Alliant Energy Corp (LNT) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for holding, and welcome to Alliant Energy’s second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Today’s conference call is being recorded.

感謝您召開並歡迎參加 Alliant Energy 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）今天的電話會議正在錄音。

I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Susan Gille, Investor Relations Manager at Alliant Energy. Please go ahead.

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 the 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.

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（Lisa Barton），總裁兼執行長；羅伯特·杜里安（Robert Durian），執行副總裁兼財務長。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。

We issued a news release last night announcing Alliant Energy’s second quarter financial results. This release as well as the earnings presentation, which will be referenced during today’s call are available on the Investor page of our website at www.alliantenergy.com.

我們昨晚發布新聞稿，宣布 Alliant Energy 第二季財務表現。本新聞稿以及將在今天的電話會議中引用的收益報告可在我們網站 www.alliantenergy.com 的投資者頁面上取得。

Before we begin, I need to remind you 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. In addition, this presentation contains references to ongoing earnings per share, which is a non-GAAP financial measure.

在我們開始之前，我需要提醒您，我們在這次電話會議上發表的言論以及我們對您問題的回答包括前瞻性陳述。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。此外，本簡報還引用了持續每股收益，這是一項非公認會計準則財務指標。

The reconciliation between non-GAAP and GAAP measures is provided in the earnings release, which is available on our website. References to ongoing earnings exclude material charges or income that are not normally associated with ongoing operations.

非公認會計原則和公認會計原則措施之間的調節在我們網站上的收益報告中提供。所提及的持續收益不包括通常與持續營運無關的材料費用或收入。

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

此時，我會將電話轉給約翰。

Thank you, Sue. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. As we pass the midpoint of 2024, I’m pleased to report that we are on track to achieve our strategic objectives and maintain our long track record of solid operational and financial execution. We remain fully committed to our purpose, serving customers and building stronger communities.

謝謝你，蘇。大家早安，感謝您加入我們。2024 年已過中點，我很高興地向大家報告，我們正在實現我們的策略目標，並保持我們穩健的營運和財務執行的長期記錄。我們仍然完全致力於我們的宗旨，服務客戶並建立更強大的社區。

Before I highlight some of the recent achievements, I want to briefly address the recent announcement of my retirement plans. Over the past 36 years, I’ve witnessed significant changes within our industry, positive changes that have led to improved service quality for our customers, along with an incredible transformation of how we produce and deliver energy.

在強調最近取得的一些成就之前，我想先簡單介紹一下我最近宣布的退休計畫。在過去的 36 年裡，我目睹了我們行業內的重大變化，這些積極的變化提高了我們為客戶提供的服務質量，以及我們生產和提供能源的方式發生了令人難以置信的轉變。

One thing, however, that has not changed is the incredible talent and dedicated service from our employees. It has been an honor to be part of this company and to work alongside the Alliant Energy team. From my early days as an engineer in Iowa through the merger that created Alliant Energy more than 25 years ago and all the experiences in between, including our expansive and industry-leading investments for the benefit of our customers.

然而，有一件事沒有改變，那就是我們員工令人難以置信的才華和熱情的服務。我很榮幸能成為這家公司的一員並與 Alliant Energy 團隊一起工作。從我早年在愛荷華州擔任工程師到 25 多年前合併創建 Alliant Energy，以及其間的所有經驗，包括我們為客戶利益而進行的廣泛且行業領先的投資。

Serving customers across Iowa and Wisconsin and working alongside my colleagues has been a privilege. With that, I want to say thank you to everyone I’ve worked with during my tenure at Alliant Energy.

為愛荷華州和威斯康辛州的客戶提供服務並與我的同事一起工作是我的榮幸。在此，我想向在 Alliant Energy 任職期間與我共事的所有人表示感謝。

Additionally, I’d like to reiterate my previous comments about Lisa. She is an exceptional leader with a well-established track record of success. With her leadership and the talented team at Alliant Energy, we are well positioned to deliver long-term value to our customers, our communities and our shareowners. With customer value in mind, I’m pleased with our efforts in reaching partial settlement in our Iowa rate review in collaboration with several intervening groups, we remain focused on what’s best for our customers, shareowners and the communities we proudly serve providing stability and opportunities for continued economic development and growth.

此外，我想重申我之前對麗莎的評論。她是一位傑出的領導者，擁有良好的成功記錄。憑藉她的領導和 Alliant Energy 的才華橫溢的團隊，我們有能力為我們的客戶、社區和股東提供長期價值。考慮到客戶價值，我很高興與幾個幹預團體合作，在愛荷華州費率審查中達成部分和解，我們仍然專注於對我們的客戶、股東和我們自豪服務的社區最有利的事情為持續的經濟發展和成長提供穩定和機會。

I’ll now turn the call over to Lisa.

我現在將電話轉給麗莎。

Thank you, John. I’d like to take a moment to recognize John’s outstanding leadership. John’s vision, dedication and passion for our customers and the communities that we serve has laid a strong foundation for our continued success, a focus, which will continue to guide us into the future. John’s foresight and commitment to advancing clean energy solutions, coupled with an acute focus on our customers has left an indelible mark on our organization and communities. Congratulations, John, on your upcoming retirement. I look forward to working with you in your continued role as board share.

