賓州電力 (PPL) 2022 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the PPL Corporation's Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Andy Ludwig, VP, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

早上好，歡迎參加 PPL 公司 2022 年第二季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，此事件正在記錄中。我現在想將會議轉交給投資者關係副總裁 Andy Ludwig。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining the PPL conference call on second quarter 2022 financial results.

謝謝你。大家早上好，感謝您參加關於 2022 年第二季度財務業績的 PPL 電話會議。

We've provided slides for this presentation and our earnings release issued this morning on the Investors section of our website. We'll begin today's call with updates from Vince Sorgi, PPL's President and CEO; and Joe Bergstein, Chief Financial Officer. Greg Dudkin, Chief Operating Officer, will also be available for the Q&A session following our prepared remarks.

我們提供了本演示文稿的幻燈片，以及今天上午在我們網站的投資者部分發布的收益報告。我們將從 PPL 總裁兼首席執行官 Vince Sorgi 的最新消息開始今天的電話會議；和首席財務官喬·伯格斯坦。在我們準備好的發言之後，首席運營官 Greg Dudkin 也將參加問答環節。

Before we get started, I'll draw your attention to Slide 2 and a brief cautionary statement. Our presentation today contains forward-looking statements about future operating results or other future events. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Please refer to the appendix of this presentation and PPL's SEC filings for a discussion of some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，我會提請您注意幻燈片 2 和一個簡短的警告聲明。我們今天的演示文稿包含有關未來經營成果或其他未來事件的前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述大不相同。有關可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述不同的一些因素的討論，請參閱本演示文稿的附錄和 PPL 的 SEC 文件。

We will also refer to non-GAAP measures, including earnings from ongoing operations and adjusted gross margins on this call. For reconciliations to the comparable GAAP measures, please refer to the appendix.

我們還將參考非 GAAP 指標，包括本次電話會議的持續運營收益和調整後的毛利率。有關可比 GAAP 措施的對賬，請參閱附錄。

I'll now turn the call over to Vince.

我現在將把電話轉給文斯。

Thank you, Andy, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our second quarter investor update.

謝謝你，安迪，大家早上好。歡迎來到我們的第二季度投資者更新。

Turning to Slide 4, as we shared with you in June, we are extremely excited about PPL's compelling investment proposition, which is driven by our strategic repositioning. The completion of the sale of our U.K. Utility business and acquisition of Rhode Island Energy has derisked the company and created a compelling portfolio of domestic regulated utilities. Our company has 1 of the best operating track records in the industry, and this operating expertise enables us to further optimize our new portfolio to deliver growth and create shareowner value.

轉向幻燈片 4，正如我們在 6 月與您分享的那樣，我們對 PPL 引人注目的投資主張感到非常興奮，這是由我們的戰略重新定位所推動的。出售我們的英國公用事業業務和收購羅德島能源公司的完成使公司面臨風險，並創建了一個引人注目的國內受監管公用事業投資組合。我們公司擁有業內最佳的運營記錄之一，而這種運營專長使我們能夠進一步優化我們的新投資組合，以實現增長並創造股東價值。

The result is a strategy and a new business plan that is anchored in operational efficiencies in the near term, with stronger rate base growth driving our earnings growth later in the decade, with a total capital investment need of at least $27 billion through 2030. This strategy also keeps affordability front and center, as we've committed to stay out of rate cases in Kentucky and Rhode Island until at least mid-2025. We expect our optimization strategy to deliver at least $150 million of O&M savings through 2025. I'll discuss these savings opportunities in more detail during today's presentation, but I want to emphasize that these optimization initiatives were the starting point for our new business plan.

結果是一項以近期運營效率為基礎的戰略和新業務計劃，強勁的利率基礎增長推動了我們在十年後期的盈利增長，到 2030 年的總資本投資需求至少為 270 億美元。戰略還保持可負擔性的前沿和中心，因為我們承諾至少在 2025 年年中之前不會出現在肯塔基州和羅德島州的利率案件。我們預計到 2025 年，我們的優化策略將至少節省 1.5 億美元的運維成本。我將在今天的演講中更詳細地討論這些節省機會，但我想強調這些優化舉措是我們新業務計劃的起點。

We believe this is an effective strategy for the company to manage risks associated with high inflation and high commodity costs, which have increased the cost of energy for our customers. At the same time, our plans support top-tier EPS and dividend growth of 6% to 8% per year, with levers that mitigate risk and potentially provide upside. These include incremental O&M savings above the targeted $150 million and higher sales growth relative to the assumptions that we modeled in our plan. We also developed the capital investment plans required to deliver a more reliable and resilient network, and to advance a clean energy future for our customers, while earning near our allowed returns by 2025.

我們相信這是公司管理與高通脹和高商品成本相關的風險的有效策略，這些風險增加了我們客戶的能源成本。與此同時，我們的計劃支持頂級每股收益和每年 6% 至 8% 的股息增長，其槓桿可降低風險並可能提供上行空間。其中包括超過目標 1.5 億美元的增量 O&M 節省以及相對於我們在計劃中建模的假設更高的銷售增長。我們還制定了所需的資本投資計劃，以提供更可靠和更有彈性的網絡，並為我們的客戶推進清潔能源的未來，同時在 2025 年之前獲得接近我們允許的回報。

We see potential opportunities to invest more than our $12 billion capital plan over the next 5 years with incremental upside opportunity stemming from the federal infrastructure investment and Jobs Act or the IIJA. Importantly, about 55% of our current 5-year CapEx plan is expected to be recovered from riders and formula rates, significantly mitigating regulatory lag and supporting our credit metrics. This positions us to maintain a strong balance sheet, which will fuel organic growth without the need for equity issuances throughout our plan period.

