New Jersey Resources Corp (NJR) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, everyone. My name is Karen. I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the New Jersey Resources fiscal 2025 second quarter and first half financial results conference call. (Operator Instructions)

大家好。我的名字是凱倫。今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加新澤西資源2025財年第二季和上半年財務業績電話會議。（操作員指示）

I would now like to turn the call over to Adam Prior, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將電話轉給投資者關係總監亞當普賴爾 (Adam Prior)。請繼續。

Thank you. Welcome to New Jersey Resources fiscal 2025 second 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. 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, including 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 2.

謝謝。歡迎參加新澤西資源 2025 財政年度第二季電話會議和網路廣播。今天與我一起出席的還有我們的總裁兼首席執行官史蒂夫·韋斯特霍文 (Steve Westhoven)、我們的高級副總裁兼首席財務官羅伯托·貝爾 (Roberto Bel) 以及我們高級管理團隊的其他成員。今天電話會議中的某些聲明包含證券法所定義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，包括許多超出我們控製或準確估計能力的因素。這可能會導致結果與投影片 2 中我們的預期有重大差異。

These items can also be found in the forward-looking statements section of yesterday'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 particular forward-looking statement referenced herein in 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 NFPA net financial loss, utility gross margin, financial margin, adjusted funds from operation and adjusted debt provide a more complete understanding of our financial performance. However, these non-GAAP measures are not intended to be a substitute for GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are discussed more fully in Item 7 of our 10-K. The slides accompanying today's presentation are available on our website and were furnished on our Form 8-K filed yesterday.

這些項目也可以在昨天的收益報告的前瞻性陳述部分找到。以 8-K 表格和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的最新 10-K 表格和 10-Q 表格提供。透過包含此聲明，我們並不承擔根據未來事件審查或修改本文引用的任何特定前瞻性聲明的任何義務。我們也會參考某些非 GAAP 財務指標，例如淨財務收益或 NFE。我們認為，NFPA 淨財務損失、公用事業毛利率、財務利潤率、調整後的營運資金和調整後的債務可以更全面地了解我們的財務表現。然而，這些非 GAAP 指標並非旨在取代 GAAP，非 GAAP 財務指標在我們的 10-K 第 7 項中有更詳細的討論。今天簡報的幻燈片可以在我們的網站上找到，並包含在我們昨天提交的 8-K 表中。

Steve will begin with this quarter's highlights, beginning on slide 4, followed by Roberto, who will review our financial results. Then we will open the call for your questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to our President and CEO, Steve Westhoven. Please go ahead, Steve.

史蒂夫將從幻燈片 4 開始介紹本季度的亮點，然後羅伯托將回顧我們的財務表現。然後我們將開始回答你們的提問。說完這些，我將把電話轉給我們的總裁兼執行長史蒂夫·韋斯特霍文 (Steve Westhoven)。請繼續，史蒂夫。

Thanks, Adam, and good morning, everyone. At NJR, we recognize that affordability and reliability remain the foundation of our value proposition to our customers and our long-term strategy reflects that. In today's environment, delivering safe, affordable and reliable energy is more critical than ever. That's why we are focused on disciplined capital deployment, operational excellence and strategic innovation across all of our business segments. Our results this quarter once again demonstrate the strength of this approach.

謝謝，亞當，大家早安。在 NJR，我們認識到可負擔性和可靠性仍然是我們向客戶提出價值主張的基礎，我們的長期策略也反映了這一點。在當今環境下，提供安全、實惠和可靠的能源比以往任何時候都更重要。這就是為什麼我們專注於所有業務部門的嚴格資本配置、卓越營運和策略創新。本季的業績再次證明了這種方法的有效性。

Fiscal 2025 continues to be a strong year for NJR. In the second quarter, we delivered solid results across all of our business segments. These results reflect the strength of our integrated portfolio and consistent execution by our team to drive long-term sustainable growth. In particular, our wholesale gas marketing business, NJR Energy Services reported strong performance during the winter by capitalizing on periods of pricing volatility through its long option strategy. As a result of this outperformance, we are raising our fiscal 2025 NFEPS guidance by $0.10 a share to a revised range of $3.15 to $3.30 per share. Looking at our other subsidiaries, we saw solid execution in the quarter from our entire portfolio of complementary businesses.