謝謝你，約翰。我想花一點時間來表彰約翰的傑出領導能力。約翰的願景、奉獻精神以及對客戶和我們服務的社區的熱情為我們的持續成功奠定了堅實的基礎，這一重點將繼續引導我們走向未來。約翰對推動清潔能源解決方案的遠見和承諾，加上對客戶的高度關注，為我們的組織和社區留下了不可磨滅的印記。約翰，恭喜你即將退休。我期待在繼續擔任董事會成員期間與您合作。

Building on John’s remarks and before we get into additional updates, we are committed to our long-term 5% to 7% earnings growth target and we are reaffirming our 2024 ongoing EPS guidance range of $2.99 to $3.13. Our confidence in reaffirming the range assumes the following normal weather for the remainder of the year, execution of cost controls and receipt to the timely order from the Iowa Utilities Commission with rates effective October 1.

基於約翰的言論，在我們進行更多更新之前，我們致力於實現 5% 至 7% 的長期盈利增長目標，並重申 2024 年持續每股收益指導範圍為 2.99 美元至 3.13 美元。我們有信心重申這一範圍，前提是今年剩餘時間天氣正常、執行成本控制並及時收到愛荷華州公用事業委員會的訂單，費率於 10 月 1 日生效。

I want to highlight the extraordinary focus the organization has on maintaining the financial discipline needed to deliver on investor and customer expectations. We continue to focus on making capital investments to serve the needs of our customers and communities while also focusing on operational excellence to drive efficiencies within the business.

我想強調的是，該組織非常重視維持滿足投資者和客戶期望所需的財務紀律。我們持續專注於資本投資，以滿足客戶和社區的需求，同時也注重卓越運營，以提高業務效率。

Our team is focused on prioritizing reliability, supporting economic growth in our communities and driving affordability, which gives me confidence in our ability to execute on our plan. Pivoting now to our strategic priorities of driving consistent growth and building stronger communities, our Iowa rate review settlement provides continued regulatory progress.

我們的團隊專注於優先考慮可靠性、支持社區的經濟成長和提高可負擔性，這讓我對我們執行計劃的能力充滿信心。現在，我們的策略重點是推動持續成長和建立更強大的社區，我們的愛荷華州利率審查和解協議提供了持續的監管進展。

It strikes the right balance between shareholders and customers and uniquely positions ITL to attract economic development growth to our service territory, benefiting customers, shareowners and the state of Iowa. Our settlement in Iowa is a testament to the benefits of parties rolling up their sleeves and coming together to engage in constructive settlement discussions and outcomes.

它在股東和客戶之間取得了適當的平衡，並使 ITL 處於獨特的地位，以吸引經濟發展成長到我們的服務領域，使客戶、股東和愛荷華州受益。我們在愛荷華州的和解證明了各方捲起袖子齊心協力參與建設性和解討論和成果的好處。

With this settlement, customers will see base rate stability through the end of the decade. Through the individual customer rate construct, ITL will have the ability to move quicker and more nimbly to attract new commercial and industrial customers to the region.

透過這項和解，客戶將在本世紀末看到基本費率的穩定性。透過個人客戶費率構建，ITL 將能夠更快、更靈活地吸引新的商業和工業客戶來到該地區。

Shareowners will retain tax and energy benefits from new generation with the ability to earn a consistent and fair return. Most importantly, Iowa will benefit from economic growth, rate stability and be recognized as the state that is open for business with utilities well positioned to support the evolving needs of its customers and communities.

股東將保留新一代的稅收和能源優惠，並有能力獲得一致和公平的回報。最重要的是，愛荷華州將受益於經濟成長和費率穩定，並被公認為開放商業的州，公用事業公司能夠很好地支持其客戶和社區不斷變化的需求。

As noted in our news release, the settlement also provides greater flexibility to attract economic development, which is expected to have a positive and meaningful impact on promoting load growth. We have been proactively working to attract new customers in both Iowa and Wisconsin, and we are pleased to announce that we have executed multiple agreements with data centers in both states. Approval by the IUC of the settlement, which includes the individual customer rate construct is necessary for these projects to move forward in Iowa.

正如我們在新聞稿中指出的，和解協議也為吸引經濟發展提供了更大的靈活性，預計將對促進負荷成長產生積極而有意義的影響。我們一直在積極努力吸引愛荷華州和威斯康辛州的新客戶，我們很高興地宣布，我們已與這兩個州的資料中心簽署了多項協議。IUC 批准和解協議（包括個人客戶費率建構）對於這些項目在愛荷華州的推進是必要的。

In our third quarter call, we’ll provide details on the expected customer load commitments and the timing of the energy demands associated with this growth. Locking in both is necessary to drive our resource and CapEx forecast. The interest we have seen is a testament to the value of our incentive rate design structures in Iowa and Wisconsin and the commitment and the hard work of our economic development teams. These rate design structures will fuel our ability to deliver on earnings growth and affordability.

在第三季的電話會議中，我們將提供有關預期客戶負載承諾以及與這種成長相關的能源需求時間的詳細資訊。鎖定兩者對於推動我們的資源和資本支出預測是必要的。我們所看到的興趣證明了我們在愛荷華州和威斯康辛州的激勵利率設計結構的價值以及我們經濟發展團隊的承諾和辛勤工作。這些利率設計結構將增強我們實現獲利成長和負擔能力的能力。

To support our economic development aspirations, we have built a strong partnership with both ATC and ITC Midwest to ensure timely interconnection of new loads in our service area.

為了支持我們的經濟發展願望，我們與 ATC 和 ITC Midwest 建立了牢固的合作夥伴關係，以確保我們服務區域的新負載及時互連。

We have prioritized economic development, and we’ll continue to focus on partnering with existing customers looking to grow and attracting new industries to our service territory. The recently passed megasite legislation in Iowa is already yielding interest from large businesses. As a reminder, the legislation is designed to attract projects that span at least 250 acres with investments of at least $1 billion in capital. The incentives are geared towards advanced manufacturing, biosciences and research-based companies locating at a certified site.

