Alliant Energy Corp (LNT) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for holding, and welcome to Alliant Energy's Year-End 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). Today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Susan Gille, Investor Relations Manager at Alliant Energy. Please go ahead.

感謝您召開並歡迎參加 Alliant Energy 2023 年終利電話會議。 （操作員說明）。今天的會議正在錄製中。現在我想將電話轉給主持人蘇珊吉爾 (Susan Gille)，她是聯合能源 (Alliant Energy) 的投資者關係經理。請繼續。

Good morning. I would like to thank all of you on the call and webcast for joining us today. We appreciate your participation. With me here today are John Larsen, Executive Chairman; Lisa Barton, President and CEO; and Robert Durian, Executive Vice President and CFO. Following prepared remarks by John, Lisa and Robert, we will have time to take questions from the investment community. We issued a news release last night announcing Alliant Energy's fourth quarter and year-end financial results. This release as well as an earnings presentation will be referenced during today's call and are available on the Investor page of our website at alliantenergy.com.

早安.我要感謝大家今天加入我們的電話會議和網路廣播。我們感謝您的參與。今天與我在一起的有執行主席約翰·拉森 (John Larsen)；麗莎·巴頓，總裁兼執行長；執行副總裁兼財務長羅伯特‧杜里安 (Robert Durian)。在約翰、麗莎和羅伯特準備好的演講之後，我們將有時間回答投資界的問題。我們昨晚發布了新聞稿，宣布了 Alliant Energy 第四季度和年終財務業績。本新聞稿以及收益演示將在今天的電話會議中引用，並可在我們網站 alliantenergy.com 的投資者頁面上取得。

Before we begin, I need to remind you that the remarks we make on this call and our answers to your questions include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks that could cause actual results to be materially different. Those risks include, among others, matters discussed in Alliant Energy's news release issued last night and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，我需要提醒您，我們在本次電話會議中發表的言論以及我們對您問題的回答包含前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述存在可能導致實際結果有重大差異的風險。這些風險包括 Alliant Energy 昨晚發布的新聞稿以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論的事項。我們不承擔更新這些前瞻性陳述的義務。

In addition, this presentation contains references to non-GAAP financial measures. References to adjusted earnings exclude non-GAAP adjustments as well as net temperature impacts. The reconciliation between non-GAAP and GAAP measures are provided in the earnings release, which is available on our website.

此外，本簡報也引用了非公認會計準則財務指標。所提及的調整後收益不包括非公認會計準則調整以及淨溫度影響。非公認會計原則和公認會計原則衡量標準之間的調節在我們網站上的收益報告中提供。

At this point, I'll turn the call over to John.

此時，我會將電話轉給約翰。

Thank you, Susan. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us. 2023 was another successful year. Our adjusted earnings of $2.88, which excludes temperature impacts and non-GAAP adjustments, continued to deliver on our 5% to 7% long-term growth expectations. We take exceptional pride in delivering on our purpose to serve customers and build stronger communities and consistently achieving our earnings growth objectives.

謝謝你，蘇珊。大家好，感謝您加入我們。 2023 年又是成功的一年。我們的調整後收益為 2.88 美元（不包括溫度影響和非 GAAP 調整），繼續實現我們 5% 至 7% 的長期成長預期。我們為實現服務客戶、建立更強大的社區以及持續實現獲利成長目標的目標而感到無比自豪。

As we look back at 2023, I'm proud we can say, once again, we achieved EPS growth of at least 5%, our 14th straight year of delivering on that objective. We increased our dividend with 2023 marking the 20th straight year of dividend increases. We successfully executed on one of the largest capital expenditure programs in our history. And as of the end of 2023, nearly 30% of our electric distribution system is underground, improving reliability and reducing operating expenses.

當我們回顧 2023 年時，我可以自豪地說，我們再次實現了每股收益成長至少 5%，這是我們連續 14 年實現這一目標。我們增加了股息，2023 年標誌著股息連續 20 年增加。我們成功執行了歷史上最大的資本支出計劃之一。截至 2023 年底，我們近 30% 的配電系統位於地下，提高了可靠性並降低了營運費用。

I will now highlight a few of our many 2023 accomplishments and then turn it over to Lisa and Robert to provide details on our 2023 regulatory operating and financial results. Throughout 2023, our team demonstrated their dedication and resilience as we faced a dynamic economic environment and weather-related challenges, while also successfully advancing our customer-focused investments. We made notable progress on our generation investments. An example is the progress we made in Wisconsin on our utility scale solar projects. As of today, over 90% of our solar investments are complete and in operation, and we expect to be 100% complete later this spring. These strategic investments enhance customer value by providing access to zero cost fuel resources and diversify our energy mix. Also supports our local economies through new jobs and tax revenues. In addition, our wind and solar investments generate renewable tax credits that provide even more benefits to our customers. In 2023, we executed agreements to transfer those credits, improving our cash flow and providing us greater flexibility in our financing plans.