2025 財年對 NJR 來說仍然是強勁的一年。在第二季度，我們所有業務部門都取得了穩健的業績。這些結果反映了我們綜合投資組合的實力以及我們團隊為推動長期永續成長所採取的一致行動。特別是，我們的批發天然氣行銷業務 NJR Energy Services 透過其長期選擇權策略利用價格波動期，在冬季報告了強勁的業績。由於這一優異表現，我們將 2025 財年 NFEPS 指引上調每股 0.10 美元，修訂後的範圍為每股 3.15 美元至 3.30 美元。縱觀我們的其他子公司，我們看到本季我們整個互補業務組合的執行情況穩健。

At New Jersey Natural Gas, we completed the first full quarter of new rates following our base rate case settlement. We also initiated investments under the expanded SAFE Green program, our largest energy efficiency filing to date which earns near real-time returns. At Clean Energy Ventures, we are advancing our solar portfolio with new projects coming online and building a growing diversified project line. We continue to prioritize disciplined capital deployment and strategic expansion across multiple states. Our Storage and Transportation business also continued to make progress. We continue the capacity recovery project at Leaf River and remain engaged in the settlement process for Adelphia Gateway Section 4 rate case, which is proceeding as expected.

在新澤西天然氣公司，我們在基準利率案例解決之後完成了新利率的第一個完整季度。我們還根據擴大的 SAFE Green 計劃發起了投資，這是我們迄今為止最大的能源效率申請，可獲得近乎即時的回報。在清潔能源創投公司，我們正在推動我們的太陽能投資組合，推出新的專案並建立日益多樣化的專案線。我們將繼續優先考慮在多個州進行嚴格的資本部署和策略擴張。我們的倉儲和運輸業務也持續取得進展。我們繼續在 Leaf River 進行容量恢復項目，並繼續參與 Adelphia Gateway 第 4 區費率案的解決流程，該流程正在按預期進行。

Turning to slide 5 for more details on our guidance. We are raising our fiscal 2025 NFEPS guidance range to $3.15 to $3.30 per share, an increase of $0.10 from our prior range. This new outlook reflects our strong operating performance through the winter season for Energy Services and includes the gain from the sale of our residential solar portfolio at Clean Energy Ventures. Importantly, this revised guidance exceeds our long-term NFEPS growth target of 7% to 9%.

請翻到幻燈片 5 來了解我們的指導的更多詳細資訊。我們將 2025 財年 NFEPS 指引範圍上調至每股 3.15 美元至 3.30 美元，比之前的範圍增加 0.10 美元。這項新前景反映了我們在冬季能源服務領域的強勁營運業績，並包括出售清潔能源創投公司的住宅太陽能投資組合所獲得的收益。重要的是，這項修訂後的指引超過了我們 7% 至 9% 的長期 NFEPS 成長目標。

On slide 6, we present our updated NFEPS guidance by segment. New Jersey Natural Gas remains the largest contributor, followed by Clean Energy Ventures and Energy Services. In the second quarter, we slightly narrowed the range of contributions across our business lines. consistent with our practice as the year progresses. These updates reflect outperformance in Energy Services and a modest change in the relative contributions for New Jersey Natural Gas and Clean Energy Ventures.

在第 6 張投影片中，我們按部分展示了更新的 NFEPS 指南。新澤西天然氣公司仍然是最大的貢獻者，其次是清潔能源企業和能源服務公司。在第二季度，我們略微縮小了各業務線的貢獻範圍，這與我們今年的實踐保持一致。這些更新反映了能源服務的優異表現以及新澤西天然氣和清潔能源風險投資的相對貢獻的適度變化。

Now, let's discuss our complementary business units, starting with New Jersey Natural Gas on slide 7. New Jersey Natural Gas continues to deliver consistent customer growth quarter after quarter. driven by a healthy mix of new construction activity, system expansions and steady conversions across our service territory. This underscores the ongoing demand for reliable, affordable natural gas service and supports long-term investment in our utility infrastructure. We also remain proactive in strengthening the relationship with all of our customers. Throughout the winter season, we regularly shared information on utility assistance programs and focused on maintaining our reputation as a responsive and dependable service provider. We continue to leverage mechanisms that help manage energy affordability. Most notably, our BGSS incentive programs, which allow us to temporarily release excess capacity or supply when it's not needed. The resulting margin benefits are largely credited to customers. helping to mitigate the impact of higher energy prices.

