New Jersey Resources Corp (NJR) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the New Jersey Resources Fiscal 2023 First Quarter Conference Call and Webcast. My name is Bruno, and I will be operating your call today. (Operator Instructions).

大家好，歡迎收看新澤西資源公司 2023 財年第一季度電話會議和網絡廣播。我叫布魯諾，今天我將接聽您的電話。 （操作員說明）。

I will now hand over to the management team.

我現在將移交給管理團隊。

Thank you. Welcome to New Jersey Resources Fiscal 2023 First Quarter Conference Call and Webcast. I'm joined here today by Steve 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.

謝謝。歡迎來到 New Jersey Resources 2023 財年第一季度電話會議和網絡廣播。今天，我們的總裁兼首席執行官 Steve Westhoven 和我一起來到這裡；我們的高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Roberto Bel；以及我們高級管理團隊的其他成員。

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 of our forward-looking statements include many factors that are beyond our ability to control or estimate precisely. This could cause results to materially differ from our expectations as found on Slide 1.

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。我們希望提醒本次電話會議的聽眾，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我們無法控製或準確估計的因素。這可能導致結果與我們在幻燈片 1 中的預期存在重大差異。

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 10-Q as filed with the SEC. We do not, by including this statement, assume any obligation to review or revise any forward-looking statements referenced herein in light of future events.

這些項目也可以在 8-K 表格以及我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 和 10-Q 表格中提供的今天收益發布的前瞻性陳述部分找到。通過包含此聲明，我們不承擔任何義務根據未來事件審查或修改此處引用的任何前瞻性聲明。

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.

我們還將參考某些非 GAAP 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 措施無意替代 GAAP。我們的 10-K 項目 7 中更全面地討論了我們的非 GAAP 財務措施。

Our agenda for today is on Slide 2. Steve will begin with this quarter's highlights, followed by Roberto, who will review our financial results. Then we will open the call for your questions. The slides accompanying today's presentation are available on our website and were furnished on our Form 8-K filed this morning.

我們今天的議程在幻燈片 2 上。史蒂夫將從本季度的亮點開始，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。今天演示文稿的幻燈片可在我們的網站上找到，並在我們今天早上提交的 8-K 表格中提供。

With that said, I will turn the call over to our President and CEO, Steve Westhoven. Please go ahead, Steve.

話雖如此，我將把電話轉給我們的總裁兼首席執行官史蒂夫韋斯特霍文。請繼續，史蒂夫。

Thanks, Adam, and good morning, everyone. We delivered strong results in the first quarter. This included exceptional performance during the unique weather event over the Christmas weekend. This speaks to the resiliency of our physical infrastructure and also to the talent and determination of our people. As a result of NJR's successful operation during this event, we are raising our fiscal 2023 guidance by $0.20 to $2.62 to $2.72 per share.

謝謝，亞當，大家早上好。我們在第一季度取得了強勁的業績。這包括在聖誕節週末的獨特天氣事件中的出色表現。這說明了我們有形基礎設施的彈性，也說明了我們人民的才能和決心。由於 NJR 在這次活動中的成功運作，我們將 2023 財年的指導價上調了 0.20 美元至每股 2.62 美元至 2.72 美元。

Before we move to the quarterly results and our forecast for the year, I'd like to begin with an update on our sustainability and decarbonization efforts on Slide 3. Last week, we issued NJR's fiscal 2022 Corporate Sustainability Report, our 14th consecutive annual report dating back to 2008. The report details our goals and accomplishments in sustainability and other ESG-related areas as well as our approach to innovation, low-carbon fuels, energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. I'd like to cover just a few of the report's highlights with you.

在我們進入季度業績和今年的預測之前，我想首先在幻燈片 3 上更新我們的可持續發展和脫碳工作。上週，我們發布了 NJR 的 2022 財年企業可持續發展報告，這是我們連續第 14 次發布年度報告追溯到 2008 年。該報告詳細介紹了我們在可持續發展和其他 ESG 相關領域的目標和成就，以及我們在創新、低碳燃料、能源效率和環境管理方面的方法。我想和您談談報告的幾個要點。

We believe the fastest and most cost-effective tool to reduce emissions is through energy efficiency initiatives. Last year, we invested more than $53 million in New Jersey Natural Gas' energy-efficiency programs, the highest-single year investment of this type in our company's history. Running these programs is a central element to our decarbonization strategy, and New Jersey Natural Gas has long been a leader in this area.

我們認為，減少排放的最快和最具成本效益的工具是通過能源效率計劃。去年，我們在 New Jersey Natural Gas 的能源效率項目上投資了超過 5300 萬美元，這是我們公司歷史上同類投資中最高的一年。運行這些計劃是我們脫碳戰略的核心要素，而新澤西天然氣公司長期以來一直是該領域的領導者。

On solar, we continue to advance our leadership in Clean Energy Ventures by placing into service 2 milestone projects of national significance, including one of the largest capped landfilled solar arrays and the largest floating solar installation in the United States.

在太陽能方面，我們通過投入使用 2 個具有國家意義的里程碑項目，包括美國最大的封蓋垃圾填埋太陽能電池陣列之一和美國最大的漂浮太陽能裝置，繼續提升我們在清潔能源風險投資方面的領導地位。

And finally, our $20 million endowment supports our charitable foundation work. These resources enable our foundation to focus on medium- and long-term partnerships that drive outcomes that make a difference for local communities and the environment. We hope that all of you have an opportunity to review the report.