我現在將重點介紹我們在 2023 年取得的眾多成就中的一些，然後將其交給麗莎和羅伯特，以提供有關我們 2023 年監管運營和財務業績的詳細信息。在整個 2023 年，我們的團隊在面對動態的經濟環境和天氣相關挑戰時展現了他們的奉獻精神和韌性，同時也成功地推進了以客戶為中心的投資。我們在發電投資方面取得了顯著進展。一個例子是我們在威斯康辛州在公用事業規模太陽能專案上取得的進展。截至今天，我們超過 90% 的太陽能投資已完成並投入運營，預計今年春季晚些時候將 100% 完成。這些策略投資透過提供零成本燃料資源和多樣化我們的能源結構來提高客戶價值。也透過新的就業機會和稅收收入來支持我們當地的經濟。此外，我們的風能和太陽能投資產生可再生稅收抵免，為我們的客戶提供更多好處。 2023 年，我們簽署了轉讓這些信貸的協議，改善了我們的現金流，並為我們的融資計劃提供了更大的靈活性。

Our technology investments and undergrounding efforts place Alliant Energy among the top performers for electric reliability when compared to peer U.S. utilities. Through these investments, we are better positioned to provide our customers with the high level of reliability they expect.

與美國同行公用事業公司相比，我們的技術投資和地下工程使 Alliant Energy 在電力可靠性方面名列前茅。透過這些投資，我們能夠更好地為客戶提供他們期望的高水準可靠性。

Reflecting on the past year and with my tenure as CEO concluding as of year-end 2023, I wish to express my profound pride in all our employees who consistently embody our purpose and values. Each and every day, our employees bring our purpose-driven strategy to life, serving our customers and helping to build stronger communities. I am proud to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of our engineers whose work to innovate and advance our industry will be celebrated next week during National Engineers Week. I'd like to thank our customer service team for consistently going above and beyond as they assist our customers and a sincere thank you to our dedicated crews and support staff for their unwavering commitment to excellence and for being the driving force behind our operating success.

回顧過去的一年，隨著我作為執行長的任期將於 2023 年底結束，我希望對始終體現我們宗旨和價值觀的所有員工表示深深的自豪。每一天，我們的員工都將我們以目標為導向的策略付諸實踐，為我們的客戶提供服務，並幫助建立更強大的社區。我很自豪地承認我們的工程師所做的傑出貢獻，他們為創新和推動我們的行業所做的工作將在下週的國家工程師週期間得到慶祝。我要感謝我們的客戶服務團隊在幫助客戶時不斷超越，並衷心感謝我們敬業的工作人員和支援人員對卓越的堅定承諾以及成為我們營運成功背後的驅動力。

In closing, I'd like to extend one more congratulations to Lisa. Her thoughtful leadership, care for the customer and industry knowledge will guide Alliant Energy into the next phase of its journey. I look forward to collaborating with her and the team for continued success in 2024.

最後，我想再次向麗莎表示祝賀。她深思熟慮的領導能力、對客戶的關懷和行業知識將引導 Alliant Energy 進入下一階段的旅程。我期待與她和團隊合作，在 2024 年繼續取得成功。

Now I'll hand the call over to Lisa.

現在我將把電話轉給麗莎。

Thank you, John. I'm honored for the opportunity to build on your legacy of growth and exceptional service to the communities we are so privileged to serve. As I reflect on 2023, I am appreciative of our employees for their ongoing determination and commitment to serving our customers and strengthening our communities. I'll begin by building on John's comments about our notable progress on our generation transformation in Wisconsin, where we recently brought eight solar projects online, a huge milestone.

謝謝你，約翰。我很榮幸有機會繼承您的成長遺產，並為我們有幸服務的社區提供卓越的服務。當我回顧 2023 年時，我感謝我們的員工為服務客戶和加強社區而不斷做出的決心和承諾。我將首先以約翰關於我們在威斯康辛州發電轉型方面取得的顯著進展的評論為基礎，我們最近在威斯康辛州上線了八個太陽能項目，這是一個巨大的里程碑。

We are currently leveraging the sun in Wisconsin to fuel nearly 900 megawatts for customers. This will increase to nearly 1.1 gigawatts this spring when our final Wisconsin solar project becomes operational. Coupled with our plans to bring 400 megawatts of solar online in Iowa this year, by year-end, nearly 1,500 of additional megawatts of the energy our customers use will be from clean, zero fuel cost energy resource.

目前，我們正在利用威斯康辛州的太陽能為客戶提供近 900 兆瓦的電力。今年春天，當我們最後一個威斯康辛州太陽能專案投入運作時，這一數字將增加到近 1.1 吉瓦。再加上我們計劃今年在愛荷華州上線 400 兆瓦的太陽能，到年底，我們的客戶使用的額外能源中近 1,500 兆瓦將來自清潔、零燃料成本的能源。

In addition to our utility scale solar investments, we continue to partner with local businesses and communities interested in hosting solar projects. our customer-hosted projects help local businesses achieve their clean energy goals while community solar projects provide all customers with affordable options to participate in the solar revolution. In Cedar Rapids, our Community solar garden is fully operational and will soon be generating bill credits for all solar block purchasers. Our Janesville Solar Garden in Wisconsin now has an anchor tenant JP Cullen, and construction is set to begin this spring. We have additional customer hosted projects underway and expect they'll be operational before summer.

