ONE Gas Inc (OGS) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the ONE Gas 2023 Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Today's conference call is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 ONE Gas 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。今天的電話會議正在錄音。

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Erin Dailey. Please go ahead, Ms. Dailey.

這次，我想把會議交給艾琳·戴利（Erin Dailey）。請繼續，戴利女士。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us on our second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. This call is being webcast live, and a replay will be available later today. After our prepared remarks, we will be happy to take your questions.

早上好，感謝您參加我們的 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。該電話會議正在進行網絡直播，今天晚些時候將進行重播。在我們準備好發言後，我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

A reminder that statements made during this call that might include ONE Gas's expectations or predictions should be considered forward-looking statements, and are covered by the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ, please refer to our SEC filings.

提醒您，本次電話會議期間發表的可能包含ONE Gas 預期或預測的聲明應被視為前瞻性聲明，並受1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》、《1933 年證券法》和《證券法》的安全港條款管轄。和 1934 年交易法，各有修訂。實際結果可能與任何前瞻性陳述中的預測存在重大差異。有關可能導致實際結果不同的因素的討論，請參閱我們向 SEC 提交的文件。

Joining us on the call this morning are Sid McAnally, President and Chief Executive Officer; Caron Lawhorn, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Curtis Dinan, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

今天早上加入我們電話會議的還有總裁兼首席執行官 Sid McAnally； Caron Lawhorn，高級副總裁兼首席財務官；和柯蒂斯·迪南，高級副總裁兼首席運營官。

And now, I'll turn the call over to Sid.

現在，我將把電話轉給 Sid。

Thanks, Erin, and good morning, everyone. We're happy to be with you today to share our second quarter results and discuss our performance through the first half of the year.

謝謝艾琳，大家早上好。我們很高興今天與您分享我們第二季度的業績並討論我們上半年的業績。

We continue our commitment to safely operating a growing system while cultivating long-term value. Our second quarter activities and financial results reflect focused management of both our business and external economic forces through diligent plan execution by our entire team.

我們繼續致力於安全運營不斷增長的系統，同時培養長期價值。我們第二季度的活動和財務業績反映了我們整個團隊通過勤勉的計劃執行對我們的業務和外部經濟力量的集中管理。

On last quarter's call, we shared our efforts to meet the needs of our expanding customer base while prioritizing safety, reliability and environmental responsibility. On June 30, we published our 2023 ESG report which highlights our focus on supporting our coworkers and communities, employing sound governance practices and reducing our emissions. In addition to reporting Scope 2 emissions for the first time, we are pleased to report that we have reduced our Scope 1 emissions due to leaks on main services by 48% since 2005, keeping us on track to meet our 2035 goal.

在上季度的電話會議上，我們分享了我們為滿足不斷擴大的客戶群的需求而做出的努力，同時優先考慮安全性、可靠性和環境責任。 6 月 30 日，我們發布了 2023 年 ESG 報告，其中強調了我們對支持同事和社區、採用良好治理實踐和減少排放的關注。除了首次報告範圍 2 排放量外，我們很高興地報告，自 2005 年以來，我們已將因主要服務洩漏而導致的範圍 1 排放量減少了 48%，從而使我們有望實現 2035 年的目標。

As we manage the impact of macroeconomic conditions, we're also building work processes that increase efficiency and develop our workforce. Curtis will speak to our long-term strategy of reducing costs and improving outcomes when he describes our modified approach to damage prevention and line locating. This strategy is 1 example of how we are reacting to the current economic environment while also building our capacity for the future.

在我們管理宏觀經濟狀況的影響的同時，我們還在構建提高效率和培養員工隊伍的工作流程。柯蒂斯在描述我們改進的損害預防和線路定位方法時，將談到我們降低成本和改善結果的長期戰略。這一戰略是我們如何應對當前經濟環境同時建設未來能力的一個例子。

Our service territory continues to experience robust growth as a favorable business environment and a more focused economic development effort bring new investment to our region. Our recent example is the May announcement by Enel North America to locate 1 of the United States's largest solar panel manufacturing facilities in Inola, Oklahoma, about 25 miles east of Tulsa. We remain well positioned to continue our support for the ongoing regional economic expansion across our service territory.