現在，讓我們討論一下我們的互補業務部門，從第 7 張投影片上的新澤西天然氣開始。新澤西天然氣公司繼續保持季度穩定的客戶成長，這得益於我們服務區域內新建工程、系統擴展和穩定轉換的健康組合。這凸顯了對可靠、經濟的天然氣服務的持續需求，並支持對我們的公用事業基礎設施的長期投資。我們也積極加強與所有客戶的關係。在整個冬季，我們定期分享有關公用事業援助計劃的信息，並致力於維護我們作為響應迅速且可靠的服務提供者的聲譽。我們將繼續利用有助於管理能源可負擔性的機制。最值得注意的是我們的 BGSS 激勵計劃，它允許我們在不需要時暫時釋放過剩產能或供應。由此產生的利潤收益大部分歸功於客戶，有助於減輕能源價格上漲的影響。

In the last 10 years, New Jersey Natural Gas has saved customers nearly $800 million as a result of this program. Alongside these efforts, we remain focused on long-term investments that support system reliability, customer growth and New Jersey's clean energy goals. We've invested $254 million at New Jersey Natural Gas this year, with 46% of that CapEx, providing near real-time returns. And as I noted earlier, we began making investments under the latest iteration of our Save Green program. These investments assist our customers with affordability, helping them lower their energy usage, reduce admissions and manage bills more effectively, all while delivering timely returns to NJR through a proven regulatory construct.

在過去的 10 年裡，新澤西天然氣公司透過該計畫為客戶節省了近 8 億美元。除了這些努力之外，我們仍然專注於支持系統可靠性、客戶成長和新澤西州清潔能源目標的長期投資。今年我們向新澤西天然氣公司投資了 2.54 億美元，其中 46% 為資本支出，提供了近乎即時的回報。正如我之前提到的，我們開始根據最新版本的「拯救綠色」計畫進行投資。這些投資幫助我們的客戶降低成本，減少能源消耗，減少入院費用，更有效地管理帳單，同時透過成熟的監管結構及時為 NJR 帶來回報。

Moving to slide 8. We are consistently placing new projects into service at clean energy ventures adding 31 megawatts of solar capacity into service this fiscal year. In addition, we are moving projects through our pipeline with 60 megawatts currently under construction. Our project pipeline stands at over 1 gigawatt with the majority of those investment opportunities located outside of New Jersey. The CEV team was deliberate in their efforts to diversify the project pipeline, seeking to avoid an overreliance on any one market or policy regime. This strategy is proving more valuable as the renewable energy industry continues to navigate interconnection and policy-related complexities. Our robust pipeline of capital deployment opportunities, combined with the disciplined SREC hedging strategy positions us to continue generating stable predictable cash flows from our solar investments.

移至幻燈片 8。我們持續在清潔能源企業中投入新的項目，本財年將增加 31 兆瓦的太陽能發電容量。此外，我們正在推進專案建設，目前有 60 兆瓦的專案正在建設中。我們的專案儲備量超過 1 千兆瓦，其中大部分投資機會位於新澤西州以外。CEV 團隊刻意努力實現專案管道多樣化，力求避免過度依賴任何一個市場或政策制度。隨著再生能源產業繼續應對互聯互通和政策相關的複雜問題，這項策略被證明更有價值。我們強大的資本部署機會，加上嚴謹的 SREC 對沖策略，使我們能夠繼續從太陽能投資中產生穩定可預測的現金流。

Moving to slide 9. Storage and Transportation continued to deliver steady fee-based revenues. At Leaf River, we continued our capacity recovery project restoring capacity that had been impacted by salt creep over time. Separately, we are exploring the potential development of a fourth cabin and recently completed a nonbinding open season with encouraging interest as we evaluate the economics and design optimization. At Adelphia Gateway, we continue to advance through the FERC rate case process with settlement discussions ongoing as we move towards achieving resolution and recovering the significant investments we've made to the system. These assets represent strong long-term value proposition, particularly as system constraints highlight the critical role of existing natural gas infrastructure. So with that, I'll turn the call over to Roberto for a review of our financial results.

移至幻燈片 9。倉儲和運輸繼續提供穩定的收費收入。在 Leaf River，我們繼續進行容量恢復項目，以恢復因長期鹽分侵蝕而受到影響的容量。另外，我們正在探索第四個艙室的潛在開發，並且最近完成了一個非約束性開放季，我們在評估經濟性和設計優化時表現出了令人鼓舞的興趣。在 Adelphia Gateway，我們繼續推進 FERC 費率案件流程，並持續進行和解討論，以期達成解決方案並收回我們對該系統的大量投資。這些資產代表著強大的長期價值主張，特別是在系統限制凸顯現有天然氣基礎設施的關鍵作用的情況下。因此，我將把電話轉給羅伯托，讓他審查我們的財務結果。

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, everyone. slide 11 shows the main drivers of our NFE for the second quarter and year-to-date period of fiscal 2025. In the second quarter, we reported an NFEPS of $1.78 per share compared with NFEPS of $1.41 per share last year. We saw higher NFE at New Jersey Natural Gas, driven by higher EUV gross margin as a result of our recent base rate case settlement, and Storage and Transportation reported improved performance versus the prior year driven by higher revenues at Leaf River.

