NorthWestern Energy Group Inc (NWE) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Eric, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the NorthWestern Energy first quarter 2025 financial results webinar. (Operator Instructions)

感謝您的支持。我叫 Eric，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加西北能源 2025 年第一季財務業績網路研討會。（操作員指示）

I would now like to turn the call over to Travis Meyer. Please go ahead.

現在我想把電話轉給崔維斯·邁耶。請繼續。

Thank you, Eric. Good afternoon, and thank you for joining NorthWestern Energy Group's financial results webcast for the quarter ended March 31, 2005 -- excuse me 2025. My name is Travis Meyer, and I'm the Director of Corporate Development and Investor Relations Officer for NorthWestern.

謝謝你，埃里克。下午好，感謝您收聽西北能源集團截至 2005 年 3 月 31 日（抱歉，截止至 2025 年）的季度財務業績網絡廣播。我叫崔維斯‧邁耶 (Travis Meyer)，是西北公司的企業發展總監兼投資人關係官。

Joining us on the call today are Brian Bird, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Crystal Lail, Chief Financial Officer. Brian and Crystal will be walking us through the results and providing a little more color on a very solid quarter.

今天參加電話會議的有總裁兼執行長 Brian Bird 和財務長 Crystal Lail。Brian 和 Crystal 將向我們介紹業績並對這個非常穩健的季度提供更多細節。

NorthWestern results have been released, and the release is available on our website at northwesternenergy.com. We also released our 10-Q premarket this morning. Please note that the company's press release, this presentation, comments by presenters and responses to your questions may contain forward-looking statements. As such, I'll direct you to the disclosures contained in our SEC filings and the safe harbor provisions included on the second slide of this presentation.

NorthWestern 的表現已發布，詳情請瀏覽我們的網站 northwesternenergy.com。我們今天上午也發布了 10-Q 盤前報告。請注意，本公司的新聞稿、本簡報、演講者的評論以及對您的問題的答覆可能包含前瞻性陳述。因此，我將向您介紹我們提交給美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 的文件中所包含的揭露內容以及本簡報第二張投影片中所包含的安全港條款。

Also note that this presentation includes non-GAAP financial measures. Please see the non-GAAP disclosures, definitions and reconciliations included in the presentation. The webcast is being recorded. The archived replay will be available shortly after the event and remain active for one year. Please visit the Financial Results section of our webcast to access the replay.

另請注意，本簡報包括非 GAAP 財務指標。請參閱簡報中包含的非 GAAP 揭露、定義和對帳。網路直播正在錄製中。存檔重播將在活動結束後不久提供，並將保留一年。請造訪我們網路廣播的財務結果部分以觀看重播。

With that, I'll hand it over to Brian Bird for his opening remarks.

現在，我將把時間交給 Brian Bird 來致開幕詞。

Thanks, Travis. The recent highlights for the quarter reported GAAP diluted EPS of $1.25 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.22. We are affirming our long-term rate base and earnings per share growth rate targets of 4% to 6%. We've completed our debt financing needs for 2025. And again, we'll stress, we have no planned equity to finance our current five-year capital investment.

謝謝，崔維斯。本季最新業績亮點：GAAP 稀釋每股收益 1.25 美元，非 GAAP 稀釋每股收益 1.22 美元。我們確認長期利率基準和每股盈餘成長率目標為 4% 至 6%。我們已經完成了2025年的債務融資需求。再次強調，我們沒有規劃股權來為我們目前的五年資本投資提供資金。

From a dividend declaration standpoint, we declared a $0.66 per share payable June 30, 2025 dividend to shareholders of record as of June 13, 2025. The Montana rate review is nearing completion. We have a full natural gas settlement reached with major intervenors and a partial electric settlement reached as well. And I think you know, the hearing starts on June 9.

從股息宣布的角度來看，我們宣布向截至 2025 年 6 月 13 日登記在冊的股東派發每股 0.66 美元的股息，派息日期為 2025 年 6 月 30 日。蒙大拿州的稅率審查即將完成。我們與主要介入者達成了全面的天然氣和解，並達成了部分電力和解。我想你知道，聽證會將於 6 月 9 日開始。

And lastly, the Montana legislature has passed wildfire and other constructive bills now pending the governor's approval. As we start presentation today, before we get into the quarterly results, just to remind folks of the value proposition for NorthWestern. Starting with a 5% dividend yield is very, very attractive, as you know.

最後，蒙大拿州立法機構已經通過了有關野火和其他建設性的法案，目前正等待州長批准。在我們今天開始展示時，在我們討論季度業績之前，只是為了提醒大家西北航空的價值主張。如您所知，以 5% 的股息收益率開始是非常非常有吸引力的。

Add to that, a 4% to 6% EPS growth, great investment, as you know, in the next five years over -- across our total business provides a 9% to 11% total growth profile. We do believe there are opportunities with data centers and new large load up opportunities to actually potentially achieve greater than 6% EPS growth.

除此之外，如您所知，每股收益將成長 4% 至 6%，這是一項巨大的投資，在未來五年內，我們的整個業務將實現 9% 至 11% 的總成長率。我們確實相信，資料中心和新的大型負載機會實際上有可能實現超過 6% 的 EPS 成長。

In addition to that, there's FERC Regional Transmission, incremental generating capacity and transmission capacity associated with meeting new large load opportunities, which could result in greater than 11% total growth returns.

除此之外，還有聯邦能源管理委員會區域輸電、增量發電能力以及與滿足新的大負載機會相關的輸電能力，這些都可能帶來超過 11% 的總成長回報。

And with that, I am going to pass it over to Crystal to talk about the first quarter.

接下來，我將把話題交給 Crystal 來談論第一季。

Thank you, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us here in our update. In my comments today, I will cover a few things, updates since we last talked at our year-end earnings call in February. As Brian highlighted, we've been busy. So it's been a busy couple of months.

謝謝你，布萊恩，大家下午好。感謝您參與我們的更新。在今天的評論中，我將介紹一些事情，以及自我們二月份年終收益電話會議上上次談話以來的最新進展。正如布萊恩所強調的，我們一直很忙。所以這幾個月過得非常忙碌。

So our first quarter 2025 results, I'll give you more detail on those, also update you, and Brian mentioned a couple of our financing execution in the last couple of months, also providing a bit more additional insight into our key regulatory proceedings and update you on our 2025 outlook.