除了公用事業規模的太陽能投資外，我們還繼續與有興趣舉辦太陽能專案的當地企業和社區合作。我們的客戶託管專案幫助當地企業實現其清潔能源目標，而社區太陽能專案則為所有客戶提供負擔得起的選擇來參與太陽能革命。在錫達拉皮茲，我們的社區太陽能花園已全面投入運營，並將很快為所有太陽能區塊購買者提供帳單抵免。我們位於威斯康辛州的簡斯維爾太陽能花園現已擁有主力租戶 JP Cullen，施工將於今年春天開始。我們還有其他客戶託管專案正在進行中，預計它們將在夏季之前投入營運。

We made great progress in our clean energy transformation in 2023. We retired the last coal unit at Lansing, which had dutifully served our customers and communities for nearly 50 years. The retirement reduces O&M costs and advances us towards a cleaner, more efficient and cost-effective energy mix. At the same time, we continue to see the frequency and duration of outages in our service footprint steadily declined, a 20-year trend that we expect will continue as we continue focusing on improving reliability and system resilience to meet the expectations of the customers we serve.

2023 年，我們在清潔能源轉型方面取得了巨大進展。我們退役了蘭辛最後一台燃煤機組，該機組盡職盡責地為我們的客戶和社區服務了近 50 年。退役降低了營運和維護成本，推動我們走向更清潔、更有效率、更具成本效益的能源結構。同時，我們繼續看到服務範圍內的中斷頻率和持續時間穩步下降，隨著我們繼續專注於提高可靠性和系統彈性以滿足客戶的期望，我們預計這一 20 年趨勢將持續下去。服務。

We began the process to repower the Franklin County Wind project in Iowa to increase the efficiency of our fleet. This investment will provide our customers with many more years of production tax credits. On the environmental front, we completed closure work at 29 surface impoundments across 10 sites, eliminating all Alliant Energy [ash funds] in Iowa and Wisconsin. With these 2023 accomplishments, coupled with our planned investments in dispatchable gas generation, battery storage and wind repowering, we are well on our way of enabling a successful and responsible clean energy transition while assuring we are addressing our system resiliency needs.

我們開始為愛荷華州富蘭克林縣風電計畫重新供電，以提高我們機組的效率。這項投資將為我們的客戶提供多年的生產稅收抵免。在環境方面，我們完成了 10 個地點 29 個地表蓄水池的關閉工作，消除了愛荷華州和威斯康辛州的所有 Alliant Energy [灰燼基金]。憑藉 2023 年的這些成就，加上我們計劃在可調度天然氣發電、電池儲存和風力發電方面的投資，我們正在順利實現成功和負責任的清潔能源轉型，同時確保滿足我們的系統彈性需求。

Looking forward, we continue to plan for the future by evolving and refining our clean energy blueprint, taking into account dynamic economic developments, evolving energy technologies and the emerging needs of the communities we serve. It is a necessary step as we look to balance our energy mix create greater grid reliability, ensure customer affordability and address MISO's resource adequacy needs. 2023 was a record year for us for economic development activities with more than 130 megawatts of announced new load across our footprint, primarily in the manufacturing sector. With a capital investment of approximately $3.8 billion, these projects are expected to create more than 4,000 new local jobs. Going forward, we will continue to pursue opportunities for new customer growth at our industrial parks as we strive to build and support stronger communities.

展望未來，我們將繼續規劃未來，不斷發展和完善我們的清潔能源藍圖，同時考慮到動態的經濟發展、不斷發展的能源技術以及我們所服務社區的新需求。這是必要的一步，因為我們希望平衡我們的能源結構，提高電網可靠性，確保客戶的負擔能力並滿足 MISO 的資源充足性需求。 2023 年對我們的經濟發展活動來說是創紀錄的一年，我們宣布的新負載超過 130 兆瓦，主要是在製造業。這些項目資本投資約38億美元，預計將為當地創造4,000多個新就業機會。展望未來，我們將繼續在工業園區尋找新客戶成長的機會，並努力建立和支持更強大的社區。

Our strong customer and community focus were contributing factors in recently being named a top utility by Business Facilities Magazine for the fourth year in a row. Alliance Energy received a number of recognitions this past year, a few of them, including ones that focus on our employees' dedication to creating a welcoming and inclusive workplace are highlighted on Slide 5.

我們對客戶和社區的強烈關注是我們最近連續第四年被《商業設施雜誌》評為頂級公用事業公司的因素。去年，Alliance Energy 獲得了多項認可，其中一些認可，包括幻燈片 5 中重點介紹的那些關注我們員工致力於創造熱情和包容性工作場所的認可。

Earlier this week, we announced the retirement of Terry Kouba, President of IPL. In early March, Terry will be celebrating his 43rd year with the company and has been a thoughtful, respected and customer-focused leader of our Iowa operations. We are grateful for his service and dedication to Alliant Energy, our customers, communities and employees. As we celebrate Terry's well-deserved retirement, we are advancing our succession plan by appointing May Farlinger to the position of President of IPL effective May 1. May have spent her career at Alliant Energy serving in several leadership roles. We are confident in her ability to lead our dedicated team of professionals in Iowa.