最後，我們的 2000 萬美元捐贈基金支持我們的慈善基金會工作。這些資源使我們的基金會能夠專注於中長期合作夥伴關係，以推動對當地社區和環境產生影響的成果。我們希望大家有機會審閱該報告。

Turning to Slide 4. We reported net financial earnings of $1.14 per share in the first quarter, a 65% increase from the same period a year ago. As I noted earlier, we are especially proud of our company's performance during Winter Storm Elliott, which was a historic event that impacted the entire country. In our service territory, we saw temperatures fall as much as 50 degrees in just under 12 hours. The impact of these record-low temperatures limited gas supply in certain locations in the U.S.

轉到幻燈片 4。我們報告第一季度每股淨財務收益為 1.14 美元，比去年同期增長 65%。正如我之前提到的，我們對我們公司在冬季風暴埃利奧特期間的表現感到特別自豪，這是一個影響整個國家的歷史性事件。在我們的服務區域，我們看到溫度在不到 12 小時內下降了 50 度。這些創紀錄的低溫的影響限制了美國某些地區的天然氣供應

At New Jersey Natural Gas, our customers were able to enjoy their holiday without curtailments. This speaks to the resiliency of our gas supply network as well as the dedication of our team, which worked throughout the holiday weekend and ensured that we met all obligations to our customers.

在 New Jersey Natural Gas，我們的客戶能夠在沒有限制的情況下享受他們的假期。這說明了我們天然氣供應網絡的彈性以及我們團隊的奉獻精神，他們在整個假期週末都在工作，並確保我們履行了對客戶的所有義務。

In our Storage & Transportation business, we reported exceptional operating performance from Adelphia Gateway and Leaf River throughout the winter event. At Energy Services, our long option strategy generated significant value during the volatile conditions created by the winter storm, which led to higher-than-expected NFE during the period. We also continue to deliver on our commitment to generate more stable fee-based revenue at that business unit as we received a $73.5 million cash payment associated with the asset management agreements announced in December of 2020.

在我們的存儲和運輸業務中，我們報告了整個冬季活動期間 Adelphia Gateway 和 Leaf River 的出色運營業績。在 Energy Services，我們的多頭期權策略在冬季風暴造成的動盪條件下產生了巨大價值，導致該期間的 NFE 高於預期。我們還繼續履行承諾，在該業務部門產生更穩定的收費收入，因為我們收到了與 2020 年 12 月宣布的資產管理協議相關的 7350 萬美元現金付款。

Finally, at Clean Energy Ventures, we placed 4 commercial solar projects into service since the end of the fiscal year, growing our installed capacity by approximately 43 megawatts or over 11%.

最後，在 Clean Energy Ventures，自本財年末以來，我們將 4 個商業太陽能項目投入使用，使我們的裝機容量增加了約 43 兆瓦或超過 11%。

Turning to Slide 5. As a result of this outperformance, we are raising our fiscal 2023 NFEPS guidance range by $0.20 to $2.62 to $2.72 per share. We are also maintaining our expected long-term NFEPS growth range of 7 to 9% from our original 2022 guidance, which is among the highest in our peer group. And as communicated last quarter, we expect to be at the higher end of the range for fiscal 2024.

轉到幻燈片 5。由於表現出色，我們將 2023 財年 NFEPS 指導範圍提高了 0.20 美元至 2.62 美元至每股 2.72 美元。我們還將我們的預期長期 NFEPS 增長范圍維持在我們最初的 2022 年指導的 7% 到 9% 之間，這是我們同行中最高的。正如上個季度所傳達的那樣，我們預計 2024 財年將處於該範圍的高端。

As I mentioned in my opening remarks, New Jersey Natural Gas had a strong quarter of execution as highlighted on Slide 6. We invested $91 million of New Jersey Natural Gas during the first quarter with over 36% of that CapEx providing near real-time returns. We reported strong customer growth, adding over 2,100 new customers in the first quarter compared to approximately 1,700 in the first quarter last year. We still expect to file our next rate case in fiscal 2024, consistent with the completion of our major technology investments.

正如我在開場白中提到的那樣，新澤西天然氣公司的執行力強勁，如幻燈片 6 中所強調的那樣。我們在第一季度投資了 9100 萬美元的新澤西天然氣公司，其中超過 36% 的資本支出提供了近乎實時的回報.我們報告了強勁的客戶增長，第一季度增加了 2,100 多個新客戶，而去年第一季度約為 1,700 個。我們仍然希望在 2024 財年提交我們的下一個利率案例，這與我們主要技術投資的完成是一致的。

Moving to Slide 7. We continue to see positive momentum at Clean Energy Ventures. Since the end of fiscal 2022, we have placed over 43 megawatts of new solar projects into service and maintain a robust pipeline of future solar investments. We are encouraged with recent progress at PJM queue reform and New Jersey solar policy.

轉到幻燈片 7。我們繼續看到 Clean Energy Ventures 的積極勢頭。自 2022 財年末以來，我們已將超過 43 兆瓦的新太陽能項目投入使用，並保持著強大的未來太陽能投資渠道。我們對 PJM 隊列改革和新澤西州太陽能政策的最新進展感到鼓舞。

In late November, FERC approved PJM's queue reform proposal. Although we are still navigating near-term delays, this process should create efficiencies and greater predictability for solar development. In December, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved the state's solar successor program for projects over 5 megawatts. The goal of incentivizing at least 300 megawatts of annual solar capacity should help to broaden development opportunities in the state.