因此，我將向您提供我們 2025 年第一季度的業績的更多詳細信息，並向您通報最新情況，Brian 提到了我們在過去幾個月中的幾項融資執行情況，同時還對我們的主要監管程序提供了更多額外見解，並向您通報了我們 2025 年的展望。

We delivered a solid first quarter driven by strong margin contributions from both the electric and gas segments and ongoing consistent expense management. Moving to slide 7. This details the drivers of our earnings per share compared to the same period last year. We reported earnings of $1.25 on a GAAP basis as compared to $1.06 in the first quarter of 2024.

我們第一季業績表現穩健，這得益於電力和天然氣部門強勁的利潤貢獻以及持續一致的費用管理。移至幻燈片 7。這詳細說明了與去年同期相比我們每股收益的驅動因素。我們報告的 GAAP 收益為 1.25 美元，而 2024 年第一季的收益為 1.06 美元。

These higher earnings were driven by rate recovery and colder weather, offset by operating costs, depreciation and interest expense.

收益增加的原因是運費回升和天氣轉冷，但被營運成本、折舊和利息支出所抵銷。

Moving to slide 8 for a bit more detail on how the margins increased breakdown. New rates, both via interim rates and also final base rates, drove $0.20 of margin improvement, which reflects impact notably in all three of our jurisdictions. We also saw favorable loads of $0.13 during the first quarter here due to both colder weather, customer growth and usage on our system.

請移至投影片 8，以了解更多有關利潤率如何增加細分的詳細資訊。新的利率（包括臨時利率和最終基準利率）推動利潤率提高 0.20 美元，這在我們三個司法管轄區都產生了顯著影響。由於天氣轉冷、客戶成長以及系統使用率提高，第一季我們的負載也達到了 0.13 美元。

In addition, we continue to see favorable transition revenues of about $0.05 of contribution in the quarter. I would also note that the PCCAM column here or the nonrecoverable Montana electric supply costs, while that looks like a small variance for the quarter, when you think about total impact there, we had a Q1 detriment this year of $2.7 million. I almost said $27 million, which as many of you who follow us know, that's what the total amount would be, the 10% sharing would be the $2.7 million impact of detriment this quarter.

此外，我們繼續看到本季約 0.05 美元的良好過渡收入。我還要指出的是，這裡的 PCCAM 欄或不可收回的蒙大拿州電力供應成本，雖然這看起來像是本季度的一個小差異，但當你考慮到那裡的總體影響時，我們今年第一季的損失為 270 萬美元。我差點就說了 2700 萬美元，正如關注我們的許多朋友所知，這就是總金額，10% 的分成將造成本季 270 萬美元的損失。

And this compared to $3 million of detriment in the prior quarter, so first quarter of 2024. So comparatively, only $300,000 of impact there is slightly favorable. But I would just highlight that we expect to see that as an ongoing trend here in 2025 of headwinds on the PCCAM front, again, cost being above that baseline. And as I'll get into in a little more detail, that remains an open item in our Montana rate review.

相比之下，上一季（即 2024 年第一季）的損失為 300 萬美元。因此，相比之下，只有 30 萬美元的影響略微有利。但我只想強調的是，我們預計到 2025 年，PCCAM 方面仍將面臨阻力，成本將再次高於該基線。我將更詳細地介紹這一點，這仍然是我們蒙大拿州利率審查中的一個未決問題。

So again, including the earnings for the quarter on margin, significant improvement there on the back of rate recovery relief necessary to offset the costs that are already in place. Moving to slide 9. I highlighted already that weather was favorable during the quarter. So weather favorably impacted the first quarter by $0.03. While in the first quarter of 2024, we had milder weather. So it was unfavorable by $0.01. So that's a $0.04 swing between first quarter of '24 to first quarter of 2025.

因此，再次強調，包括本季的利潤在內，在抵銷現有成本所需的利率恢復減免的支持下，利潤率出現了顯著改善。移至幻燈片 9。我已經強調過，本季天氣狀況良好。因此，天氣對第一季產生了0.03美元的有利影響。而2024年第一季的天氣則較為溫和。所以它不利了0.01美元。也就是說，從2024年第一季到2025年第一季，波動幅度為0.04美元。

In addition, in the first quarter of 2024, there was net $0.02 of favorable adjustments that were backed out for other matters during the first quarter of 2024 that were onetime items. So on an adjusted basis, you'll see that our GAAP reported results for the quarter of $1.25, removing again favorable weather for the quarter of $0.03 to an adjusted earnings of $1.22, and that's a $0.13 improvement over the prior year, those adjusted earnings were $1.09 in the prior year and again on the back of favorable weather in the first quarter of 2025.

此外，2024 年第一季度，有淨 0.02 美元的有利調整，這些調整因 2024 年第一季度的其他事項而被撤銷，這些事項為一次性項目。因此，在調整後的基礎上，您會看到我們的 GAAP 報告本季業績為 1.25 美元，再次剔除本季 0.03 美元的有利天氣因素，調整後收益為 1.22 美元，並且比上年提高了 0.13 美元，上年的調整後收益為 1.09 美元，並且比上年提高了 0.13 美元，上年的調整後收益為 1.09 美元，並且比上年提高了 2025 年第一季的天氣。

Turning to financing activities on slide 10. We are happy to say that during March, we priced $500 million of long-term debt in two separate transactions. One was included in our disclosures in the 10-Q detail on these, but 144A transaction and also a smaller First Mortgage amount transaction in South Dakota.

轉向投影片 10 上的融資活動。我們很高興地說，三月我們透過兩筆獨立的交易對 5 億美元的長期債務進行了定價。我們在 10-Q 詳細披露中包括了其中一項，但這是 144A 交易，也是南達科他州一筆較小額度的首筆抵押貸款交易。

And with a bit of the volatility in the market, I'm glad to say we have solid investor interest, close those out before maybe some of that volatility hit, and those transactions successfully addressed our financing needs for 2025.

儘管市場有些波動，但我很高興地說，我們擁有堅定的投資者興趣，在市場波動來襲之前就將其平倉，這些交易成功地解決了我們 2025 年的融資需求。

So in addition to that, I would also note that we, consistent with our solid earnings performance in Q1, our cash flows match that. So you'll see that our FFO to debt metrics on a consolidated basis closed out the quarter just above our 14% threshold. And again, remaining focused on building cushion there to where we want to be from a long-term basis. But again, closing out our financing needs for 2025, and we feel good about having that work done.

