New Jersey Resources Corp (NJR) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everybody, and welcome to today's New Jersey Resources Fiscal 2022 Third Quarter Conference Call. My name is Drew, and I'll be coordinating your call today. (Operator Instructions)

大家早上好，歡迎參加今天的新澤西資源 2022 財年第三季度電話會議。我的名字是德魯，今天我會協調你的電話。 （操作員說明）

I'm now going to hand over to Dennis Puma to begin. Please go ahead.

我現在要交給 Dennis Puma 開始。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to New Jersey Resources Third Quarter Fiscal '22 Conference Call and Webcast. I'm joined here today by Stephen Westhoven, our President and CEO; Roberto Bel, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; as well as other members of our senior management team. As you know, certain statements in today's call contain estimates and other forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws. We wish to caution listeners of this call that the current expectations, assumptions and beliefs forming the basis for our forward-looking statements include many factors that are beyond our ability to control or estimate precisely.

謝謝你，接線員。大家，早安。歡迎來到新澤西資源第三季度 '22 財年電話會議和網絡廣播。今天，我們的總裁兼首席執行官 Stephen Westhoven 加入了我的行列； Roberto Bel，我們的高級副總裁兼首席財務官；以及我們高級管理團隊的其他成員。如您所知，今天電話會議中的某些陳述包含證券法含義內的估計和其他前瞻性陳述。我們希望提醒聽眾，構成我們前瞻性陳述基礎的當前預期、假設和信念包括許多超出我們準確控製或估計能力的因素。

This could cause results to materially differ from our expectations as found on Slide 1. These items can also be found in the forward-looking statements section of today's earnings release, furnished on Form 8-K and in our most recent Forms 10-K and Q as filed the SEC. We do not, by including this statement, assume any obligation to review or revise any particular forward-looking statement referenced herein light of future events. We will also be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures such as net financial earnings, or NFE. We believe that NFE net financial loss utility gross margin and financial margin provide a more complete understanding of our financial performance. However, these non-GAAP measures are not intended to be a substitute for GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial measures are discussed more fully in Item 7 of our 10-K. Our agenda for today is found on Slide 2. Steve will begin with this quarter's highlights followed by Roberto, who will review our financial results. Then we'll open the call to your questions. The slides accompanying today's presentation are available on our website and were furnished on Form 8-K filed this morning.

這可能會導致結果與我們在幻燈片 1 中的預期存在重大差異。這些項目也可以在今天收益發布的前瞻性陳述部分中找到，表格 8-K 和我們最近的表格 10-K 和Q 提交給美國證券交易委員會。通過包含本聲明，我們不承擔根據未來事件審查或修改此處引用的任何特定前瞻性聲明的任何義務。我們還將提及某些非公認會計準則財務指標，例如淨財務收益或 NFE。我們認為，NFE 淨財務損失公用事業毛利率和財務利潤率可以更全面地了解我們的財務業績。但是，這些非 GAAP 措施並非旨在替代 GAAP。我們的非公認會計原則財務指標在我們的 10-K 的第 7 項中進行了更全面的討論。我們今天的議程見幻燈片 2。史蒂夫將從本季度的重點開始，然後是羅伯托，他將審查我們的財務業績。然後我們將打開您的問題的電話。今天演示文稿隨附的幻燈片可在我們的網站上找到，並在今天早上提交的 8-K 表格中提供。

We'll begin with an overview of the quarter on Slide 3. With that said, I'll turn the call over to our President and CEO, Steve Westhoven. Steve?

我們將從幻燈片 3 上的季度概述開始。話雖如此，我將把電話轉給我們的總裁兼首席執行官 Steve Westhoven。史蒂夫?

Thanks, Dennis, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. We're pleased to report that our complementary portfolio of business continues to perform ahead of expectations. As a result, we are increasing our previously announced guidance for fiscal 2022 by $0.10. This marks our second guidance increase for this year. To summarize a few highlights, New Jersey Natural Gas added nearly 1,700 new customers. In July, Clean Energy Ventures placed an 8-megawatt project into service. Energy Services reported significant improvement in NFE in the third quarter as a result of our asset management agreement. And finally, Adelphia is now servicing 75% of its contractual commitments, and we expect to reach 100% by the start of the heating season.