11 月下旬，FERC 批准了 PJM 的隊列改革提案。儘管我們仍在應對近期的延遲，但這一過程應該會為太陽能開發創造效率和更大的可預測性。 12 月，新澤西州公用事業委員會批准了該州超過 5 兆瓦項目的太陽能繼任者計劃。激勵每年至少 300 兆瓦太陽能容量的目標應有助於擴大該州的發展機會。

And with that, I'll turn the call to Roberto for a review of the financial statements. Roberto?

有了這個，我會把電話轉給羅伯托，讓他審查財務報表。羅伯托？

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, everyone. Slide 9 shows the main drivers of our NFE for the first quarter of fiscal 2023. We reported NFE of $110.3 million or $1.14 per share compared with $65.8 million or $0.69 per share last year. New Jersey Natural Gas saw an NFE improvement of $3.6 million primarily due to the impact of new base rates that went into effect on December 1, 2021, a higher contribution to utility gross margin from our BGSS incentive programs and new customer growth.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，大家早上好。幻燈片 9 顯示了我們 2023 財年第一季度 NFE 的主要驅動因素。我們報告的 NFE 為 1.103 億美元或每股 1.14 美元，而去年為 6580 萬美元或每股 0.69 美元。新澤西天然氣的 NFE 增加了 360 萬美元，這主要是由於 2021 年 12 月 1 日生效的新基準費率的影響，我們的 BGSS 激勵計劃和新客戶增長對公用事業毛利率的貢獻更高。

CEV's NFE improved by $3.2 million, primarily due to higher SREC and electricity sales. Storage & Transportation increased by $3.3 million largely due to Adelphia Gateway becoming fully operational in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 and the excellent operational performance at both Adelphia and Leaf River during the quarter. And finally, Energy Services improved by $35 million due to the execution from our team during Winter Storm Elliott.

CEV 的 NFE 改善了 320 萬美元，這主要是由於 SREC 和電力銷售增加。存儲和運輸增加了 330 萬美元，這主要是由於 Adelphia Gateway 在 2022 財年第四季度全面投入運營，以及 Adelphia 和 Leaf River 在本季度的出色運營表現。最後，由於我們團隊在冬季風暴埃利奧特期間的執行，能源服務增加了 3500 萬美元。

Turning to our capital plan on Slide 10. Our projections for 2023 and 2024 are unchanged from the last conference call. And over the next 2 years, we expect to invest between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion across the company. We expect to tighten our CapEx projections in future quarters, particularly in the case of CEV, as New Jersey regulatory program approvals and PJM's interconnection timelines become more clear. This capital deployment is expected to support growth throughout our business units and is consistent with our long-term NFEPS growth target of 7% to 9%.

轉向我們在幻燈片 10 上的資本計劃。我們對 2023 年和 2024 年的預測與上次電話會議相同。在接下來的兩年裡，我們預計將在整個公司投資 11 億至 14 億美元。我們預計在未來幾個季度收緊我們的資本支出預測，特別是在 CEV 的情況下，因為新澤西監管計劃批准和 PJM 的互連時間表變得更加清晰。這一資本部署預計將支持我們整個業務部門的增長，並符合我們 7% 至 9% 的 NFEPS 長期增長目標。

Finally, on Slide 11, most of our debt is fixed, and we don't have significant maturities in any particular year. As we mentioned in our prior call, our NFEPS guidance for fiscal 2023 and our long-term NFEPS growth guidance incorporate the assumption of high interest rates for the foreseeable future.

最後，在幻燈片 11 中，我們的大部分債務都是固定的，而且我們在任何特定年份都沒有重大到期日。正如我們在之前的電話會議中提到的，我們對 2023 財年的 NFEPS 指導和我們的長期 NFEPS 增長指導包含了在可預見的未來的高利率假設。

With that, I'll turn the call back to Steve.

有了這個，我會把電話轉回給史蒂夫。

Thanks, Roberto. Overall, these results reflect the strength of our complementary portfolio of businesses and the value of our high-integrity infrastructure. We are delivering on our strategy of derisking results, providing a more predictable base of net financial earnings with a growth rate that is at the top end of our peer group. In addition, we've been able to take advantage of opportunities in energy markets that have resulted in considerable upside to our growth targets in recent years.

謝謝，羅伯托。總的來說，這些結果反映了我們互補業務組合的實力以及我們高度完整性基礎設施的價值。我們正在實施降低結果風險的戰略，提供更可預測的淨財務收益基礎，其增長率在我們的同行組中名列前茅。此外，我們已經能夠利用能源市場的機會，這些機會在最近幾年為我們的增長目標帶來了可觀的增長。

And finally, I want to thank all of our employees for their hard work and contribution. We expect these efforts will drive our NFE and produce strong cash flows that will support our dividend growth of 7% to 9% per year.

最後，我要感謝我們所有員工的辛勤工作和貢獻。我們預計這些努力將推動我們的 NFE 並產生強勁的現金流，從而支持我們每年 7% 至 9% 的股息增長。

And with that, I'll now open the call for questions.

