威斯康辛能源 (WEC) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon and welcome to WEC Energy Group's conference call for fourth quarter and year-end 2024 results. This call is being recorded for rebroadcast (Operator Instructions)

下午好，歡迎參加 WEC 能源集團 2024 年第四季和年終業績電話會議。本次通話正在錄音，以便重播（操作員指令）

In conjunction with this call, a package of detailed financial information is posted at wecenergygroup.com. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of this call.

配合此次電話會議，wecenergygroup.com 上發布了一系列詳細的財務資訊。本次通話結束後約兩小時將提供重播。

Before the conference call begins, please note that all statements in the presentation other than historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that are subject to change at any time. Such statements are based on management's expectations at the time they are made.

在電話會議開始之前，請注意，簡報中除歷史事實之外的所有陳述均為前瞻性陳述，涉及隨時可能發生變化的風險和不確定性。這些聲明是基於管理階層在做出時的預期。

In addition to the assumptions and other factors referred to in connection with the statements, factors described in WEC Energy Group's latest Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. During the discussions, referenced earnings per share will be based on diluted earnings per share, unless otherwise noted.

除了與聲明相關的假設和其他因素外，WEC Energy Group 最新的 10-K 表格以及隨後向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中描述的因素可能會導致實際結果與預期結果有重大差異。在討論期間，除非另有說明，參考的每股收益將基於稀釋每股收益。

This call also will include non-GAAP financial information. The company has provided reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in the materials posted on its website for this conference call.

本次電話會議還將包括非公認會計準則財務資訊。該公司在其網站上發布的本次電話會議資料中提供了與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的對帳表。

And now it is my pleasure to introduce Scott Lauber, President and Chief Executive Officer of WEC Energy Group.

現在我很高興介紹 WEC 能源集團總裁兼執行長 Scott Lauber。

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we review our results for calendar year 2024. Here with me are Xia Liu, our Chief Financial Officer; and Beth Straka, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations.

大家下午好，感謝您今天加入我們，一起回顧 2024 年曆年的表現。和我一起的是我們的財務長劉霞；以及企業傳播與投資者關係資深副總裁 Beth Straka。

As you saw from our news release this morning, we reported full year 2024 adjusted earnings of $4.88 a share. I am pleased to report that we delivered another year of solid results on virtually every meaningful measure, from customer satisfaction to financial performance, to steady execution of our capital plan. In just a few minutes, Xia will provide more details on our financial results and outlook.

正如您從我們今天早上的新聞稿中看到的那樣，我們報告 2024 年全年調整後每股收益為 4.88 美元。我很高興地報告，從客戶滿意度到財務業績，再到資本計劃的穩步執行，我們在幾乎所有有意義的指標上都取得了另一年的穩健業績。只需幾分鐘，夏就會提供有關我們的財務業績和前景的更多細節。

For 2025 earnings, recall that in early December, we provided our guidance in the range of $5.17 to $5.27 a share. We continue to target a 6.5% to 7% long-term compound annual growth rate. We have a robust capital plan driven by strong economic growth in our region.

對於 2025 年的收益，回想一下，在 12 月初，我們給出了每股 5.17 美元至 5.27 美元的預期。我們持續將長期複合年增長率為6.5%至7%。我們擁有強勁的資本計劃，這得益於我們地區強勁的經濟成長。

The Wisconsin unemployment rate stands at 3%, continuing a long-running trend below the national average. And as we discussed, there have been many exciting developments along the I-94 corridor between Milwaukee and Chicago.

威斯康辛州失業率為 3%，長期低於全國平均。正如我們所討論的，密爾瓦基和芝加哥之間的 I-94 走廊沿線已經取得了許多令人興奮的進展。

In December, less than a year after Eli Lilly acquired a facility in Pleasant Prairie, the pharmaceutical company announced plans for a $3 billion expansion. Eli Lilly predicts the expansion will add 750 highly skilled jobs in addition to 2,000 construction jobs to complete the project.

去年 12 月，在禮來公司收購 Pleasant Prairie 工廠不到一年的時間裡，這家製藥公司宣布了 30 億美元的擴建計畫。禮來公司預計，擴建工程完成後，除了 2,000 個建築崗位外，還將增加 750 個高技能崗位。

Microsoft is making good progress on its large data center complex in Southeast Wisconsin. Work continues on the first phase of the project. Microsoft took a short pause on construction to evaluate the technical design of the second area. That pause was lifted and work has resumed. Microsoft is still reviewing designs for the third area.