除此之外，我還要指出的是，我們的現金流也與我們第一季穩健的獲利表現一致。因此，您會看到，在本季結束時，我們的合併 FFO 與債務指標略高於 14% 的門檻。再次，我們將繼續專注於建立緩衝，以實現我們的長期目標。但是，再次，我們解決了 2025 年的融資需求，對完成這項工作感到非常高興。

So with slide 11, I will transition from talking about the financials for a regulatory update. So you all know that follows that we submitted settlements in the Montana rate review here recently, and it was a partial settlement in the electric case with the remaining key contested issues related to the revenue requirement for the Yellowstone generating station facility and also the PCCAM base.

因此，在第 11 張投影片中，我將從討論財務狀況轉向討論監管更新。所以大家都知道，我們最近在蒙大拿州的費率審查中提交了和解方案，這是電力案件的部分和解，其餘關鍵爭議問題與黃石發電廠設施和 PCCAM 基地的收入要求有關。

But we were able to reach a settlement on the base transmission, distribution and base generation costs. And of course, that was a significant investment for us and on customers we have. Importantly, underlying that settlement, it maintains our existing electric ROE and also our as-filed capital structure. The slide here gives you significant detail, and I think there's more in the appendix on what that settlement looks like. And also importantly, the bookings of the intervener position.

但我們能夠就基礎輸電、配電和基本發電成本達成和解。當然，這對我們和我們的客戶來說是一項重大投資。重要的是，根據該協議，它維持了我們現有的電力 ROE 以及我們提交的資本結構。這裡的幻燈片提供了重要的細節，我認為附錄中還有更多關於解決方案的內容。同樣重要的是，幹預者職位的預訂。

So again, the contested matters detailed as the Yellowstone revenue requirement and also the PCCAM base. And this slide gives you the bookends of what that looks like. Notably, even with the partial settlement and if you include our position on those contested issues, the average bill impact is just over 4% to our customers.

因此，再次強調，爭議事項具體為黃石公園的收入要求以及 PCCAM 基地。這張幻燈片向您展示了它的樣子。值得注意的是，即使達成部分和解，如果將我們對這些有爭議問題的立場也考慮在內，對我們的客戶而言，平均帳單影響也僅略高於 4%。

In addition, with the reduction in PCCAM, so putting Yellowstone into base rates and reducing PCCAM, the supply mechanism related to that is an overall reduction in customer bills. So we feel really good with our position going into hearing to make that known to both the commission and others, the value customers are receiving on the backs of that facility.

此外，隨著 PCCAM 的減少，將黃石納入基準費率並降低 PCCAM，與此相關的供應機制是客戶帳單的整體減少。因此，我們對我們的立場感到非常滿意，我們將參加聽證會，讓委員會和其他人都知道客戶透過該設施獲得的價值。

Moving to slide 12, to talk about the gas settlement, it is a full settlement, and it has a slight increase in ROE to 9.55% in the prior case to 9.6% in this one and our as-filed capital structure. The average bill impact from this gas case is approximately 9%, maintaining rates below the national average.

轉到投影片 12，討論天然氣結算，這是一項全面結算，並且 ROE 略有增加，在前一個案例中為 9.55%，在這個案例中為 9.6%，以及我們的備案資本結構。該天然氣案件對帳單的平均影響約為 9%，費率低於全國平均水平。

For these dockets, a hearing is scheduled in June, and we expect to implement rates in May. Following a hearing, a perking schedule we established with a final order, we believe likely in late Q3 to potentially early Q4.

對於這些案件，聽證會定於六月舉行，我們預計在五月實施稅率。經過聽證會，我們根據最終命令確定了重啟時間表，我們認為重啟時間可能在第三季末至第四季初。

Concluding my comments on the regulatory front and moving to our outlook slide here on slide 13. We have -- we believe we've made significant progress in 2025, and this provides the foundation for advancing critical customer objectives, while balancing the importance of reliability and affordability to our customers as well as the important part of delivering to our shareholders and supporting our long-term growth outlook.

結束我對監管方面的評論，然後轉到第 13 張投影片上的展望。我們相信，我們在 2025 年取得了重大進展，這為推進關鍵客戶目標奠定了基礎，同時平衡了可靠性和可負擔性對客戶的重要性以及為股東提供回報和支持我們長期增長前景的重要部分。

We are affirming, and I think Brian mentioned this upfront, our long-term earnings and rate base growth outlook. But as we've previously discussed, we don't expect to provide 2025 earnings guidance until conclusion of a hearing in the Montana rate review. However, we also wanted to be proactive in sharing how the timing impacts of that may affect our quarterly distribution of earnings in 2025.

我們正在確認，我認為布萊恩預先提到了這一點，我們的長期盈利和利率基礎增長前景。但正如我們之前討論過的，我們預計在蒙大拿州利率審查聽證會結束之前不會提供 2025 年的獲利預測。然而，我們也希望積極主動地分享這種時間影響可能如何影響我們 2025 年的季度收益分配。

And obviously, many of you already have expectations out there for us for where you think our 2025 will land. And as noted in the regulatory update, we expect to implement updated rates in Montana in May versus, of course, incurring what is already a full year of costs associated with those new investments. This causes more of our quarterly distribution to be weighted in the second half of the year.

顯然，你們中的許多人已經對我們 2025 年的目標抱有期待。正如監管更新中所述，我們預計將於 5 月在蒙大拿州實施更新後的費率，當然，這將產生與這些新投資相關的全年成本。這使得我們的季度分配更集中在下半年。

As a result, we expect our second quarter to be a lower contribution to overall earnings than you would typically expect from us, and we have provided an indication of that earnings distribution here in -- for the second quarter of 2025 to be approximately 10% contribution to the full year. I would also note that the first quarter was solid and slightly ahead of what would have been our expectation.

因此，我們預計第二季對整體收益的貢獻將低於您通常的預期，並且我們在此提供了收益分配的指示——2025 年第二季度的收益貢獻約為全年的 10%。我還要指出的是，第一季表現穩健，略高於我們的預期。

So let me conclude my comments here and the outlook discussion by reinforcing our confidence in delivering on our earnings and rate base growth commitments over the long term, which moves us to slide 14. And this is the capital slide you've seen before from us, our five-year capital plan and expected investments on our customers' behalf.

因此，讓我在這裡結束我的評論和前景討論，透過加強我們對長期實現盈利和利率基礎增長承諾的信心，這將帶我們進入第 14 張幻燈片。這是您之前看到的我們的資本幻燈片，包括我們的五年資本計劃以及我們為客戶進行的預期投資。

We updated this in February, and the slide remains the same as to what you've seen before. So we are affirming our capital plan and on track for execution here in '25. And again, as Brian highlighted, leading in, this is size to need no equity, but also keeping both reliability and affordability for our customers in mind. So with that, I will turn it back to Brian.

