OGE Energy Corp (OGE) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Third Quarter 2025 OGE Energy Corp. Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Jason Bailey. Please go ahead.

您好，感謝您的耐心等待。歡迎參加 OGE Energy Corp. 2025 年第三季財報電話會議。【操作說明】請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。現在我謹將會議交給今天的演講嘉賓傑森貝利。請繼續。

Thank you, Kevin, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to our call. With me today, I have Sean Trauschke, our Chairman, President and CEO; and Chuck Walworth, our CFO. In terms of the call today, we will first hear from Sean, followed by an explanation from Chuck of financial results. And finally, as always, we will answer your questions. I'd like to remind you that this call -- this conference is being webcast, and you may follow along at oge.com.

謝謝你，凱文，大家早安，歡迎參加我們的電話會議。今天陪我一起的有我們的董事長、總裁兼執行長肖恩·特勞施克，以及我們的財務長查克·沃爾沃思。在今天的電話會議中，我們首先會聽到肖恩的發言，然後查克會解釋財務表現。最後，我們將一如既往地回答大家的問題。我想提醒各位，本次電話會議正在進行網路直播，您可以在 oge.com 上觀看直播。

In addition, the conference call and accompanying slides will be archived following the call on that same website. Before we begin the presentation, I'd like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement regarding forward-looking statements. This is an SEC requirement for financial statements and simply states that we cannot guarantee forward-looking financial results, but this is our best estimate to date. I will now turn the call over to Sean for his opening remarks. Sean?

此外，電話會議及相關投影片將在會議結束後存檔於同一網站。在正式開始演示之前，我想請大家注意一下關於前瞻性陳述的安全港聲明。這是美國證券交易委員會對財務報表的要求，它只是表明我們無法保證未來的財務業績，但這是我們迄今為止最好的估計。現在我將把電話交給肖恩，請他致開幕詞。肖恩？

Thank you, Jason. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. It's certainly great to be with you. We again delivered strong results in the third quarter, and we remain on track to deliver on our commitments. This morning, we reported consolidated earnings of $1.14 per share, including electric company earnings of $1.20 per share and a loss at the holding company of $0.06. Our solid performance is driven by continued operational excellence, laser-like focus on the customer and constructive regulatory outcomes.

謝謝你，傑森。各位早安，感謝大家今天收看我們的節目。和你在一起真是太好了。第三季我們再次取得了強勁的業績，我們將繼續按計劃履行我們的承諾。今天上午，我們公佈了合併後的每股收益為1.14美元，其中包括電力公司每股收益1.20美元，以及控股公司每股虧損0.06美元。我們穩健的業績得益於持續卓越的營運、對客戶的精準關注以及積極的監管結果。

As we head into the remaining 2 months of 2025, we remain confident in our plans to deliver in the top half of our earnings guidance range. As you know, on the regulatory front, we have a preapproval request in Oklahoma and expect an order in a few weeks. This will allow us to move forward with building 450 megawatts of natural gas generation, which should be operational by 2029.

展望 2025 年剩餘的兩個月，我們仍有信心實現獲利預期範圍上半部的目標。如您所知，在監管方面，我們已經向俄克拉荷馬州提交了預審批申請，預計幾週內會收到批准令。這將使我們能夠推進建造 450 兆瓦天然氣發電項目，該項目應於 2029 年投入營運。

As a reminder, we have approximately 550 megawatts of combustion turbines under construction now, which will be operational next year on time and on budget. When Horseshoe Lake Units 13 and 14 come into service in 2029, we will have added approximately 2,000 megawatts over an 11-year period, and we anticipate more to come. When filing the preapproval case, we indicated that this was the first step of many.

再次提醒大家，我們目前有大約 550 兆瓦的燃氣渦輪機正在建造中，這些燃氣渦輪機將於明年按時按預算投入運作。當 Horseshoe Lake 13 號和 14 號機組於 2029 年投入使用時，我們將在 11 年內增加約 2000 兆瓦的發電量，我們預計未來還會增加更多。在提交預審批申請時，我們指出這只是眾多步驟中的第一步。

In the filing, we updated our integrated resource plan, which showed we are still solving for our customers' future generation needs. We are now negotiating with existing bidders from the remaining from the last RFP, and we anticipate issuing more RFPs in future filings to address our customers' needs. We notified Oklahoma customers this week that they will see a decrease in their monthly bill with a reduction in the fuel cost adjustment beginning November 1.