謝謝，丹尼斯，大家早上好。感謝您今天加入我們。我們很高興地報告，我們互補的業務組合繼續超出預期。因此，我們將先前宣布的 2022 財年指導提高了 0.10 美元。這標誌著我們今年的第二次指導增加。總結幾個亮點，新澤西天然氣增加了近 1,700 名新客戶。 7 月，Clean Energy Ventures 將一個 8 兆瓦的項目投入使用。由於我們的資產管理協議，能源服務公司在第三季度報告了 NFE 的顯著改善。最後，Adelphia 現在履行了 75% 的合同承諾，我們預計在供暖季節開始時將達到 100%。

Moving to Slide 4. We're increasing our fiscal 2022 NFEPS guidance to $2.40 to $2.50 a share compared to our previous range of $2.30 to $2.40 per share. This increase is due to a combination of factors, including strong performance at New Jersey Natural Gas, greater-than-anticipated financial margin from Energy Services long option strategy and increased electricity revenue adding Clean Energy Ventures. Our performance at Energy Services is worth noting. In line with our strategy to derisk that business, we executed an asset management agreement in December of 2020. This transaction provides Energy Services with fixed payments over the next 10 years, while still maintaining the ability to capture value and the volatility from the remaining portfolio of assets, which is what we're experiencing this summer. Moving to the next slide, I'll take a few moments to discuss the quarterly achievements at each of our business units, starting with New Jersey Natural Gas. On the left, you can see that New Jersey Natural Gas is in a solid position with strong capital deployment across a variety of programs. Year-to-date, we've invested $231 million with over 40% of that capital providing near real-time returns. We continue to make investments to support energy conservation, reduce emissions and enhance the safety and reliability of our distribution system for the benefit of our nearly 570,000 customers.

轉到幻燈片 4。我們將 2022 財年 NFEPS 指導提高至每股 2.40 美元至 2.50 美元，而之前的範圍為每股 2.30 美元至 2.40 美元。這一增長是由於多種因素的結合，包括新澤西天然氣公司的強勁表現、能源服務長期期權戰略的財務利潤率高於預期，以及增加了清潔能源風險投資公司的電力收入。我們在能源服務的表現值得注意。根據我們取消該業務風險的戰略，我們於 2020 年 12 月簽署了一項資產管理協議。該交易在未來 10 年為能源服務公司提供固定付款，同時仍保持從剩餘投資組合中獲取價值和波動性的能力資產，這就是我們今年夏天所經歷的。轉到下一張幻燈片，我將花點時間討論我們每個業務部門的季度成就，從新澤西天然氣開始。在左側，您可以看到新澤西天然氣公司處於穩固的地位，在各種項目中擁有強大的資本部署。年初至今，我們已投資 2.31 億美元，其中超過 40% 的資本提供近乎實時的回報。我們將繼續投資以支持節能、減少排放並提高配電系統的安全性和可靠性，以造福近 570,000 名客戶。

Thus far in 2022, we've added over 5,200 new customers through a combination of new construction and conversions. And finally, we remain on track to file our next rate case in the '23, '24 time frame. Moving to Clean Energy Ventures on Slide 6. We have a healthy pipeline of projects positioned to drive significant solar investment in the coming years. CEV has been able to develop a portfolio of over 380 megawatts of operational assets and we believe the long-term fundamentals of the renewable sector is sound. The efforts to streamline regulatory and interconnection processes in the energy markets around the country are resulting in delayed development cycles. Yet, we believe the outcome will be improved efficiency that will ultimately strengthen and provide greater predictability for investing in renewable projects. The team at CEV has exclusivity and contractual rights on 608 megawatts of capital deployment options through fiscal 2027. In addition to another 67 megawatts of projects currently under construction. This pipeline of regionally diverse projects would nearly triple the size CEV's clean energy portfolio.

到 2022 年為止，我們通過新建和改造相結合的方式增加了 5,200 多名新客戶。最後，我們仍有望在 '23,'24 時間範圍內提交我們的下一個費率案例。在幻燈片 6 上轉向清潔能源風險投資。我們擁有一系列健康的項目，旨在推動未來幾年的重大太陽能投資。 CEV 已經能夠開發超過 380 兆瓦的運營資產組合，我們相信可再生能源行業的長期基本面是穩健的。簡化全國能源市場監管和互連流程的努力導致開發週期延遲。然而，我們相信結果將是效率的提高，最終將加強並為投資可再生能源項目提供更大的可預測性。 CEV 的團隊在 2027 財年之前擁有 608 兆瓦的資本部署選項的排他性和合同權利。此外，還有另外 67 兆瓦的項目正在建設中。這條區域多元化項目的管道將使 CEV 的清潔能源組合規模幾乎增加三倍。