我們看到在未來 5 年內投資超過 120 億美元資本計劃的潛在機會，以及來自聯邦基礎設施投資和就業法案或 IIJA 的增量上行機會。重要的是，我們目前 5 年資本支出計劃的約 55% 預計將從附加費和公式費率中收回，從而顯著緩解監管滯後並支持我們的信用指標。這使我們能夠保持強勁的資產負債表，這將推動有機增長，而無需在整個計劃期內發行股票。

We also have an opportunity to lead the clean energy transition as we move through the plan period, and begin to make the necessary investments to effectively transition our coal-fired generation fleet in Kentucky. This is a massive opportunity for both customers and share owners, and is a pivotal part of our broader clean energy strategy. In addition to delivering the utilities of the future, utilities that are designed to efficiently enable and manage distributed energy resources and large-scale renewables connected to our networks. We're on the leading edge of these efforts with the work we've done in Pennsylvania and are confident this proven strategy will continue to drive further savings and capital investment opportunities moving forward, even in Pennsylvania where it is already well underway.

隨著計劃期的推進，我們也有機會引領清潔能源轉型，並開始進行必要的投資，以有效地轉型我們在肯塔基州的燃煤發電船隊。這對客戶和股東來說都是一個巨大的機會，也是我們更廣泛的清潔能源戰略的關鍵部分。除了提供未來的公用事業之外，公用事業旨在有效地啟用和管理連接到我們網絡的分佈式能源和大規模可再生能源。通過我們在賓夕法尼亞州所做的工作，我們處於這些努力的前沿，並相信這一行之有效的戰略將繼續推動進一步的儲蓄和資本投資機會，即使在賓夕法尼亞州已經開展得很好。

We've combined this innovative approach with our culture of delivering operational excellence. And we have a superior track record, which we demonstrated with the Pennsylvania playbook slides on our Investor Day call.

我們將這種創新方法與我們提供卓越運營的文化相結合。我們擁有卓越的業績記錄，我們在投資者日電話會議上通過賓夕法尼亞州的劇本幻燈片展示了這一點。

In summary, we're excited to translate our track record of best-in-class operational excellence into top-tier returns for our shareowners. The actions we've taken over the past 18 months were designed to do just that, and I'm confident they will. We've hit the ground running with the new PPL. My team and I are ready and committed to deliver for our customers and our shareowners.

總之，我們很高興將我們一流的卓越運營記錄轉化為我們股東的頂級回報。我們在過去 18 個月中採取的行動旨在做到這一點，我相信他們會做到的。我們已經開始使用新的 PPL。我和我的團隊已準備好並致力於為我們的客戶和股東提供服務。

Turning to Slide 5 and the highlights of our second quarter results. Today, we announced second quarter reported earnings of $0.16 per share. Adjusting for special items, second quarter earnings from ongoing operations were $0.30 per share compared with $0.19 per share a year ago. The strong second quarter earnings have us solidly on track to achieve the earnings guidance we shared during our Investor Day. And today, we reaffirmed our 2022 ongoing earnings forecast range of $1.30 to $1.45 per share with a midpoint of $1.37 per share. This forecast reflects a partial year estimate of contributions from Rhode Island Energy following our completion of the acquisition on May 25.

轉向幻燈片 5 和我們第二季度業績的亮點。今天，我們宣布第二季度報告的每股收益為 0.16 美元。調整特殊項目後，第二季度持續運營的收益為每股 0.30 美元，而一年前為每股 0.19 美元。強勁的第二季度收益使我們堅定地實現了我們在投資者日分享的收益指導。今天，我們重申了 2022 年每股 1.30 美元至 1.45 美元的持續盈利預測範圍，中間值為每股 1.37 美元。這一預測反映了我們在 5 月 25 日完成收購後對羅德島能源公司貢獻的部分年度估計。

Today, we also reaffirmed our projected compound annual earnings per share and dividend growth rates of 6% to 8% through at least 2025. Our per-share growth target is based off the midpoint of our 2022 pro forma forecast range of $1.40 to $1.55 per share or $1.48 per share. The pro forma forecast range reflects a full year of earnings contributions from Rhode Island Energy.

今天，我們還重申了至少到 2025 年我們預計的每股複合年收益和股息增長率為 6% 至 8%。我們的每股增長目標基於我們 2022 年備考預測範圍 1.40 美元至 1.55 美元的中點。或每股 1.48 美元。備考預測範圍反映了羅德島能源公司全年的盈利貢獻。

In addition to delivering strong quarterly results, we've also been hard at work, enabling the asset optimization and centralization plans that will drive our O&M savings targets. I'll discuss the details of these initiatives on the next slide.

除了提供強勁的季度業績外，我們還一直在努力工作，實現資產優化和集中化計劃，這將推動我們的 O&M 節省目標。我將在下一張幻燈片中討論這些舉措的細節。

The final major highlight, I'll note this morning is the RFP that LG&E and KU recently issued for replacement generation in Kentucky. As a reminder, the companies expect to retire at least 1,000 megawatts of coal-fired generation by 2028. The RFP is open to a variety of generation sources, which I'll touch on further in a few minutes.