我們優先考慮經濟發展，並將繼續專注於與尋求發展的現有客戶合作，並吸引新產業進入我們的服務領域。愛荷華州最近通過的大型網站立法已經引起了大型企業的興趣。提醒一下，該立法旨在吸引佔地至少 250 英畝、投資至少 10 億美元的項目。這些激勵措施針對位於經過認證的工廠的先進製造、生物科學和研究型公司。

Moving on to our Clean Energy Blueprint, our resource planning process, we continuously plan ahead for new generation development, identifying sites and strategic transmission interconnections that enable us to be flexible as we respond to load growth and changes in MISO’s capacity accreditation. We understand the importance for our investors to have transparency in our future plans. As such, we will provide updated load forecast, resource needs and CapEx requirements in our third quarter capital expenditure update and in future regulatory filings.

延續我們的清潔能源藍圖，我們的資源規劃流程，我們不斷為新一代開發提前規劃，確定站點和戰略輸電互連，使我們能夠靈活地應對負載增長和 MISO 容量認證的變化。我們了解投資者在我們的未來計劃中保持透明度的重要性。因此，我們將在第三季資本支出更新和未來的監管文件中提供更新的負載預測、資源需求和資本支出要求。

Before I turn the call over to Robert, I would like to express my appreciation to our employees, especially our field and operation team members. Thank you for your tireless efforts to ensure our customers have the reliability they expect, a special note of appreciation for those who answered the call for mutual assistance and stepped up to aid our neighboring utilities. This program serves as the cornerstone of the industry, offering a unique framework for rapid coordinated support during emergencies, ensuring reliable service is restored as quickly and safely as possible.

在將電話轉給羅伯特之前，我想向我們的員工，特別是我們的現場和營運團隊成員表示感謝。感謝你們為確保我們的客戶獲得他們所期望的可靠性而做出的不懈努力，特別感謝那些響應互助號召並加緊援助我們鄰近公用事業的人們。該計劃是該行業的基石，為緊急情況下的快速協調支援提供獨特的框架，確保盡可能快速、安全地恢復可靠的服務。

I will now turn the call over to Robert.

我現在將把電話轉給羅伯特。

Thanks, Lisa. Good morning, everyone. Yesterday, we announced second quarter 2024 GAAP earnings of $0.34 per share and ongoing earnings of $0.57 per share. The difference between these two amounts relates to non-recurring charges from legacy assets that were recorded in the second quarter of 2024, which are excluded from our ongoing earnings.

謝謝，麗莎。大家早安。昨天，我們宣布 2024 年第二季 GAAP 每股收益為 0.34 美元，持續收益為每股 0.57 美元。這兩項金額之間的差異與 2024 年第二季記錄的遺留資產的非經常性費用有關，這些費用不包括在我們的持續收益中。

First, based on the terms of IPL’s rate review settlement agreement executed in the second quarter, we currently expect to recover return of the remaining net book value of the Lansing Generating Station, but not earn a return on that asset in the future. Because we no longer expect to receive a full return on the asset, we were required to write down the asset in the second quarter, resulting in an after-tax charge of $0.17 per share that we disclosed in an 8-K filed in June.

首先，根據第二季執行的IPL費率審查和解協議的條款，我們目前預計將收回蘭辛發電廠剩餘帳面淨值的回報，但未來不會獲得該資產的回報。由於我們不再期望獲得該資產的全額回報，因此我們被要求在第二季度減記該資產，導致每股稅後費用為0.17 美元，我們在6 月份提交的8-K 中披露了這一點。

Second, due to the EPA’s recent enactment of the revised coal combustion residual rule, we remeasured our asset retirement obligations related to ash ponds and landfills in the second quarter. A majority of the increase in asset retirement obligations was offset to regulatory assets and property in our balance sheet. The remaining amount related to a portion of two generating stations utilized to serve our steam customers resulted in an after-tax charge of $0.06 per share.

其次，由於美國環保署最近頒布了修訂後的燃煤剩餘規則，我們在第二季重新計量了與灰池和垃圾掩埋場相關的資產報廢義務。資產報廢義務的大部分增加被我們資產負債表中的監管資產和財產所抵銷。剩餘金額與用於為我們的蒸汽客戶提供服務的兩個發電站的一部分相關，導致每股稅後費用為 0.06 美元。

IPL has two high-pressure steam customers under contract through 2025, after which time IPL expects to end its steam operations. The coal combustion residual rule is expected to be challenged. We believe we are very well positioned for compliance, whether the rule withstands a challenge or not. The quarter-over-quarter variances in our ongoing earnings per share were mainly driven by the successful execution of WPL’s customer-focused capital investment program, which supported new electric and gas rates that took effect on January 1, and resulted in higher financing and depreciation expenses.

IPL 與兩家高壓蒸汽客戶簽訂的合約到 2025 年為止，屆時 IPL 預計將結束其蒸汽業務。煤炭燃燒殘留規則預計將受到挑戰。我們相信，無論該規則是否經受住挑戰，我們都處於合規的有利位置。我們持續每股收益的環比差異主要是由於 WPL 以客戶為中心的資本投資計劃的成功執行，該計劃支持了 1 月 1 日生效的新電力和天然氣費率，並導致更高的融資和折舊費用。

In addition, the second quarter 2024 results were impacted by the temporary effects of the timing of income tax expense. This issue in modeling our quarterly earnings this year, I wanted to provide some additional context to the timing of income tax expense. Income tax expenses recorded each quarter based on an estimated annual effective tax rate and the proportion of full year earnings generated each quarter.