有了這個，我現在將開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Chris Ellinghaus from Siebert Williams Shank.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Siebert Williams Shank 的 Chris Ellinghaus。

A lot of things have happened at like EPA and with the IRA. There's some very attractive markets out there in renewables. I'm thinking about landfill gas to generation and RNG. Have any of these things changed your sort of strategic outlook for renewable investments?

EPA 和 IRA 發生了很多事情。可再生能源領域有一些非常有吸引力的市場。我正在考慮將垃圾填埋氣發電和 RNG。這些事情是否改變了您對可再生能源投資的戰略前景？

Chris, thanks for the question. I think we've been talking for a long time about the evolving clean energy market and the opportunities that it will present to a company like ours that has capabilities of developing infrastructure and bringing it into service and certainly earning returns. So IRA is in support of that.

克里斯，謝謝你的提問。我想我們已經討論了很長時間關於不斷發展的清潔能源市場以及它將為像我們這樣有能力開發基礎設施並將其投入使用並肯定獲得回報的公司帶來的機會。所以 IRA 支持這一點。

And you know we've got a solar division. We're developing solar. It's been supportive in that part of the world. We developed a hydrogen plant, and there are certainly in the IRA, significant subsidies towards hydrogen. And we're certainly looking at RNG as well, nothing to announce there. But when you put this all together, we're well positioned to take a look and see where it makes sense for us to make investments and grow in this part of the market.

你知道我們有一個太陽能部門。我們正在開發太陽能。它在世界的那一部分一直是支持的。我們開發了一個氫工廠，在 IRA 中肯定有對氫的大量補貼。我們當然也在關注 RNG，沒有什麼可宣布的。但是當你把所有這些放在一起時，我們就可以很好地了解我們在這部分市場進行投資和發展的意義所在。

So long-winded way of saying, yes, we do see opportunities and we continue to search them out. And certainly, as we become more firm in the CapEx that we'll dedicate to that, we'll share that with the investors.

這麼長篇大論地說，是的，我們確實看到了機會，我們會繼續尋找機會。當然，隨著我們在資本支出方面變得更加堅定，我們將致力於此，我們將與投資者分享。

Okay. Great. There were a couple of things in the quarter that maybe were slightly surprising beyond Elliott's impact. At CEV, you sort of noted in the press release some reduced operating costs. Can you give us a little color on that?

好的。偉大的。除了 Elliott 的影響之外，本季度還有幾件事情可能有點令人驚訝。在 CEV，您在新聞稿中提到運營成本有所降低。你能給我們一些顏色嗎？

And on the Storage & Transportation side, obviously, Storm Elliott provides some opportunity there. But also, you had Adelphia Gateway incrementally. Can you give us any color between sort of the northern and southern assets for the quarter?

在存儲和運輸方面，顯然，Storm Elliott 在那裡提供了一些機會。而且，您逐漸擁有了 Adelphia Gateway。你能給我們這個季度的北方和南方資產之間的任何顏色嗎？

Yes. I think broadly, it just points to the value of infrastructure. We're an energy infrastructure, energy services company. And as you get more demand for energy, we're able to profit from that. Energy Services was certainly the headline and their ability to take advantage of that volatility. But you also had outsized gains in the utility, in their incentive programs.

是的。我認為從廣義上講，它只是指向基礎設施的價值。我們是一家能源基礎設施、能源服務公司。隨著您對能源的需求增加，我們就能從中獲利。能源服務無疑是頭條新聞，也是他們利用這種波動的能力。但是，在他們的激勵計劃中，您在效用方面也獲得了巨大的收益。

We saw new customers at Adelphia Gateway signing up for short-term services. Leaf River as well was able to make profits from that. Electric prices has bumped up in CEV, so certainly all contributing towards the increases that we announced today.

我們在 Adelphia Gateway 看到新客戶註冊了短期服務。葉河也從中獲利。 CEV 的電價上漲，因此肯定所有這些都對我們今天宣布的漲價做出了貢獻。

Can you give us any color on the higher CEV-electric revenues? Is that more on the increased megawatt side? Or was that more on the commodity electric side, do you think?

你能告訴我們更高的 CEV-electric 收入嗎？在增加的兆瓦方面更多嗎？或者你認為更多的是在商品電力方面？

I'd say in the commodity electric side.

我會說在商品電力方面。

Our next question is from Richard Sunderland from JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的理查德桑德蘭。

I know you hit this a little bit already, but if you just want to unpack the guidance raise a little bit more. The $0.20 raise, is that -- is it the full amount of the outperformance you saw, I guess, across NJNG, Storage & Transportation and Energy Services? Or are there any either offsets to that versus your original plan or kind of cushion for the remainder of the year that you're leaving outside of guidance right now?

我知道你已經做了一點，但如果你只是想打開指導，請多加一點。 0.20 美元的加薪，是——我猜，這是你在 NJNG、存儲和運輸以及能源服務方面看到的全部表現嗎？或者，對於您現在離開指導之外的今年剩餘時間，是否有任何抵消與您的原始計劃或某種緩衝？

Rich, this is Roberto. So on your question, the performance that you saw was primarily coming from Energy Services, but it was not only coming from Energy Services, right? It came also from the utility with higher BGSS incentives and also from our Storage & Transportation. So it was really broad-based once again, coming from most of our businesses. But as indicated in our remarks, the biggest part came from our marketing business.