謝謝史蒂夫，大家早安。投影片 11 顯示了 2025 財年第二季和年初至今我們 NFE 的主要動力。第二季度，我們報告的 NFEPS 為每股 1.78 美元，而去年的 NFEPS 為每股 1.41 美元。我們看到新澤西天然氣公司的 NFE 有所增加，這得益於我們最近的基準利率案例和解導致 EUV 毛利率上升，而倉儲和運輸部門報告的業績較上年有所改善，這得益於 Leaf River 收入的增加。

At Clean Energy Ventures, we reported higher NFE for the year-to-date period, primarily driven by the sale of our residential solar portfolio during our fiscal first quarter. For fiscal 2025, we expect that the sale of our residential solar assets will generate a net benefit of approximately $0.30 per share, reflecting both the gain on sale and the lack of earnings contribution from that business for the remainder of the year.

在清潔能源創投公司，我們報告了年初至今的 NFE 成長，這主要得益於我們在第一財季出售住宅太陽能組合。對於 2025 財年，我們預計出售住宅太陽能資產將產生每股約 0.30 美元的淨收益，這既反映了銷售收益，也反映了該年度剩餘時間內該業務缺乏盈利貢獻。

Now, let's move to slide 12, where we will discuss in our capital plan. For fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 or planning capital expenditures ranging from $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion, which aligns with our long-term NFEPS growth target of 7% to 9%. We did not make any changes to our capital plan compared to our prior disclosure and expect spending between $610 million and $790 million in capital investments during fiscal 2025. These investments align with our long-term strategy to enhance utility infrastructure, expand clean energy investments and optimize our storage and transportation capabilities.

現在，讓我們翻到第 12 張投影片，我們將在其中討論我們的資本計畫。2025 財年和 2026 財年的計畫資本支出為 13 億美元至 16 億美元，這與我們 7% 至 9% 的長期 NFEPS 成長目標一致。與先前揭露的相比，我們的資本計畫沒有做任何改變，預計 2025 財年的資本投資將在 6.1 億美元至 7.9 億美元之間。這些投資符合我們的長期策略，即加強公用事業基礎設施、擴大清潔能源投資並優化我們的儲存和運輸能力。

As highlighted on slide 13, our strong balance sheet and liquidity position enable us to execute on our strategic priorities while maintaining financial flexibility. Our adjusted funds from operations or adjusted debt ratio is projected to range between 19% and 21% for fiscal 2025, which reflects our ability to generate solid operating cash flows and manage that effectively. These levels are consistent with maintaining our investment-grade credit rating at NJNG and a strong balance sheet at NJR. We expect our cash flow from operations to be between $460 million and $500 million in fiscal 2025, providing a solid foundation for our capital plan, dividends and other corporate needs.

正如投影片 13 所強調的，我們強大的資產負債表和流動性狀況使我們能夠執行策略重點，同時保持財務靈活性。我們預計 2025 財年的調整後營運資金或調整後負債比率將在 19% 至 21% 之間，這反映了我們產生穩健營運現金流並有效管理的能力。這些水準與維持 NJNG 的投資等級信用評級和 NJR 的強勁資產負債表一致。我們預計2025財年的經營現金流將在4.6億美元至5億美元之間，為我們的資本計畫、股利和其他公司需求奠定堅實的基礎。

With that, I'll turn the call back to Steve for concluding remarks on slide 14.

好了，我將把電話轉回給史蒂夫，請他針對第 14 張投影片做總結發言。

Thanks, Roberto. Before we move to Q&A, I'd like to briefly address NJR's positioning in light of the evolving macroeconomic environment, specifically in relation to tariffs. As many of you know, the situation remains fluid. New Jersey Natural Gas is our largest business unit. And because our business activities are domestic, we are largely insulated from the impact of imported goods and materials. Almost all of our gas supply comes from domestic suppliers, including many of the nation's largest interstate pipelines.