由於有利的商業環境和更加集中的經濟發展努力為我們的地區帶來了新的投資，我們的服務領域持續強勁增長。我們最近的例子是 Enel North America 於 5 月宣布將美國最大的太陽能電池板製造工廠之一設在俄克拉荷馬州伊諾拉（塔爾薩以東約 25 英里）。我們仍然處於有利地位，可以繼續支持我們服務領域正在進行的區域經濟擴張。

I'll turn it over to Caron to discuss financial details for the quarter, and then to Curtis to review our regulatory operations and commercial activities before returning to offer a final perspective. Caron?

我將把它交給卡倫討論本季度的財務細節，然後交給柯蒂斯審查我們的監管運作和商業活動，然後再返回提供最終觀點。卡隆？

Thanks, Sid, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝，席德，大家早上好。

Before I get into the details, a reminder that revenues, depreciation and amortization and interest expense include the impact of the Kansas securitization. We provided tables in yesterday's earnings release that disclose the balance sheet and income statement impact. There is no impact on net income.

在詳細介紹之前，請注意收入、折舊和攤銷以及利息支出包括堪薩斯州證券化的影響。我們在昨天的收益報告中提供了披露資產負債表和損益表影響的表格。對淨利潤沒有影響。

Net income for the second quarter was $32.7 million or $0.58 per diluted share compared with $32.1 million or $0.59 per diluted share in the same period 2022. Second quarter operating income increased $5.4 million over the same period last year, reflecting an increase of $14.1 million from new rates, primarily due to interim regulatory filings completed in the second half of last year and the Texas Gas Service West-North rate case, which was approved in January. Continued growth in our residential and commercial customer base, primarily in Oklahoma and Texas, also contributed $1.1 million to operating income year-over-year. Although weather across our service territories for the second quarter was 7% warmer than the prior year and 11% warmer than normal, the impact on earnings was mitigated by our weather normalization mechanism. Quarter-over-quarter, we experienced a $1.7 million reduction in operating income due to lower sales volumes.

第二季度淨利潤為3270 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益0.58 美元，而2022 年同期淨利潤為3210 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益0.59 美元。第二季度營業收入較去年同期增加540 萬美元，較去年同期增加1410 萬美元。新費率的出現，主要是由於去年下半年完成的臨時監管備案以及 1 月份批准的德克薩斯州天然氣服務西北部費率案例。我們的住宅和商業客戶群（主要是俄克拉荷馬州和德克薩斯州）的持續增長也為營業收入同比貢獻了 110 萬美元。儘管第二季度我們服務區域的天氣比去年同期溫暖 7%，比正常情況溫暖 11%，但我們的天氣正常化機制減輕了對收入的影響。由於銷量下降，我們的營業收入環比減少了 170 萬美元。

Our operations and maintenance expenses increased $8 million over the second quarter of 2022 due primarily to increases in employee-related costs of $6.7 million. As a reminder, we expected increased employee-related expenses due to market conditions and proactive workforce investments that we've made to enhance our capacity and in-source certain functions previously performed by contract labor. We have also modified our training programs to increase workforce flexibility amid these in-sourcing efforts, which are now beginning to yield benefits.

我們的運營和維護費用比 2022 年第二季度增加了 800 萬美元，主要是由於與員工相關的成本增加了 670 萬美元。提醒一下，由於市場狀況和我們為提高產能和內包以前由合同工履行的某些職能而進行的積極的勞動力投資，我們預計與員工相關的費用將會增加。我們還修改了培訓計劃，以提高員工在這些內包工作中的靈活性，這些工作現已開始產生效益。

Excluding the impact of the Kansas securitization, depreciation and amortization expense was $5.3 million higher than the prior year, reflecting an increase in net property, plant and equipment as a result of our higher level of capital investment. Other income net increased $6.2 million compared with the same period last year, primarily due to a $5.9 million increase in the market value of investments associated with our nonqualified employee benefit plans.

