所看到的情況以及我們今年的發展勢頭感到非常滿意。

Anthony, some of the tailwinds that we've seen from this year associated with making investments, getting that converted into base rates through rate proceedings, as well as the O&M discipline that we've had, create the tailwind for 2025 and we anticipate being able to create those tailwinds in years beyond this one.

安東尼，我們今年看到的一些順風與投資有關，透過利率程序將其轉換為基準利率，以及我們所擁有的 O&M 紀律，為 2025 年創造了順風，我們預計能夠在今後幾年創造這些順風。

Great. And then, just specific to Ohio, I believe in the current rate case that staff was against maybe an extension of the settlement window. I guess one is that accurate and does that mean, can I interpret that as staff is more biased towards a litigated decision or that's an incorrect read of situation?

偉大的。然後，具體到俄亥俄州，我認為在目前的利率情況下，工作人員可能反對延長結算窗口。我猜其中一個是準確的，這是否意味著，我可以將其解釋為員工更傾向於訴訟決定，還是對情況的錯誤解讀？

Yeah, I'd read it as, the staff wants to move the case forward expeditiously. Remember, this is a case that we filed over a year ago now. That's not true. In May of 2024, I guess. So a long time ago, and if the staff would like to move expeditiously on this and the commission would, we're fully supportive of that.

是的，我認為工作人員希望盡快推進案件進度。請記住，這是我們一年前提起的案件。事實並非如此。我猜是 2024 年 5 月。很久以前，如果工作人員願意迅速處理此事，委員會也願意，我們會全力支持。

Great, thanks for taking my questions.

太好了，謝謝你回答我的問題。

Thank you, Anthony.

謝謝你，安東尼。

Thank you. We have reached the end of our question and answer session. And ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference webcast. You may disconnect your lines at this time and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation.

謝謝。我們的問答環節已經結束。女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議網路直播到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路並享受美好的一天。我們感謝您的參與。