Moving to Slide 7. We recently placed energy service in 8-megawatt facility in Howell Township, New Jersey, which will be eligible for TRECs under the BPU's transition incentive program. This site was built on the location of a former paper mill and required environmental remediation prior to construction. This is an excellent example of how New Jersey could benefit from repurposing land that would otherwise be difficult to produce renewable energy. On Slide 8, I'll briefly discuss the latest developments for the Adelphia Gateway, which is part of our Storage & Transportation business. We're in the final stages of construction at Adelphia, a converted oil pipeline. We recently completed construction at Marcus Hook in Quakertown compressor stations, which keeps us on track to be fully operational by the end of the calendar year. At Leaf River Energy Center, we continue to benefit in a steady stream of contracted revenue with creditworthy counterparties. Our excellent track record along with the market conditions bode well for long-term value of the asset. I had a chance to visit our team at Mississippi recently and cannot say enough good things about the work that they're doing. With that, I'll turn the call over to Roberto for a review of the financial results.

轉到幻燈片 7。我們最近在新澤西州豪厄爾鎮的 8 兆瓦設施中提供了能源服務，根據 BPU 的過渡激勵計劃，該設施將有資格獲得 TREC。該場地建在前造紙廠的位置上，在施工前需要進行環境整治。這是新澤西州如何從重新利用原本難以生產可再生能源的土地中受益的一個很好的例子。在幻燈片 8 中，我將簡要討論 Adelphia Gateway 的最新發展，它是我們存儲和運輸業務的一部分。我們正處於改造後的輸油管道 Adelphia 的最後階段。我們最近在 Quakertown 壓縮機站的 Marcus Hook 完成了建設，這使我們能夠在日曆年年底前全面投入運營。在葉河能源中心，我們繼續受益於與信譽良好的交易對手簽訂的穩定合同收入。我們出色的業績記錄以及市場狀況預示著資產的長期價值。我最近有機會訪問了我們在密西西比州的團隊，並且對他們正在做的工作說不出足夠多的好話。有了這個，我將把電話轉給羅伯托，以審查財務結果。

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, everyone. As usual, I'll highlight a few operational and financial metrics for the third quarter. Slide 10 shows the main drivers of our net financial earnings or NFE. We reported a net financial loss of $3.6 million or $0.04 per share compared with a net financial loss of $14.1 million or $0.15 per share last year. NJNG saw an improvement of $1.1 million, primarily due to the impact of new base rates that went into effect on December 1. CEV remained mostly flat compared to the prior year period as higher electricity sales were offset by lower SREC revenues and higher depreciation expense. As a reminder, NJR has historically sold the majority of its SREC in the fourth quarter. Energy Services reported an improvement of $7.5 million, largely driven by the contributions of [DMA]. Storage & Transportation reported an improvement of $1.1 million during the quarter, driven by increased revenues at Adelphia Gateway and Leaf River. Finally, home services improved by $1 million, mostly driven by higher installation revenues. On Slide 11, we have highlighted the details of CEV's SREC hedging program.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，大家早上好。像往常一樣，我將重點介紹第三季度的一些運營和財務指標。幻燈片 10 顯示了我們的淨財務收益或 NFE 的主要驅動因素。我們報告的淨財務虧損為 360 萬美元或每股 0.04 美元，而去年的淨財務虧損為 1410 萬美元或每股 0.15 美元。 NJNG 增長了 110 萬美元，主要是由於 12 月 1 日生效的新基準費率的影響。與去年同期相比，CEV 基本持平，因為較高的電力銷售被較低的 SREC 收入和較高的折舊費用所抵消。提醒一下，NJR 歷來在第四季度出售了大部分 SREC。能源服務部門報告了 750 萬美元的改善，主要是由 [DMA] 的貢獻推動的。由於 Adelphia Gateway 和 Leaf River 的收入增加，Storage & Transportation 在本季度報告了 110 萬美元的增長。最後，家庭服務增加了 100 萬美元，主要是由於安裝收入增加。在幻燈片 11 中，我們重點介紹了 CEV 的 SREC 對沖計劃的細節。

The sale of SRECs remains a large portion of CEV's revenue, and we lock in these cash flows by hedging our expected production of SRECs. As you can see, our expected SREC generation is only hedged through an early year 2025 and 29% hedged for energy year 2026. I will now turn to our capital plan on Slide 12. For the current fiscal year, we expect capital spending at NJNG to following the rate communicated during our last quarter's call. Similarly, we expect CEV's CapEx for fiscal 2022 to remain unchanged from last quarter's communication. We'll continue to tighten our projection for fiscal 2023 as we see more progress around the New Jersey regulatory programs. And at Storage & Transportation, the construction of Adelphia Gateway is approaching completion and represents the largest capital expenditure for this segment. Turning to our projected cash flows on Slide 13. As we mentioned last quarter, we continued to assess the impact that elevated gas prices would have in our cash flow from operations is sustained through the end of fiscal 2024. Despite higher working capital needs at Energy Services and measures in natural gas, we remain in a strong position to execute on our growth objectives. With that, I'll turn the call to Steve.