在提交的文件中，我們更新了綜合資源計劃，該計劃表明我們仍在努力滿足客戶未來發電的需求。我們現在正與上次招標中剩餘的現有投標人進行談判，並且我們預計在未來的文件中發布更多招標書，以滿足我們客戶的需求。本週我們通知俄克拉荷馬州的客戶，從 11 月 1 日起，由於燃料成本調整減少，他們的每月帳單將會減少。

The average residential customer bill will be approximately $6.75 lower per month. Our customers benefit from OG&E having some of the lowest rates in the nation. We understand the competitive advantage our low rates offer, and it's one reason our demand has grown so consistently year-over-year.

平均而言，居民用戶的帳單將每月減少約 6.75 美元。我們的客戶受益於 OG&E 在全國範圍內提供的最低費率。我們了解低利率帶來的競爭優勢，這也是我們的需求逐年持續成長的原因之一。

We do everything we can to ensure our rates remain low in the future so that we can sustain the growth of the company and the communities we serve. While the electric power industry is entering an exciting new era, OG&E is uniquely positioned at the forefront. We've been experiencing load growth that far surpasses national trends and data center load will certainly be incremental to our already strong load growth. At the heart of that growth for OG&E is affordability.

我們竭盡所能確保未來利率保持低位，以便公司和我們所服務社區能夠持續發展。電力產業正步入一個令人興奮的新時代，而 OG&E 則憑藉其獨特的優勢處於行業前沿。我們的負載成長遠遠超過了全國平均水平，資料中心負載的成長肯定會進一步推動我們本已強勁的負載成長。OG&E 成長的核心在於價格實惠。

It's not a new concept to us. It's key to our community success and central to our planning as we move ahead. Over the past decade, we've delivered a 6% EPS CAGR, which is great news for our investors. Equally important for our customers, it's worth highlighting that our nonfuel rates have increased at less than half the rate of inflation during this time.

這對我們來說並不是一個新概念。它對我們社區的成功至關重要，也是我們未來規劃的核心。過去十年，我們的每股盈餘複合年增長率達到了 6%，這對我們的投資者來說是個好消息。同樣重要的是，值得一提的是，在此期間，我們的非燃料價格漲幅不到通膨率的一半。

In a period when the cost of living continues to rise, we focused on what we can control, helping our customers and communities manage costs while supporting growth and reliability. As we build on our strong growth and performance, we experienced growing interest in our service area from data centers. Negotiations and conversations are progressing, and we hope to have something to share in the near future. Turning to economic development.

在生活成本持續上漲的時期，我們專注於我們能夠控制的事情，幫助我們的客戶和社區控製成本，同時支援成長和可靠性。隨著我們持續強勁成長和良好業績的取得，我們發現資料中心對我們服務領域的興趣日益濃厚。談判和對話正在進行中，我們希望在不久的將來能與大家分享一些結果。轉向經濟發展。

We continue to see diversified business growth, including commercial and industrial. And just a couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the grand opening of a major expansion project for plastics manufacturer, which added 4.5 megawatts of load and created hundreds of jobs in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Our economies remain strong with unemployment in Oklahoma and Arkansas continuing to outpace the national average. For the 48th straight month, Oklahoma City unemployment rate is below 4% and Oklahoma's overall job growth is driven by gains in education, health care and construction.

我們持續看到業務多元化成長，包括商業和工業領域。就在幾週前，我們慶祝了一家塑膠製造商的大型擴建項目盛大開幕，該項目在俄克拉荷馬州肖尼市增加了 4.5 兆瓦的負荷，並創造了數百個就業機會。我們的經濟依然強勁，俄克拉荷馬州和阿肯色州的失業率繼續高於全國平均水平。俄克拉荷馬市失業率連續第 48 個月低於 4%，而俄克拉荷馬州整體就業成長主要得益於教育、醫療保健和建築業的發展。

The Council for Community and Economic Research ranked Oklahoma City as the most affordable among large cities in the US, a competitive advantage for continued growth. And our rates are a factor in keeping Oklahoma and Arkansas consistently ranked high for affordability. As I close, I want to emphasize that the business is doing very well. We've just completed another strong quarter, and I'm excited about the future. We remain confident in our ability to deliver on our commitments while continuing to grow the business. And as I mentioned, we have many positive updates to share in the quarters ahead. Thank you. I'll now turn the call over to Chuck. Chuck?

社區和經濟研究委員會將俄克拉荷馬城評為美國大城市中最經濟實惠的城市，這為其持續成長提供了競爭優勢。我們的利率是俄克拉荷馬州和阿肯色州在房價可負擔性方面一直保持高排名的一個因素。最後，我想強調一下，公司目前經營狀況非常好。我們剛結束了一個業績強勁的季度，我對未來充滿信心。我們依然有信心履行我們的承諾，同時繼續發展業務。正如我之前提到的，未來幾季我們將分享許多正面的消息。謝謝。現在我將把電話交給查克。查克？

Thank you, Sean, and thank you, Jason, and good morning, everyone. We're 3 quarters through the year, and our steady execution positions us to deliver results in the top half of our 2025 earnings guidance range. It's our execution that will lead us to continued long-term success. I'm excited to review our financial performance with you today. Starting on Slide 5. For the third quarter, consolidated net income was $231 million or $1.14 per diluted share compared to $219 million or $1.09 per share last year. In our core business, the electric company achieved net income of $243 million or $1.20 per diluted share compared to $225 million or $1.20 per share last year.