我今天早上要注意的最後一個主要亮點是 LG&E 和 KU 最近發布的用於肯塔基州替代發電的 RFP。提醒一下，這些公司預計到 2028 年將淘汰至少 1,000 兆瓦的燃煤發電。RFP 對各種發電資源開放，我將在幾分鐘後進一步討論。

Turning to Slide 6. As I mentioned, our strategy moving forward focuses on efficiency and affordability, as we build the networks and make the investments necessary to deliver a clean energy future. Today, we're providing more detail on the savings opportunities that support our strategy. We expect to deliver $50 million to $60 million or about 1/3 of the savings target in 2023. As our investments in technology take shape, we expect the savings to step up to a cumulative total of $120 million to $130 million by the end of 2024, achieving the full $150 million of targeted savings by the end of 2025.

轉到幻燈片 6。正如我所提到的，我們前進的戰略側重於效率和可負擔性，因為我們建立網絡並進行必要的投資以實現清潔能源的未來。今天，我們將提供更多關於支持我們戰略的儲蓄機會的詳細信息。我們預計到 2023 年將實現 5,000 萬美元至 6,000 萬美元或約 1/3 的節約目標。隨著我們在技術方面的投資初具規模，我們預計到 2020 年底累計節約總額將達到 1.2 億美元至 1.3 億美元2024 年，到 2025 年底實現全部 1.5 億美元的目標節省。

The timing and ranges reflect our planned implementation of various systems and processes, including the further use of data science to become more efficient. Turning to the right side of the slide, there are 2 key areas to this optimization strategy, operations and shared services. Regarding operations, the first piece is replicating our Pennsylvania playbook for electric T&D operations across Kentucky and Rhode Island, which we expect will drive about $80 million of savings by 2025. To accomplish this objective, we will deploy smart grid technology to enhance reliability and reduce costs, and leverage data science to maximize our resource allocation. We're also improving our vegetation management approach, leveraging models and satellite imagery to assess individual predictions of risk, such as when a tree canopy is expected to reach a certain power line, it will need to be trimmed or cut down.

時間和範圍反映了我們計劃實施的各種系統和流程，包括進一步使用數據科學來提高效率。轉到幻燈片的右側，此優化策略有 2 個關鍵領域，運營和共享服務。關於運營，第一部分是複制我們賓夕法尼亞州在肯塔基州和羅德島州進行電力輸配電業務的劇本，我們預計到 2025 年將節省約 8000 萬美元。為了實現這一目標，我們將部署智能電網技術以提高可靠性並減少成本，並利用數據科學來最大化我們的資源分配。我們還在改進我們的植被管理方法，利用模型和衛星圖像來評估個人的風險預測，例如，當預計樹冠到達某個電力線時，它需要被修剪或砍伐。

We've spent several years honing our PA playbook, and we've built our electric T&D operating model to be scalable. Over the past decade, we grew our Pennsylvania rate base and earnings at about 10% a year, all while keeping O&M relatively flat, offsetting about $100 million of inflation over that period, and driving significant improvements in reliability and customer satisfaction. At the same time, we built 1 of the nation's most advanced energy network, 1 that incorporates self-healing technology and supports the growth of renewable energy. We believe the best is yet to come as we replicate our PA playbook enterprise-wide, with additional upside as we continue to find ways to scale technology and drive further innovation.

我們花了幾年時間來完善我們的 PA 劇本，並且我們已經建立了我們的電動輸配電運營模型以實現可擴展性。在過去十年中，我們以每年約 10% 的速度增長了賓夕法尼亞州的費率基數和收益，同時保持 O&M 相對平穩，抵消了同期約 1 億美元的通貨膨脹，並推動了可靠性和客戶滿意度的顯著提高。同時，我們建成了全國最先進的能源網絡之一，其中一個融合了自愈技術，支持可再生能源的發展。我們相信，隨著我們在企業範圍內復制我們的 PA 手冊，最好的還沒有到來，隨著我們繼續尋找擴展技術和推動進一步創新的方法，還有額外的好處。

Another key source of O&M savings in our T&D operations will be the opportunity to leverage advanced technologies and our customer service function. This includes expanding and improving convenient self-service options for customers that reduces call handling and improves customer satisfaction. We're also projecting lower O&M in other areas of our operations, including the generation and gas LDC businesses, totaling about $35 million by 2025. We see the majority of this opportunity through greater efficiency in our generation fleet, including outage optimization and coal plant retirements.

在我們的輸配電業務中，另一個節省運維費用的主要來源是利用先進技術和我們的客戶服務功能的機會。這包括為客戶擴展和改進便捷的自助服務選項，從而減少呼叫處理並提高客戶滿意度。我們還預計，到 2025 年，我們運營的其他領域（包括發電和天然氣 LDC 業務）的 O&M 將減少，總額約為 3500 萬美元。我們通過提高發電機隊的效率（包括停電優化和燃煤電廠）看到了大部分機會退休。

The second area of focus is the centralization of shared services, which includes the consolidation of our supply chain function and IT systems and platforms. We expect to drive savings in this area of about $35 million by 2025. By deploying common systems and platforms across our operations, we expect to reduce software and licensing costs and improve overall operating efficiency. This also includes leveraging our increased buying power from centralized supply chain operations to procure equipment and materials enterprise-wide, as well as other savings from consolidating our other shared services functions.