SREC 的銷售仍然是 CEV 收入的很大一部分，我們通過對沖 SREC 的預期產量來鎖定這些現金流。如您所見，我們預期的 SREC 生成僅在 2025 年初進行對沖，29% 對 2026 能源年進行對沖。我現在將轉向幻燈片 12 上的資本計劃。對於當前財政年度，我們預計 NJNG 的資本支出遵循我們上一季度電話會議期間傳達的費率。同樣，我們預計 CEV 2022 財年的資本支出將與上一季度的溝通保持不變。隨著我們看到新澤西州監管計劃取得更多進展，我們將繼續收緊對 2023 財年的預測。在存儲和運輸方面，Adelphia Gateway 的建設即將完成，是該部門最大的資本支出。轉向我們在幻燈片 13 上的預計現金流量。正如我們上個季度提到的那樣，我們繼續評估天然氣價格上漲對我們運營現金流量的影響將持續到 2024 財年末。儘管能源公司的營運資金需求增加在天然氣方面的服務和措施，我們在執行我們的增長目標方面仍然處於有利地位。有了這個，我會把電話轉給史蒂夫。

Thanks, Roberto. We are pleased to report strong financial performance ahead of our financial targets and raised our guidance range for the second time this fiscal year. These results reflect the great work of our team and the combined strength of our businesses. We're working to grow our existing assets through organic growth initiatives, while positioning our portfolio of businesses to take advantage of the clean energy future. And as existing infrastructure becomes more valuable, our assets will continue to deliver earnings growth as well as help achieve our decarbonization goals. We see these as parallel paths and are not mutually exclusive. Stability at our regulated utility and the complementary investment opportunities provided by our other business segments provides a strong profile for growth and benefit to our shareholders. NJR currently offers investors an attractive 10% to 12% expected total return based on our dividend yield of about 3.2% and our long-term NFEPS expected growth rate of 7% to 9%. We appreciate that you took the time to join us today. And before I turn the call over to questions, I want to take a moment and highlight that after 38 years of service to our company, our Director of IR, Dennis Puma has decided to call it a career.

謝謝，羅伯托。我們很高興在我們的財務目標之前報告強勁的財務業績，並在本財年第二次提高了我們的指導範圍。這些結果反映了我們團隊的出色工作以及我們業務的綜合實力。我們正在努力通過有機增長計劃來增加我們現有的資產，同時定位我們的業務組合以利用清潔能源的未來。隨著現有基礎設施變得更有價值，我們的資產將繼續帶來收益增長，並幫助實現我們的脫碳目標。我們將這些視為平行路徑，並不相互排斥。我們受監管的公用事業的穩定性以及我們其他業務部門提供的互補投資機會為我們的股東的增長和利益提供了強大的前景。基於我們約 3.2% 的股息收益率和 7% 至 9% 的長期 NFEPS 預期增長率，新日本無線目前為投資者提供了 10% 至 12% 的有吸引力的預期總回報。我們感謝您今天抽出時間加入我們。在我將電話轉為提問之前，我想花點時間強調一下，在為我們公司服務了 38 年之後，我們的 IR 總監 Dennis Puma 決定將其稱為職業。

We recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of our New York Stock Exchange listing with a bell ringing at the exchange. And for much of that time, Dennis has led our IR efforts with exceptional professionalism in personal care. Dennis, I'd like to thank you, and I know I speak for everyone here and wishing you well. And with that, I'll open the call for questions.

我們最近慶祝了我們在紐約證券交易所上市 40 週年，交易所的鐘聲響起。在大部分時間裡，丹尼斯在個人護理方面以非凡的專業精神領導了我們的 IR 工作。丹尼斯，我要謝謝你，我知道我代表這裡的每個人，祝你一切順利。有了這個，我將打開問題的電話。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our next question comes from Richard Sunderland from JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Richard Sunderland。

Maybe starting with the inflation reduction acts and potential benefits there impacts your business. Could you speak to what you're seeing at this point, both in terms of impact to existing opportunities and if there are any expansion opportunities of some of the new tax credits considered in the legislation.