此外，2024 年第二季的業績也受到所得稅費用時間安排的暫時影響。在對今年的季度收益進行建模時，我想為所得稅費用的時間表提供一些額外的背景資訊。根據估計的年度有效稅率和每季產生的全年收益的比例，每季記錄所得稅費用。

As shown and quantified on slide 7 of our supplemental slides, this causes fluctuations in the amount of tax expenses quarter-over-quarter, but it will not have an impact on our full year earnings. To reiterate, the level of our annual tax benefits expected to be generated in 2024 are in-line with our expectations. However, the percentage recognized each quarter is a function of the amount of earnings generated each quarter. Through the first half of this year, approximately 40% of our annual tax benefits have been accrued, setting us up for a larger benefit in the second half of the year, which drives the timing difference for the quarter.

正如我們補充投影片第 7 張投影片所示和量化的那樣，這會導致稅收費用金額逐季度波動，但不會對我們的全年收益產生影響。重申一下，我們預期 2024 年產生的年度稅收優惠水準符合我們的預期。然而，每季確認的百分比是每季產生的收益金額的函數。今年上半年，我們已經累積了大約 40% 的年度稅收優惠，為我們在下半年獲得更大的福利做好了準備，這推動了本季的時間差異。

Temperature normalized electric sales to residential customers were higher in the first half of 2024 when compared to last year as we continue to experience solid growth in the number of new residential customers in both states. However, these positive residential sales were offset by decreased electric sales in 2024 to a limited number of low-margin industrial customers with their own generation capabilities in Iowa. We continue to make progress with lowering operating expenses at our two utilities to achieve our financial objectives and support customer affordability.

與去年相比，2024 年上半年住宅客戶的溫度正常化電力銷售量更高，因為我們兩個州的新住宅客戶數量持續穩定成長。然而，這些積極的住宅銷售被 2024 年愛荷華州擁有自己發電能力的有限數量的低利潤工業客戶的電力銷售減少所抵消。我們繼續在降低兩家公用事業公司的營運費用方面取得進展，以實現我們的財務目標並支持客戶的負擔能力。

In fact, our adjusted operations and maintenance expenses for the first half of 2024 were approximately $20 million less than the first half of 2023. These positive results are due to the ongoing efforts by our employees to identify and execute initiatives that have resulted in meaningful reductions in operating expenses. For the full year, we are reaffirming our ongoing earnings guidance of $2.99 to $3.13 per share, which excludes the two non-recurring charges I discussed earlier. Details on our second quarter earnings drivers and 2024 full earnings guidance can be found on slides 5 and 6.

事實上，我們調整後的 2024 年上半年營運和維護費用比 2023 年上半年減少了約 2,000 萬美元。這些正面的成果歸功於我們的員工不斷努力確定和執行導致營運費用大幅減少的措施。對於全年，我們重申每股 2.99 美元至 3.13 美元的持續獲利指引，其中不包括我之前討論的兩項非經常性費用。有關我們第二季度盈利驅動因素和 2024 年完整盈利指引的詳細信息，請參閱幻燈片 5 和 6。

Turning to cash flows. During the first half of 2024, cash flows from operations increased by approximately $250 million when compared to last year. These strong cash flows demonstrate the strength of our ongoing business. The increased cash flows were primarily due to WPL’s electric gas rate increases, which were effective January 1 of this year, the successful execution of our tax credit monetization program and improvements in working capital.

轉向現金流。2024年上半年，營運現金流較去年增加約2.5億美元。這些強勁的現金流證明了我們持續業務的實力。現金流量的增加主要是由於 WPL 自今年 1 月 1 日起生效的電煤氣費率上調、我們的稅收抵免貨幣化計劃的成功執行以及營運資金的改善。

Looking forward, we expect continued improvements in our cash flow metrics as a result of the aforementioned drivers. Through the first 7 months of this year, we have monetized over $130 million in tax credits. The strength of our renewable fleet in both Iowa and Wisconsin positions us well for generating significant tax credits and ensuring our customers and investors realize the value of these investments.

展望未來，我們預期由於上述驅動因素，我們的現金流量指標將持續改善。今年前 7 個月，我們已將超過 1.3 億美元的稅收抵免貨幣化。我們在愛荷華州和威斯康辛州的可再生能源船隊的實力使我們能夠產生大量的稅收抵免，並確保我們的客戶和投資者實現這些投資的價值。

We have executed a substantial portion of our 2024 financing plan to fund our investments in renewable and battery projects and to support refinancing $800 million in debt maturities this year. In addition to successful debt issuances in the first quarter, we issued $375 million of long-term debt at Alliant Energy Finance in June. Our overall financing plan for 2024 remains unchanged, including 1 remaining plan financing for up to $700 million of long-term debt at IPL in part to refinance $500 million in debt that matures in December.

我們已經執行了 2024 年融資計畫的很大一部分，為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。除了第一季成功發行債券外，我們還在 6 月在 Alliant Energy Finance 發行了 3.75 億美元的長期債券。我們 2024 年的整體融資計畫保持不變，包括 1 項剩餘計畫融資，為 IPL 高達 7 億美元的長期債務提供融資，部分為 12 月到期的 5 億美元債務進行再融資。

In the second quarter of 2024, we also closed on the sales of 125 megawatts of our West Riverside natural gas facility, providing proceeds, which will help reduce our external financing requirements. The sales of these partial interest in West Riverside were anticipated in our plans and providing combined proceeds of $123 million.