排除堪薩斯州證券化的影響，折舊和攤銷費用比上一年增加了 530 萬美元，反映出我們更高水平的資本投資導致淨財產、廠房和設備的增加。其他收入淨額與去年同期相比增加了 620 萬美元，主要是由於與我們的不合格員工福利計劃相關的投資市場價值增加了​​ 590 萬美元。

Interest expense in the quarter was $11.2 million higher than the same period in 2022, and includes $4.7 million of additional expense associated with the Kansas securitization. The remainder of the increase is predominantly attributable to 2 items. One is the issuance of $300 million of 4.25% senior notes in August of last year. The second is interest on our commercial paper. While our average commercial paper balance was down 60% when compared to last year, our weighted average CP interest rate was approximately 5.5%, which is more than 4x higher than the 1.3% rate we incurred in the second quarter of 2022.

本季度利息支出比 2022 年同期高出 1120 萬美元，其中包括與堪薩斯州證券化相關的 470 萬美元額外支出。其餘的增長主要歸因於 2 個項目。一是去年8月發行了3億美元、利率為4.25%的優先票據。第二個是我們商業票據的利息。雖然我們的平均商業票據余額與去年相比下降了 60%，但我們的加權平均商業票據利率約為 5.5%，比 2022 年第二季度 1.3% 的利率高出 4 倍多。

Relative to our initial 2023 financial expectations, lower natural gas prices are positively impacting our investment in gas storage as we execute our traditional summertime storage refill. However, elevated short-term interest rates continue to present a headwind.

相對於我們最初的 2023 年財務預期，在我們執行傳統的夏季存儲補充時，較低的天然氣價格對我們對天然氣存儲的投資產生了積極影響。然而，短期利率上升繼續構成阻力。

Our capital expenditures and asset removal costs for the second quarter were approximately $190 million compared to $149 million in 2022. Our capital investments for the full year remain on track with our $675 million forecast. Authorized rate base was $4.84 billion as of June 30 and we estimate our average rate base for 2023 will be approximately $5.15 billion.

我們第二季度的資本支出和資產清除成本約為 1.9 億美元，而 2022 年為 1.49 億美元。我們全年的資本投資仍符合我們 6.75 億美元的預測。截至 6 月 30 日，授權利率基數為 48.4 億美元，我們估計 2023 年的平均利率基數約為 51.5 億美元。

Turning to our liquidity. We ended the quarter with $783 million of capacity under our $1 billion commercial paper program and no borrowings under our credit facility. Our debt maturities of long-term debt are in the first quarter of 2024 when we have $300 million of 3.6% notes and $473 million of 1.1% notes coming due.

轉向我們的流動性。截至本季度末，我們 10 億美元商業票據計劃的產能為 7.83 億美元，並且我們的信貸安排下沒有借款。我們的長期債務將於 2024 年第一季度到期，屆時我們將有 3 億美元的 3.6% 票據和 4.73 億美元的 1.1% 票據到期。

By continuing to issue equity with forward settlements, we have addressed our 2023 equity needs and greatly derisked our anticipated 2024 market exposure. In March, we executed a forward sales agreement for 2 million shares of our common stock with settlement by December 29, 2023, for 1.4 million shares and by the end of 2024 for the remaining shares. And in the second quarter, we utilized our $300 million at-the-market equity program, which we put in place in February, to execute forward sale agreements for an additional 926,000 shares to be settled by the end of 2024. Had all forward shares been settled at June 30, we would have received net proceeds of approximately $249 million.

通過繼續通過遠期結算發行股票，我們已經滿足了 2023 年的股票需求，並大大降低了我們預期的 2024 年市場風險。 3 月份，我們簽署了 200 萬股普通股的遠期銷售協議，並於 2023 年 12 月 29 日之前結算 140 萬股，其餘股份於 2024 年底結算。在第二季度，我們利用 2 月份實施的 3 億美元市場股權計劃，執行了額外 926,000 股的遠期銷售協議，將於 2024 年底前結算。如果於6 月30 日結算，我們將收到約2.49億美元的淨收益。

On July 17, the ONE Gas Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.65 per share, unchanged from the previous quarter. And lastly, we reaffirm our 2023 financial guidance, including net income of $224 million to $238 million, and earnings per diluted share of $4.02 to $4.26. As always, we remain focused on prudent expense management, and as Curtis will discuss, our outlook for rate base and customer growth remains steady.