謝謝肖恩，謝謝傑森，大家早安。今年已經過去了三個季度，我們穩步推進各項工作，預計將實現 2025 年盈利預期範圍上半部分的目標。我們的執行力將決定我們能否取得持續的長期成功。今天我很高興能和大家一起回顧我們的財務表現。從第5張投影片開始。第三季度，合併淨利為 2.31 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 1.14 美元，去年同期為 2.19 億美元，即每股收益 1.09 美元。在我們的核心業務中，這家電力公司實現了 2.43 億美元的淨收入，即每股攤薄收益 1.20 美元，而去年同期為 2.25 億美元，即每股收益 1.20 美元。

The main driver of the year-over-year increase in net income was increased recovery of capital investments. Milder weather this summer compared to last year and higher O&M and income taxes partially offset the increase. The holding company reported a loss of $12 million or $0.06 per diluted share compared to a loss of $6 million or $0.03 per share last year. The change was primarily attributed to higher income -- interest expense, partially offset by an income tax benefit.

淨收入年增率的主要驅動因素是資本投資回收率的提高。今年夏季氣溫較去年溫和，加上營運維護費和所得稅較高，部分抵消了成長。該控股公司報告虧損 1,200 萬美元，即每股攤薄虧損 0.06 美元，而去年同期虧損 600 萬美元，即每股虧損 0.03 美元。這項變更主要歸因於收入增加——利息支出增加，但部分被所得稅優惠所抵銷。

Let's turn our attention to our 2025 financial plan update on Slide 6. Year-over-year customer growth continued its healthy multiyear pace and was just under 1% in the third quarter. Our weather-normalized load growth was historically strong once again at 6.5% through the third quarter compared to the same period last year. We expect total retail normalized load growth of approximately 7.5% in 2025. Our execution keeps us firmly on plan to deliver on our consolidated earnings commitment. We continue to expect to be in the top half of 2025's earnings guidance range. Sean discussed how our local economies and communities are strong and our intentional efforts around economic and business development provide important support for growth.

讓我們把注意力轉移到第 6 頁投影片上的 2025 年財務計畫更新。第三季客戶年增率持續保持多年來的健康成長速度，略低於 1%。經天氣因素調整後，我們第三季的負載成長再次創下歷史新高，達到 6.5%，與去年同期相比。我們預計 2025 年零售業正常化貸款總額成長率約為 7.5%。我們的執行力確保我們能夠按計劃實現綜合盈利目標。我們仍預計2025年的獲利將處於預期範圍的上半部。肖恩討論了我們當地經濟和社區的強大實力，以及我們圍繞經濟和商業發展所做的有意識的努力如何為增長提供重要支持。

In each quarterly update, we highlight how our sustainable business model works by attracting new customers to our service area with low rates and reliable electric service, helping our communities to grow and prosper. We've updated our capital plan to include the Fort Smith to Muskogee transmission line, which will address reliability and capacity issues in the Fort Smith, Arkansas area.

在每個季度更新中，我們都會重點介紹我們可持續的商業模式如何透過低費率和可靠的電力服務吸引新客戶到我們的服務區域，從而幫助我們的社區發展壯大。我們已更新資本計劃，將史密斯堡至馬斯科吉輸電線路納入其中，這將解決阿肯色州史密斯堡地區的可靠性和容量問題。

This $250 million project is planned to go into service in 3 phases in 2027, '28 and '29. This higher voltage line will be primarily recovered through our FERC formula rate, and we have received approval to utilize CWIP recovery during construction of the project. The updated capital plan is included in the appendix.

這項耗資 2.5 億美元的專案計畫分 3 個階段投入使用，分別在 2027 年、2028 年和 2029 年。這條高壓線路將主要透過我們的 FERC 公式費率進行回收，並且我們已獲得批准在專案建設期間使用 CWIP 回收。更新後的資本計畫包含在附錄中。

Our financial position remains strong. Our balance sheet is one of the strongest in the industry and is an important competitive advantage, one we are committed to maintaining. We have requested CWIP recovery on Horseshoe Lake Units 13 and 14. The use of CWIP has important dual customer benefits; first, by reducing the long-term cost to customers; and second, by supporting the balance sheet during the construction phase of projects.