本週早些時候，我們宣布 IPL 主席特里·庫巴 (Terry Kouba) 退休。 3 月初，Terry 將慶祝他在公司任職 43 週年，他是愛荷華州業務中深思熟慮、受人尊敬且以客戶為中心的領導者。我們感謝他對 Alliant Energy、我們的客戶、社區和員工的服務和奉獻。在我們慶祝Terry 當之無愧的退休之際，我們正在推進我們的繼任計劃，任命May Farlinger 擔任IPL 總裁，自5 月1 日起生效。May 在Alliant Energy 度過了她的職業生涯，曾擔任多個領導職務。我們對她領導愛荷華州專業團隊的能力充滿信心。

As we move forward in 2024, I have every confidence we will continue to take the required actions to meet our customer needs and deliver on investor expectations. We are well positioned to quickly adapt to a dynamic environment as we execute our strategy for generating clean, reliable and affordable energy. At this time, I'll turn the call over to Robert.

展望 2024 年，我堅信我們將繼續採取必要的行動來滿足客戶的需求並實現投資者的期望。當我們執行生產清潔、可靠且負擔得起的能源的策略時，我們處於有利位置，可以快速適應動態環境。這時候，我會把電話轉給羅伯特。

Thanks, Lisa. Good morning, everyone. Yesterday, we announced 2023 adjusted earnings of $2.88 per share compared to adjusted earnings of $2.73 per share in 2022. This represents a 5.5% increase in earnings, consistent with our long-term earnings growth target of 5% to 7%. Adjusted earnings exclude the impacts of both nonrecurring adjustments and temperatures. As a reminder, we do not manage our business to offset the temporary positive or negative impacts of temperatures on sales. We manage the business to deliver long-term consistency and enable operational efficiency.

謝謝，麗莎。大家，早安。昨天，我們宣布 2023 年調整後每股收益為 2.88 美元，而 2022 年調整後收益為每股 2.73 美元。這意味著收益增長了 5.5%，與我們 5% 至 7% 的長期收益增長目標一致。調整後效益不包括非經常性調整和氣溫的影響。提醒一下，我們不會透過管理業務來抵消氣溫對銷售的暫時正面或負面的影響。我們管理業務以實現長期一致性並提高營運效率。

Adjusted earnings year-over-year increase was primarily due to higher revenue requirements and AFUDC from capital investments, including the progress by our teams on our solar projects in Wisconsin and Iowa and lower operating and maintenance expenses at IPL and WPL resulting from our employees' focus on cost controls. These positive drivers were partially offset by higher financing and depreciation expenses associated with our customer-focused capital expenditure programs. The 2023 results we are sharing today are a result of our consistent efforts to manage through and mitigate ongoing inflationary pressures. We're extremely proud that our 2023 O&M expenses were approximately $30 million less than 2022, allowing us to help offset the negative impacts on earnings from rising financing and depreciation expenses.

調整後收益同比增長主要是由於資本投資帶來的更高的收入要求和AFUDC，包括我們的團隊在威斯康星州和愛荷華州的太陽能項目上取得的進展，以及由於我們的員工的工作而導致的IPL 和WPL 營運和維護費用的降低。注重成本控制。這些正面的推動因素被我們以客戶為中心的資本支出計劃相關的較高融資和折舊費用部分抵消。我們今天分享的 2023 年業績是我們持續努力管理和緩解持續通膨壓力的結果。我們感到非常自豪的是，我們 2023 年的營運和維護費用比 2022 年減少了約 3,000 萬美元，這使我們能夠幫助抵消融資和折舊費用上升對收益的負面影響。

Year-over-year sales changes in 2023 were largely impacted by temperature changes. Net temperature impacts decreased Alliant Energy's earnings by approximately $0.06 per share in 2023. In comparison, net temperatures increased Alliant Energy earnings in 2022 by $0.07 per share. Temperature normalized electric sales to our retail customers were relatively flat in 2023 when compared to 2022. We experienced growth in a number of residential customers as well as higher sales from plant expansions in Wisconsin. However, these positive drivers were offset by lower electric sales to industrial customers in Iowa due to plant closures and maintenance outages.

2023 年銷售額年增率大幅度受到氣溫變化的影響。淨溫度影響使 Alliant Energy 2023 年每股收益減少約 0.06 美元。相較之下，淨溫度影響使 Alliant Energy 2022 年每股收益增加 0.07 美元。與 2022 年相比，2023 年零售客戶的溫度正常化電力銷售相對持平。我們的住宅客戶數量有所增長，威斯康辛州工廠擴建帶來的銷售額也有所增加。然而，由於工廠關閉和維護中斷，愛荷華州工業客戶的電力銷售量下降，抵消了這些積極的推動因素。

Turning to cash flows. 2023 cash flows from operations increased by almost $400 million when compared to 2022. This substantial increase was primarily due to the timing of WPL's fuel-related cost recoveries and monetization of approximately $100 million of tax credits in December. This increase resulted in a material increase in our key cash flow metrics in 2023. I'm also pleased to report that our investing cash flows in 2023, aligned with our projected capital expenditures set at the beginning of the year, due to the successful execution of our key construction projects.