也許從降低通貨膨脹的行為開始，那裡的潛在利益會影響您的業務。您能否談談您目前看到的情況，包括對現有機會的影響以及立法中考慮的一些新稅收抵免是否有任何擴展機會。

Richard, it's Steve. So -- and the way that we're thinking about right now is to roughly to stay exactly what can come out of that legislation. But I'll speak to some soundbites that have been circulating around. Generally, we think it's very positive for our business. If you look at it and you talk about extending the ITC, the support for clean energy and solar battery storage support for hydrogen. So a number of those initiatives that they come through in the legislation would be supportive for us. So we're going to keep an eye on it, and we'll certainly update as information becomes available. But right now, it's just too early to say anything.

理查德，是史蒂夫。所以 - 我們現在正在考慮的方式是大致保留該立法可能產生的內容。但我會談談一些流傳的聲音。一般來說，我們認為這對我們的業務非常有利。如果你看它並談論擴展 ITC，對清潔能源的支持和對氫的太陽能電池存儲支持。因此，他們在立法中通過的一些舉措將對我們提供支持。所以我們會密切關注它，我們肯定會在信息可用時進行更新。但現在，說什麼還為時過早。

Got it. Understood. And then sticking with the renewable theme. Have there been any changes in terms of your timing expectations either on the PJM front or the BPU front? And how are you thinking about line of sight to 2023 capital, I guess, either over 4Q or into 2023?

知道了。明白了。然後堅持可再生主題。您在 PJM 方面或 BPU 方面的時間預期是否有任何變化？您如何看待 2023 年資本的視線，我猜是超過 4 季度還是到 2023 年？

We -- at the last earnings call, we changed the capital plan a little bit. And I think reflective of some of these challenges for PJM accelerating or going to redo their process in order to accelerate the review of interactions. And you know that the State of New Jersey is looking at putting in place whether third successor program and moving forward. So we believe all these be constructive, we adjusted our capital plan as we were going forward. And I'd say that the facts that I want to leave you with is that we've got a very large pipeline of projects going forward. So when this loan is finally release, we expect that we'll be able to develop. We feel very confident and appropriate. We need to feel confident in our business going forward, you can talk from our earnings today, that the complementary portfolio of businesses support our capital programs going forward.

我們 - 在上次財報電話會議上，我們稍微改變了資本計劃。我認為這反映了 PJM 加速或重做流程以加速交互審查的一些挑戰。您知道新澤西州正在考慮實施第三繼任計劃並繼續推進。所以我們相信所有這些都是建設性的，我們在前進的過程中調整了我們的資本計劃。我想說的是，我想告訴你的事實是，我們有大量的項目正在推進。因此，當這筆貸款最終釋放時，我們希望我們能夠發展。我們感到非常自信和恰當。我們需要對我們未來的業務充滿信心，您可以從我們今天的收益中看出，互補的業務組合支持我們未來的資本計劃。

Got it. Got it. That's helpful color. And then maybe one last one on my end. The cash flow revision, the impact from higher gas prices given that's brought down both 2022 and 2023, does that mean you expect some normalization or, I guess, even reversion in '24? Or could you just speak to the timing of both normalizing recovery and reverting some of the near-term impacts?

知道了。知道了。這是有用的顏色。然後也許是我的最後一個。現金流的修正，考慮到 2022 年和 2023 年的油價上漲帶來的影響，這是否意味著你預計會出現一些正常化，或者我猜，甚至會在 24 年回歸？或者你能談談恢復正常化和恢復一些近期影響的時間嗎？

Rich, this is Roberto. So now what the assumptions are and -- so we reduced our cash flows from operations for [$22] million and $40 million and $20 million for Q3. But this assuming that covering gas prices remain in place until the end of 2024. And so that's definitely in relating assumption. If that prices decreased significantly, you would have a positive reversal.

里奇，這是羅伯托。那麼現在假設是什麼，並且 - 所以我們在第三季度將運營現金流減少了 [22]00 萬美元和 4000 萬美元和 2000 萬美元。但這假設覆蓋天然氣價格一直到 2024 年底。所以這肯定是相關的假設。如果該價格顯著下降，您將獲得積極的逆轉。

Our next question comes from Gabe Moreen from Mizuho.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞穗的 Gabe Moreen。

Likewise, I [want] to congrats to Dennis. Maybe if I can start off with Energy Services. And just want to understand how much benefit there may be in 4Q. Clearly, there's been a lot of volatility I also want to confirm, is there any expectation that Energy Services earnings here being drawn a little bit full relative to, I'd say, the traditional Energy Services earning profile of earning in the winter time, given the volatility we're seeing now or you could still see the same upside in winter as usual?