我們的財務狀況依然穩健。我們的資產負債表是業內最強勁的之一，這是我們重要的競爭優勢，我們將致力於保持這一優勢。我們已經請求對馬蹄湖 13 號和 14 號單元進行 CWIP 恢復。使用 CWIP 為客戶帶來重要的雙重好處；首先，降低客戶的長期成本；其次，在專案建立階段支援資產負債表。

As I close, let's review our guiding financial objectives. As we grow the company, we will maintain our competitive low rate advantage by focusing on our cost structure, minimize the time between investments and the return and recovery and grow the company by maintaining a highly credible total return proposition for our shareholders.

最後，讓我們回顧一下我們的指導性財務目標。隨著公司的發展，我們將透過專注於成本結構來維持低利率的競爭優勢，最大限度地縮短投資與回報和回收之間的時間，並透過為股東保持高度可信的總回報方案來發展公司。

We've made great progress so far this year. Our steady execution keeps us on track to deliver in the top half of this year's guidance range. Our load growth remains historically strong. We've reached a settlement with a number of parties in the Oklahoma preapproval request. If approved, we will move our planned Oklahoma rate review from the end of this year to the second half of next year, and we will continue to assess the timing of the next rate review in Arkansas. We've updated our capital plan for the Fort Smith to Muskogee transmission line. Additional updates to our capital and financing plans will follow a determination in the preapproval case.

今年到目前為止，我們取得了巨大的進展。我們穩步推進，預計將實現今年預期目標範圍的上半部分。我們的貨運量成長依然維持歷史強勁水準。我們已與俄克拉荷馬州預審批申請中的多方達成和解。如果獲得批准，我們將把原計劃在俄克拉荷馬州進行的費率審查從今年年底推遲到明年下半年，我們將繼續評估在阿肯色州進行下一次費率審查的時間。我們更新了從史密斯堡到馬斯科吉輸電線路的資本計畫。預審批案件結果出來後，我們將對資本和融資計畫進行進一步更新。

And finally, our results keep us as confident as ever in our ability to achieve a consolidated earnings growth rate of 5% to 7% based on the midpoint of our 2025 guidance. The strength of the current year's plan allows us to focus on the future, address our customers' expectations of a safe and reliable system and to deliver power at some of the lowest rates in the nation. As always, the foundation of our success is grounded on the dedication of our employees and their ability to get the job done. That concludes our prepared remarks, and we'll now open the line for your questions.

最後，我們的業績讓我們一如既往地有信心實現 2025 年綜合盈利增長率 5% 至 7% 的目標（基於我們 2025 年業績指引的中點）。今年計劃的優勢使我們能夠專注於未來，滿足客戶對安全可靠系統的期望，並以全國最低的價格提供電力。一如既往，我們成功的基石在於員工的奉獻精神和完成工作的能力。我們的演講稿到此結束，現在我們將開放提問環節。

[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Shahriar Pourreza, Wells Fargo.

[操作員說明] 我們的第一個問題來自富國銀行的 Shahriar Pourreza。

It's actually Constantine here for Shar. That's great to be back. Maybe starting off on the CapEx needs. We have the $250 million update today. And as we're building to the fourth quarter update, kind of with the pre-approval settlement out there and another 800 megawatts in the IRP, how quickly do you think those elements start rolling into plan? And is there kind of any acceleration in the RFP process that you're seeing kind of to address some of those needs?

其實是康斯坦丁替莎爾來的。能回來真是太好了。或許可以先從資本支出需求著手。今天我們帶來了2.5億美元的最新消息。隨著我們即將發布第四季度更新報告，預審批協議已經出台，IRP 中又增加了 800 兆瓦，您認為這些要素多久才能開始落實到計劃中？為了滿足這些需求，您是否看到 RFP 流程有任何加速的跡象？

Yes. Thanks, Constantine. This is Sean. I like that characterization there of rolling. I think that's how we're thinking about it. We're anticipating this approval for -- under the preapproval in a couple of weeks here, and then we're going to layer that in there. And then we're probably going to make some additional filings, as I mentioned in my remarks, with -- coming out of the last RFP. We'll make that filing. When we get approval for that, we'll layer that in there. We'll probably commence a new RFP to kind of continue down that road. And so I think your characterization of rolling, I think you should just consider it a continuous flow of updates.