微軟位於威斯康辛州東南部的大型資料中心綜合體正在取得良好進展。該計畫第一階段的工作仍在繼續。微軟暫停了建設工作，以評估第二個區域的技術設計。暫停已解除，工作已恢復。微軟仍在審查第三個區域的設計。

Microsoft reports that the potential design changes have not affected plans to invest $3.3 billion in the project by the end of 2026, and we do not anticipate these changes will impact our capital plan or demand growth projections over the next five years. In fact, Microsoft purchased an additional 240 acres of land just last week for another data center development. We're delighted that Microsoft continues to expand its commitment to the Milwaukee region.

微軟報告稱，潛在的設計變更並未影響到 2026 年底前對該項目投資 33 億美元的計劃，我們預計這些變化不會影響我們未來五年的資本計劃或需求成長預測。事實上，微軟上週剛買了額外的 240 英畝土地用於另一個資料中心的開發。我們很高興微軟繼續擴大對密爾瓦基地區的承諾。

Also in January, Cloverleaf announced plans to develop approximately 1,700 acres in Port Washington, just north of Milwaukee, for another large data center campus. Cloverleaf projects that construction could start this fall. In the initial announcement, Cloverleaf expects the load to be 1 gigawatt. This development is very -- in the very early stages, but all of this load is incremental to our current plan. So we're off to a strong start to the year with great economic prospects.

同樣在 1 月份，Cloverleaf 宣布計劃在密爾瓦基北部的波特華盛頓開發約 1,700 英畝的土地，用於建造另一個大型資料中心園區。Cloverleaf 預計該工程將於今年秋季動工。在最初的公告中，Cloverleaf 預計負載將達到 1 千兆瓦。這一發展還處於非常早期的階段，但所有這些負荷對於我們目前的計劃來說都是增量的。因此，我們今年開局強勁，經濟前景光明。

To serve a growing economy, of course, we need to continue investing in our generation facility and infrastructure. Our $28 billion five-year capital plan, which we updated in October, is the largest in our history. A balanced generation mix is a significant focus for our electric utilities. In the renewable area, over the next five years, we have 4,300 megawatts planned for our expected investment of $9.1 billion. We wrapped up 2024 by bringing the Paris Solar Park into service. With an investment of approximately $319 million, it has added 180 megawatts of solar capacity for our Wisconsin utility customers. Next up on our schedule, we expect the 225-megawatt Darian Solar Park to go into service later this year.

當然，為了服務不斷成長的經濟，我們需要繼續投資於發電設施和基礎設施。我們十月更新的280億美元五年資本計畫是我們史上最大的資本計畫。平衡的發電結構是我們電力事業關注的重點。在再生能源領域，未來五年，我們計劃建造 4,300 兆瓦的發電設施，預計投資額為 91 億美元。我們將於 2024 年底將巴黎太陽能園區投入使用。該投資約 3.19 億美元，為我們的威斯康辛州公用事業客戶增加了 180 兆瓦的太陽能容量。按照我們的計劃，預計 225 兆瓦的達里安太陽能園區將於今年稍後投入使用。

Natural gas also continues to be a critical resource for reliable service. We expect the Wisconsin Commission to make rulings on several major project filings throughout the year. That includes 1,200 megawatts of efficient natural gas generation as well as 33-mile lateral and two Bcf of liquefied natural gas storage.

天然氣依然是可靠服務的關鍵資源。我們預計威斯康辛州委員會將全年對幾個重大項目申請作出裁決。其中包括 1,200 兆瓦的高效能天然氣發電、33 英里的水平管道和 20 億立方英尺的液化天然氣儲存。

Turning to our WEC Infrastructure business. The Delilah I and Maple Flats solar project went online at the end of last year. Between those two facilities, we invested approximately $890 million or 90% ownership of 550 megawatts of capacity. And we expect to close on the Harden 3 projects during the first quarter. We plan to invest approximately $407 million for 90% ownership interest of the project, which has a total capacity of 250 megawatts. As a reminder, this project fulfills our five-year planned investment at WEC Infrastructure.

轉向我們的 WEC 基礎設施業務。Delilah I 和 Maple Flats 太陽能專案於去年底投入使用。在這兩家工廠之間，我們投資了約 8.9 億美元，佔 550 兆瓦容量的 90%。我們預計將在第一季完成 Harden 3 專案。我們計劃投資約 4.07 億美元，以獲得該項目 90% 的所有權，總容量為 250 兆瓦。提醒一下，該專案實現了我們對 WEC 基礎設施的五年計畫投資。

Regarding transmission, as you saw in January, MISO announced capital investments on tranche 2.1. We expect ATC to be assigned approximately $2 billion of that tranche with an additional opportunity through the right of first refusal or competitive bid of up to $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion. As you know, we own 60% of ATC. Overall, we have a lot of confidence in our ability to execute on our capital plan and continue our growth trajectory.