同樣，我[想]祝賀丹尼斯。也許如果我可以從能源服務開始。只是想了解第四季度可能有多少好處。顯然，我還想確認，波動性很大，是否有任何預期，相對於傳統的能源服務收入在冬季的收入情況，這裡的能源服務收入會有點充分，鑑於我們現在看到的波動性，或者您仍然可以像往常一樣在冬季看到相同的上漲空間？

Gabe, the last part of that question, could you just ask that again, you were asking whether the Energy Services?

Gabe，那個問題的最後一部分，你能再問一遍嗎，你問的是能源服務嗎？

Yes. Yes, I know the word we're not necessarily earnings forward here, Steve, in terms of some of the volatility you're capturing now again versus kind of leaving yourself position for the winter as you usually do?

是的。是的，我知道我們在這裡不一定是盈利前瞻這個詞，史蒂夫，就你現在再次捕捉到的一些波動性而言，而不是像往常一樣讓自己在冬天保持位置？

No. I'd say just the opposite. I mean, it's really a short-term volatility it's influenced. And you can see the inflationary it's raising gas prices, electricity prices. There's been a natural hedge within our portfolio of businesses where we've been able to have some offsets to some of those inflationary pressures and invest some benefit to the company because of that you see that the energy prices to increase the volatility. And I think what you're seeing here is that the portfolio of assets outside of the AMA continue to perform and provide value for NJR. We're also seeing that over at CEV, we're increasing electric prices has benefited that group for the amount of electricity that we sell into the wholesale markets -- on a and monthly basis as well. So certainly, we don't like to see the inflation, but it is nice to see that the businesses that they came together are able to work in concert and create value.

不，我會說正好相反。我的意思是，這確實是一種短期波動，它受到了影響。你可以看到它正在提高天然氣價格和電價的通貨膨脹。在我們的業務組合中存在自然對沖，我們已經能夠對其中一些通脹壓力進行一些抵消，並為公司投資一些利益，因為你看到能源價格增加了波動性。而且我認為您在這裡看到的是 AMA 以外的資產組合繼續發揮作用並為 NJR 提供價值。我們還看到，在 CEV，我們正在提高電價，這使該群體受益於我們出售給批發市場的電量——也是每月和每月。所以當然，我們不希望看到通貨膨脹，但很高興看到他們走到一起的企業能夠協同工作並創造價值。

Great. And then maybe if I can ask kind of again on the CEV CapEx visibility. I'm just curious kind of what your, I guess, ordering strategy is around components that you'll need for your future projects. Maybe how that has changed and how that [pie] of CapEx range you have for '23, so whether you could point to the low end or the higher end at this point in time?

偉大的。然後也許我可以再次詢問 CEV CapEx 的可見性。我只是好奇你的訂購策略是圍繞你未來項目所需的組件。也許這已經發生了變化，以及你在 23 年的資本支出範圍 [pie] 是如何變化的，那麼你是否可以在這個時間點指向低端或高端？

It's too early to point to either end, but we say that the same thing that we said before that we have reserved and purchased a number of solar panels to add in our construction schedule. So we feeling we've got a pretty good hedge in place for a period not only for the remaining part of this fiscal year. But as these projects start to move into the next years construction as well. So feeling good about that, and it will be -- we think, as I said before, we were talking to Rich, some of these loans that are associated with the PJM process, state of New Jersey process, get clear, we're going to be able to develop. And we've got such a large pipeline of projects that are in our hands currently. It's just a matter of just working with the process to get into development of construction.

現在指出任何一端都為時過早，但我們說與我們之前所說的一樣，我們已經預訂併購買了一些太陽能電池板以添加到我們的施工計劃中。因此，我們覺得我們已經在一段時間內進行了很好的對沖，而不僅僅是在本財年的剩餘時間裡。但隨著這些項目也開始進入明年的建設階段。所以感覺很好，這將是 - 我們認為，正如我之前所說，我們正在與 Rich 交談，其中一些與 PJM 流程相關的貸款，新澤西州流程，請清楚，我們是將能夠發展。我們目前擁有如此龐大的項目管道。這只是一個進入建設發展過程的問題。

Got it. And Steve, you mentioned you took a visit to Leaf River. I'm wondering if you can give a little more color on contracting there, what the profile looks are what the uplift might be in contract terms or tenor relative to what you've been seeing before?