7月17日，ONE Gas董事會宣布派發每股股息0.65美元，與上一季度持平。最後，我們重申 2023 年財務指引，包括 2.24 億美元至 2.38 億美元的淨利潤，以及 4.02 美元至 4.26 美元的攤薄每股收益。一如既往，我們仍然專注於審慎的費用管理，正如柯蒂斯將討論的那樣，我們的費率基礎和客戶增長前景保持穩定。

Curtis, I'll turn it over to you.

柯蒂斯，我會把它交給你。

Thank you, Caron, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，卡倫，大家早上好。

I'll start with a brief update on our regulatory activities. On March 1, we filed our annual performance-based rate change application in Oklahoma reflecting a 2022 test year and seeking a $27.6 million rate increase to recover $243 million in capital investments and other cost increases. In July 2023, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission issued an order approving a settlement with a revenue increase of $26.3 million. New rates went into effect on June 29.

我首先簡要介紹一下我們的監管活動。 3 月1 日，我們在俄克拉荷馬州提交了基於績效的年度費率變更申請，反映了2022 年的測試年，並尋求加息2760 萬美元，以收回2.43 億美元的資本投資和其他成本增加。 2023 年 7 月，俄克拉荷馬州公司委員會發布命令，批准一項和解協議，收入增加 2630 萬美元。新費率於 6 月 29 日生效。

In Texas, we filed the Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program for the consolidated West-North region on March 10, seeking $7.4 million to recover costs associated with $54 million in capital investments. El Paso and 2 other municipalities denied the requested increase, while all other municipalities and the Railroad Commission approved an increase of $7.3 million or allowed it to take effect with no action. Texas Gas Service appealed the denied request and implemented the new rates in all municipalities in June 2023, subject to the outcome of the appeal. The Central-Gulf grip that was filed on February 9 went into effect during the first billing cycle for June, with a rate increase of $11.5 million.

在德克薩斯州，我們於 3 月 10 日提交了合併西北地區的天然氣可靠性基礎設施計劃，尋求 740 萬美元來收回與 5400 萬美元資本投資相關的成本。埃爾帕索和其他 2 個城市拒絕了增加的要求，而所有其他城市和鐵路委員會則批准增加 730 萬美元或允許其生效而不採取任何行動。德克薩斯州天然氣服務公司對被拒絕的請求提出上訴，並於 2023 年 6 月在所有城市實施新費率，具體取決於上訴結果。 2 月 9 日提交的 Central-Gulf 控制措施在 6 月份的第一個計費周期內生效，費率增加了 1,150 萬美元。

In June 2023, Texas Gas Service filed a rate case for all customers in the Rio Grande Valley service area, requesting a $9.8 million increase. New rates are expected to take effect in late 2023 or early 2024. Also in Texas, Governor Abbott signed legislation establishing a statewide energy efficiency program for gas utilities that will be overseen by the Railroad Commission. This legislation will allow Texas Gas Service to expand its energy efficiency programs throughout our service territory in Texas.

2023 年 6 月，德克薩斯州天然氣服務公司向里奧格蘭德河谷服務區的所有客戶提起費率訴訟，要求增加 980 萬美元。新費率預計將於 2023 年底或 2024 年初生效。同樣在德克薩斯州，州長阿博特簽署了立法，為天然氣公用事業製定了全州範圍的能源效率計劃，該計劃將由鐵路委員會監督。這項立法將允許德克薩斯州天然氣服務公司在德克薩斯州的整個服務區域擴展其能源效率計劃。

Turning to commercial and operating activities. Capital execution remains a focus as we work to serve an expanding customer base, and internal process improvements permitted us to deploy a record amount of capital in the first half of the year. As we had expected amid rising and elevated interest rates, the pace of new meter sets for the second quarter accelerated slightly compared to 2022. However, in the 12 months ended June 30, 2023, we set approximately 25,800 new customer connections, which is 2% higher year-over-year. We continue to see a strong demand for natural gas and a robust backlog of future projects.