是的。謝謝你，康斯坦丁。這是肖恩。我喜歡那裡對滾動的描述。我想我們就是這麼想的。我們預計這項批准將在幾週內獲得——根據預先批准，然後我們將把它疊加到其中。然後，正如我在演講中提到的，我們可能還會提交一些額外的文件——這是根據上次的 RFP 做出的。我們會提交那份文件。等獲得批准後，我們會把它加進去。我們可能會啟動新的招標程序，繼續推進這項工作。所以我認為你對「滾動更新」的描述，應該把它看作是一個持續不斷的更新過程。

Okay. So versus kind of the fourth quarter that we've typically seen, we should expect more periodic updates, right?

好的。所以，與我們通常在第四季度看到的更新相比，我們應該會期待更頻繁的定期更新，對吧？

Yes. You'll see -- I mean, you'll see the normal update in the fourth quarter that should improve the approval of the last filing and it include the customary updates we always do. And then in addition to that, these generation adds, we'll add those as we receive approval.

是的。你會看到——我的意思是，你會看到第四季度的正常更新，這應該會改善上次申請的審批情況，其中包括我們一貫的慣例更新。此外，隨著這一代人的加入，我們將在獲得批准後添加這些內容。

Okay. Perfect. And in terms of the new regulatory constructs kind of that are in place now, how significant is the impact on that ROE lag, if you can quantify it at all? And do you anticipate including some of these benefits in '26 planning assumptions?

好的。完美的。就目前實施的新監管結構而言，如果可以量化，那麼對 ROE 滯後的影響有多大？您是否計劃在 2026 年的規劃假設中納入其中一些益處？

Yes. Constantine, it's -- I think we've always had a really good track record on minimizing lag on earned ROE. So this is obviously just accretive to that. You can see some of those impacts as disclosed in our 10-Q today in terms of some of those benefits, and we'll definitely lay that out whenever we come up with guidance for next year.

是的。康斯坦丁，我認為我們在最大限度地減少已實現 ROE 的滯後方面一直有著非常好的記錄。所以這顯然只是在此基礎上疊加的。您可以在我們今天提交的 10-Q 文件中看到其中一些影響，以及由此帶來的一些好處，我們肯定會在明年發布業績指引時詳細說明。

And just the last one related to kind of that '26 update, kind of given the ramp schedules for that C&I load, do you see the '26 load growth being higher than your planning assumptions as you roll into that year?

最後一個問題與 2026 年的更新有關，考慮到工商業負荷的爬坡計劃，您認為 2026 年的負載成長會高於您當年的規劃假設嗎？

We'll bring you a full update in February. But clearly, we don't see any changes in the fundamentals that are driving the results that we see in our service area. But we'll address that fully in our February call.

我們將在二月為您帶來完整更新。但顯然，在我們服務的區域內，推動績效的基本因素並沒有改變。但我們將在二月的電話會議上全面討論這個問題。

Right, okay. And year-to-date has been healthy, so...

好的。今年迄今為止情況良好，所以…

Operator Next question comes from Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies.

操作員：下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith。

It's Brian Russo, on for Julien. Just it's nice to see you add the SPP project to the CapEx. Could you maybe talk about the upcoming 2025 SPP ITP plan? I think there are expectations that it could be nearly double the 2024 plan. And I was just curious, it seems as if Oklahoma is one of the faster-growing states in SPP. So I'm just wondering what your competitive position is there to pursue more projects like the one you just added to CapEx.

布萊恩·魯索代替朱利安上場。很高興看到您將SPP項目添加到資本支出計劃中。您能否談談即將推出的 2025 年 SPP ITP 計畫？我認為預計最終產量可能會是 2024 年計劃的近兩倍。我只是好奇，俄克拉荷馬州似乎是SPP中成長速度最快的州之一。所以我想知道，在開展更多類似您剛剛添加到資本支出計劃中的項目方面，您的競爭優勢是什麼？

Yes. Brian, this is Chuck. It's obviously something that we're very closely involved with our team at the SVP in that process. Yes, you're right. I think that they're looking at a pretty robust plan, but there's still a couple of milestones, a couple of SPP Board meetings that, that's got to go through before we really have something that we can give you a firm idea as to what the opportunity set really looks like. So it's an exciting area, I think, but more to come.

是的。布萊恩，我是查克。很顯然，在這個過程中，我們的高級副總裁團隊會密切參與其中。是的，你說得對。我認為他們正在製定一個相當完善的計劃，但還有幾個里程碑需要完成，還需要召開幾次SPP董事會會議，才能真正讓我們對未來的機會前景有一個清晰的了解。所以我覺得這是一個令人興奮的領域，但未來還有更多值得期待的地方。

Okay. Great. And then I think as part of the pre-approval settlement filing, you plan to file a large load tariff with your next rate case. I was just curious, I assume that the contract negotiations are still going on with the Google Stillwater project.