知道了。史蒂夫，你提到你參觀了葉河。我想知道您是否可以為那裡的合同提供更多色彩，概況看起來是相對於您之前看到的合同條款或期限的提升可能是什麼？

Yes. The current volatility is certainly extremely supportive, right? You look the aftermath of the storm Uri, which I know is in the rearview mirror now. But ultimately, it does impact you've got forward volatility that continues to storage and being able to balance that region as it becomes under more and more stress, is going to be extremely important. We have seen increase in contracting a lot of our contracts go out for multiyear churn. So we're confident in our revenue streams going forward. But as does come to roll over and renegotiate yes, we're expecting to get higher prices for that facility into the future. So very constructive. There's a [fourth] cabin there that's developed. So if the market does get up to the point that there's more capital that can be deployed, and we'll certainly look at that as well. So it's a good market to be in at this point.

是的。當前的波動肯定是非常支持的，對吧？你看看烏里風暴的後果，我知道現在在後視鏡裡。但最終，它確實會影響你的遠期波動性，這種波動性會繼續儲存，並且能夠在該區域承受越來越大的壓力時保持平衡，這將是極其重要的。我們已經看到合同的增加，我們的很多合同都用於多年流失。因此，我們對未來的收入來源充滿信心。但是，正如確實來翻身並重新談判，是的，我們預計該設施在未來會獲得更高的價格。所以很有建設性。那裡有一個[第四個]小屋已經開發出來。因此，如果市場確實達到了可以部署更多資本的程度，我們當然也會關注這一點。因此，在這一點上，這是一個很好的市場。

Our next question comes from Travis Miller from Morningstar.

我們的下一個問題來自晨星的 Travis Miller。

Again, congratulations to Dennis, it's always been a pleasure here over the years working with you. Appreciate all the help.

再次祝賀丹尼斯，多年來與您一起工作一直很愉快。感謝所有的幫助。

Thank you, Travis.

謝謝你，特拉維斯。

Yes, sure. In terms of customer bills, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about the trajectory you see going into the winter. Obviously, you had the gas prices peak here earlier this year and then going into the winter, maybe coming down, you have the kind of hedging program through New Jersey's system. What are customer bills looking like going into the winter months, do you think?

是的，當然。在客戶賬單方面，我想知道你是否可以談談你看到的進入冬季的軌跡。顯然，今年早些時候這裡的汽油價格達到頂峰，然後進入冬季，也許會下降，通過新澤西的系統，你有一種對沖計劃。您認為進入冬季的客戶賬單是什麼樣的？

I mean to speaking generally to Travis, yes, we've got a pretty robust hedging program that's been in place for a very long time and a majority of the gas supplies are purchased well ahead of the winter. So we've been able to largely insulate the customers as much as we had a customer bill increase that no one likes to see those increases take place. We had submitted to the EPU increased sales to like 13%, something.

我的意思是一般地對特拉維斯說，是的，我們有一個非常強大的對沖計劃，該計劃已經實施了很長時間，並且大部分天然氣供應都是在冬天之前購買的。因此，我們已經能夠在很大程度上隔離客戶，就像我們的客戶賬單增加一樣，沒有人願意看到這些增加發生。我們已經向 EPU 提交了將銷售額提高到 13% 左右的報告。

[16%]

[16%]

What was it, (inaudible). So ultimately, you don't like to see it, but you can temper that against as gas market, which is up almost 200% or 250%. It was relatively nominal. So inflation customers for that is good. And certainly, we'll see how the market plays out, hopefully normalizes and you get back down to a more normal gas price at least in recent history. But bottom line is customers will be largely insulated from the large increases in natural gas taking place.

那是什麼，（聽不清）。所以最終，你不喜歡看到它，但你可以將其作為天然氣市場來緩和，天然氣市場上漲了近 200% 或 250%。這是相對名義上的。因此，通貨膨脹客戶對此很好。當然，我們將看到市場如何發揮作用，希望能夠正常化，並且至少在最近的歷史中你會回到更正常的汽油價格。但最重要的是，客戶將在很大程度上不受天然氣大幅增加的影響。

Okay. Okay. So I figured. Okay. And then second, more high level, what do you see right now even in the market in general, not even necessarily for yourselves, but the constraints on green hydrogen, where in the system -- are you seeing those constraints on the production level, people just aren't producing enough green hydrogen? Is it midstream? Was it something technical within your system or even at the distribution level in general. Where is that constraint right now?