關於傳輸，正如您在一月份看到的，MISO 宣布了對 2.1 部分的資本投資。我們預計 ATC 將獲得其中約 20 億美元的資金，另外還有機會透過優先購買權或競爭性投標獲得高達 15 億至 18 億美元的資金。如您所知，我們擁有 ATC 60% 的股份。總體而言，我們對執行資本計劃和繼續成長軌蹟的能力充滿信心。

Now turning to the regulatory front. I am pleased to report that we currently have no planned or active rate cases. As you know, the Wisconsin Commission finalized their written orders for test year 2025 and 2026. Consistent with prior disclosures, the commission maintained a 53% financial equity layer and a 9.8% return on equity for our Wisconsin utilities.

現在轉向監管方面。我很高興地報告，我們目前沒有計劃中或活躍的利率案例。如您所知，威斯康辛州委員會已最終確定了 2025 年和 2026 年考試的書面命令。與先前的揭露一致，委員會維持了我們威斯康辛州公用事業公司 53% 的金融股權層和 9.8% 的股本回報率。

In Illinois, we remain actively engaged in two proceedings of note. One of these is evaluating the future of natural gas in Illinois. Currently, it's scheduled to extend into 2026. The other, a review of our Safety Modernization Program, is close to its conclusion. We made our final oral arguments before the Commerce Commission last week and expect a decision this quarter.

在伊利諾州，我們仍然積極參與兩起值得注意的訴訟。其中之一是評估伊利諾伊州天然氣的未來。目前，該計劃預計將延續至 2026 年。另一項是對我們的安全現代化計劃的審查，已接近尾聲。我們上週在商務委員會進行了最後的口頭辯論，預計將於本季做出決定。

Next up, Xia will provide more details on our financials.

接下來，夏將提供有關我們財務狀況的更多詳細資訊。

Thanks, Scott. Turning now to earnings. Our 2024 adjusted earnings were $4.88 per share, an increase of $0.25 per share over 2023 adjusted earnings. In 2024, we experienced the warmest winter on record. The estimated weather headwind was $0.25 per share when compared to normal conditions. We were able to offset this by implementing a variety of initiatives, such as O&M and fuel management as well as tax and financing activities. This focus on execution was key for delivering our adjusted EPS near the top end of the earnings guidance.

謝謝，斯科特。現在來談談收益。我們的 2024 年調整後收益為每股 4.88 美元，比 2023 年調整後收益每股增加 0.25 美元。2024 年，我們經歷了有史以來最溫暖的冬天。與正常情況相比，預計天氣逆風將為每股 0.25 美元。我們透過實施各種措施來抵消這一影響，例如營運和維護和燃料管理以及稅收和融資活動。這種對執行的關注是讓我們的調整後每股盈餘接近獲利預期最高值的關鍵。

Now let's take a closer look at our year-over-year variances. Our earnings package includes a comparison of adjusted full year results on page 17. I'll walk through the significant drivers.

現在讓我們仔細看看我們的同比差異。我們的收益方案包括第 17 頁的調整後全年業績比較。我將介紹一些重要的驅動因素。

Starting with our utility operations. Weather decreased earnings year-over-year by an estimated $0.05 per share. This weather impact, along with a total of $0.38 negative impact related to increases in depreciation and amortization, day-to-day O&M and interest expense, were more than offset by $0.49 of total positive variances from rate base growth, fuel, tax and other. All in all, the utility operations grew $0.06 year-over-year.

從我們的公用事業營運開始。天氣因素預計導致每股收益年減 0.05 美元。這一天氣影響，加上與折舊和攤銷、日常運營和維護以及利息支出增加相關的總計 0.38 美元的負面影響，被費率基礎增長、燃料、稅收和其他因素造成的總計 0.49 美元的正向差異所抵消。總體而言，公用事業營運年增 0.06 美元。

Now before I discuss earnings comparison at the other segments, let me briefly comment on O&M and sales. Remember that originally, we guided 2024 total company day-to-day O&M to be 6% to 7% higher compared to 2023 largely driven by assets that were placed in service and normal inflation. As you recall, several of the assets in WEC Infrastructure had a delayed in-service until the end of the year. This, in combination with the initiatives we took after the mild first quarter, helped us achieve an overall increase of 2% over 2023. That is considerably lower than the original guidance.