好的。偉大的。然後我認為，作為預審批和解文件的一部分，你們計劃在下一個費率申請中提交大負載電價表。我只是好奇，我猜想谷歌與斯蒂爾沃特計畫的合約談判仍在進行中。

Yes. I think that was the requirement in the settlement to file that large load tariff. But to the extent that we've finalized an agreement before then, we'll file it then.

是的。我認為這是和解協議中要求提交大額負荷關稅文件的規定。但是，如果我們在那之前已經達成最終協議，我們會在那時提交。

Okay. Great. And then lastly, is the new load growth outlook of 7.5% for 2025, is that now at the low end of your prior range? Just wondering what's driving that.

好的。偉大的。最後，您預測 2025 年的負載成長率為 7.5%，這是否處於您先前預測範圍的下限？只是好奇是什麼原因導致的。

Yes. So you're right. But as we've said kind of all along, some of these loads that we have are a little chunky and the timing can kind of -- it's really hard to nail it down, whether it's the start of this quarter, the beginning of next quarter. And so we've got a little bit of timing going on there. We have one customer in particular that's coming in about a quarter later than anticipated. So just really mainly a timing issue.

是的。你說得對。但正如我們一直以來所說，我們面臨的一些訂單量比較大，而且時間安排也很難確定，可能是本季初，也可能是下季初。所以，我們這裡牽涉到一些時間安排上的問題。我們有一位客戶，他的交貨時間比預期晚了大約一個季度。所以主要還是時間安排的問題。

Our next question comes from Stephen D’Ambrisi, RBC Capital Markets. My apologies -- I apologize.

我們的下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的 Stephen DâhfAmbrisi。非常抱歉——我道歉。

That's all good. That's all good.

一切都很好。一切都很好。

We're going to enjoy that one for a while.

我們會好好享受一段時間的。

I know you will, Sean. I know -- it couldn't happen on a better call. I'm not going to lie...

我知道你會的，肖恩。我知道——這通電話再好不過了。我不會說謊…

Good to hear from you.

很高興收到你的來信。

Good to hear from you too. Appreciate you guys let me on. Yes. So just quickly, a follow-up on how you guys are going to meet the 850-megawatt shortfall or capacity need that you have by 2030. Just when I'm thinking about where -- I think you have some of the RFP results still outstanding, but they feel like they might be a little stale now at this point.

很高興收到你的來信。感謝你們讓我加入。是的。那麼，請快速跟進一下，你們打算如何滿足到 2030 年 850 兆瓦的電力缺口或容量需求？正當我思考在哪裡的時候——我想你們還有一些 RFP 結果尚未公佈，但感覺這些結果現在可能有點過時了。

And I know you're ongoing -- you have discussions ongoing. But do you think it's likely that you can get material capacity out of the prior RFPs? Or do we have to run new RFPs to really make up most of that capacity deficit? And then just like how long does that take to run a new RFP? Like what's the timing around announcements there?

我知道你們的討論還在繼續。但您認為有可能從先前的招標中獲得材料產能嗎？或者我們需要重新發布招標公告才能真正彌補大部分產能缺口？那麼，發布一份新的 RFP 需要多長時間呢？那裡的公告發佈時間通常是怎麼樣的？

Yes. So great question. And so the answer to your first question, yes, we do believe we have some capacity opportunities in the current RFP. And yes, we will file a new RFP to kind of meet this need. And this -- that 800 megawatts you referenced there, that largely depends on the ramp rate of "this customer X" that we disclosed in the IRP.

是的。問得好。所以，對於你的第一個問題，答案是肯定的，我們認為在目前的招標文件中我們有一些產能方面的機會。是的，我們會提交一份新的招標書來滿足這項需求。還有，你提到的 800 兆瓦，很大程度上取決於我們在 IRP 中揭露的「客戶 X」的爬坡率。

And so that's kind of a give or take number 2 in terms of how quickly or how slowly, you get to that number in 2030. But nevertheless, I think it's an answer of yes to both those questions. Yes, we're going to get some out of that last RFP. And yes, we're going to file a new RFP. And I would expect that the second RFP to move along at a quicker pace. We've kind of got it nailed down now, and I think everybody understands the rules.

所以，這算是 2030 年達到該數字速度快慢的一個不確定因素吧。但即便如此，我認為這兩個問題的答案都是肯定的。是的，我們會從上次的招標中獲得一些收益。是的，我們將提交一份新的招標書。我預計第二份招標書的推進速度會更快。我們現在已經基本把事情敲定了，我想大家都明白規則了。

Okay. That makes a lot of sense to me. And then just on the -- you covered the sales growth well. I kind of figured that it was timing. But just like -- just looking at where you're at year-to-date, I think sales growth is 6.5% year-to-date and you're still guiding to 7.5%. So I mean that implies a significant acceleration right into the fourth quarter. And then just, I guess, how does that set us up for sales growth into 2026, right? Because effectively, you're delaying customer. So all things equal, it should drive higher sales growth year-over-year into the back -- into next year?