里奇，這是羅伯托。所以關於你的問題，你看到的性能主要來自能源服務，但它不僅來自能源服務，對嗎？它也來自具有更高 BGSS 獎勵的公用事業以及我們的存儲和運輸。因此，它再次具有廣泛的基礎，來自我們的大多數業務。但正如我們所說，最大的部分來自我們的營銷業務。

Okay. Okay. Understood. And then turning to CEV here. Just I guess the first part, I see the 43 megawatts placed in service. I know you referenced the landmark projects there. I also think there was a 100-megawatt change and if I'm reading this correctly on '23-'24 contract and exclusivity. Is that a timing shift across the years laid out here? Or are there other changes on kind of the project front in light of those PJM and New Jersey developments you referenced earlier?

好的。好的。明白了。然後在這裡轉向 CEV。我猜第一部分，我看到 43 兆瓦投入使用。我知道你提到了那裡的標誌性項目。我還認為有 100 兆瓦的變化，如果我在 '23-'24 合同和排他性方面正確閱讀的話。這是這裡列出的多年來的時間轉移嗎？或者根據您之前提到的 PJM 和新澤西州的發展，項目方面是否有其他變化？

So Rich, I think the way to look at that is that when you look at Slide 7 and you look at the total of about 1 gigawatt of potential investments, the way that we describe them, that number -- or at least on a yearly basis or the periods that we say, it's going to go up and down. As projects come in, they get completed. As more projects come to exclusivity or some sort of a firmer commitment that we can put them part of this chart that these numbers will go up and down.

太豐富了，我認為看待這個問題的方式是，當你看幻燈片 7 時，你會看到大約 1 吉瓦的潛在投資總額，我們描述它們的方式，這個數字——或者至少每年基礎或我們所說的時期，它會上下波動。當項目進來時，它們就會完成。隨著越來越多的項目成為排他性或某種更堅定的承諾，我們可以將它們放在這張圖表的一部分，這些數字將會上下波動。

But I think the big numbers to look at are we've got a very robust pipeline of investment at CEV for our solar investment. And then also, the other big number is, yes, 43 megawatts that we're able to put in service. So we're investing money, we're completing projects, we're putting them into service and then we're continuing to develop the pipeline moving forward in this business unit.

但我認為需要關注的大數據是，我們在 CEV 的太陽能投資中擁有非常強大的投資渠道。然後，另一個大數字是，是的，我們能夠投入使用的 43 兆瓦。所以我們正在投資，我們正在完成項目，我們正在將它們投入使用，然後我們將繼續開發在這個業務部門向前發展的管道。

Got it. That's helpful color. And maybe just a quick follow-up there. So you referenced the positive progress with PJM and from New Jersey as well. Just curious kind of milestones going forward from here or high-level timing expectations. What are you watching for at this front for, I guess, that incremental clarity into the outlook at both the PJM level and the state level? Anything you can offer there on how that might unfold over this year? Or what else you're looking for from each entity?

知道了。這是有用的顏色。也許只是在那裡進行快速跟進。所以你提到了 PJM 和新澤西的積極進展。只是好奇從這裡向前發展的里程碑或高水平的時間期望。你在這方面關注什麼，我猜，在 PJM 級別和州級別的前景越來越清晰？你能提供什麼關於今年可能如何展開的嗎？或者您還想從每個實體中尋找什麼？

Yes. I'm going to ask Amy Cradic to answer that question. And she manages our nonutility businesses and CEV, and she can speak to some of the details associated with the PJM process and certainly in the process of the state.

是的。我要請 Amy Cradic 來回答這個問題。她管理著我們的非公用事業業務和 CEV，她可以談論與 PJM 流程相關的一些細節，當然還有州的流程。

Yes. I would say that the PJM queue reform and the BPU competitive solicitation, they're both very positive. But our CapEx production, they're not fully dependent on those. So we're still waiting for other state policy and programs to roll out. I'll give you a few examples with TREC approvals we've spoken about in the past for some of our projects do use virtual net metering. So we'll continue to watch the progress out of that, all positive, and we see additional optionality and opportunity for our pipeline.

是的。我會說 PJM 隊列改革和 BPU 競爭性徵集，它們都非常積極。但是我們的資本支出生產，他們並不完全依賴於那些。因此，我們仍在等待其他國家政策和計劃的推出。我會給你幾個我們過去談到的 TREC 批准的例子，因為我們的一些項目確實使用虛擬網絡計量。因此，我們將繼續關注這方面的進展，一切都是積極的，我們將為我們的管道看到更多的選擇和機會。

Our next question is from Gabe Moreen from Mizuho.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞穗的 Gabe Moreen。

Can you maybe talk about, I think, the Leaf River expansion potential? I think some midstream names out there have talked about some customer interest now, and I think the value of storage has clearly proven itself out time and again over the last, call it, 24 months. So just curious, latest thoughts on what the Leaf expansion is looking like?

我想，你能談談 Leaf River 的擴張潛力嗎？我認為一些中游品牌現在已經談到了一些客戶的興趣，而且我認為存儲的價值在過去的 24 個月裡一次又一次地證明了自己。所以只是好奇，關於 Leaf 擴展的最新想法是什麼？

So Gabe, we have nothing to announce there. But certainly, the market dynamics and with the development of LNG along the Gulf Coast, the amount of volatility and balancing that's needed down in that area is evident by the price movements that have taken place. It's certainly a very constructive and supportive market. So we're certainly looking where we can make expansion. And provided that we've got a customer that can support the capital investment that's there, we've always talked about it in that fashion. But again, nothing to announce, but it's certainly a very supportive market at this point in time.