轉向現金流。與 2022 年相比，2023 年營運現金流量增加了近 4 億美元。這一大幅成長主要是由於 WPL 的燃料相關成本回收時間以及 12 月約 1 億美元稅收抵免的貨幣化。這一增長導致我們 2023 年的關鍵現金流指標大幅增加。我還很高興地報告，由於成功執行，我們 2023 年的投資現金流量與我們年初設定的預計資本支出保持一致。我們的重點建設項目。

Turning to 2024, we are positioned for another year of consistent 5% to 7% growth in adjusted earnings per share. We are affirming our 2024 earnings guidance range of $2.99 to $3.13 per share. Our efforts to support customer value by making smart investments in our future and controlling operating costs, while receiving constructive regulatory outcomes support our ability to consistently deliver solid financial results.

展望 2024 年，我們預期調整後每股盈餘將持續成長 5% 至 7%。我們確認 2024 年每股盈餘指引範圍為 2.99 美元至 3.13 美元。我們透過對未來進行明智的投資和控制營運成本來支持客戶價值，同時獲得建設性的監管成果，支持我們持續交付穩健財務表現的能力。

Our financing plans for 2024 include $1.7 billion of new debt, largely to finance our investments in renewable and battery projects and support refinancing $800 million in debt maturities this year. We also expect to raise approximately $25 million in new common equity under our DRIP plan and received approximately $120 million from the sales of partial interest in West Riverside. In addition, we expect to generate and transfer more than $200 million of renewable tax credits in 2024 to reduce financing needs.

我們 2024 年的融資計畫包括 17 億美元的新債務，主要用於為我們對再生能源和電池項目的投資提供資金，並支持為今年到期的 8 億美元債務進行再融資。我們還預計根據 DRIP 計劃籌集約 2500 萬美元的新普通股，並透過出售 West Riverside 部分權益獲得約 1.2 億美元。此外，我們預計到 2024 年將產生和轉移超過 2 億美元的可再生稅收抵免，以減少融資需求。

With the implementation of our new solar projects and the repowering of our older, vintage wind facilities, we anticipate the increased production tax credits and reduced fuel costs will help offset the impact of additional renewable rate base, rendering these new investments, cost-effective solutions for our customers. This will result in long-term benefits for our customers and long-term value for our shareowners.

隨著我們新的太陽能專案的實施以及對舊的老式風電設施的重新供電，我們預計增加的生產稅收抵免和降低的燃料成本將有助於抵消額外可再生能源費率基礎的影響，從而使這些新投資成為具有成本效益的解決方案為我們的客戶。這將為我們的客戶帶來長期利益，並為我們的股東帶來長期價值。

Our customers experience the benefits of a diverse generation portfolio in 2023 as the average retail electric rates declined for our Iowa customers due to lower fuel costs. And in Wisconsin, we ended the year in an over-collected position for fuel costs when compared to the 2023 monitoring level. As a result, we plan to refund $34 million back to our Wisconsin retail electric customers in the future.

到 2023 年，我們的客戶將體驗到多樣化發電組合的好處，因為由於燃料成本降低，愛荷華州客戶的平均零售電價有所下降。在威斯康辛州，與 2023 年的監測水準相比，我們年底的燃料成本收得過高。因此，我們計劃未來向威斯康辛州零售電力客戶退還 3,400 萬美元。

We are also continuing to be well positioned to capture additional benefits for our customers from the Inflation Reduction Act and other government programs. These additional benefits include applying for lower-cost federal funding and infrastructure grants, including a grant from the DOE for long-duration energy storage in Wisconsin. We are also maximizing tax benefits by meeting tax credit added requirements and continuing the monetization of tax credits, which materially improves our cash flow and credit metrics as well as reduces our future financing needs.

我們也將繼續做好準備，從《通貨膨脹削減法案》和其他政府計畫中為我們的客戶獲取更多利益。這些額外的好處包括申請低成本的聯邦資金和基礎設施撥款，包括美國能源部為威斯康辛州長期儲能提供的撥款。我們還透過滿足稅收抵免附加要求並繼續稅收抵免貨幣化來最大化稅收優惠，這大大改善了我們的現金流量和信貸指標，並減少了我們未來的融資需求。

Finally, I will highlight our regulatory initiatives in progress as well as those regulatory filings we plan to initiate in 2024. We filed rate reviews in both states in 2023 and received a written order in December for the Wisconsin rate review with new rates effective January 1 of this year. And in Iowa, our electric and gas rate review is proceeding as expected with the decision anticipated in the third quarter of this year. The IUB recently finalized the procedural schedule is included on Slide 11.