2024 年第二季度，我們也完成了西河濱天然氣設施 125 兆瓦的銷售，提供了收益，這將有助於減少我們的外部融資需求。我們的計劃預計將出售 West Riverside 的部分權益，並提供 1.23 億美元的總收益。

Shifting to our regulatory initiatives. We continue to make good progress on our notable regulatory initiatives for 2024 shown on slide 8. Lisa provided the highlights of IPL’s rate review settlement agreement executed in the second quarter. The hearing for the rate review was completed in July, and the final order is currently expected from the Utilities Commission in August or September. We are also making progress with several key regulatory proceedings in Wisconsin.

轉向我們的監管舉措。我們繼續在投影片 8 所示的 2024 年顯著監管措施方面取得良好進展。Lisa 重點介紹了第二季度執行的 IPL 費率審查和解協議。費率審查聽證會已於 7 月完成，目前預計公用事業委員會將在 8 月或 9 月發出最終命令。我們在威斯康辛州的幾項關鍵監管程序方面也取得了進展。

Last month, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved a reconciliation of actual fuel costs to the authorized fuel recoveries in WPL’s 2023 fuel cost plan. For the order, WPL will refund $34 million to its Wisconsin electric customers in the fourth quarter of this year, helping lower customer bills. Continuing with our Wisconsin jurisdiction, we have two filings requesting authority for additional investments in existing generation stations that are pending decisions from the PSCW, enhancements to the Riverside generation station and the proposed repowering of the (technical difficulty) wind facility.

上個月，威斯康辛州公共服務委員會批准了 WPL 2023 年燃料成本計畫中實際燃料成本與授權燃料回收量的調節表。對於該訂單，WPL 將在今年第四季向威斯康辛州電力客戶退款 3,400 萬美元，以幫助降低客戶帳單。繼續我們的威斯康辛州司法管轄區，我們有兩份文件要求授權對現有發電站進行額外投資，這些發電站正在等待PSCW 的決定、河濱發電站的增強以及擬議的（技術困難）風力設施的重新供電。

We expect decisions from the PSCW on these two filings in 2025. We appreciate your continued support of our company and look forward to meeting with many of you in the coming months. As always, our Investor Relations materials are available on our website. At this time, I’ll turn the call back over to John for his closing remarks.

我們預計 PSCW 將於 2025 年對這兩份申請做出決定。我們感謝您對我們公司的持續支持，並期待在未來幾個月與您中的許多人見面。與往常一樣，我們的投資者關係資料可在我們的網站上找到。此時，我會將電話轉回約翰，讓他發表結束語。

Thank you, Robert. As you heard today, Alliant Energy is well positioned for the future. Before I turn the call back to the operator, let me take a minute and summarize the key takeaways. We are reaffirming our 2024 ongoing earnings guidance range. We’ve made great progress with the regulatory and economic development, positioning us for long-term growth and we are looking forward to sharing progress updates on our Clean Energy Blueprint and economic development efforts as we lead up to the fall EEI conference.

謝謝你，羅伯特。正如您今天所聽到的，Alliant Energy 已為未來做好了充分準備。在將電話轉回給接線員之前，讓我花一點時間總結關鍵要點。我們重申 2024 年持續獲利指引範圍。我們在監管和經濟發展方面取得了巨大進展，為我們的長期成長奠定了基礎，我們期待在秋季 EEI 會議之前分享我們的清潔能源藍圖和經濟發展工作的最新進展。

I want to thank my colleagues for their collaboration and customer focus, which have strengthened the communities we proudly serve. I also want to thank the investors and analysts for your support of Alliant Energy. I look forward to the next chapter and continuing to serve Alliant Energy in my role as Board Chairman.

我要感謝我的同事們的合作和對客戶的關注，這增強了我們自豪地服務的社區。我還要感謝投資人和分析師對聯合能源的支持。我期待著翻開新的篇章，並繼續以董事會主席的身份為 Alliant Energy 服務。

At this time, I will 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) Nicholas Campanella, Barclays.

（操作員說明）尼古拉斯·坎帕內拉（Nicholas Campanella），巴克萊銀行。

Hey, good morning. It’s actually Nathan Richardson on for Nick. I was just wondering -- sorry, I was wondering for slide 8, you say modest equity needs to maintain 40% to 45% paired equity structure. I was wondering if you could quantify that a little bit more and maybe some more color on how we can think about that?

嘿，早安。實際上是內森理查森（Nathan Richardson）代替尼克。我只是想知道 - 抱歉，我想知道第 8 張幻燈片，你說適度的股權需要維持 40% 到 45% 的配對股權結構。我想知道你是否可以進一步量化這一點，也許更多地說明我們如何思考這一點？

Yes, Nathan, this is Robert. Yes, I think of that as right now, we currently have a shareowner direct plan where we’re issuing approximately $25 million a year. And so we see that to extend into the foreseeable future. That’s really the only material equity needs that we have planned at this stage.

是的，內森，這是羅伯特。是的，我認為現在我們有一個股東直接計劃，每年發行約 2500 萬美元。因此，我們認為這種情況會延續到可預見的未來。這確實是我們現階段計劃的唯一物質公平需求。

I will say that we’re going to continue to monitor that and as we’ll talk maybe further here, we do expect to refresh our capital expenditure plans in November as part of the initial updates that we do on an annual basis. And as part of that process, we may revisit that. But largely based on kind of future capital needs.

我想說的是，我們將繼續監控這一情況，我們可能會在這裡進一步討論，我們確實希望在 11 月更新我們的資本支出計劃，作為我們每年進行的初步更新的一部分。作為該過程的一部分，我們可能會重新審視這一點。但很大程度是基於未來的資本需求。

Got it. That’s super helpful. Thank you. And then one more in terms of weather headwinds year-to-date, I was wondering where -- if you wouldn’t mind, where you’re tracking in the '24 range right now?