Gabe，我們沒有什麼可宣布的。但可以肯定的是，市場動態以及墨西哥灣沿岸液化天然氣的發展，該地區所需的波動性和平衡量已從已發生的價格走勢中顯而易見。這當然是一個非常有建設性和支持性的市場。所以我們當然在尋找可以擴展的地方。如果我們有一個可以支持那裡的資本投資的客戶，我們總是以這種方式談論它。但同樣，沒有什麼可宣布的，但在這個時間點它肯定是一個非常支持的市場。

And maybe if I can ask a little bit of a multifaceted question here on gas prices having come down so significantly. Can you just talk about impacts to the business, whether bad debt expense, less inflationary pressures and also just this strategy on kind of hedging gas prices going forward? Because I know that you guys were fairly insulated coming into the winter anyway.

也許我可以在這裡問一個關於油價大幅下跌的多方面問題。您能否談談對業務的影響，無論是壞賬支出、通脹壓力減輕，還是這種對沖天然氣價格的策略？因為我知道你們進入冬天時相當絕緣。

Yes. I think just to talk about the hedging strategy going forward, we've got a pretty rigid hedging strategy. That aligns itself well to being able to put fixed price gas in the storage well ahead of when volatility would really impact the market. And that's still in place now. So I would expect that, that would be helpful for us as we roll into our next hedging season, so to speak.

是的。我認為只是談論未來的對沖策略，我們有一個非常嚴格的對沖策略。這與能夠在波動真正影響市場之前將固定價格的天然氣儲存起來很好地吻合。現在仍然如此。所以我希望，可以這麼說，當我們進入下一個對沖季節時，這對我們會有幫助。

And then ultimately, gas goes up and down, and that volatility can be beneficial to us through prices and certainly through Energy Services and such. But it just shows that the market is resilient. And our customers will enjoy, hopefully, lower pricing if it continues in this direction going forward and certainly supportive of our overall business as an economic way to heat your house and provide energy.

然後最終，天然氣會上下波動，這種波動可以通過價格，當然還有能源服務等對我們有利。但這只是表明市場具有彈性。如果繼續朝著這個方向前進，我們的客戶將有望享受到更低的價格，並且肯定會支持我們的整體業務，作為一種經濟的方式來為您的房屋供暖和提供能源。

Got it. And maybe if I could just squeeze one more in sort of on the 1Q outperformance. Is it fair to say that if S&T outperformance kind of holds that it's really in 4Q that you'll accrue, I guess, some O&M expense -- or G&A rather around additional comp and stuff like that so that may be an offset to some of the 1Q outperformance here?

知道了。也許如果我能在 1Q 的表現上再擠一個。可以公平地說，如果 S&T 的優異表現確實是在第四季度，我猜你會產生一些 O&M 費用——或者 G&A 而不是圍繞額外的補償和類似的東西，所以這可能會抵消一些第一季度的表現如何？

Yes. So -- yes, you're right. Our expenses related to labor are seasonal and exactly as you pointed out, Q4 tends to be the highest.

是的。所以——是的，你是對的。我們與勞動力相關的費用是季節性的，正如您所指出的，第四季度往往是最高的。

Our next question is from Sam Clough from Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Sam Clough。

Just a quick question on your financing projections here. Just given Q1's outperformance, is there any reason why your financing activity projections haven't really changed? And also within that, why you're sort of thinking more towards increasing equity issuances over debt relative to your previous update?

在這裡只是關於您的融資預測的快速問題。鑑於第一季度的出色表現，您的融資活動預測沒有真正改變的原因是什麼？並且在這之中，為什麼相對於您之前的更新，您更多地考慮增加股票發行而不是債務發行？

Yes. So I remind you we're talking about what we're showing in terms of our projection for our cash flows. So even though we have increased our guidance, we feel we're still within the range that we showed there. So that's why we haven't changed that. So that's number one.

是的。所以我提醒你，我們正在談論我們在現金流量預測方面所展示的內容。因此，即使我們增加了我們的指導，我們仍然覺得我們仍然在我們在那裡展示的範圍內。所以這就是為什麼我們沒有改變它。所以這是第一。

And then on your question regarding debt versus equity, as we have stated before, we have no plans to issue any block equity in the near future, and that remains true today.

然後關於你關於債務與股權的問題，正如我們之前所說，我們沒有計劃在不久的將來發行任何大宗股權，今天仍然如此。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is from Shar Pourreza from Guggenheim Partners.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Guggenheim Partners 的 Shar Pourreza。

It's Jamieson on for Shar. So just wanted to thank you for the helpful responses so far and wanted to expand and clarify a bit on a couple of the prior answers you provided. First off -- and I guess the seasonal aspect with the fourth quarter, but again, just wanted to expand and clarify. So at the gas utility, despite the stronger customer growth and higher earnings year-over-year for the first quarter, it looks like you lowered guidance for the segment on an actual EPS basis despite the $0.20 raise for the year for the entire company.