最後，我將重點介紹我們正在進行的監管舉措以及我們計劃在2024 年啟動的監管備案。我們於2023 年在這兩個州提交了費率審查，並於12 月收到了威斯康星州費率審查的書面命令，新費率於1 月1 日生效今年的。在愛荷華州，我們的電力和天然氣費率審查正在按預期進行，預計將在今年第三季做出決定。 IUB 最近最終確定的程式時間表包含在投影片 11 中。

We have two additional pending proceedings in Wisconsin. First, we requested authority to increase the efficiency, capacity and reliability of our Neenah and Sheboygan Falls gas generating units. And second, we filed a joint application to sell an additional 125 megawatts of the West Riverside facility to WEC Energy and Madison Gas and Electric. We are anticipating decisions from the PSCW on both of these applications by the end of the second quarter.

我們在威斯康辛州還有另外兩個未決訴訟。首先，我們請求授權提高 Neenah 和 Sheboygan Falls 天然氣發電機組的效率、容量和可靠性。其次，我們提交了一份聯合申請，向 WEC Energy 和 Madison Gas and Electric 出售額外 125 兆瓦的西河濱設施。我們預計 PSCW 將在第二季末對這兩項申請做出決定。

Turning to our planned regulatory filings in 2024. We expect to make regulatory filings in both Iowa and Wisconsin for additional renewables and dispatchable resources following our routine, continuous modeling updates of our Clean Energy Blueprint. We expect these projects will enhance reliability, further diversify our energy resources and meet customer energy needs. We very much appreciate the continued support of our company and look forward to meeting with many of you in the coming months.

談到我們計劃在2024 年提交的監管文件。在對清潔能源藍圖進行例行、持續的建模更新之後，我們預計將在愛荷華州和威斯康辛州提交監管文件，以獲取更多可再生能源和可調度資源。我們預計這些項目將提高可靠性，進一步豐富我們的能源資源並滿足客戶的能源需求。我們非常感謝我們公司的持續支持，並期待在未來幾個月與你們中的許多人見面。

At this time, I'll turn the call back over to the operator to facilitate the question-and-answer session.

此時，我會將電話轉回給接線生以方便問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question would be from Shahriar Pourreza at Guggenheim Partners.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題將來自 Guggenheim Partners 的 Shahriar Pourreza。

Now that we've got a schedule, obviously, it was in the prepared remarks, right, the schedule for Iowa. Can you just maybe speak to the prospects for a settlement, when would that window be for that to occur?

現在我們已經有了一個時間表，顯然，這是在準備好的發言中，對吧，愛荷華州的時間表。您能否談談達成和解的可能性，這個窗口何時會發生？

Sure. So I mean, we're feeling very good about where we are with respect to IPL. Everything is going as expected, the schedule on track. If you're looking at a settlement window, it's really any time after the intervenor testimony is submitted through that June 18 deadline.

當然。所以我的意思是，我們對 IPL 的進展感覺非常好。一切都在按計劃進行，一切都按計劃進行。如果您正在尋找和解窗口，實際上是在 6 月 18 日截止日期之前提交幹預者證詞之後的任何時間。

And Lisa, there was a report from the IUB to the legislator last December, kind of discussing ratemaking reforms, PBRs, multiyear plans and other sort of potential policy updates. Is that a process you're involved in sort of at this point? And could we see something come out of the session?

麗莎，去年 12 月 IUB 向立法者提交了一份報告，其中討論了利率制定改革、PBR、多年計劃和其他潛在的政策更新。您目前正在參與這個過程嗎？我們能看到這次會議有什麼成果嗎？

So those recommendations actually have been out for the legislature to consider. As we look at our legislative priorities this year, the mega site development to support economic development is top of mind for us, advancing the advanced ratemaking for alternative technologies. One of the elements that has been brought up in the legislature is asking for a contested IRP and that is something that we are not supportive of. We have been very transparent in our resource plans. We're pro planning, we're pro transparency. But in terms of a contested proceeding, that's just something that is not really consistent with the evolving generation landscape that we're finding ourselves in.

因此，這些建議實際上已經供立法機關考慮。當我們審視今年的立法重點時，支持經濟發展的大型場地開發是我們的首要考慮，推動替代技術的先進費率制定。立法機關提出的要素之一是要求有爭議的 IRP，這是我們不支持的。我們的資源計劃非常透明。我們支持計劃，我們支持透明度。但就有爭議的程序而言，這與我們所處的不斷變化的一代景觀並不真正相符。

Next question is from Nicholas Campanella at Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的尼古拉斯·坎帕內拉。

I guess just on -- you previewed some kind of tax credit monetization already. You have $200 million in the plan for '24. Just -- Is it still the case that you kind of expect $300 million a year plus in '25 and beyond? Or can you just help us kind of think about what the tax credit transferability benefit is in the out years?

我想您已經預覽了某種稅收抵免貨幣化。您 24 年的計劃中有 2 億美元。只是 - 您是否仍期望 25 年及以後每年獲得 3 億美元以上的收入？或者您能否幫助我們思考一下未來幾年的稅收抵免可轉移性好處是什麼？

Yes, sure, Nick. So we've been very successful at the execution of bilateral agreements with the first round of tax credits we sold here in 2023. As we think about the future and we think about all the different opportunities we have to sell renewable tax credits, we do think we'll get up above $300 million once we get out to that 2025 time frame. When you think about the volume of wind production that we have right now, combined with the 1,500 megawatts of solar that Lisa referenced, the 275 megawatts of battery projects that we've received approval from the PSCW to implement in Wisconsin and the fact that we're going to repower several of our older vintage wind projects, the volume of tax credits, like I said, we'll get above that $300 million level starting in 2025 and continue for several years into the future.