我們在二月份對此進行了更新，幻燈片與您之前看到的一樣。因此，我們確認了我們的資本計劃，並計劃在 25 年順利實施。正如 Brian 所強調的，這種規模不需要股權，同時也考慮到客戶的可靠性和可負擔性。因此，我將把話題轉回給 Brian。

Crystal. We had two main objectives going into this legislative session in 2025, and two bills that we want to sponsor. There was a wildfire bill and a transmission bill. We're pleased to report that we've had success in both of those efforts, and the Montana wildfire bill is something we're extremely excited about. It's a significant risk for the company and all Western utilities.

水晶。我們在 2025 年立法會議上有兩個主要目標，我們想要發起兩項法案。有一份野火法案和一份輸電法案。我們很高興地報告，我們在這兩項努力中都取得了成功，而蒙大拿州野火法案更是讓我們感到非常興奮。這對該公司以及所有西方公用事業公司來說都是一個重大風險。

This bill, which passed through the House and Senate, unanimous bipartisan support, sitting on the Governor's desk, I believe, to be signed. And so we feel extremely good about this. We -- provides tremendous protection, which I'll talk about in a second, but we believe this is one of the strongest wildfire bills in the country from a state perspective.

這項法案已在眾議院和參議院獲得通過，並獲得了兩黨的一致支持，我相信它已經送到州長的辦公桌上等待簽署。因此我們對此感到非常高興。我們提供了巨大的保護，我稍後會談到，但我們認為，從州的角度來看，這是全國最強有力的野火法案之一。

It's -- there's no strict liability. It confirms strict liability-- it cannot be applied to utility operations related to the wildfire. Legal protection, there's a rebuttable presumption. Utility acted reasonably if it substantially followed an MPSC approved wildfire mitigation plan for wildfire ignited -- was ignited.

這是——沒有嚴格責任。它確認了嚴格責任——它不能適用於與野火有關的公用事業運營。法律保護，有可反駁的推定。如果公用事業公司實質上遵循了 MPSC 批准的針對已點燃的野火的野火緩解計劃，則其採取的行動是合理的。

From a damages perspective, as we'd expect -- at any time, there's property damage and fire control costs, we'd be responsible for those economic damages. But one thing we were extremely concerned about is where we've seen in other states where we see noneconomic and punitive damages assigned. In this case, for us, noneconomic damages can only be applied if there's bodily injury or death occurs.

從損害賠償的角度來看，正如我們所預料的那樣——在任何時候，只要有財產損失和消防成本，我們就要對這些經濟損失負責。但有一件事讓我們極為擔憂，那就是我們在其他州看到判處非經濟性賠償和懲罰性賠償的情況。在這種情況下，對我們來說，只有發生人身傷害或死亡時才能適用非經濟損失賠償。

And punitives can only be applied where there's clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence or intent. We feel very, very good about this, and we really appreciate the state and all the parties we work with, co-ops and all parties associated with getting this done. We'd like to think this will come off the Governor's desk relatively soon with the signature.

只有在存在明顯且令人信服的重大過失或故意證據的情況下，才能實施懲罰措施。我們對此感到非常非常好，我們非常感謝州政府和與我們合作的所有各方、合作社以及為完成這項工作而參與的所有各方。我們希望這份文件能夠盡快在州長的辦公桌上簽署。

So excited about where that sits, and feel really good about legislative session on that item alone. But we also had some success from a transmission perspective. As you're well aware, many states have a certificate of public convenience and necessity, CPCN.

我對此感到非常興奮，並且對就此項目舉行的立法會議感到非常滿意。但從傳輸的角度來看，我們也取得了一些成功。眾所周知，許多州都設有公共便利和必要證書 (CPCN)。

We now have established a means to be able to get a CPCN for our large transmission work and at our request. And also, there's some time lines associated with the approvals for getting a CPCN and not actually the cost recovery of that. Prudency will still be at hand in terms of when the project is complete and appropriate cost recovery.

我們現在已經建立了一種方法，可以根據我們的大型傳輸工作和要求來取得 CPCN。此外，獲得 CPCN 的批准需要一定的時間，但實際上並不涉及成本回收。在工程完成時間和適當的成本回收方面仍需謹慎。

But this is a great step in the right direction. And I think, as everyone knows, it's extremely important from a build out and being able to serve customers nationwide to be able to have better means and more assurance around transmission build-out. So really, really happy with the outcomes of our legislative session here in 2025.

但這是朝著正確方向邁出的一大步。我認為，眾所周知，從建設角度來看，為全國客戶提供更好的服務，在傳輸建設方面擁有更好的手段和更多的保證是極其重要的。所以我們真的很高興看到 2025 年立法會議的成果。

Moving on, on slide 18, just reason, nothing really has changed on Colstrip. I think it's extremely important to talk about the parts of Colstrip. The no cost acquisition of the incremental pieces from both Avista and Puget. It certainly provides energy independence for the state and improves our reliability and certainly integrity. It moves our portfolio from a short capacity position to a long capacity.

繼續，在第 18 張幻燈片上，只是原因，Colstrip 上實際上沒有任何變化。我認為談論 Colstrip 的各個部分極為重要。免費取得 Avista 和 Puget 的增量件。它確實為國家提供了能源獨立，並提高了我們的可靠性和完整性。它將我們的投資組合從短容量狀態轉變為長容量狀態。

And obviously, with a zero upfront cost that maintains affordability while insulating customers from volatile capacity and energy market pricing.

顯然，零前期成本既能維持可負擔性，又能保護客戶免受產能和能源市場價格波動的影響。

That increased ownership, and I think you might recall when we talked about this at the very first time, we were very concerned about being, as a 15% owner, having other state policies drive the likelihood that the plant could be shut down. Now at 55% ownership, we can protect our existing ownership in Colstrip and provide Montana control to keep the plant open beyond the Washington, Oregon mandated closure deadlines.

這增加了所有權，我想你可能還記得，當我們第一次談論這個問題時，我們非常擔心，作為 15% 的所有者，其他州的政策可能會導致工廠關閉。現在我們擁有 55% 的所有權，可以保護我們在科爾斯特里普的現有所有權，並提供蒙大拿州的控制權，以確保工廠在華盛頓州、俄勒岡州規定的關閉期限之後繼續運作。

And significant capacity surplus provides opportunity for new large load customers, spreading fixed costs over more kilowatt hours, lower and stabilizing the cost per unit for all our customers.