第二個重點領域是共享服務的集中化，包括整合我們的供應鏈功能以及 IT 系統和平台。我們預計到 2025 年將在該領域節省約 3500 萬美元。通過在我們的運營中部署通用系統和平台，我們希望降低軟件和許可成本並提高整體運營效率。這還包括利用我們從集中供應鏈運營中增加的購買力在企業範圍內採購設備和材料，以及通過整合我們的其他共享服務功能而節省的其他費用。

In summary, we believe our strategy, which leverages operating efficiency, data science and advanced technology, differentiates PPL by supporting competitive earnings and dividend growth of 6% to 8%, while remaining focused on affordability as we make the investments needed to deliver the clean energy transition. We're confident we will achieve our O&M reduction targets, as they are driven by a proven operating model, are technology driven and are spread over several areas of the business over several years, with achievable targets and plans in each area.

總而言之，我們相信我們利用運營效率、數據科學和先進技術的戰略，通過支持具有競爭力的收益和 6% 至 8% 的股息增長來區分 PPL，同時在我們進行必要的投資以提供清潔能源轉型。我們相信我們將實現我們的 O&M 減少目標，因為它們是由經過驗證的運營模式驅動的，是技術驅動的，並且在幾年內分佈在業務的多個領域，每個領域都有可實現的目標和計劃。

Turning to Slide 7. We continue to evaluate opportunities to advance the transition of our Kentucky generation fleet, which presents an exceptional investment opportunity. Under our current plan, we expect to retire 1,000 megawatts of coal by 2028 and an additional 1,000 megawatts by 2035. As we plan for the future, we continue to evaluate supply options and technologies that will best deliver value for our customers over the long term, while advancing cleaner sources and maintaining secure, reliable and low-cost energy in the state, which is key to supporting Kentucky's robust economic development.

轉到幻燈片 7。我們將繼續評估推進肯塔基發電機隊轉型的機會，這提供了一個非凡的投資機會。根據我們目前的計劃，我們預計到 2028 年淘汰 1,000 兆瓦的煤炭，到 2035 年再淘汰 1,000 兆瓦。在我們為未來做計劃時，我們將繼續評估最能為我們的客戶提供長期價值的供應選擇和技術，同時在該州推進更清潔的能源並維持安全、可靠和低成本的能源，這是支持肯塔基州強勁經濟發展的關鍵。

As I noted earlier, LG&E and KU recently issued an RFP for replacement generation to address potential EPA regulations, load growth, coal plant retirements, and greater diversification of our Kentucky generation portfolio. The RFP is open to a variety of generation sources, including renewables, battery storage and peaking or baseload natural gas. We're seeking proposals for capacity and energy to be available, no earlier than 2025. Proposals are due in mid-August, and we expect to complete our evaluation by the end of October. This will allow us to submit our required regulatory filings either in Q4 of this year or Q1 of 2023.

正如我之前提到的，LG&E 和 KU 最近發布了一份關於替代發電的 RFP，以解決潛在的 EPA 法規、負荷增長、燃煤電廠退役以及我們肯塔基發電組合的更大多樣化。 RFP 對各種發電資源開放，包括可再生能源、電池存儲和峰值或基荷天然氣。我們正在尋求不早於 2025 年提供容量和能源的提案。提案將於 8 月中旬提交，我們預計將在 10 月底之前完成我們的評估。這將使我們能夠在今年第四季度或 2023 年第一季度提交所需的監管文件。

Results from the RFP will also inform further analysis we're undertaking regarding the transition of our coal-fired fleet to cleaner sources, based on our continued engagement with shareowners. This analysis will include various clean energy scenarios, including an assessment of the financial and operational implications of achieving an 80% clean energy portfolio by 2030. We expect to complete the analysis and share our results by the end of the year.

基於我們與股東的持續接觸，RFP 的結果還將為我們正在進行的關於我們的燃煤船隊向更清潔能源過渡的進一步分析提供信息。該分析將包括各種清潔能源情景，包括對到 2030 年實現 80% 清潔能源組合的財務和運營影響的評估。我們預計將在年底前完成分析並分享我們的結果。

As you know, we issued 2 significant reports in the fall of 2021 with our Integrated Resource Plan and Climate Assessment report. This latest analysis, to be completed later this year, reflects our continued evaluation of clean energy transition options. Lastly, on this slide, I would note that we continue to closely monitor the EPA's proposed regulations for potential impacts to our transition plan, including the Good Neighbor rule. The Good Neighbor rule could potentially advance nearly 500 megawatts of coal-fired retirements from 2034 into the 2026 to 2028 time frame. As a result, we are closely monitoring that regulation, which we expect will become final later this year or in 2023.

如您所知，我們在 2021 年秋季發布了兩份重要報告，其中包括我們的綜合資源計劃和氣候評估報告。這項將於今年晚些時候完成的最新分析反映了我們對清潔能源轉型方案的持續評估。最後，在這張幻燈片上，我要指出，我們將繼續密切關注 EPA 的擬議法規，以了解對我們的過渡計劃的潛在影響，包括“睦鄰規則”。睦鄰規則可能會將近 500 兆瓦的燃煤退役從 2034 年提前到 2026 年至 2028 年的時間框架。因此，我們正在密切關注該法規，我們預計該法規將在今年晚些時候或 2023 年最終生效。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Joe for the financial update. Joe?