是的，當然，尼克。因此，我們在執行雙邊協議方面非常成功，我們在 2023 年在這裡出售了第一輪稅收抵免。當我們思考未來並考慮出售可再生稅收抵免的所有不同機會時，我們確實我認為一旦達到2025 年的時間框架，我們的收入將超過3 億美元。當你想到我們現在擁有的風能發電量，再加上麗莎提到的 1,500 兆瓦太陽能、我們已獲得 PSCW 批准在威斯康星州實施的 275 兆瓦電池項目以及我們的事實我們將重新啟動我們幾個較舊的老式風電項目，稅收抵免額，就像我說的，我們將從2025 年開始超過3 億美元的水平，並在未來幾年內持續下去。

And then just on your comments on Wisconsin filing cadence. I think you kind of mentioned that you have new renewables coming into the picture that you had to file for. But is that just like a follow-on limited reopener type filing from the prior rate case? Or this is not like a full rate case here to contemplate right now. Can you just kind of maybe update us on your overall strategy there?

然後談談您對威斯康辛州申請節奏的評論。我想你提到了你必須申請新的再生能源。但這是否就像先前費率案件中的後續有限重開類型申請一樣？或者說，這並不像現在需要考慮的全價案例。您能否向我們介紹一下您在那裡的整體策略？

I think what you're referring to are the updates on our Clean Energy Blueprint. That is something that we're doing in both Iowa and Wisconsin this year. The work that we're doing there will really identify the projects needed to meet our future resource needs and reflecting changes that are there from the MISO rule contracts. So any CapEx associated with that would be in the fall.

我想你指的是我們清潔能源藍圖的更新。這是我們今年在愛荷華州和威斯康辛州正在做的事情。我們在那裡所做的工作將真正確定滿足我們未來資源需求所需的項目，並反映 MISO 規則合約中的變化。因此，與此相關的任何資本支出都將在秋季進行。

Got it. Yes. That's -- and that CapEx is not in the plan now and is more of a fall update to your point. Okay.

知道了。是的。那是——資本支出現在不在計劃中，更多的是對你的觀點的秋季更新。好的。

Correct.

正確的。

Next question will be from Julien Dumoulin-Smith at Bank of America.

下一個問題將由美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith 提出。

And just with respect, maybe looking to pick it up where Nick left it off because I think that's a nice point on just talking through the updated Clean Energy Blueprint. Is this an appropriate route to talk about just the demand from customers and talk about what we've seen from some of your peers with respect to demand growth? I get that this is a little bit adjacent in terms of modeling and sort of, as you say, continuous routine modeling. But we've seen some of these out-of-cycle updates pop up in some of these more mundane integrated resource filings elsewhere. Just curious on how you would set up expectations here in both the jurisdictions.

出於尊重，也許希望從尼克留下的地方繼續，因為我認為這是討論更新的清潔能源藍圖的一個很好的觀點。這是僅討論客戶需求並討論我們從您的一些同行那裡看到的需求增長的合適途徑嗎？我知道這在建模方面有點相鄰，正如你所說，連續例行建模。但我們已經看到一些非週期更新出現在其他地方的一些更普通的綜合資源文件中。只是好奇您將如何在這兩個司法管轄區建立期望。

Yes, that's a great question, Julien. We are certainly focused on economic development. That's something we're doubling down on. In terms of putting that into our forecast and into our resource plans. We need to have a level of confidence that they'll be there. So just stay tuned with respect to that space. And as I mentioned earlier, later in '24, we will be updating our resource planning needs over the future, where we have factored in load growth and factored in the implications of the MISO rules that are constantly evolving.

是的，這是一個很好的問題，朱利安。我們當然專注於經濟發展。這是我們正在加倍努力的事情。將其納入我們的預測和資源計劃中。我們需要對他們會在那裡有一定程度的信心。因此，請繼續關注該空間。正如我之前提到的，24 年晚些時候，我們將更新未來的資源規劃需求，其中我們考慮了負載成長以及不斷發展的 MISO 規則的影響。

Actually, since you bring it up, let me jump to this question. I think MISO has an update on MTEP coming up ahead as well. I know they do this on the regular, but I think there's another more meaningful update on the come here. Would that conceivably align with the timeline that you're talking about?

事實上，既然你提出了這個問題，我就直接回答這個問題吧。我認為 MISO 也將在 MTEP 上更新。我知道他們定期這樣做，但我認為這裡還有另一個更有意義的更新。這可能與您所說的時間表一致嗎？

Well, we constantly watch MISO's work with respect to tranche 1 and tranche 2. Tranche 2 is expected later this year. It'll probably be about the same timeframe.