而大量的產能過剩為新的大負荷客戶提供了機會，將固定成本分攤到更多的千瓦時上，降低並穩定了所有客戶的單位成本。

And I'd also point out here, I think you may have seen, and we certainly press released it, there's been some good outcomes from the EPA that also gives us more time to address mass and other issues at the Colstrip facility. And what I'd argue is a more realistic timetable to make decisions for the long-term health of Colstrip, and ultimately give us potentially more time to decisions for the ultimate closure of Colstrip.

我還要指出的是，我想您可能已經看到了，而且我們也確實在新聞發布會上發布了這一消息，美國環保署取得了一些良好的成果，這也使我們有更多時間來解決科爾斯特里普工廠的質量和其他問題。我認為，我們需要一個更現實的時間表來為科爾斯特里普的長期健康做出決策，並最終給我們更多的時間來決定是否最終關閉科爾斯特里普。

And as we like to think that could be certainly in the late 2030s and the 2040s, depending on economic, commercially available resources to replace it. And we believe in Colstrip long term, be it Colstrip power plant or whatever is there to replace it, we want to do at or around Colstrip.

我們認為，這肯定會在 2030 年代末和 2040 年代實現，具體取決於經濟和商業上可用的資源來取代它。我們對科爾斯特里普的長期發展充滿信心，無論是科爾斯特里普發電廠還是其他替代項目，我們都希望在科爾斯特里普或其周邊地區開展建設。

The far right on this page shows our existing ownership, then the incremental 592 megawatts from the Avista and Puget Sound. Collectively, those would be larger than the average loaded in Montana, but certainly substantially less than our peak load. But obviously, we have a full portfolio of resources.

本頁最右邊顯示的是我們現有的所有權，然後是來自阿維斯塔和普吉特海灣的增量 592 兆瓦。總的來說，這些負荷將大於蒙大拿州的平均負荷，但肯定大大低於我們的峰值負荷。但顯然，我們擁有豐富的資源。

And again, remind folks, in Montana, we sit currently at over 60% carbon free. But are all of the above approach, and this incremental cost allows us to be, as I mentioned earlier, not only energy independent, but protects our customers from those peak days when the wind is not blowing, the sun is not necessarily shining.

再次提醒大家，在蒙大拿州，我們目前的碳排放量已超過 60%。但以上所有方法都是如此，而這種增量成本使我們不僅能夠實現能源獨立，而且還可以保護我們的客戶免受無風、無太陽的高峰日的影響。

So really excited about what's happening at Colstrip and how it can certainly help our customers, and us, from a planning perspective going forward, to certainly support economic development in the state. Speaking of economic development, large load customers with a full portfolio and now having long capacity, we have the ability to serve large load customers.

我對科爾斯特里普正在發生的事情感到非常興奮，從未來的規劃角度來看，它肯定能夠幫助我們的客戶和我們，並支持州的經濟發展。說到經濟發展，大負荷客戶擁有完整的產品組合，現在擁有長期的產能，我們有能力為大負荷客戶提供服務。

Starting out in Montana. As you know, we've signed LOIs with SAIDI and Atlas. And is off to the right, you can see how those megawatts are expected to grow over time. We're in a letter of intent with those parties at this point in time. And we continue to work on various aspects to ultimately get to contracts with these parties. Hopefully, sometime in the second quarter or third quarter to get that -- to have that happen, and we expect to serve those two customers under existing Montana tariffs.

從蒙大拿州出發。如您所知，我們已經與 SAIDI 和 Atlas 簽署了意向書。在右邊，你可以看到這些兆瓦預計會如何隨著時間的推移而成長。目前，我們正與這些方簽署意向書。我們將繼續努力從各個方面最終與這些方達成協議。希望能夠在第二季或第三季的某個時候實現這一點，我們希望按照現有的蒙大拿州關稅為這兩位客戶提供服務。

In addition to that, we are actually working with quite a few other parties at various stages of development in both Montana and South Dakota. And even though we have incremental capacity from Colstrip, remember that, we as a regulated utility, these customers were receiving our full portfolio, not just resources off of Colstrip. So again, 60% carbon-free in Montana.

除此之外，我們實際上還與蒙大拿州和南達科他州處於不同開發階段的許多其他方進行了合作。儘管我們從科爾斯特里普獲得了增量容量，但請記住，作為受監管的公用事業公司，這些客戶獲得的是我們的全部產品組合，而不僅僅是科爾斯特里普的資源。蒙大拿州的碳排放量為 60%。

In South Dakota, in addition to having to add resources like we would in Montana above and beyond our first two announced data centers. In South Dakota, we already have a deviated great tariff that could certainly help us there in a means for quicker recovery.

在南達科他州，除了必須像在蒙大拿州那樣增加資源外，我們還必須增加前兩個宣布的資料中心。在南達科他州，我們已經實施了偏離的優惠關稅，這肯定可以幫助我們更快地恢復。

Montana, we would have to work on incremental tariffs associated with anything beyond SAIDI and Atlas at this point in time. So really excited about that opportunity, but definitely a lot of work yet to do.

蒙大拿州，目前我們必須研究與 SAIDI 和 Atlas 以外的任何項目相關的增量關稅。所以對於這個機會我真的很高興，但肯定還有很多工作要做。

Lastly, not much more to report on the regional transmission opportunities. We continue to work with Grid United and the other utilities looking at that opportunity. And also with Grid United on opportunities working with us, to move power out of Southwest Montana, those discussions continue, working ultimately to get further down the contracting process.

最後，關於區域傳輸機會的報告不多。我們將繼續與 Grid United 和其他尋找此機會的公用事業公司合作。我們也與 Grid United 探討了合作機會，將電力從蒙大拿州西南部移出，這些討論仍在繼續，最終將進一步推進合約簽訂流程。

One of the thing I guess I would also mention is we've announced in the past, as have others, there was a $700 million GRIP financing associated with this project, and I think that's still in question, $70 million of which would be used for the transmission -- excuse me, the Colstrip transmission system upgrade.

我想提一下的一件事是，我們過去曾宣布過，其他人也宣布過，該項目有 7 億美元的 GRIP 融資，我認為這仍有疑問，其中 7000 萬美元將用於傳輸 - 對不起，是 Colstrip 傳輸系統升級。

I would say, one thing I would argue about what the federal government is doing at this point in time. I also think they see the opportunity that transmission provides to all resources and also to keep customers' bills as well as possible longer term in order for us to move power around in between markets.