有了這個，我現在將電話轉給喬以獲取財務更新。喬？

Thank you, Vince, and good morning, everyone. Turning to Slide 9. As Vince noted, we reported 20,222nd quarter GAAP earnings of $0.16 per share. Special items in the second quarter were $0.14 per share, primarily due to integration expenses associated with the acquisition of Rhode Island Energy. Adjusting for these special items, second quarter earnings from ongoing operations were $0.30 per share, an improvement of $0.11 per share compared to last year. The strong quarter brings our year-to-date GAAP earnings to $0.53 per share. Adjusting for special items of $0.18 per share, our ongoing earnings results are $0.71 per share through the first half of 2022 compared to $0.47 in the first half of 2021.

謝謝你，文斯，大家早上好。轉到幻燈片 9。正如文斯所指出的，我們報告了 20,222 季度 GAAP 每股收益 0.16 美元。第二季度的特殊項目為每股 0.14 美元，主要是由於與收購 Rhode Island Energy 相關的整合費用。調整這些特殊項目後，第二季度持續運營的每股收益為 0.30 美元，與去年相比增加了 0.11 美元。強勁的季度使我們年初至今的 GAAP 收益達到每股 0.53 美元。調整每股 0.18 美元的特殊項目後，到 2022 年上半年，我們的持續收益為每股 0.71 美元，而 2021 年上半年為 0.47 美元。

As Vince mentioned, these results put us firmly on track to achieve our 2022 earnings forecast of $1.30 to $1.45 per share.

正如文斯所說，這些結果使我們堅定地走上了實現我們 2022 年每股 1.30 美元至 1.45 美元的盈利預測的軌道。

Turning to the ongoing segment drivers on Slide 10. Our Pennsylvania Regulated segment results improved by $0.03 year-over-year, excluding accretion. The increased earnings in Pennsylvania were primarily driven by higher peak transmission demand and returns on additional capital investments in transmission.

轉向幻燈片 10 上正在進行的細分市場驅動因素。我們的賓夕法尼亞監管細分市場業績同比增長 0.03 美元，不包括增長。賓夕法尼亞州收益的增加主要是由於更高的峰值輸電需求和輸電額外資本投資的回報。

Our Kentucky segment also improved by $0.03 per share year-over-year, excluding accretion. The increase was primarily due to higher base retail rates effective July 1, 2021, and higher sales volumes, primarily due to favorable weather. Partially offsetting these increases, were higher O&M expenses, primarily due to plant outages and storm restoration costs, and higher depreciation due to additions to PP&E.

我們的肯塔基州分部也同比增長了 0.03 美元，不包括增長。這一增長主要是由於自 2021 年 7 月 1 日起生效的基本零售率較高，以及銷量增加，主要是由於天氣有利。部分抵消了這些增長的是更高的 O&M 費用，主要是由於工廠停運和風暴恢復成本，以及由於 PP&E 增加而導致的更高折舊。

Our Rhode Island segment earned $0.01 per share for the quarter, reflecting our 1 month of ownership. Results at Corporate and Other were $0.03 higher compared to the prior year, driven by lower interest expense primarily resulting from the recapitalization of the balance sheet following the sale of WPD.

我們的羅德島分部本季度每股收益 0.01 美元，反映了我們擁有 1 個月的所有權。公司和其他部門的業績比上一年高出 0.03 美元，主要是由於出售 WPD 後資產負債表的資本重組導致利息費用降低。

Finally, we experienced $0.01 increase in our second quarter 2022 EPS due to share accretion resulting from the $1 billion of buybacks completed in 2021.

最後，由於 2021 年完成的 10 億美元回購導致股票增值，我們 2022 年第二季度的每股收益增加了 0.01 美元。

That concludes my prepared remarks, and I'll turn the call back over to Vince.

我準備好的發言到此結束，我將把電話轉回給文斯。

Thank you, Joe. As I said at the outset of my remarks, I'm excited about the prospects for the new PPL. Through our strategic transactions, we've positioned the company to deliver consistent, sustainable, top-tier returns for our share owners, and exceptional results for our customers. We look forward to seeing many of you during our upcoming marketing events over the next few months, as we continue to share our story.

謝謝你，喬。正如我在發言開始時所說，我對新 PPL 的前景感到興奮。通過我們的戰略交易，我們使公司能夠為我們的股東提供一致、可持續的頂級回報，並為我們的客戶提供卓越的成果。我們期待在接下來幾個月即將舉行的營銷活動中見到你們中的許多人，我們將繼續分享我們的故事。

With that, operator, let's open it up for questions.

有了這個，操作員，讓我們打開它來提問。

(Operator Instructions) And the first question will be from Durgesh Chopra from Evercore ISI.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Durgesh Chopra。

Thanks for the update. Just wanted to kick things off with the Inflation Reduction Act. Your peers have kind of talked about implications. Maybe -- I know it's pretty early, but just what are you thinking of the tax credits -- the generation tax credits and then the impacts on cash taxes of the alternative minimum tax?