好的。好的。所以我想。好的。然後第二，更高的水平，即使在整個市場上，你現在看到了什麼，甚至不一定是你自己，而是對綠色氫的限制，在系統中的什麼地方 - 你是否看到了生產水平的限制，人們只是沒有生產足夠的綠色氫嗎？是中游嗎？它是您系統內的技術問題，還是一般的分發級別。現在那個約束在哪裡？

I think I would describe the hydrogen market, it's evolving, right? And it's certainly maturing. There's a lot of support for it. You got the hydrogen shot at the federal level in developing green hydrogen, driving down prices from their current levels, then with like [$1] kilogram, which is around $8 on an equivalent basis. And I think once those prices come down once proven development takes place then you're going to be able to bring that technology that fuel to scale and you'll see that used in a greater way. So I think it's a balancing act going forward. We've got a very high-quality pipeline system that NJR, we believe we can deliver to carbonized fuels in the future. It's just a matter of for these technologies to come to scale. And over time, like any of the grade and clean technologies as you come to scale, we'll start to implement that and drive our way towards a lower carbon impact in the future. So that's the way we're thinking about it. It's going to come over some time. But ultimately, it is moving forward, and there's a lot of, I'll say, third-party effort outside our company driving down these costs, and there's a lot of companies that are looking at it, which is going to be helpful for us and happening for the whole industry.

我想我會描述氫市場，它正在發展，對吧？而且它肯定正在成熟。有很多支持。你在聯邦一級開發綠色氫，將價格從目前的水平推低，然後是 [$1] 公斤，相當於大約 8 美元。而且我認為一旦這些價格下降，一旦經過驗證的開發發生，那麼你將能夠將推動規模化的技術帶到更大的範圍內。所以我認為這是一個平衡的行為。我們有一個非常高質量的管道系統，NJR，我們相信我們可以在未來提供碳化燃料。這些技術的規模化只是一個問題。隨著時間的推移，就像您規模化的任何等級和清潔技術一樣，我們將開始實施它，並在未來朝著降低碳影響的方向前進。這就是我們正在考慮的方式。它會過去一段時間。但最終，它正在向前發展，我會說，我們公司之外的很多第三方努力降低了這些成本，而且有很多公司正在研究它，這將有助於我們和發生在整個行業。

That does conclude today's Q&A session. I will now hand you back to Dennis Puma for closing remarks.

今天的問答環節到此結束。我現在將把你交還給 Dennis Puma 做閉幕詞。

Okay. Thank you, operator. I want to thank you for joining us today. As a reminder, a recording of this call is available on our website. As Steve said, I'll be retirement in September, so this will be my last call, and I wanted to take a few minutes to say a few words. To my friends and colleagues in the financial community, I want to thank you for the opportunity to work with you, learn from you and get to know you over the past years. It's been an amazing journey and (inaudible) and I, we've had a few laughs all the way. Also I wanted to thank our entire management team, one of the best in the industry for their support and always being available when I needed a question-and-answer or listening as we discuss the financial community perspective on our initiative. Finally, I want to thank my family for their unending support and patients over the years. Guys, I can assure you that the only thing I'll be doing for the November call is listening. As I transition into retirement, my wife and I'll be doing some traveling, perhaps back to some of those places where I've only seen conference rooms and airports. Yes, airports.

好的。謝謝你，接線員。我要感謝你今天加入我們。提醒一下，我們的網站上提供了這次通話的錄音。正如史蒂夫所說，我將在 9 月退休，所以這將是我最後一次打電話，我想花幾分鐘時間說幾句話。對於我在金融界的朋友和同事，我要感謝你們在過去的幾年裡有機會與你們一起工作、向你們學習和了解你們。這是一段了不起的旅程，（聽不清）和我，一路上我們都笑了幾聲。我還想感謝我們的整個管理團隊，他們是業內最優秀的團隊之一，他們的支持，當我需要問答或傾聽我們討論金融界對我們倡議的看法時，他們總是隨時待命。最後，我要感謝我的家人多年來對我的無休止的支持和患者。伙計們，我可以向你們保證，在 11 月的電話會議上，我唯一要做的就是傾聽。當我過渡到退休時，我和妻子會去旅行，也許會回到一些我只看過會議室和機場的地方。是的，機場。

Enjoying life with family and friends and this is new, I decided to finally forgive golf for being so intruding to me over the years and take another shot at it. Let me know how that goes. So thanks for the memories, everyone. I hope our paths will cross again in the future. But until then, and as always, I appreciate, we appreciate your interest in us in New Jersey Resources. Goodbye.

與家人和朋友一起享受生活，這是新的，我決定最終原諒高爾夫多年來對我的侵擾，並再次嘗試。讓我知道情況如何。所以謝謝大家的回憶。我希望我們的道路在未來會再次相交。但在那之前，我一如既往地感謝您對新澤西資源公司的興趣。再見。

That does conclude today's call. You may now disconnect your lines.

這確實結束了今天的電話會議。您現在可以斷開線路。