轉向商業和經營活動。隨著我們致力於服務不斷擴大的客戶群，資本執行仍然是一個重點，內部流程的改進使我們能夠在今年上半年部署創紀錄的資本金額。正如我們在利率上升和升高的情況下所預期的那樣，第二季度新電錶組的步伐較2022 年略有加快。然而，在截至2023 年6 月30 日的12 個月中，我們設定了約25,800 個新客戶連接，這是 2同比增長 %。我們繼續看到對天然氣的強勁需求和未來項目的大量積壓。

As a reminder, COVID-related moratoria have fully lifted across our territories, allowing us to resume traditional disconnection activities that affect our reported customer counts. We had noted at the outset of COVID that such moratoria, while in place, would inflate our average customer count and the resumption of normal operating practices is now serving to unwind those impacts. We had expected bad debt expense to be elevated this year and saw an additional $2.4 million impact in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2022, in line with our expectations.

謹此提醒，與新冠肺炎相關的暫停措施已在我們的整個地區全面解除，使我們能夠恢復影響我們報告的客戶數量的傳統斷網活動。我們在新冠疫情爆發之初就注意到，這種暫停措施一旦實施，就會增加我們的平均客戶數量，而恢復正常運營實踐現在有助於緩解這些影響。我們原本預計今年壞賬費用將會上升，與 2022 年同期相比，今年上半年的壞賬費用增加了 240 萬美元，符合我們的預期。

While we continue to see inflation affecting material, supply and labor costs across our industry, we are addressing these impacts through disciplined resource management and prudent operating practices. One example we've discussed previously was our decision to begin in-sourcing certain field activities, such as line locating. While Caron has noted the upfront investment costs related to this decision, we are beginning to see the anticipated benefits of improved efficiency and enhanced workforce flexibility. In addition, these in-sourcing efforts have reintroduced important entry-level field positions, reestablishing a meaningful workforce pipeline for the company.

雖然我們繼續看到通貨膨脹影響整個行業的材料、供應和勞動力成本，但我們正在通過嚴格的資源管理和審慎的運營實踐來應對這些影響。我們之前討論過的一個例子是我們決定開始內包某些現場活動，例如線路定位。雖然卡倫已經註意到與這一決定相關的前期投資成本，但我們開始看到提高效率和增強勞動力靈活性的預期好處。此外，這些內包工作重新引入了重要的入門級現場職位，為公司重新建立了有意義的勞動力管道。

And now, I'll turn it over to Sid for closing remarks.

現在，我將把它交給 Sid 進行總結髮言。

Thank you, Caron and Curtis.

謝謝卡倫和柯蒂斯。

Good governance is essential to maintaining our high performance, and we are pleased to share that we have a recent addition to our Board of Directors. Deborah Hersman was appointed to the Board on June 29 and brings deep safety-related experience that includes service as the former Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and Chief Executive Officer of the National Safety Council. We look forward to all that we will gain from Ms. Hersman's insight and expertise.

良好的治理對於保持我們的高績效至關重要，我們很高興地告訴大家，我們最近增加了董事會成員。 Deborah Hersman 於 6 月 29 日被任命為董事會成員，她帶來了深厚的安全相關經驗，包括擔任國家運輸安全委員會前主席和國家安全委員會首席執行官。我們期待從赫斯曼女士的洞察力和專業知識中獲得一切。

Safety and service are 2 of our core values, and our coworkers exemplified those values as we faced and recovered from storms in Shawnee and Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the quarter. While we did not experience significant service interruptions, the April tornado in Shawnee and near-hurricane force of winds on Father's Day weekend in Tulsa caused widespread property damage. Our teams were quick to respond to the disruption these storms caused, ensuring that our customers were safe and had reliable gas service for their homes, businesses and backup generators. I want to thank each of my coworkers for their dedication to living our core values as we work every day to keep people safe and enjoying the benefits that natural gas provides.

安全和服務是我們的兩個核心價值觀，本季度我們在俄克拉荷馬州肖尼和塔爾薩面臨風暴並從風暴中恢復時，我們的同事體現了這些價值觀。雖然我們沒有遇到嚴重的服務中斷，但肖尼四月的龍捲風和塔爾薩父親節週末的近乎颶風的風力造成了大面積的財產損失。我們的團隊對這些風暴造成的破壞迅速做出反應，確保我們的客戶安全，並為他們的家庭、企業和備用發電機提供可靠的天然氣服務。我要感謝我的每一位同事，他們在我們每天努力保障人們安全並享受天然氣帶來的好處時，致力於踐行我們的核心價值觀。

Thank you all for joining us this morning. Operator, we're now ready for questions.