感謝更新。只是想通過《降低通貨膨脹法案》來開始。你的同齡人已經談到了影響。也許——我知道現在還為時過早，但你對稅收抵免有何看法——發電稅收抵免以及替代最低稅對現金稅的影響？

Yes, sure. So for the most part, we think the act is positive for the company. First, the ability to elect the production tax credit instead of the ITC for solar will improve economics of our self-build options as we look at renewables as a potential source of replacement generation in Kentucky. In addition, the extension of the renewable tax credit should lower the cost of renewables overall. That will be good for not only our RFP process in Kentucky, but also our customers in Rhode Island as we procure clean energy to meet the 100% renewable energy by 2033 requirement that was just enacted into law up in Rhode Island.

是的，當然。因此，在大多數情況下，我們認為該行為對公司是積極的。首先，當我們將可再生能源視為肯塔基州替代發電的潛在來源時，為太陽能選擇生產稅收抵免而不是 ITC 的能力將提高我們自建選項的經濟性。此外，可再生能源稅收抵免的延長應會降低可再生能源的整體成本。這不僅有利於我們在肯塔基州的 RFP 流程，也有利於我們在羅德島的客戶，因為我們採購清潔能源以滿足到 2033 年 100% 可再生能源的要求，該要求剛剛在羅德島頒布成為法律。

As you know, we are now a federal cash taxpayer. So we're not anticipating the 15% AMT provision to have a significant impact on our business. So no real headwind there. And then I just think the transferability provisions around tax credits also makes it more likely that renewables will be built. And that will also be good in general for the industry and for accelerating our clean energy transition, simplifies the structure of the deals significantly.

如您所知，我們現在是聯邦現金納稅人。因此，我們預計 15% 的 AMT 條款不會對我們的業務產生重大影響。所以那裡沒有真正的逆風。然後我只是認為圍繞稅收抵免的可轉讓性規定也使可再生能源更有可能建成。這對整個行業和加速我們的清潔能源轉型也有好處，大大簡化了交易結構。

Got it. What effective cash tax rate are you currently at?

知道了。您目前的有效現金稅率是多少？

Yes, Joe, do you want to?

是的，喬，你想要嗎？

Yes. So I would kind of expect it to be around the 15% range through the planning period.

是的。所以我預計在整個規劃期間它會在 15% 左右。

Got it. Okay. All right. So the (inaudible) is not going to impact the cash flow sort of metrics in the plan. Okay, then just switching gears to the -- and by the way, thank you for sharing the details on Slide 6 on the O&M trajectory. That's really helpful by year. Just switching to Slide 7 really quickly on the Kentucky RFP. So what are the next steps in terms of after the regulatory filing that is in Q4 this year or early next year? What do we expect a form of approval for the Commission? Or what are the kind of things that we should be watching for?

知道了。好的。好的。因此（聽不清）不會影響計劃中的現金流量指標。好的，然後切換到 - 順便說一句，感謝您分享關於 O&M 軌蹟的幻燈片 6 的詳細信息。一年下來真的很有幫助。只需在肯塔基 RFP 上快速切換到幻燈片 7。那麼，在今年第四季度或明年初的監管備案之後，下一步是什麼？我們期望委員會以何種形式獲得批准？或者我們應該注意哪些事情？

Yes. So there could be various filings that we'll need to make. It will really depend, Durgesh, on the generation replacement strategy. So to the extent we are -- we are going to be building generation. We will need a CPCN for that, and that will go into the Commission. There will be a period of months' approval process. There's no statutory requirement on that, but it will take some months for the commission to get through that. If it's through PPAs for renewable energy, those contracts also require approval from the Commission. And so the form of the filings will take shape depending on the ultimate generation source that we come up with in terms of that replacement generation, but both generally will require filings.

是的。因此，我們可能需要提交各種文件。 Durgesh 將真正取決於代換策略。所以就我們而言——我們將建設一代。為此，我們需要一個 CPCN，這將提交給委員會。將有幾個月的批准過程。對此沒有法定要求，但委員會需要幾個月的時間才能通過。如果是通過可再生能源購電協議，這些合同也需要得到委員會的批准。因此，備案的形式將取決於我們提出的替代一代的最終發電來源，但通常兩者都需要備案。

Got it. And then just one last one, and I'll pass the opportunity for others to ask questions. Any of this CapEx coming out of these RFPs would be incremental to your current plan, correct?

知道了。然後就是最後一個，我會留給其他人提問的機會。來自這些 RFP 的任何資本支出都會增加您當前的計劃，對嗎？

It's incremental to the $12 billion in the 5-year CapEx plan. We do have $1 billion to $2 billion of CapEx for generation replacement in the $27 billion that we showed through 2030.

這是 5 年資本支出計劃中 120 億美元的增量。在我們展示的到 2030 年的 270 億美元中，我們確實有 10 億到 20 億美元的資本支出用於發電替代。

And the next question is from Ryan Greenwald from Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Ryan Greenwald。

Just to maybe piggyback on Durgesh's question around the IRA. How do you -- how does this kind of influence the way you guys think about unregulated renewables?

只是為了也許背著 Durgesh 關於愛爾蘭共和軍的問題。你如何 - 這種如何影響你們對不受監管的可再生能源的看法？

I mean obviously, it will help the economics around that business. Again, it's a very small component of our overall business. So I don't see it turning Safari into a material driver of our earnings in the near term, but obviously, it will simplify the deal structures and make those projects more economic.