我想說的是，我想爭論的是聯邦政府目前正在做的事情。我還認為，他們看到了輸電為所有資源提供的機會，同時也看到了盡可能長期地保留客戶帳單，以便我們在市場之間轉移電力。

So I think there's quite a bit of support for transmission, and I'd like to think that this GRIP financing will be looked upon favorably, and we will continue to work with others to certainly try and achieve that for this project.

因此，我認為對傳輸的支援相當多，我希望這項 GRIP 融資將受到青睞，我們將繼續與其他人合作，努力實現該專案的目標。

And with that, that concludes our comments. And we'll turn it back to Mr. Meyer to drive the Q&A process.

我們的評論到此結束。我們將把話題交還給邁耶先生來推動問答過程。

We'll open it up for questions, Eric.

我們將開放提問，埃里克。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Nicholas Campanella, Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的尼古拉斯·坎帕內拉。

Hey, good afternoon. Hopefully, I'm coming through. Yeah, hey, hope everything goes well. Just on the tariff proceeding, it sounds like you are having conversations with customers other than the ones that you've identified so far. And just how long do you think that the tariff proceeding could go for? And is that -- do you need that to be finished before you announce anything incremental here on the data center side, I guess? Thanks.

嘿，下午好。希望我能成功。是啊，嘿，希望一切順利。僅在關稅程序上，聽起來您正在與迄今為止已確定的客戶以外的客戶進行對話。您認為關稅程序會持續多久？我想，在您宣布資料中心方面的任何增量內容之前，您是否需要先完成這一點？謝謝。

I think I put it to you in this context, Nick. We have five levels, if you will, of process for data centers. And let me just tell you that five real quick. There's a data center request, there's a high-level assessment, there's a contractual estimate, a completed contract and then construction. Those are your five.

我想我是在這種背景下向你提出的，尼克。如果您願意的話，我們的資料中心流程有五個層級。讓我快速地告訴你們這五個。有一個數據中心請求，有一個高層評估，有一個合同估算，有一個完成的合同，然後是施工。這是你的五個。

We are in various stages of the first three with parties. So on your data center request, there's currently nine parties. This is between both Montana and South Dakota, that are in the very early stages, they've provided a data center request, if you will. And in addition to that, there are three parties that are currently in the what's called the high-level assessment. They've gotten past the request. We shared information between the two parties and we're moving on to a high-level assessment.

我們與各方正處於前三個階段的不同階段。因此，關於您的資料中心請求，目前有九方。這是蒙大拿州和南達科他州之間的合作，目前還處於早期階段，如果你願意的話，他們已經提供了資料中心請求。除此之外，還有三方目前正在進行所謂的高層評估。他們已經滿足了請求。我們在雙方之間共享了信息，並且正在進行高層評估。

And there are two parties, the LOI parties, Atlas and SAIDI, that are in the contractual estimate. We are doing transmission service agreement studies to calculate total costs, if necessary, to finalize the contract. Once those studies are completed, we believe we'll get those two parties to a contract sometime in the second quarter, hopefully by the end of the second quarter, but could go into the July time period as well.

合約估價中有兩方，即意向書方 Atlas 和 SAIDI。我們正在進行輸電服務協議研究，以計算總成本，如有必要，以最終確定合約。一旦這些研究完成，我們相信我們將在第二季的某個時候與雙方簽訂合同，希望是在第二季末，但也可能進入 7 月。

So those studies take some time. And so once those get resolved, we believe we can get to contracts with those two parties. But as you've heard, also there are 12 other parties at various levels prior to that. I'm sure there are a lot of folks, a lot of utilities talking to many different parties in that process. So hard to say on those in the early stages.

所以這些研究需要一些時間。因此，一旦這些問題得到解決，我們相信我們可以與這兩方簽訂合約。但正如你所聽到的，在此之前，還有 12 個不同層級的政黨。我確信在這個過程中有很多人、很多公用事業公司正在與許多不同的方進行談判。所以在早期階段很難說這些。

And obviously, in the Q Atlas SAIDI, there's -- we have a full portfolio to serve those two customers. We have to build generation for folks that come in behind us. So -- and I don't know, Crystal, do you have anything to add there?

顯然，在 Q Atlas SAIDI 中，我們擁有完整的產品組合來服務這兩位客戶。我們必須為我們的後代創造一代新的生產力。那麼——我不知道，Crystal，您還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yeah, just layering on -- and Nick, your question as to the tariff under which we literally serve them and how do we move forward. So today, we have an existing tariff that we believe, these initial ones, and Brian was talking about the process, we're unique in being long energy. So we can serve them under that.

是的，只是分層——尼克，你的問題是關於我們實際上為他們提供的關稅以及我們如何前進。所以今天，我們相信，這些是現有的關稅，這些是初始關稅，布萊恩正在談論這個過程，我們在長期能源方面是獨一無二的。因此我們可以按照這種方式為他們提供服務。

And the important part of that is, underlying our current rate design is that commercial and industrial customers subsidize residential. So I know that's not the same everywhere, but that exists today, and we'll continue outside of -- or as we continue through this rate case, that underlying rate design is there.

其中最重要的一點是，我們目前的費率設計是商業和工業客戶補貼住宅客戶。所以我知道並非所有地方的情況都一樣，但今天這種情況已經存在，而且我們將繼續討論這個利率案例，或者隨著我們繼續討論這個利率案例，我們會發現底層利率設計是存在的。

So we believe we can serve them under our existing tariff. And then in a future filing, we certainly think there's modifications that could make that even better and then lay the foundation for what Brian was alluding to there as to when you get past the megawatts we have available today and need to build or have incremental infrastructure investment that there likely could be modifications to the tariff there to further continue to protect the other customers, even though those protections already exist today, and that would be in an upcoming filing.

因此我們相信我們可以按照現有的價格為他們提供服務。然後在未來的文件中，我們當然認為有一些修改可以使情況變得更好，然後為布萊恩所暗示的基礎奠定基礎，即當你超過我們今天可用的兆瓦數並需要建設或進行增量基礎設施投資時，可能會對那裡的關稅進行修改，以進一步繼續保護其他客戶，即使這些保護措施今天已經存在，這將在即將提交的文件中。

But again, I would just say, we believe we can serve them under our existing tariffs, that those tariffs will continue through this rate review to provide subsidization quite candidly as the residential customer group. And that's obviously a large load can be good broadly for the system in that regard, and that we can find them up as it is today. But Brian alluded to the process we're working through to getting there.