由 Jamieson 代替 Shar。因此，只想感謝您到目前為止提供的有用回复，並想對您之前提供的幾個答案進行擴展和澄清。首先 - 我猜是第四季度的季節性方面，但再次只是想擴大和澄清。因此，在天然氣公用事業公司，儘管第一季度客戶增長強勁且收益同比增加，但儘管整個公司全年增加了 0.20 美元，但您似乎在實際每股收益的基礎上降低了該部門的指導。

But for the segment, it looks like it's about $0.06 to $0.08 lower based on the new weightings and the higher guidance. Could you just remind us of your expectations for inflationary pressures on O&M for the year or any other potential drags that you now expect versus the November original guidance and what was baked into that? And then I have a follow-up.

但對於該細分市場，根據新的權重和更高的指導，它看起來大約低 0.06 美元至 0.08 美元。您能否提醒我們您對今年 O&M 通脹壓力的預期或您現在預期的任何其他潛在拖累與 11 月的原始指導以及其中包含的內容？然後我有一個後續行動。

This is Roberto. I think what you are referring is to the breakdown -- the percent breakdown of our NFE by BU that we show in our presentation. And for the utility, you're right, that's lower, but the reason that's lower is because the whole business is so much higher, right? So on an absolute basis, we do not expect the utility to be lower.

這是羅伯托。我認為您指的是細目分類——我們在演示文稿中顯示的 BU 的 NFE 百分比細目分類。對於效用，你是對的，它較低，但較低的原因是因為整個業務要高得多，對嗎？因此，在絕對基礎上，我們預計效用不會降低。

But -- okay. Well, I just took the $2.42 to $2.52 original and then did that by 55% and also by 60%, took those numbers and then took the revised $2.62 to $2.72 and did that by the 48% and then separately by the 53% and then compared the bottom of each, the top of each, and that's where I came up with a $0.06 to $0.08 lower. I'm not going off midpoints or averages or anything. So that's -- is there a different way to look at it?

但是——好吧。好吧，我只是把原來的 2.42 美元到 2.52 美元，然後做了 55% 和 60%，拿了這些數字，然後把修改後的 2.62 美元到 2.72 美元，做了 48%，然後分別做了 53%，然後比較每個的底部，每個的頂部，這就是我想出的低 0.06 美元到 0.08 美元的地方。我不會偏離中點或平均值或任何東西。那就是 - 是否有不同的方式來看待它？

Yes. So we can take that off-line to explain that.

是的。所以我們可以脫機解釋這一點。

Sure. No problem.

當然。沒問題。

If you were to look at the guidance ranges for utility based on the original guidance range of $2.42% to $2.52 and what we're showing today, you would see that on an absolute basis, there are really no changes.

如果您查看基於 2.42% 至 2.52 美元的原始指導範圍的實用程序指導範圍以及我們今天展示的內容，您會發現在絕對基礎上，確實沒有變化。

Okay. Yes, let's take it off-line then. But yes -- no, I was just coming up with $0.06 to $0.08 lower in absolute changes from one to the next. But that's okay. So just moving on as a follow-up but not on the EPS side. After backing out the $20 million contribution from the AMA this quarter and the roughly $22 million contribution in the same quarter a year ago, looks like you had an almost $0.40 improvement year-over-year, mostly driven by Winter Storm Elliott. And I'm specifically looking here, just add Energy Services, I get that other parts of the business also contributed to the outperformance.

好的。是的，讓我們把它脫機吧。但是，是的——不，我只是想出了從一個到另一個的絕對變化要低 0.06 美元到 0.08 美元。但沒關係。所以只是作為後續行動繼續前進，而不是在 EPS 方面。在本季度取消 AMA 的 2000 萬美元捐款和一年前同一季度的大約 2200 萬美元捐款之後，看起來你的同比增長將近 0.40 美元，這主要是由冬季風暴 Elliott 推動的。我特別關注這裡，只需添加能源服務，我知道該業務的其他部分也對出色表現做出了貢獻。

But just narrowing in there, given that you only used half of that to raise guidance by, it seems like you've got a very, very nice buffer to start the year, something that I'm sure a lot of your peers envy given a lot of inflationary pressures and other cost pressures that everyone is encountering. Could you walk us through the top couple of potential earnings drags that you had been worried about back in November when you gave guidance and that you are now less so since you presumably still have another $0.20 or so of buffer left for the year?

但是只是縮小範圍，考慮到你只用了其中的一半來提高指導，看起來你有一個非常非常好的開始今年的緩衝，我相信你的很多同行都會羨慕這一點每個人都面臨著許多通貨膨脹壓力和其他成本壓力。您能否向我們介紹一下您在 11 月給出指導時一直擔心的前幾大潛在收益拖累因素，而現在您不那麼擔心了，因為您可能今年還有 0.20 美元左右的緩衝空間？

Yes. So maybe the first thing to address is the buffer you're talking about, right? It's -- so the way to think about that is you have timing changes, especially coming from Energy Services as you think at how their demand charges happen. They tend to happen. So for the most part in the second part of the year where there are lower revenue, so there is a timing change there affecting the buffer that you're discussing. And then we're just generally cautious about what could happen right now, especially with electricity prices.