我的意思是很明顯，這將有助於圍繞該業務的經濟。同樣，它只是我們整體業務的一個非常小的組成部分。因此，我認為 Safari 不會在短期內成為我們盈利的重要推動力，但顯然，它將簡化交易結構並使這些項目更加經濟。

Understood. And then any initial expectations on benefits that could accrue to you guys from the recent move by the governor to reduce the tax rate in Pennsylvania, and how that could kind of factor into rate case dynamics and how long you guys are able to stay out?

明白了。然後，對州長最近降低賓夕法尼亞州稅率的舉措可能給你們帶來的好處的任何初步預期，以及這如何影響利率案件的動態以及你們能夠呆多久？

Yes. I'll let Joe talk about the specifics on that. I mean the reduction going from $9.99 to $4.99 is over a period of years. I think it concludes in 2031. So in any one year, the impact isn't too significant. But Joe, do you want to talk to that?

是的。我會讓喬談談這方面的細節。我的意思是，從 9.99 美元降到 4.99 美元需要數年時間。我認為它會在 2031 年結束。所以在任何一年中，影響都不會太大。但是喬，你想和那個談談嗎？

Yes, sure. So the current corporate income tax rate in Pennsylvania is 9.99%. That's going to be reduced to 8.99% on January 1, 2023. And then from there, it decreases by 0.5 percentage point annually until it reaches 4.99% in 2031, has been said. So the impact is not material. I don't think that it would impact our rate case timing or strategy around that. Certainly, we'll have to see what the PUC would do regarding the reduction, but it's not a material impact to the business.

是的，當然。所以賓夕法尼亞州目前的企業所得稅率為 9.99%。到 2023 年 1 月 1 日，這一比例將降至 8.99%。據說，從那裡每年下降 0.5 個百分點，直到 2031 年達到 4.99%。所以影響不大。我認為這不會影響我們的利率案例時機或策略。當然，我們必須看看 PUC 會在減少方面做些什麼，但這對業務沒有實質性影響。

But it's good. We're glad to see the reduction in the rate just for general business purposes. It's good to see for sure.

但這很好。我們很高興看到僅出於一般商業目的而降低費率。很高興看到肯定。

And the next question is from Michael Lapides from Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的邁克爾·拉皮德斯。

Congrats on a good quarter. I look forward to seeing you next week. I had a question about O&M savings, which is you used the language in today's slide deck of at least $150 million targeted by 2025. Do you see upside to that $150 million? And if so, kind of where do you think that upside kind of which of the buckets could that emerge from?

祝賀一個好季度。我期待著下週見到你。我有一個關於 O&M 節省的問題，您在今天的幻燈片中使用了到 2025 年目標至少 1.5 億美元的語言。您認為這 1.5 億美元有上升空間嗎？如果是這樣，您認為哪一個桶可以從哪一個桶中出現？

Yes. So as we've discussed, if you look at the disclosure that we provided on the Investor Day and you take the benchmarking metrics that we had just for the T&D operations, where EU was just outside the top quartile and Kentucky and Rhode Island were in the third quartile, the ability to move Rhode Island and Kentucky to where EU is today. And then, of course, we're projecting to move EU into the first quartile, that is worth more than $150 million.

是的。因此，正如我們所討論的，如果您查看我們在投資者日提供的披露信息，並採用我們剛剛為輸配電業務提供的基準指標，其中歐盟剛好在前四分之一之外，肯塔基州和羅德島州在第三個四分位數，將羅德島和肯塔基遷移到今天的歐盟的能力。然後，當然，我們預計歐盟將進入第一個四分位數，價值超過 1.5 億美元。

In addition to that, we have the generation reductions that we're disclosing today. So the opportunity is more than the $150 million. The $150 million through 2025 is what we believe is achievable through 2025, given the integration efforts that are ongoing in Rhode Island, which takes a significant amount of attention and resources from both our company and National Grid to get all that done in the 2-year time frame. So that's why we've indicated we believe there's further optimization opportunity beyond 2025.

除此之外，我們還有今天要披露的發電量減少情況。因此，機會超過 1.5 億美元。鑑於羅德島正在進行的整合工作，我們認為到 2025 年的 1.5 億美元是可以在 2025 年實現的，這需要我們公司和國家電網的大量關注和資源來完成 2-年時間框架。這就是為什麼我們表示我們相信在 2025 年之後還有進一步的優化機會。

And if there's opportunity to extract more than that through 2025, we could see that either being used as a potential offset to inflationary pressures, if that continues to persist, and ultimately has an impact on our plan. To date, it hasn't had a material impact. But if that were to shift, we think that upside could help offset that or it could provide upside to the EPS growth rate.

如果到 2025 年有機會提取更多，我們可以看到，如果這種情況繼續存在，我們可以看到這要么被用作抵消通脹壓力的潛在手段，並最終對我們的計劃產生影響。迄今為止，它還沒有產生實質性的影響。但如果這種情況發生轉變，我們認為上行可能有助於抵消這一影響，或者可能為每股收益增長率提供上行空間。

Got it. And then one question, the Good Neighbor rule. Can you just walk us through how you think about whether -- if the rule is finalized as proposed by the EPA, and I know we're still in the comment period and so forth, so we have some time. But just curious, how you're thinking about -- does that impact energy that would come from existing coal plants? Or do you think more of it as it would drive more of your existing coal plants into retirement and therefore, create a need for both energy and capacity?