好的。我覺得很有道理。然後，關於銷售成長，你們的分析很到位。我當時就覺得可能是時機問題。但是，就目前來看，我認為今年迄今的銷售成長率為 6.5%，而你們仍然預期成長率為 7.5%。所以我的意思是，這意味著第四季將出現顯著的加速成長。那麼，我想，這會如何幫助我們實現到 2026 年的銷售成長呢？因為實際上，你是在耽誤客戶。因此，在其他條件相同的情況下，它應該會推動銷售額年增，並延續到明年？

CFO Yes, Steve, I think your points are right. I mean we've seen this chunky growth before and how that can impact any particular quarter on an outsized manner. And obviously, you can kind of do your own math as to how that plays in the future years. But again, we'll be prepared to thoroughly discuss that with you at the next call.

財務長：是的，史蒂夫，我認為你的觀點是對的。我的意思是，我們以前也見過這種大幅增長，以及它如何對任何一個季度產生巨大的影響。顯然，你可以自己估算一下這在未來幾年會產生怎樣的影響。但是，我們會在下次通話中與您詳細討論這個問題。

Okay. That's all I had. I hope you guys get a kick out of that. I'm glad that it's going to be kept forever on the Internet. So love that...

好的。這就是我全部的家當。希望你們看得開心。我很高興它將永遠保存在互聯網上。太喜歡了…

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Chris Hark, Mizuho.

【操作說明】下一個問題來自瑞穗銀行的 Chris Hark。

Chris Hark I just had a question regarding the dividend growth rate. Should we be expecting that to be in line with the EPS CAGR?

克里斯·哈克：我有個關於股利成長率的問題。我們是否應該預期它會與每股盈餘複合年增長率保持一致？

Yes, Chris. So we've been very intentional about the dividend growth rate really in relation to the opportunity set that we've had for investments. So the past several years, we have kind of bifurcated the rates of those 2 with the dividend growing a little lower, and we're basically targeting growing into a 65% to 70% payout ratio. And so we're well on our way to getting to that target. And once we get to that target, we'll kind of reassess where we are versus, again, the opportunities that we have out there and make that capital allocation decision at that time.

是的，克里斯。因此，我們一直非常注重股息成長率，並將其與我們擁有的投資機會聯繫起來。所以過去幾年，我們對這兩種利率進行了分拆，股息成長速度略低，我們的目標是將派息率提高到 65% 到 70%。因此，我們正朝著目標穩步前進。一旦達到目標，我們將重新評估我們所處的位置以及我們所面臨的機遇，並在那時做出資本配置決定。

Okay. Awesome. And then next question I had was really just around the cadence of rate filings. So if you push that back to second half of '26, should we be expecting that kind of similar time of year for the next 2 years through the 2-year period off the forecast period?

好的。驚人的。接下來我的問題其實是關於費率申報的頻率。所以，如果將時間延後到 2026 年下半年，我們是否應該預期在接下來的兩年預測期內，每年的這個時候都會出現類似的情況？

Yes. I guess I would say that really nothing has changed. Our philosophy maintains to be the same as it was. But clearly, this was part of the give and take of the negotiations for settlement agreement. So yes, we -- if approved, we would shift that forward per the terms of the settlement agreement. But I think going forward from that, we would still be operating under the same philosophy that we have been.

是的。我想說，其實什麼都沒變。我們的理念始終如一。但很顯然，這是達成和解協議談判過程中雙方妥協的一部分。所以，是的，如果獲得批准，我們將根據和解協議的條款提前實施。但我認為，展望未來，我們仍將秉持與以往相同的理念。

Our next question comes from Aditya Gandhi, Wolfe Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Aditya Gandhi。

Can You hear me? Just maybe starting with the CapEx increase to your plan, the $250 million. Chuck, you've been clear that any capital increases will have an equity component to it and recognize that you'll sort of communicate your financing plans with the Q4 update. But are you willing to share sort of a rough rule of thumb for this $250 million? Should we assume it's 50-50, lesser than that? Just any color there?

你聽得到我嗎？或許可以從增加計畫中的資本支出開始，也就是增加 2.5 億美元。查克，你已經明確表示，任何增資都將包含股權部分，你也承認，你會在第四季更新中公佈你的融資計畫。但您能否分享這 2.5 億美元的大致估算方法？我們應該假設可能性是五五開，還是低於五五開？隨便什麼顏色都行嗎？

Yes. Aditya, I think the plan remains the same. We thought it was only right to go ahead and roll this project in now since it's signed up. But with the -- really the biggest of the increase still pending out there, we're going to hold and get approval on that, and then we'll give you that clarity that we've been describing all along.