謝謝，羅伯托。在我們進入問答環節之前，我想根據不斷變化的宏觀經濟環境，特別是與關稅相關的情況，簡要談談 NJR 的定位。正如你們許多人所知，局勢仍然不穩定。新澤西天然氣是我們最大的業務部門。而且由於我們的業務活動在國內，我們基本上不受進口商品和材料的影響。我們幾乎所有的天然氣供應都來自國內供應商，包括許多全國最大的州際管道。

Additionally, New Jersey Natural Gas's capital program uses domestically sourced materials such as plastic pipe and infrastructure components. minimizing exposure to current tariffs. At Clean Energy Ventures, we are proactive when it comes to project cost containment. Most of our contracts incorporate structured provisions to preserve returns in the event of cost increases. As a result, we do not expect the uncertainty around tariffs will materially impact our near-term investments. Our solar investment pipeline remains broad and diverse, giving us meaningful flexibility in how and when we deploy capital. It's also important to emphasize that NJR's strong balance sheet continues to support our strategy and is well positioned in any short-term market dislocation.

此外，新澤西天然氣公司的資本計劃使用國內採購的材料，如塑膠管道和基礎設施組件，最大限度地減少當前關稅的影響。在清潔能源企業，我們在專案成本控制方面採取積極主動的態度。我們的大多數合約都包含結構化條款，以便在成本增加時保留回報。因此，我們預期關稅的不確定性不會對我們的近期投資產生重大影響。我們的太陽能投資管道仍然廣泛而多樣，為我們在如何以及何時部署資本方面提供了相當大的靈活性。同樣需要強調的是，NJR 強勁的資產負債表將繼續支持我們的策略，並且在任何短期市場混亂中都處於有利地位。

We are not relying on equity issuances to fund our capital plan. We have substantial liquidity and healthy cash flows and our debt maturity profile is staggered with no term debt due at the holdco level in fiscal 2025. To conclude, NJR is poised for sustained long-term growth across our diverse portfolio of businesses. Our balanced mix of regulated and nonregulated investments continues to support peer-leading performance. We raised our initial NFEPS guidance for the fifth consecutive year and our revised range of $3.15 to $3.30 per share reflects the strength of our business model and our ability to navigate dynamic market conditions. So with that, let's open up the line for questions.

我們並不依賴股票發行來資助我們的資本計畫。我們擁有充足的流動性和健康的現金流，我們的債務到期情況是交錯的，2025 財年控股公司層級沒有到期的定期債務。總而言之，NJR 已準備好透過其多元化的業務組合實現持續的長期成長。我們對受監管和非監管投資的均衡組合繼續支持同業領先的績效。我們連續第五年提高了初始 NFEPS 指導，修訂後的範圍為每股 3.15 美元至 3.30 美元，反映了我們業務模式的實力以及我們應對動態市場條件的能力。那麼，就讓我們開始提問吧。

(Operator Instructions) Richard Sunderland, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）摩根大通的理查德·桑德蘭。

Good morning, and thank you for the time today. Starting with the Leaf River expansion, what is the timing of a potential decision to advance that project. Also curious how much capital would that require and what sort of returns you're targeting?

早上好，感謝您今天抽出時間。從 Leaf River 擴建開始，推進該項目的潛在決定時機是什麼。也好奇這需要多少資本以及您期望獲得什麼樣的回報？

So just comparing the open season and evaluating those bids and doing that at the same effect, time as the costs associated with expansion really proving the entire transaction. We don't have a finite time line set right now. We don't have a determined point in which we actually go because you don't know whether you're going to complete the contracts or not. As far as total capital costs I'm going to estimate it somewhere between $175 million to $200 million total costs. Don't hold me to that, but it will probably be similar in that area.

因此，只需比較開放季節並評估這些投標並以相同的效果進行，時間與擴張相關的成本確實證明了整個交易。我們目前還沒有設定明確的時間表。我們沒有確定實際到達的時間點，因為你不知道是否能夠完成合約。就總資本成本而言，我估計總成本在 1.75 億美元至 2 億美元之間。別怪我，但在那個領域可能情況會類似。

And then as far as the returns go, they'd be in line with what you'd expect for a midstream invest. I think that's as far as we'll probably go with that right now. But yes, it's from the positive side, it's great. markets very supportive down in that region. It's a great asset. I think we're in a good position to move forward. We just need to put all these pieces together to make that capital investment.

就回報而言，它們將與你對中游投資的預期一致。我認為我們現在能做的就只有這些了。但確實，從積極的一面來看，這很棒。該地區的市場非常支持。這是一筆巨大的財富。我認為我們處於向前發展的良好狀態。我們只需要把所有這些部分整合在一起就可以進行資本投資。

Understood. That's very helpful. And then I appreciate the tariff commentary. I just wanted to drill in a little bit more for -- so at the sort of project level, do you see cost exposure to tariffs, which is then covered by the contractual protections you referenced. I guess I'm just trying to think how do you see development pace if costs do increase even if your returns are protected?