知道了。然後是一個問題，好鄰居規則。您能否簡單介紹一下您如何考慮是否 - 如果該規則按照 EPA 的提議最終確定，我知道我們仍處於評論期等等，所以我們有一些時間。但只是好奇，你是怎麼想的——這會影響來自現有燃煤電廠的能源嗎？還是您認為它會導致更多現有燃煤電廠退役，從而產生對能源和產能的需求？

Yes. So the Good Neighbor rule is basically the cross-state pollution rule. And so from our perspective, it's really around back-end technology and the need for -- so we still have a plant that's scheduled to retire in 2034 that would require some back-end pollution control equipment under this proposed rule. And so Michael, what we would have to do based on the final language in that is determine, write the most economic way to address that regulation. And so it could drive that plant being retired sooner or it could require some other solution, but we really need to wait for that rule to be finalized to determine the best way in which we would address that. But it certainly could drive us potentially to retire that plant sooner than 2034.

是的。所以好鄰居規則基本上是跨州污染規則。所以從我們的角度來看，它實際上是圍繞後端技術和需求——所以我們仍然有一個計劃在 2034 年退役的工廠，根據這個提議的規則，它需要一些後端污染控制設備。所以邁克爾，根據最終的語言，我們必須做的是確定，寫出最經濟的方式來解決該法規。因此，它可能會推動該工廠更快退役，或者可能需要其他解決方案，但我們確實需要等待該規則最終確定，以確定我們解決該問題的最佳方式。但這肯定會促使我們有可能在 2034 年之前淘汰該工廠。

Got it. And if I think about just the time line of this, the RFPs that are already underway in Kentucky probably don't address the incremental potential coal retirement that could get moved up that you'd either -- if you needed to replace that coal plant, you'd either have to host another RFP sometime next year or the following?

知道了。如果我只考慮這個時間線，肯塔基州已經在進行的 RFP 可能不會解決可能會增加的潛在煤炭退役問題——如果你需要更換那個燃煤電廠，您要么必須在明年某個時間或以下時間舉辦另一個 RFP？

I don't think so. I mean we're getting a number of responses. And so really, I think what you're describing is are we replacing 1,000 megawatts or 1,500 megawatts of coal capacity, and we'll just stack the responses accordingly to come up with the most economic way to address either 1,000 or 1,500 megawatts. So, that's how we're thinking about it. I don't think we'd have to run another RFP.

我不這麼認為。我的意思是我們收到了很多回复。所以真的，我認為你所描述的是我們替換 1,000 兆瓦或 1,500 兆瓦的煤炭容量，我們將相應地堆疊響應以提出最經濟的方式來解決 1,000 或 1,500 兆瓦的問題。所以，我們就是這麼想的。我認為我們不必運行另一個 RFP。

Got it. And the incremental megawatts is just an extra 500?

知道了。而增加的兆瓦只是額外的500？

It's just shy of 500 megawatts, is the capacity of that plant.

這只是 500 兆瓦，是該工廠的容量。

(Operator Instructions) The next question comes from Gregg Orrill with UBS.

（操作員說明）下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Gregg Orrill。

Just a follow-up on if you might be able to do it with a state, what the Pennsylvania regulatory strategy is? Or do you have a rate case that you're thinking about?

只是跟進你是否可以在一個州做到這一點，賓夕法尼亞州的監管策略是什麼？或者您是否有正在考慮的費率案例？

So as I think Joe discussed on our Investor Day call, we don't have an imminent rate case in the plan for Pennsylvania. That is something we always look at when we look at all of our jurisdictions. Of course, we've committed to staying out of base rate cases both in Rhode Island and Kentucky, at least until mid-2025. We do not have that commitment in Pennsylvania. Again, based on the optimization strategy, we think we can hold off a bit in PA, but that's something that we're always looking at when the best time to go in is. So, just to reiterate what Joe said, we don't have anything imminent in the plan.

因此，正如我認為喬在我們的投資者日電話會議上所討論的那樣，我們在賓夕法尼亞州的計劃中沒有迫在眉睫的利率案例。這是我們在查看所有司法管轄區時始終關注的問題。當然，我們承諾至少在 2025 年年中之前不會在羅德島州和肯塔基州出現基本利率案例。我們在賓夕法尼亞州沒有這種承諾。同樣，基於優化策略，我們認為我們可以在 PA 中推遲一點，但這是我們一直關注的最佳時機。所以，重申一下喬所說的，我們的計劃中沒有任何迫在眉睫的事情。

Congratulations.

恭喜。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Vince Sorgi for any closing remarks.

女士們，先生們，我們的問答環節到此結束。我想把會議轉回給 Vince Sorgi 做任何閉幕詞。

Great. Thanks, everyone, for joining the call, and we look forward to seeing many of you as we're out doing marketing over the next couple of months. So thanks again for joining.

偉大的。謝謝大家加入電話會議，我們期待在接下來的幾個月裡與你們中的許多人見面，因為我們正在進行營銷。所以再次感謝您的加入。

And thank you, sir. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝你，先生。會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。