但我再說一遍，我們相信我們可以按照現有關稅為他們提供服務，這些關稅將透過這次費率審查繼續為他們提供補貼，坦白說，為住宅客戶群體提供服務。顯然，從這個角度來看，大負載對系統大體上是有利的，而且我們今天就能找到它們。但布萊恩提到了我們為實現這一目標所採取的措施。

And I think, again, to reiterate, South Dakota, the tariffs already are established and we can move forward there. There's --

我想再次重申，南達科他州的關稅已經確定，我們可以在那裡繼續推進。有--

I was talking about Montana, you can say that.

我正在談論蒙大拿州，你可以這麼說。

And in Montana, Crystal is absolutely right. There's going to be some more that needs to be done from the tariff development for further data centers beyond the first two in Montana.

在蒙大拿州，克里斯托 (Crystal) 的說法完全正確。除了蒙大拿州的兩個資料中心之外，還需要為其他資料中心製定更多的資費標準。

Okay, That's all helpful context. I appreciate that. And then, thanks for the info on the quarterly distribution. I guess just kind of taking into account, you had a good start to the year. You have this partial settlement that's out there, if that's approved. Do you kind of still see yourself within that 4% to 6% EPS range as we think through '25?

好的，這些都是有用的信息。我很感激。然後，感謝您提供有關季度分佈的資訊。我想只是考慮到，你今年有一個好的開始。如果獲得批准，您就可以獲得部分和解。當我們展望 25 年時，您是否仍認為自己的每股盈餘處於 4% 至 6% 的範圍內？

Nick, that is a very nice way of asking about our '25 guidance that we haven't given you a specific range on, I'll acknowledge that. And the only thing I would just say is on the long term, I would expect that we would stay within that 4% to 6% range, but also acknowledging that we've had some years here where we didn't hit it, but it may not be entirely linear, and we'll update you more after the hearing.

尼克，這是詢問我們的 25 條指導意見的一種非常好的方式，我們還沒有給你一個具體的範圍，我承認這一點。我只想說，從長遠來看，我預計我們會保持在 4% 到 6% 的範圍內，但也承認有些年份我們沒有達到這個目標，但它可能不是完全線性的，我們會在聽證會後向您提供更多資訊。

All right. Thanks.

好的。謝謝。

Thanks Nick.

謝謝尼克。

Chris Ellinghaus, Siebert Williams Shank & Co.

克里斯·埃林豪斯（Chris Ellinghaus），Siebert Williams Shank & Co.

Hi Chris.

你好，克里斯。

A couple of esoteric questions to start with. Did I detect that you changed the electric average customer accounts, and was that really just lighting portion? What was that all about?

首先要問幾個深奧的問題。我是否發現您更改了電力平均客戶帳戶，而這真的只是照明部分？那到底是怎麼回事？

I believe, so Chris, as usual, you know us well. And so Travis is feeding me this answer so I believe lighting is correct.

我相信，克里斯，像往常一樣，你很了解我們。所以特拉維斯向我提供了這個答案，所以我相信照明是正確的。

Chris, it was just -- it was really boiled down to the way we were counting our street lighting districts, and the new system we have that handles that. And so yes, it was -- we still saw our kind of 1.5%-ish customer growth. But beyond that, it was the street lighting.

克里斯，這只是——這實際上歸結為我們計算路燈區域的方式，以及我們處理該問題的新系統。是的，我們的客戶數量仍然保持 1.5% 左右的成長。但除此之外，還有街道照明。

Okay. And also, I was a little surprised by this, and maybe I just didn't detect this, but your average historic heating degree days in Montana actually went up? Has it actually been getting colder in Montana in the last few years?

好的。而且，我對此感到有點驚訝，也許我只是沒有發現這一點，但蒙大拿州歷史平均供暖度日數實際上增加了嗎？蒙大拿州的氣溫在過去幾年真的變冷了嗎？

I would -- that average is over the long term, Chris. So I don't know that there's anything changing there. There's nothing changed in our methodology that I am aware of --

我想——這個平均值是長期的，克里斯。所以我不知道那裡有什麼改變。據我所知，我們的方法沒有任何改變--

Methodology is the same. We do use a rolling 10-year average. And so that may have worked up over the last 10 years. I haven't drilled in deep enough to know if we had a real warm year fall off, but it may have moved up slightly.

方法論是一樣的。我們確實使用了 10 年滾動平均值。這可能在過去 10 年裡一直有效。我還沒有深入研究，不知道我們是否真的經歷了溫暖年份的下降，但可能略有上升。

Either -- yeah, I'm warning or rolled off or something recent was colder. So it certainly sounds like you've got a lot in the queue for possibilities. And you can't tell us today when some of those things might get, at least to the LOI stage. But do you have a sense of when you might need to begin the process of advancing of new capacity and do you have any kind of sense of what that magnitude might be for long-term planning purposes?

要嘛——是的，我發出警告，要嘛滾開，要嘛最近有些事情比較冷。所以聽起來你確實有很多可能性。你今天無法告訴我們其中一些事情何時會進展，至少是進入意向書階段。但是，您是否知道何時可能需要開始推進新產能的過程，以及您是否知道從長期規劃的角度來看，這一進程的規模有多大？

Yeah, I'll start -- I'll work backwards. You're not going to see us talk megawatts until we have LOIs, right? I'm really nervous about counting chicks before they hatch, as they say. But I think what we'd like to do is -- have a real good idea, I talked about those three players in the process. And as we continue to think about our resource planning perspective.

是的，我先開始──我會倒著做。在我們獲得意向書之前，你不會看到我們談論兆瓦，對嗎？正如人們所說，我真的很擔心在小雞孵化之前先數它們。但我認為我們想要做的是——有一個真正好的想法，我在這個過程中談到了這三名球員。我們將繼續思考資源規劃的觀點。

I mean we're going to work with these parties. Obviously, time is of the essence, and we're going to work with these parties to meet their needs as best we can from a timing perspective. So we could get at things pretty quickly, but we want to make sure, not just protect the company but protect our customers. We don't want to get ahead of our skis in terms of starting too far on the process in terms of resources until we know if we're lined up -- signed up with contracts with parties. So Chris, you won't see us front-running numbers here.

我的意思是我們將與這些政黨合作。顯然，時間至關重要，我們將與各方合作，從時間角度盡力滿足他們的需求。因此我們可以很快地解決問題，但我們要確保不僅保護公司，而且保護我們的客戶。在我們知道是否已做好準備（與各方簽訂合約）之前，我們不想在資源方面走得太遠。所以克里斯，你不會看到我們在這裡領先。

Okay, fair enough. So you sort of alluded to the long-term replacement of Colstrip for whatever the next commercially available capacity is. I presume that, that the only real long-term commercial capacity that you'd be waiting for is nuclear.