明白了。這非常有幫助。然後我很欣賞關稅評論。我只是想更深入地探討一下——那麼在專案層面，您是否看到成本受到關稅的影響，然後受到您提到的合約保護的覆蓋。我想我只是想想想，如果成本確實增加，即使你的回報受到保護，你如何看待發展速度？

It's too early to say. I mean it's such a slowing situation. You put that commentary in place, just to kind of give a view of how we're thinking about it and also that we've already thought about changes to this market. If you remember, we panels, we've had changes in ITC. We've had a number of issues over the past about 15 years that we've been in this market developing this market. So safe harboring provisions, certainly offer us some protection. As you can imagine, if you look at our capital plan, the construction for many is already happy to even know their commercial operation is going to happen until fiscal year 2026 or 2027.

現在說還太早。我的意思是，情況正在變得十分緩慢。您發表這樣的評論只是為了表明我們對此的看法，以及我們已經考慮過對這個市場進行改變。如果您還記得的話，我們的小組對 ITC 進行了更改。在過去的 15 年裡，我們在這個市場上發展的過程中遇到了許多問題。因此，安全港條款確實為我們提供了一些保護。你可以想像，如果你看一下我們的資本計劃，許多建築商已經很高興地知道他們的商業運營將持續到 2026 或 2027 財年。

So if these things are done well in advance, and we're just trying to convey to the market that -- we thought about this. We've got some protections in place. And given the fact that from a state perspective, variants. Solar's been one place where -- it's been a successful program, driving down costs. We've been able to develop and be able to deploy capital. So we feel for all those reasons. It's a good place to stay. And I think with the tariffs and all the other things that could happen, we're trying to compare hesitant, but we don't really see any impact over the next like 12, 24 months or so.

因此，如果這些事情提前做好，我們只是想向市場傳達——我們已經考慮過這一點。我們已經採取了一些保護措施。並且從國家角度來看，存在變體。太陽能是一個成功的項目，可以降低成本。我們已經能夠開發並部署資本。我們有這些感受。這是一個住宿的好地方。我認為，考慮到關稅以及所有其他可能發生的情況，我們正在猶豫不決，但我們實際上並沒有看到未來 12、24 個月左右的任何影響。

Jamieson Ward, Jefferies.

傑米森·沃德，傑富瑞。

Good morning. It was great hosting you guys recently in Texas and nicely done on the beat and raise. If I could just expand on Richard's Leaf River question here. How should we think about the expected economics in terms of how they compare to your existing caverns and also just given current storage market dynamics.

早安.最近在德州接待你們非常愉快，你們的節奏和表現都很好。如果我可以在這裡詳細闡述理查德的 Leaf River 問題。我們應該如何考慮預期的經濟效益，將其與現有的洞穴進行比較，並考慮當前的儲存市場動態。

Yes. The way to think about that, this is something that we're only going to build if we get the returns that are appropriate for the investments that we're making, right? So what I'm trying to say there is that we've got to make the contracts in place -- we've got to be able to lock in a significant portion of materials and that clear line of sight on what our construction costs are and then have a little bit of an extra in order to test safety factor through probably a multiyear cycle of developing out that cavern.

是的。想想看，只有當我們獲得與我們所做的投資相符的回報時，我們才會去建構這個東西，對嗎？所以我想說的是，我們必須簽訂合約——我們必須能夠鎖定大部分材料，並明確我們的建設成本，然後再留出一點額外的費用，以便在可能多年的洞穴開發週期中測試安全係數。

So hope that gives you a flavor for how we're thinking about this and the types of returns that we would have to have in order to make all that happen. I don't know if it's comparable to our initial investment because that investment was up and running. It was already contracted. It was already done. It was larger largely derisked. This is a little bit different from that.

所以希望這能讓您了解我們對此的看法以及為了實現這一切我們必須獲得的回報類型。我不知道它是否與我們最初的投資相當，因為那項投資已經啟動並運行。已經簽約了。已經完成了。它規模更大，風險也更低。這與那有點不同。

I appreciated your comments in the prepared remarks around affordability -- just wanted to also expand on that just with your core utility business now contributing about 65% to 68% of earnings and after successful November 2024 rate case settlement. Just given the affordability concerns and legislative initiatives highlighted recently in the state, how do you view the regulatory environment over the next 12 to 24 months and then maybe heading into your next rate case? And are there any specific regulatory mechanisms you're pursuing to further reduce lag between investment and recovery beyond SAVEGREEN and IIP?