知道了。這非常有幫助。謝謝。然後，就今年迄今為止的天氣逆風而言，我想知道 - 如果您不介意的話，您現在在 24 小時範圍內追蹤到什麼位置？

Yes. So a great question. So as we think about 2024, there’s a lot of moving parts to the earnings this year. We talked a little bit about the non-recurring charges, which we consider related to legacy assets, not reflective of what we should expect in our ongoing earnings. So we excluded that. We also have a temporary issue as it relates to the income tax expense that we will see reverse here later this year.

是的。這是一個很好的問題。因此，當我們展望 2024 年時，今年的獲利會有很多變化。我們討論了一些非經常性費用，我們認為這些費用與遺留資產有關，並不反映我們對持續收益的預期。所以我們排除了這一點。我們還有一個臨時問題，因為它與所得稅費用有關，我們將在今年稍後看到這一問題的逆轉。

And then really after you get through those unusual items, you really focus on the key drivers for the earnings so far this year have been the temperatures to date. We’ve seen about a $0.10 reduction in earnings through the first half of the year, most of that was recorded in the first quarter, but some modest levels in the second quarter as well.

在你完成這些不尋常的項目之後，你真正關注的是今年迄今為止收益的關鍵驅動因素是迄今為止的氣溫。我們看到今年上半年的收入減少了約 0.10 美元，其中大部分是在第一季記錄的，但在第二季度也有一些適度的水平。

As we look at that, we are working and the team has been very successful in identifying opportunities to offset some of those costs to this date. We have line of sight to about half of the offsets there that we need to offset those temperature impacts and the team continues to work on that. So, that gives us the confidence to reaffirm the guidance of 2.99 to 3.13, and we will continue to work on that as we go through the rest of the year.

就我們而言，我們正在努力，團隊迄今為止非常成功地找到了抵消部分成本的機會。我們已經看到了大約一半的偏移量，我們需要抵消這些溫度影響，團隊將繼續致力於此。因此，這讓我們有信心重申 2.99 至 3.13 的指導方針，我們將在今年餘下的時間裡繼續努力實現這一目標。

Awesome. Thank you again everyone.

驚人的。再次感謝大家。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Andrew Weisel, Scotiabank

安德魯‧韋塞爾，豐業銀行

Hi, good morning and congratulations again to John.

你好，早安，再次祝賀約翰。

Thanks, Andrew.

謝謝，安德魯。

First question, Lisa, if you could clarify, I just want to make sure I think you said you will be in a position to announce some data center customers or contracts by the third quarter call, or maybe you could just elaborate or were you just talking about updated load forecast perhaps. What was it that you were foreshadowing?

第一個問題，麗莎，如果你能澄清一下，我只是想確保你說過你將能夠在第三季度電話會議之前宣布一些數據中心客戶或合同，或者也許你可以詳細說明，或者你只是也許談論更新的負載預測。你到底在預示什麼？

So it’s really all of the above. So in terms of how our process works, Andrew, we thoroughly vet all economic development inquiries that come. We have executed multiple agreements with data centers to-date. Obviously, these are all confidential. And once we feel that we have certainty with respect to the amount of the load and the timing of the load, we will announce those projects.

所以這實際上就是以上所有內容。因此，就我們的流程如何運作而言，安德魯，我們徹底審查了所有收到的經濟發展詢問。迄今為止，我們已與資料中心簽署了多項協議。顯然，這些都是機密。一旦我們認為我們對負載量和負載時間有了確定性，我們就會宣布這些項目。

What we will be doing as both I and Robert mentioned is, putting all of that together at our third quarter earnings call, really in prep for EEI. So, we will then be sharing what’s the load, what’s the timing, what are the resources needed to fill those obligations and the CapEx that supports all of that growth.

正如我和羅伯特所提到的，我們將要做的是將所有這些放在我們的第三季財報電話會議上，真正為 EEI 做準備。因此，我們將分享負載、時間、履行這些義務所需的資源以及支持所有成長的資本支出。

Okay. Great. So typical cadence of the updates, but we will have a bit more juice or color or detail in terms of some of these economic development updates. Is that kind of what you are saying?

好的。偉大的。這是典型的更新節奏，但我們將在其中一些經濟發展更新方面有更多的內容、色彩或細節。你是這麼說的嗎？

Exactly. And as a reminder, with our clean energy blueprint, we did something unique this year where in both Wisconsin and Iowa, we are looking at three different load levels, and low, medium and high. And why we are doing that is that allows us to identify the resource needs once we have settled in on the load and the timing. So, we are very well positioned for us to be communicating our plans at EEI.

確切地。提醒一下，根據我們的清潔能源藍圖，我們今年做了一些獨特的事情，在威斯康辛州和愛荷華州，我們正在研究三種不同的負荷水平，即低、中和高。我們這樣做的原因是，一旦我們確定了負載和時間安排，我們就可以確定資源需求。因此，我們處於非常有利的位置，可以在 EEI 上傳達我們的計劃。

Sounds great, definitely looking forward to that. Then a couple of questions on the Iowa settlement if I may. First, when you think the years three to five -- five years certainly a long stay out. What are the upside and downside risks to the earned ROE relative to be allowed?

聽起來很棒，絕對期待。如果可以的話，我想問幾個關於愛荷華州和解協議的問題。首先，當你認為三到五年——五年肯定是一個漫長的停留期。相對於允許的賺取的股本回報率的上行和下行風險是什麼？

In other words, you have this earnings sharing mechanisms, under what scenario might you see the earned ROE exceed be allowed, or what might you -- under what scenario might you under-earn, and are there any off-prem, so to speak, where you might need some relief, for example, if we went into a hypothetical deep recession in two years?