是的。所以也許首先要解決的是您正在談論的緩衝區，對嗎？這是 - 所以考慮的方式是你有時間變化，特別是來自能源服務，因為你考慮他們的需求費用是如何發生的。它們往往會發生。因此，在今年下半年的大部分時間裡，收入較低，因此那裡的時間變化會影響您正在討論的緩衝區。然後我們只是對現在可能發生的事情持謹慎態度，尤其是在電價方面。

Yes. I think just to add to that, I might -- to describe it as a buffer, I think there's seasonality to the number that's here. And I'm not in agreement that there's a buffer associated with our guidance or the way that you've put the numbers together.

是的。我認為只是為了補充這一點，我可能會 - 將其描述為緩衝區，我認為這裡的數字有季節性。我不同意我們的指導或您將數字放在一起的方式有緩衝。

Okay. Fair enough. We can follow up off-line. Either way, it seems like you're in a good place and it seems like a good thing to have to kick the year off with. So that's why I was asking.

好的。很公平。我們可以離線跟進。無論哪種方式，看起來你都處在一個好地方，並且以新的一年開始似乎是一件好事。所以這就是我問的原因。

We'll take it.

我們會接受的。

Yes. Absolutely. Just a final question on Clean Energy Ventures. You mentioned in the prepared remarks that you're looking to tighten the range in the quarters ahead. There's another question on it already. But just to hone in here as the final question, what are the gating items that you're currently waiting on just so we have a better sense of timing? When do you expect to have the level of visibility that you require in order to be able to narrow the range for the next fiscal year and the year thereafter?

是的。絕對地。關於清潔能源風險投資的最後一個問題。你在準備好的評論中提到你希望在未來幾個季度收緊範圍。已經有另一個問題了。但作為最後一個問題在這裡磨練，你目前正在等待的門控項目是什麼，以便我們有更好的時間感？您希望何時達到所需的可見性水平，以便能夠縮小下一個財政年度及其後年度的範圍？

So when Amy answered the question before, she talked about queue reform and PJM and certainly some of the programs in the state of New Jersey. But mentioned that for the project pipeline that we've shown there, they're not solely dependent on those being, I guess, resolved.

所以當艾米之前回答這個問題時，她談到了隊列改革和 PJM，當然還有新澤西州的一些項目。但提到對於我們在那裡展示的項目管道，它們不僅僅依賴於那些，我想，已經解決。

So we've got a capital program that we feel confident that we'll be able to execute and certainly it'll be positive developments to get those other programs in the queue reform completed. But again, not solely dependent on at least new programs taking place at the state in order to get our capital invested. I hope that answers your question. If not, please clarify.

因此，我們有一個資本計劃，我們有信心能夠執行，當然，完成隊列改革中的其他計劃將是積極的發展。但同樣，至少不僅僅依賴於在州內進行的新計劃以獲得我們的資本投資。我希望這能回答你的問題。如果不是，請澄清。

Got you. Yes -- no, just was trying to get a sense of whether it's sort of a next quarter or 2 quarters from now or that sort of thing. But I think that covers it, and I can follow up further off-line. Good start to the year, guys.

明白了是的 - 不，只是想了解它是從現在開始的下一個季度還是 2 個季度或類似的事情。但我認為這涵蓋了它，我可以進一步離線跟進。伙計們，今年開局不錯。

Our next question is from Travis Miller from Morningstar.

我們的下一個問題來自晨星的特拉維斯米勒。

I apologize if you touched on this earlier, but I wonder if you could talk about how the AMAs performed during the quarter. How much of that contributed to that Energy Services? Was there volatility in there like you expected or didn't expect? Just wondering on the AMAs, how that performed in the quarter.

如果您早些時候提到了這一點，我深表歉意，但我想知道您是否可以談談本季度 AMA 的表現。其中有多少對能源服務有貢獻？那裡是否像您預期或沒有預期的那樣波動？只是想知道 AMA 在本季度的表現如何。

Yes. Travis, this is Roberto. So the AMA, we said before that for the year, the expected revenues are going to be similar to those of last year. And for Q1, those revenues were $20 million. And we received all the cash corresponding to the AMA already in Q1. That was about $73 million. So it -- to answer your question in nutshell, it performed exactly as we expected.

是的。特拉維斯，這是羅伯托。所以 AMA，我們之前說過，今年的預期收入將與去年相似。對於第一季度，這些收入為 2000 萬美元。我們已經在第一季度收到了與 AMA 對應的所有現金。那是大約 7300 萬美元。所以它 - 簡而言之回答你的問題，它的表現完全符合我們的預期。

Okay. Do you have in place during the year any kind of optionality around those? Where you could get any kind of either [betterment] or detriment?

好的。您在這一年中是否有圍繞這些的任何選擇？你在哪裡可以得到任何類型的 [改善] 或損害？

On this specific AMA, as we have discussed, this is basically pretty much a fixed price contract, so no.

正如我們所討論的，在這個特定的 AMA 上，這基本上是一個固定價格合同，所以沒有。

We currently have no further questions. I will now hand back to the management team.

我們目前沒有進一步的問題。我現在將交還給管理團隊。

Thank you. I'd like to thank all of you for joining us this morning. As a reminder, a recording of this call is available for replay on our website. And as always, we appreciate your interest and investment in NJR. Goodbye. Have a good morning.

謝謝。我要感謝大家今天早上加入我們。提醒一下，此通話的錄音可在我們的網站上重播。一如既往，我們感謝您對 NJR 的興趣和投資。再見。祝你早上好。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines. Have a good day.

女士們，先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開線路。祝你有美好的一天。