我很欣賞您在準備好的評論中關於可負擔性的評論——只是想進一步闡述這一點，因為您的核心公用事業業務現在貢獻了約 65% 至 68% 的收入，並且在 2024 年 11 月成功解決了費率案件。鑑於該州最近強調的負擔能力問題和立法舉措，您如何看待未來 12 到 24 個月的監管環境，以及接下來的利率案例？除了 SAVEGREEN 和 IIP 之外，您是否正在推行任何具體的監管機制來進一步減少投資與復甦之間的滯後？

Jason, we're a good spot from a regulatory hold perspective. Having completed our rate case and having completed our energy efficiency filing and having that done really did some clear error for the next 12, 24, 36 months, not our next rate case, which come out. There's a lot of legislation that's being put forth right now around affordability. I'd say that in any years expect 10,000 pieces of legislation that are submitted. So what's going to make it through and then what's not, it's hard to say right now. But I can tell you from our perspective, as a company.

傑森，從監管角度來看，我們處於有利地位。完成我們的費率案例並完成我們的能源效率備案後，我們確實在接下來的 12、24、36 個月內犯了一些明顯的錯誤，而不是我們的下一個費率案例。目前有很多關於負擔能力的立法正在出台。我想說，任何一年預計都會有 10,000 項立法被提交。那麼什麼會成功，什麼不會成功，現在很難說。但我可以從我們公司的角度告訴你。

We've been very focused on affordability. We're focused on making sure that the way that we invest has a minimal impact on our customers and everything that we do for hedging programs to BGSS that deploying capital at times is really, really conscious around affordability for our customers. Natural as still an achieved this way to heat your home and state in New Jersey. And we don't want to give up that position willingly. So we're going to work on making certain that we still maintain that position going forward.

我們一直非常注重可負擔性。我們專注於確保我們的投資方式對客戶的影響最小，並且我們為 BGSS 對沖計劃所做的一切都是為了確保有時部署資本時真正考慮到客戶的承受能力。自然地，仍然可以通過這種方式來為您的家庭和新澤西州供暖。我們不想主動放棄這個地位。因此，我們將努力確保今後仍然保持這一地位。

Travis Miller, Morningstar.

崔維斯·米勒，晨星。

Thank you. Two more quick ones on Leaf River. One, is there any equipment or supplies that you need to order to complete that project, if you decide to go forward?

謝謝。在 Leaf River 上再來兩張快速照片。一，如果您決定繼續進行該項目，是否需要訂購任何設備或耗材來完成？

Yes. I mean we certainly have to order compressors to the piping associated with a big chunk of the dollars is just the order in a that is there. Sorry.

是的。我的意思是，我們肯定要訂購與管道相關的壓縮機，而這其中很大一部分費用只是訂單而已。對不起。

I mean you broke up a little bit there. But anyway, so you do have to order is there risk then the implication there? Is there a risk in terms of supply chain or tariffs or anything else in terms of getting what you need to build that?

我的意思是你們在那裡分手了。但無論如何，你必須訂購，那麼是否有風險，那麼其中的含義是什麼？在取得建設所需的資源方面，是否有供應鏈、關稅或其他方面的風險？

I think it's too early to tell on right now. We're still working through signs and things like that, trying to find those upper contracts. So for even an optimistic time frame, those orders would be out multiple months or maybe even year. I think it would take a while to determine whether this is going to be impactful and because the environment is so fluid it's a brownfield site. So we don't have to order as much. We don't have to put as much infrastructure in place as to somebody building a greenfield site, so that's certainly a positive to our point.

我認為現在下結論還為時過早。我們仍在努力尋找標誌和類似的東西，試圖找到更高的合約。因此，即使樂觀地看，這些訂單也可能需要幾個月甚至幾年的時間。我認為需要一段時間才能確定這是否會產生影響，而且由於環境非常不穩定，它是一個棕地場地。所以我們不需要訂購那麼多。我們不需要像建設綠地那樣投入那麼多的基礎設施，所以這對我們的觀點來說無疑是正面的。

And given the fact that we've already had the wells in place for order, and we've got the brine facilities in place, which is a big part of construction puts us in an advantage. So we're in a good place from that perspective. But too early to tell on things of that nature of this two.