換句話說，你有這種收益分享機制，在什麼情況下你可能會看到所賺取的ROE 超過允許的範圍，或者你可能會在什麼情況下- 在什麼情況下你可能會低於收入，以及是否有任何場外的情況，可以這麼說，例如，如果我們在兩年內陷入假設的深度衰退，您可能需要一些緩解？

Great question. So, I will start off with answering that, and then I will turn it over to Robert for filling in on some of the details. The way that I really see that Iowa rate review settlement, it’s a flywheel effect, and it’s fueled very much by economic development. Therefore, successful in capturing economic development activities, then that’s going to continue to fuel affordability and our ability to work within the provisions of the stay out.

很好的問題。因此，我將首先回答這個問題，然後將其交給羅伯特填寫一些細節。我真正看到的是愛荷華州利率審查解決方案，這是一種飛輪效應，而且它在很大程度上是由經濟發展所推動的。因此，成功地抓住經濟發展活動，那麼這將繼續提高我們的負擔能力和在隔離規定範圍內工作的能力。

Our share owners are going to benefit from the tax benefits and energy benefits during that period. And I will note this, it is a very similar model that MidAm has been operating with very successfully over the past 10 years. So, it’s not new to the state, it’s something that is familiar to the commission, which is why we are very bullish on it.

在此期間，我們的股東將受益於稅收優惠和能源優惠。我要指出的是，這與 MidAm 在過去 10 年中一直非常成功地運作的模式非常相似。因此，這對國家來說並不新鮮，委員會對此很熟悉，這就是我們非常看好它的原因。

Robert, why don’t you talk a little bit of some of the off ramps that we have.

羅伯特，為什麼不談談我們擁有的一些出口匝道呢？

Yes. So, when we structured the agreements with the intervening parties as part of the settlement agreements, we did take into consideration that situation that you described, Andrew, and there is a provision within the agreement, if you read into the details of it that allow us to come back in for a rate case if our ROEs fall below a certain level, either on an annual basis or over a two-year period.

是的。因此，當我們與乾預方簽訂協議作為和解協議的一部分時，我們確實考慮到了你所描述的情況，安德魯，並且協議中有一項條款，如果你仔細閱讀其中的細節，允許如果我們的股本回報率每年或兩年內低於一定水平，我們將重新進行利率調查。

And so we feel like that will protect us well in case of any significant decrease, but we remain pretty optimistic about the upside opportunities as Lisa described, with the ability to capture some of this new data center load growth and benefit from that as well as what I would say is more of an innovative model that allows us to keep the tax benefits and the energy margins and the capacity revenues related to new generation as well as the tax benefits from any repowering opportunities that we may have over that opportunity. So that gives us some level of optimism for that period.

因此，我們認為，在出現任何顯著下降的情況下，這將很好地保護我們，但我們對Lisa 所描述的上行機會仍然非常樂觀，因為我們有能力抓住一些新的數據中心負載增長並從中受益我想說的是，更多的是一種創新模式，使我們能夠保留與新一代發電相關的稅收優惠、能源利潤率和容量收入，以及我們可能擁有的任何重新供電機會的稅收優惠。因此，這讓我們對該時期感到某種程度的樂觀。

Very innovative and very reassuring. Thank you. One last one, if I may. On advanced ratemaking, I know there was some confusion or noise, and I am using those terms generously in the past about how that was applied to certain projects. Can you talk about how advanced ratemaking was discussed in the settlement and how you expect it to be applied going forward?

非常有創意，也非常讓人放心。謝謝。如果可以的話，最後一張。在高級費率制定方面，我知道存在一些混亂或噪音，我過去慷慨地使用這些術語來說明如何將其應用於某些項目。您能否談談和解協議中如何討論高級利率制定以及您預計未來將如何應用它？

Yes. Andrew, we didn’t get into a lot of details on the events. We are making principles in the settlement. As you may recall, there is legislation that’s been recently passed in Iowa that expands the eligibility of ratemaking principles to include not only renewables, but now also energy storage facilities as well as nuclear. So, I would say it opens us up for some additional opportunities over the next few years, mainly related to what I would say, larger gas projects, renewable projects as well as now battery projects.

是的。安德魯，我們沒有透露有關該事件的許多細節。我們正在製定解決方案的原則。您可能還記得，愛荷華州最近通過了一項立法，擴大了費率制定原則的適用範圍，不僅包括再生能源，現在還包括能源儲存設施和核能。因此，我想說，這為我們在未來幾年提供了一些額外的機會，主要與我所說的大型天然氣項目、再生能源項目以及現在的電池項目有關。

And the one thing, Andrew, that I would add is that my big takeaway with Iowa is, Iowa is open for business. When you look at the combination of the mega site legislation, you look at the changes to the advanced rate making, it really expands it to more resources as well as the movement that the state has made with respect to taxes that are paid by customers, it’s really a state that is dedicated to economic development, which we see as very good for us and that we are well positioned to support that growth.

安德魯，我要補充的一件事是，我對愛荷華州的最大收穫是，愛荷華州對商業開放。當您查看大型站點立法的組合時，您會看到高級費率制定的變化，它確實將其擴展到更多資源以及國家針對客戶支付的稅款所做的運動，它確實是一個致力於經濟發展的國家，我們認為這對我們非常有利，並且我們有能力支持這種增長。

Good stuff. Thank you very much.