感謝大家今天早上加入我們。接線員，我們現在準備好提問了。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question today comes from the line of Shahriar Pourreza from Guggenheim Partners.

（操作員說明）今天我們的第一個問題來自 Guggenheim Partners 的 Shahriar Pourreza。

It's Jamieson Ward on for Shar. How are you?

賈米森·沃德 (Jamieson Ward) 替補沙爾 (Shar)。你好嗎？

Really well, James, and good to hear from you this morning.

真的很好，詹姆斯，很高興今天早上收到你的來信。

Terrific.

了不起。

Macro question for you first. As we continue to see inflation pressures cool at a national level, could you touch on how that compares to what you're seeing in your service territories? And as a follow-up, are you still expecting roughly 2% inflation by 2026? Or could we see that timeline move up?

首先向您提出宏觀問題。隨著我們繼續看到全國范圍內的通脹壓力降溫，您能否談談這與您在服務領域所看到的情況相比如何？作為後續行動，您是否仍預計 2026 年通脹率約為 2%？或者我們可以看到時間線提前嗎？

So let me ask Curtis to speak to the impact that we're seeing from the commercial side, and then Caron to speak to the inflation forecast. Curtis?

因此，讓我請柯蒂斯談談我們從商業方面看到的影響，然後讓卡隆談談通貨膨脹預測。柯蒂斯？

Yes. So a lot of our contracts price based off of what's happening with national CPI, so I would say we're in line if you're looking at it nationally. So in our territories, it's not an abnormality from, again, that national average.

是的。因此，我們的很多合同價格都是基於全國消費者價格指數的變化，所以我想說，如果你從全國范圍來看，我們是一致的。因此，在我們的領土上，這與全國平均水平相比並不是異常。

With respect to inflation, it continues to be sticky. The news is encouraging that we've seen it coming down a bit. I think the timeline may be a bit elongated, but I'm optimistic about being able to manage the impact to us and our O&M expenses going into '24 and '25.

就通貨膨脹而言，它仍然具有粘性。這個消息令人鼓舞，我們看到它有所下降。我認為時間表可能會有點長，但我對能夠管理 24 年和 25 年對我們以及我們的運營和維護費用的影響持樂觀態度。

Got you.

明白你了。

So just on that note, do you have much ability to pull forward O&M? Or would continued lower-than-expected cost pressures this year mostly fall to the bottom line?

那麼就這一點來說，你們有多大的能力去推進運維呢？或者今年持續低於預期的成本壓力是否會大部分落入利潤？

We don't really have a huge opportunity. We are a highly compliant business. We've got a lot of work that's got to get done every year. And so our approach is to have a steady, stable workflow for our [pool] that's easier to manage, get efficiencies from doing that. So we don't try to really manipulate it, and we don't have a lot of opportunity to do that either.

我們確實沒有巨大的機會。我們是一家高度合規的企業。每年我們都有很多工作要做。因此，我們的方法是為我們的[池]建立一個穩定、穩定的工作流程，使其更易於管理，並從中提高效率。所以我們不會嘗試真正操縱它，而且我們也沒有太多機會這樣做。

If inflation were to, let's say, normalize by next year?

比如說，如果明年通脹正常化怎麼辦？

So Jameson, you'll recall that we were speaking to the fact that short-term dislocation of rates would impact us because of our capital structure. And so we've tested that and really looked at, is the most appropriate structure for us? And we continue to believe that if you go back to 2014, the spin from ONEOK, you see that our approach has served our stakeholders well, and we think that will be true going forward. We'll continue to have exposure to short-term rates, but as rates normalize and we have the opportunity to continue to take advantage of inflow of people into our service territory and the economic development opportunities that you're aware of, we really like our positioning. So you can expect us to continue to manage the short term, but really focus on term value creation.

所以詹姆森，你會記得我們說過這樣一個事實，即由於我們的資本結構，短期利率錯位會影響我們。因此，我們對此進行了測試，並真正研究了最適合我們的結構嗎？我們仍然相信，如果你回顧 2014 年，即 ONEOK 的轉型，你會發現我們的方法為我們的利益相關者提供了良好的服務，我們認為未來也是如此。我們將繼續接觸短期利率，但隨著利率正常化，我們有機會繼續利用流入我們服務領域的人員以及您所知道的經濟發展機會，我們真的很喜歡我們的定位。因此，您可以期望我們繼續管理短期，但真正關注長期價值創造。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question is from the line of Christopher Jeffrey of Mizuho.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自瑞穗銀行的克里斯托弗·杰弗裡（Christopher Jeffrey）。

Maybe just quickly on the energy efficiency program that Curtis mentioned in his remarks. Just kind of wondering the puts and takes of that for ONE Gas in Texas?