嗯，我們一直在關注 MISO 在第 1 階段和第 2 階段方面的工作。預計第 2 階段將在今年稍後推出。可能會在同一時間範圍內。

And maybe actually to put a finer point on that demand. I get that this is further but I mean, are you seeing -- I get that some of this load growth is sort of concentrated in specific corridors and specific interstates. But would you say that some of the dynamics that you're seeing elsewhere in the state could be mirrored in your geographies if you will? Are there any specific geography corridors that we should be watching here as we see, especially some of the more data centered load materializing here?

也許實際上是為了更好地闡述這一需求。我知道這更遠，但我的意思是，你看到了嗎——我知道負載成長的一部分集中在特定的走廊和特定的州際公路上。但你是否會說，如果你願意的話，你在州內其他地方看到的一些動態也可以反映在你所在的地區？正如我們所看到的，我們是否應該在這裡關注任何特定的地理走廊，特別是這裡出現的一些更以數據為中心的負載？

So we are actively and aggressively marketing our mega sites that are located in both Iowa and Wisconsin, and that would really be the locations to be looking at?

因此，我們正在積極主動地行銷位於愛荷華州和威斯康辛州的大型網站，這真的是值得關注的地點嗎？

The next question will be from Andrew Weisel at Scotiabank.

下一個問題將由豐業銀行的安德魯·韋塞爾提出。

Just wanted to clarify a little bit of -- I think, Robert, you talked about this in the prepared remarks, but I want to ask about O&M and the weather impact. The $0.06 of negative weather, that is not included in the adjusted earnings, I think. So first question is, is that a change? Have you historically done that?

只是想澄清一點——我想，羅伯特，你在準備好的發言中談到了這一點，但我想問一下運營和維護以及天氣影響。我認為 0.06 美元的負面天氣不包括在調整後的收益中。所以第一個問題是，這是改變嗎？歷史上你有這樣做過嗎？

No, Andrew. So we've consistently, probably for more than a decade now, removed the weather impacts from our adjusted earnings. Really, we think that's the appropriate way to manage the business. We've seen more efficiencies from an operational perspective to avoid ramping up and ramping down cost profiles of our operations group. And so that's something we've done, I think, for the entire 14 years that we've been able to achieve at least 5% growth.

不，安德魯。因此，可能十多年來，我們一直在調整收益中消除天氣影響。確實，我們認為這是管理業務的適當方式。從營運角度來看，我們看到了更高的效率，避免了營運團隊成本的上升和下降。我認為，這就是我們在過去 14 年裡所做的事情，我們能夠實現至少 5% 的成長。

Okay. I guess I don't mean to be critical, but you've got a great track record of meeting or exceeding the midpoint in, I think going back to 2015 or so. And obviously, this one was a little bit light. Anything to look into there? Obviously, it was a tough year with the interest rates and all that. But anything philosophically changing around either O&Ms or the midpoint as a target?

好的。我想我並不是有意批評，但我認為可以追溯到 2015 年左右，您在達到或超過中點方面擁有良好的記錄。顯然，這個有點輕。那裡有什麼好看的嗎？顯然，對於利率等問題來說，這是艱難的一年。但是圍繞著運維或中點作為目標有什麼哲學上的改變嗎？

No, Andrew, I think we're managing the business as we've always managed the business. I think what you're seeing is the first time in the last 6 years where we've actually seen the temperature impacts come in with lower earnings and the previous 5 years, we let that additional earnings flow through to the bottom line and didn't offset that with additional spending. So we feel like we're being very consistent with the way we're operating the business.

不，安德魯，我認為我們正在像以往一樣管理業務。我認為你所看到的是過去六年來我們第一次真正看到溫度影響帶來了收入下降，而在過去的五年裡，我們讓額外的收入流到了底線，但沒有”不用額外支出來抵消。因此，我們覺得我們的業務運作方式非常一致。

And then lastly, apologies if I missed it, but what's your outlook for O&Ms in 2024?

最後，如果我錯過了，我們深表歉意，但您對 2024 年的維運前景有何展望？

Yes. Right now, we think it will be relatively flat. We are obviously facing inflationary pressures. We also have some additional O&M that we're expecting from the large amount of new generation that we're putting into service with solar projects and battery projects, but we have a lot of confidence in the team to be able to offset those impacts with our continued cost control measures.

是的。目前，我們認為它將相對持平。我們顯然面臨通膨壓力。我們也期望從太陽能專案和電池專案中投入使用的大量新一代產品中獲得一些額外的營運和維護，但我們對團隊能夠透過以下方式抵消這些影響充滿信心：我們持續的成本控制措施。

Ms. Gille, at this time, there are no further questions.

吉爾女士，目前沒有其他問題了。

With no more questions, this concludes our call. A replay will be available on our investor website. Thank you for your continued support of Alliant Energy, and feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions.

沒有更多問題了，我們的通話到此結束。我們的投資者網站上將提供重播。感謝您對聯合能源的持續支持，如有任何後續問題，請隨時與我聯繫。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does indeed conclude your conference call for today. Once again, thank you for attending. At this time, we ask that you please disconnect your lines. Have a good weekend.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。再次感謝您的出席。此時，我們要求您斷開線路。有一個美好的周末。