好東西。非常感謝。

(Operator Instructions) Paul Zimbardo. Jefferies

（操作員說明）Paul Zimbardo。傑弗里斯

Hi, good morning, team.

嗨，早上好，團隊。

Good morning.

早安.

The first that was hopefully a small clarification, with respect to the two steam customer contracts you talked about through 2025 that are ending, is there any ongoing earnings impact to think about from those?

第一個希望是一個小小的澄清，關於您談到的到 2025 年即將結束的兩份 Steam 客戶合同，這些合同是否會對盈利產生任何持續影響？

Yes. Paul, think of that as a fairly modest portion of the earnings profile of IPL historically. And so I do not think of that as a significant impact. We actually structured the agreements to end in 2025, and we get the depreciation expense to end as well because will be fully depreciated the steam assets. So, the ongoing impact should not be material.

是的。Paul，認為這在 IPL 歷史上的盈利狀況中只佔相當小的一部分。因此，我認為這不會產生重大影響。我們實際上將協議安排為在 2025 年結束，我們也結束了折舊費用，因為蒸汽資產將完全折舊。因此，持續的影響應該不會很大。

Okay. Great. And then not to fall on the bigger EEI update coming. But is there any way to kind of frame the scope of the capital needs, maybe like how much generation length you have under the current plan, before factoring in the data centers? Any kind of flavor of like what kind of the system needs could be on the generation side would be helpful.

好的。偉大的。然後不要擔心即將到來的更大的 EEI 更新。但是，在考慮資料中心之前，有沒有什麼方法可以確定資本需求的範圍，例如在當前計劃下有多少代長度？任何類型的風格（例如係統需要什麼樣的系統）在生成方面都會有所幫助。

We don’t have specifics on that. What we can say, Paul, is that we are feeling very well positioned for that. If you think about a premium utility, looking kind of out into the future, that is really a utility that has significant load growth to drive affordability, that ability to capture economic development, whether it would be data centers, onshoring and so forth and we feel very well positioned in that space. We have got land. We have got transmission access.

我們沒有這方面的具體資訊。保羅，我們可以說的是，我們感覺自己處於非常有利的位置。如果你考慮一家優質公用事業公司，展望未來，那確實是一家具有顯著負荷增長以推動可負擔性、捕捉經濟發展的能力的公用事業公司，無論是數據中心、在岸外包等，我們感覺自己在那個空間中處於非常有利的位置。我們有土地。我們已經獲得了傳輸權限。

We have got flexible rate mechanisms in states that are supportive of economic development. And so as we look at that more broadly, to unlock that potential for shareholders who really need that utility that’s focused on customers and communities, which we are, those mechanisms and constructive regulatory jurisdictions.

我們在支持經濟發展的州擁有靈活的利率機制。因此，當我們更廣泛地看待這個問題時，為真正需要專注於客戶和社區（我們就是這些機制和建設性監管管轄區）的效用的股東釋放潛力。

We know that for you all to have this information in the model, you need as much transparency as possible, but we really want to make sure that you have got the right information for that, and that is best served by us, first having the details of the load, the timing of the load and then the resources that we need. I will say this about both Iowa and Wisconsin.

我們知道，為了讓大家在模型中獲得這些信息，您需要盡可能多的透明度，但我們確實希望確保您獲得了正確的信息，而我們最好的服務是，首先擁有加載的詳細信息、加載的時間以及我們需要的資源。我會談到愛荷華州和威斯康辛州。

The clean energy blueprint, that resource planning mechanism that we have is very flexible and it offers more flexibility than I think is there with a lot of peers in the industry. And so it puts us in a very good position to be able to grow in scale completely in line with the needs of our customers and communities.

清潔能源藍圖，我們擁有的資源規劃機制非常靈活，它比我認為的業內許多同行提供的靈活性更大。因此，這使我們處於非常有利的位置，能夠完全根據客戶和社區的需求擴大規模。

Okay. Great. Thank you. We at least had to try. Thanks.

好的。偉大的。謝謝。我們至少必須嘗試一下。謝謝。

I know you do.

我知道你會的。

Alex Mortimer, Mizuho Securities

亞歷克斯‧莫蒂默，瑞穗證券

Hi, good morning, team.

嗨，早上好，團隊。

Good morning, Alex.

早安，亞歷克斯。

So I know you say you will get a more holistic update in the fall. But maybe just directionally, how should we think about the update to your load growth forecast? You have a regional peer highlighting somewhere in the 4.5% to 5% range potentially. Does that seem reasonable to you, or are there puts and takes that may have you above or below those levels, especially as you highlight some of the updates in Iowa that do seem very bullish for your loan growth prospects?

所以我知道你說你會在秋天獲得更全面的更新。但也許只是方向性的，我們該如何考慮負載成長預測的更新？您有一個區域同行強調可能在 4.5% 到 5% 的範圍內。這對您來說是否合理，或者是否存在可能使您高於或低於這些水平的看跌期權和看跌期權，特別是當您強調愛荷華州的一些更新似乎確實對您的貸款增長前景非常樂觀時？

Really, all is a matter of timing. And so yes, again, as soon as we have that information, we will be putting it out.

確實，一切都只是時間問題。所以，是的，一旦我們掌握了這些信息，我們就會將其發布。

Okay. Thank you so much. That’s all I had.

好的。太感謝了。這就是我所擁有的一切。

And we show no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back to management for closing remarks.

目前我們沒有提出任何進一步的問題。我會將電話轉回管理層以供結束語。

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

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。我們感謝您對 Alliant Energy 的持續支持，如有任何後續問題，請隨時與我聯繫。

This does conclude today’s program. Thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at any time.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以隨時斷開連線。