也許只是快速討論柯蒂斯在講話中提到的能源效率計劃。只是想知道德克薩斯州 ONE Gas 的看漲期權嗎？

So we're currently working with the commission, and others in the industry are working with the commission as to how to apply the statute and how that will roll out, but I expect that in the near term that we'll have more clarity around that part of it. We currently have programs in our Central Texas service territory and in the Rio Grande, Rio Grande Valley. They're not the same programs because they're tailored to each of those service areas, and we would envision doing that same type of thing where a program that's appropriate for a specific service area gets tailored to that area similar to what we've already done. And again, that's what we're working through and expect to have more on that in the fairly near term.

因此，我們目前正在與該委員會合作，業內其他人也在與該委員會合作，討論如何應用該法規以及如何推出該法規，但我預計在短期內我們會更加清楚地了解該法規那部分。目前，我們在德克薩斯州中部的服務區域和里奧格蘭德河谷都有項目。它們不是相同的計劃，因為它們是針對每個服務領域量身定制的，我們設想做同樣類型的事情，其中​​適合特定服務領域的計劃會針對該領域進行定制，類似於我們已經做過的事情已經完成了。再說一次，這就是我們正在努力解決的問題，並希望在不久的將來能有更多進展。

Great.

偉大的。

And then maybe just the addition of the 900,000 shares through the ATM program from last quarter. Just kind of wondering how you're thinking about that compared with the forward agreements? And how you're thinking about maybe cadence of future financing and how much we can expect more for 2024?

然後也許只是通過上個季度的 ATM 計劃添加 900,000 股。只是想知道與遠期協議相比，您如何看待這一點？您如何考慮未來融資的節奏以及我們對 2024 年可以期待多少？

So as I said on the -- in my remarks, we feel good about what we've got done for 2023 and are well into our 2024. As always, we're just starting to be opportunistic. When we like the price, we feel like we have the need, the ATM gives us the flexibility and the forwards are added flexibility on top of that.

正如我在講話中所說，我們對 2023 年所做的工作感到滿意，並且已經進入 2024 年。一如既往，我們才剛剛開始機會主義。當我們喜歡這個價格時，我們覺得我們有需要，ATM 為我們提供了靈活性，而遠期則在此基礎上增加了靈活性。

So I don't have a specific update. We'll just continue to monitor as market conditions warrant.

所以我沒有具體的更新。我們將根據市場情況繼續監控。

Great.

偉大的。

And then maybe just an update on timing for any full general rate cases in the jurisdictions that we should expect, just as far as proving up some of those cost pressures? Or rate increases that we've seen, anything in that gain?

然後，也許只是我們應該預期的司法管轄區中任何完整的一般利率案件的時間更新，只要證明其中一些成本壓力？或者我們看到的利率上漲，有什麼好處嗎？

Yes, nothing other than the rate case we just filed in the Rio Grande Valley service area to highlight at this time.

是的，除了我們剛剛在里奧格蘭德河谷服務區提交的費率案例之外，沒有什麼值得強調的。

Great.

偉大的。

And we have no further questions in the queue at this time, so it'd be my pleasure to hand back to Ms. Dailey for any closing remarks.

目前我們已經沒有其他問題了，因此我很高興將閉幕詞交還給戴利女士。

Thank you all again for your interest in ONE Gas. Our quiet period for the third quarter starts when we close our books in early October and extends until we release earnings in late October. We'll provide details on the conference call at a later date. Have a great day.

再次感謝大家對 ONE Gas 的關注。第三季度的平靜期從 10 月初我們結賬開始，一直持續到我們 10 月底發布收益為止。我們將在稍後提供有關電話會議的詳細信息。祝你有美好的一天。

This concludes the ONE Gas 2023 Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. You may now disconnect.

ONE Gas 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議和網絡廣播到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。