是的。阿迪亞，我認為計劃保持不變。既然計畫已經簽約，我們認為現在要推進這個計畫是理所當然的。但是，由於最大的一筆增稅申請仍在審批中，我們將暫緩審批，待獲得批准後，我們將向大家提供我們一直以來所描述的清晰資訊。

Got it. And then maybe just one on the data center front. Sean, you mentioned in your prepared remarks that you sort of hope to share updates soon or sort of in the coming quarters. Can you maybe give us more color on sort of what stage of discussions you're in? Is it reasonable to say that the discussions are at advanced stages now? And then can you just remind us how any potential announcement you make on the data center front would interplay with a special contract or data center tariff filing at the commission? And then how you sort of serve the capacity needs associated with any potential data center customer?

知道了。然後或許資料中心方面只需要一個。肖恩，你在事先準備好的演講稿中提到，你希望盡快或在接下來的幾個季度分享一些最新進展。能否詳細說明一下你們的討論目前處於哪個階段？現在是否可以說討論已進入後期階段？那麼，您能否提醒我們一下，您在資料中心方面可能發表的任何聲明，將如何與向委員會提交的特殊合約或資料中心收費標準申請相互作用？那麼，你該如何滿足潛在資料中心客戶的容量需求呢？

Yes. There's a lot in there. I think it's fair to characterize that we are in very serious negotiations. And I think my prepared remarks were optimistic that we would be in a position to announce something soon. In terms of the filing, yes, there would be some sort of announcement, and we would certainly follow that up with some sort of filing with the commission for approval of all that.

是的。裡面內容很多。我認為，將我們目前的情況描述為正在進行非常嚴肅的談判是恰當的。我認為我事先準備好的發言稿比較樂觀，認為我們很快就能宣布一些消息。至於備案方面，是的，我們會發布某種形式的公告，之後我們肯定會向委員會提交某種形式的文件，以獲得所有這些文件的批准。

So I think that's normal and customary. In terms of your question about the capacity, how we'll fill that need. In our last IRP, we did provision for that and been thinking about that. Again, a lot of that goes back to kind of how the counterparty contemplates a ramp rate and what they're thinking in terms of that, in terms of meeting that capacity obligation, but I feel confident we're going to be able to meet that.

所以我認為這是正常且慣例的。關於您提出的產能問題，我們將如何滿足這項需求。在上一次的IRP中，我們已經為此做了準備，並且一直在考慮這個問題。這很大程度上取決於交易對手如何考慮產能爬坡速度以及他們如何看待滿足產能義務的問題，但我相信我們能夠做到。

[Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from Nicholas Campanella, Barclays.

【操作員說明】我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的尼古拉斯·坎帕內拉。

I just have one question. If you roll in the pre-approval generation and data center and the possible data center deal, how would that really increase your long-term EPS CAGR? Or are you just more confident in the 5% to 7% range?

我只有一個問題。如果把預先審核產生、資料中心以及可能的資料中心交易都考慮進去，這真的能提高你的長期每股盈餘複合年增長率嗎？還是你對 5% 到 7% 的範圍更有信心？

Yes, I think all along, we've been looking at our 5% to 7% is in solid shape regardless of this deal or any other deal. And our philosophy really is that we take a good look at where we are every year before we put guidance out. And kind of like this year, we might choose to alter the trend line from the previous year, so to speak, and address it in that manner. So I think that's really more indicative of the philosophy that we have and the way that we've treated it in the past. So hopefully, that gives you a little color as to how we're thinking about it.

是的，我認為一直以來，無論這項交易或其他任何交易，我們5%到7%的收益率都保持穩健。我們的理念是，在每年發布指導意見之前，我們都會認真審視自身的現狀。就像今年一樣，我們可能會選擇改變前一年的趨勢線，並以這種方式解決這個問題。所以我認為這更能反映我們的理念以及我們過去處理這個問題的方式。希望這能讓您對我們的思考方式有所了解。

And I'm not showing any further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the call back over to Sean for any further remarks.

我目前不會再提出其他問題。我想把電話交還給肖恩，讓他再補充一些內容。

Okay. Thank you, Kevin. Well, thank you all for joining us today. I hope everyone has a great day and look forward to seeing everyone soon.

好的。謝謝你，凱文。謝謝各位今天蒞臨。祝大家今天過得愉快，期待很快與大家見面。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This does conclude today's presentation. You may now disconnect and have a wonderful day.

謝謝各位女士、先生。今天的演講到此結束。現在您可以斷開連接，祝您度過美好的一天。