鑑於我們已經準備好井水，並且已經建立了鹽水設施，這是建設的重要組成部分，這使我們具有優勢。所以從這個角度來看，我們處於有利地位。但現在就對這兩件事的性質下結論還為時過早。

And then a higher-level question, the utility you continue to see customer growth over and over and over. What's going on there, right? What are some of the fundamentals where we don't necessarily see that at some other utilities -- is there a business mix change in terms of residential to business or business to residential? What are some of the fundamental shifts you're seeing here in terms of still continuing to get customer growth?

然後是一個更高層次的問題，實用程式會讓您不斷看到客戶一次又一次地成長。那裡發生什麼事了，對吧？哪些基本面是我們在其他公用事業中不一定能看到的——是否存在從住宅到商業或從商業到住宅的業務組合變化？就持續實現客戶成長而言，您看到哪些根本轉變？

This is Pat Migliaccio. So to answer your question, there's been no change in the mix. We are predominantly residential service direction rate, so 93% insinential, 7% commercial. I would say that we have a really attractive service there, sorry, principally Monmouth, Ocean and Morris Counties, Animal room for development, great demographics in terms of some of the highest per capita income brackets in the state of New Jersey and just a great base live hit those well by the short traps.

這是 Pat Migliaccio。所以回答你的問題，混合物沒有發生任何變化。我們主要提供住宅服務方向，因此 93％ 為非本質服務，7％ 為商業服務。我想說我們在那裡提供了非常有吸引力的服務，對不起，主要是蒙茅斯、海洋和莫里斯縣，動物發展空間，人口結構非常好，是新澤西州人均收入最高的地區之一，而且很好的基地生活很好地擊中了那些短暫的陷阱。

And on the flip side, though, we are also constantly advocated for ways we can save customers' money and that's through our Cambornergy efficiency program larger center in the state, but that really provides customers an opportunity to conduct an Don their own and figure out when they've done warranty efficient for those on that are already to disrupt. So Hope that answered your question, but we do believe that we continue to see fantastic customer base.

但另一方面，我們也不斷提倡為客戶省錢的方法，那就是透過我們在州內較大的中心 Cambornergy 效率計劃，但這確實為客戶提供了一個機會，讓他們自己進行研究，並弄清楚他們何時為那些已經受到干擾的人做了保修效率。希望這回答了您的問題，但我們確實相信我們會繼續看到出色的客戶群。

(Operator Instructions) Robert Mosca, Mizuho Securities.

（操作員指示）瑞穗證券的羅伯特·莫斯卡 (Robert Mosca)。

Just one from me. I think there was maybe an updated draft to the proposed energy master plan a little bit after your 1Q update. Just wondering if there's anything in particular you're focused on during the comment period? And anything that might change just given some of the recent affordability legislation proposed in New Jersey, kind of open-ended question, but curious to get your thoughts there.

我只有一個。我認為，在您第一季更新之後不久，可能就會出現擬議的能源總體規劃的更新草案。只是想知道在評論期間您是否特別關注什麼？鑑於新澤西州最近提出的一些可負擔性立法，任何可能的變化都是一個開放式的問題，但我很想知道您的想法。

Thanks, Rob. So there was a presentation that was put forth on the energy master brand, but there was not a whole traffic document of the energy master plan issued. They did allow for a comment period, which we did submit comments on. I'm not sure what the follow-up will be on that.

謝謝，羅布。因此，雖然提出了能源主品牌的演示文稿，但並沒有發布能源總體規劃的完整交通文件。他們確實允許了評論期，我們也確實提交了評論。我不確定後續會怎樣。

Just as a reminder, we are going to go through (inaudible) election. There's November. So you're going to change the administration -- so I fully expect the new administration this fall will be drafting probably annuity energy master plan. So I think as far as you're concerned at a stage in moment to see how this plays out next year or so on seen evictions focus and goals are.

提醒一下，我們將進行（聽不清楚）選舉。十一月了。所以你將要更換政府——所以我完全預計今年秋天新政府將起草年金能源總體規劃。所以我認為就您目前所關注的階段而言，看看明年左右這一情況如何發展，看看驅逐的重點和目標是什麼。

This concludes our Q&A section. I will now turn the call back over to Adam Prior for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

我們的問答部分到此結束。現在我將把電話轉回給亞當·普賴爾，請他作結束語。請繼續。

I'd like to thank you all for joining us. We hope to see many of you at our AGA later this month. And as always, we appreciate your interest and investment in NJR. Good day.

我要感謝大家的參與。我們希望本月晚些時候能在 AGA 上見到你們。像往常一樣，我們感謝您對 NJR 的關注和投資。再會。