好吧，夠公平。所以您暗示了無論下一個商業可用容量是多少，Colstrip 都會得到長期替代。我認為，您所等待的唯一真正的長期商業產能是核能。

Is, in your view, at Colstrip, is there an adequate space at the plant to sort of contemporaneously construct a replacement capacity while maintaining Colstrip in the future? Is there just enough acreage there to be able to do that and sort of just flip the switch?

您認為，科爾斯特里普工廠是否有足夠的空間同時建立替代產能，同時在未來維護科爾斯特里普？那裡是否有足夠的土地來實現這一目標，並且只需輕輕一按開關就可以了？

Chris, let's just say this, at or around Colstrip, there's adequate -- we'll call sections, as they say. I grew up in Wisconsin where you talk acres. We talked about sections in Montana. There is adequate land for, I'd argue a gas plant, a coal plant or both, near or around our transmission facilities in Montana.

克里斯，我們只能這麼說，在科爾斯特里普或周圍，有足夠多的——正如他們所說，我們稱之為部分。我在威斯康辛州長大，那裡的人都說土地多。我們討論了蒙大拿州的部分地區。我認為，在蒙大拿州輸電設施附近或周圍有足夠的土地來建造一座天然氣電廠、一座燃煤電廠，或兩者兼而有之。

Gas or nuclear?

天然氣還是核能？

Gas or nuclear. What did I say?

天然氣或核能。我說了啥？

Coal.

煤炭。

I did say coal. The gas or nuclear. Thank you, Travis. There's plenty of coal already there. Gas or nuclear, thank you, at or around Colstrip. So -- and a matter of fact, I'll be at Colstrip on Friday. They're having a study has been done by one of the labs, talking about nuclear at Colstrip, and so they will be presenting at Colstrip to the community. And so that's the long-term solution, Chris.

我確實說過煤炭。氣體或核能。謝謝你，崔維斯。那裡已經有大量煤炭。謝謝，在科爾斯特里普 (Colstrip) 或週邊地區使用天然氣或核能。所以 — — 事實上，我星期五會去科爾斯特里普。他們正在進行一項研究，其中一個實驗室已經完成了這項研究，討論了科爾斯特里普的核能，因此他們將在科爾斯特里普向社區進行展示。這就是長期的解決方案，克里斯。

Obviously, its central government decides that we don't have adequate time and we need to close down Colstrip sooner, let's say, in the early 2030s. Well, I think we've said this before, we're likely to have to replace that plant with natural gas. And so longer term, we're going to look at nuclear, that's, as you know, it's something closer to the 2040s. But if we have to do something sooner, we're going to look at natural gas.

顯然，中央政府認為我們沒有足夠的時間，我們需要儘早關閉科爾斯特里普，比如說，在 2030 年代初。嗯，我想我們之前說過，我們很可能不得不用天然氣取代那家工廠。因此，從長遠來看，我們將研究核能，正如你所知，這是接近 2040 年代的事情。但如果我們必須盡快採取行動，我們就會考慮天然氣。

And the issue being here, we're certainly going to continue to think about renewables and storage, don't get me wrong. But to replace a plant like that, from a baseload perspective, we have to look at like-kind type resources. And unfortunately, as we sit here today, it's natural gas and there may be other technologies beyond nuclear we can look at. But as we sit here today, we think SMRs make a ton of sense.

問題是，我們肯定會繼續考慮可再生能源和存儲，請不要誤會我的意思。但要更換這樣的工廠，從基載角度來看，我們必須考慮同類資源。不幸的是，今天我們坐在這裡，我們可以研究的是天然氣，除了核能之外，可能還有其他技術。但今天我們坐在這裡，我們認為 SMR 非常有意義。

Okay. Great. One more question on SB 301. The 300 days makes a lot of sense in terms of sort of the strategic approval process for (technical difficulty) and 90 days post prudency review seems kind of short. Is there any portion of the bill that allows for any kind of overlapping of the approval process?

好的。偉大的。關於 SB 301 還有一個問題。就策略審批流程（技術難度）而言，300 天非常有意義，而 90 天的審慎後審查似乎有點短。該法案中是否有任何部分允許審批流程出現任何形式的重疊？

Or does it have to be, after the first 300-day process is over? And -- or can you just do the sort of intervenor education process around that?

還是必須在第一個 300 天流程結束後才這樣做？或者你能不能就此展開幹預教育過程？

I think the 90 days is appropriate. And I think primarily from a prudence perspective, I'm expecting that, that really comes into play if there's any overages associated with the project. And so I think that timing is appropriate. I don't think there's any overlapping that comes into play here with those two timetables. So I think they're appropriate. And Chris, we're not going to build any coal plants, just so you know.

我認為90天是合適的。我認為主要從審慎的角度來看，我預計，如果專案出現任何超額情況，那將真正發揮作用。所以我認為時機已經適合。我認為這兩個時間表沒有任何重疊。所以我認為它們是合適的。克里斯，我們不會建造任何燃煤電廠，你知道的。

Okay, all right, thanks a bunch. I appreciate the clarity.

好的，好的，非常感謝。我很欣賞這種清晰度。

Thanks, Chris, and Chris, we're not going to build any coal plants.

謝謝，克里斯，克里斯，我們不會建造任何燃煤電廠。

Got you.

明白了。

I will now turn the call over to Brian Bird for closing remarks. Please go ahead.

現在我將把電話交給 Brian Bird 來做結束語。請繼續。

Understand from Travis. We may have no further questions. I appreciate everyone's attendance here and staying abreast of what's happening at NorthWestern. We feel like it's been a very good effort in terms of the regulatory front to negotiate a full settlement on gas, in partial settlement on electric. I think it's been a great outcome.

從特拉維斯那裡了解。我們可能沒有其他問題了。我感謝大家的出席並了解西北大學的最新動態。我們認為，就監管方面而言，就天然氣問題達成全面解決方案、就電力問題達成部分解決方案進行了談判，這是一個非常好的努力。我認為這是一個很好的結果。

We've got a great legislative outcome. We feel really good about the first quarter as we sit here today, and so really excited about how things are looking for us for the remainder of the year. So thanks, everybody.

我們取得了很好的立法成果。今天我們坐在這裡，對第一季的業績感到非常滿意，並且對今年剩餘時間的業績發展感到非常興奮。謝謝大家。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining, and you may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入，現在可以斷開連線了。