現在，在我討論其他部門的獲利比較之前，讓我先簡單評論一下營運和維護以及銷售。請記住，我們最初預計 2024 年公司日常營運和維護總額將比 2023 年高出 6% 至 7%，這主要得益於投入使用的資產和正常的通貨膨脹。您還記得，WEC 基礎設施中的幾項資產的投入使用已被推遲到年底。結合我們在第一季表現溫和之後的舉措，我們實現了 2023 年 2% 的整體成長。這比最初的指導價要低得多。

Regarding our weather-normal sales for 2024, as you can see on pages 13 and 14 in our earnings package, both retail electric and natural gas deliveries in Wisconsin were relatively flat year-over-year. For 2025, we're projecting weather-normal retail electric sales in Wisconsin, excluding the iron ore mine, to grow 0.7%; and retail gas sales in Wisconsin excluding power generation to grow 1.9% from the 2024 level.

關於我們 2024 年天氣正常情況下的銷售情況，正如您在我們的收益包第 13 頁和第 14 頁所看到的那樣，威斯康辛州的零售電力和天然氣交付量同比相對持平。到 2025 年，我們預計威斯康辛州（不包括鐵礦）天氣正常的情況下零售電力銷售額將成長 0.7%；威斯康辛州（不包括發電量）的零售天然氣銷售額將比2024年的水準成長1.9%。

Now back to our earnings comparison. Regarding our investment in American Transmission Company, earnings increased $0.07 compared to 2023. We recognized $0.05 in Q4 from the FERC order that resolved certain MISO ROE complaints and set the ROE at 10.48%. The remaining $0.02 improvement in ATC earnings was driven by continued capital investment.

現在回到我們的收入比較。關於我們對美國傳動公司的投資，收益與 2023 年相比增加了 0.07 美元。我們從 FERC 命令中確認了第四季度的 0.05 美元，該命令解決了某些 MISO ROE 投訴，並將 ROE 設定為 10.48%。ATC 收益剩餘的 0.02 美元成長則得益於持續的資本投資。

Earnings at our Energy Infrastructure segment grew $0.13 in 2024 compared to 2023. $0.03 were driven by additional investment in our Power the Future plans, and the remaining $0.10 went to WEC Infrastructure.

2024 年，我們能源基礎設施部門的收益與 2023 年相比增長了 0.13 美元。

Finally, you'll see that earnings at our Corporate and Other segment decreased to $0.01. Higher interest expense was substantially offset by tax and other items. Overall, we improved our performance by $0.25 per share on an adjusted basis in 2024.

最後，您會發現我們的企業及其他部門的收益減少至 0.01 美元。較高的利息支出基本上被稅收和其他項目所抵消。總體而言，2024 年我們的業績在調整後每股提高了 0.25 美元。

Next, let's look at our earnings guidance. For the first quarter this year, we project to earn in the range of $2.13 per share to $2.23 per share. This forecast takes into account January weather and assumes normal weather for the rest of the quarter. Remember, last year, we earned $1.97 per share in the first quarter. And as Scott stated, for the full year 2025, we are reaffirming our annual guidance of $5.17 to $5.27 per share.

接下來，讓我們來看看我們的獲利指引。我們預計今年第一季的每股收益將在 2.13 美元至 2.23 美元之間。該預測考慮了一月份的天氣，並假設本季剩餘時間的天氣正常。記住，去年第一季我們的每股收益為 1.97 美元。正如斯科特所說，對於 2025 年全年，我們重申每股 5.17 美元至 5.27 美元的年度指導價。

Finally, some comments on financing. In 2024, we successfully executed over $4.5 billion of external funding, including almost $200 million of common equity. In 2025, consistent with previous disclosures, we expect to issue $700 million to $800 million of common equity via our ATM program as well as the dividend reinvestment and employee benefit plans. Including this, as a reminder, total common equity financing over the next five years is still expected to be between $2.7 billion and $3.2 billion.

最後，關於融資的一些評論。2024 年，我們成功執行了超過 45 億美元的外部融資，其中包括近 2 億美元的普通股。2025 年，與先前的披露一致，我們預計將透過 ATM 計劃以及股息再投資和員工福利計劃發行 7 億至 8 億美元的普通股。包括這一點在內，需要提醒的是，未來五年的普通股融資總額預計仍將在 27 億美元至 32 億美元之間。

Going forward, to support the region's strong economic growth and our capital investment, we continue to expect any incremental capital will be funded with 50% equity content. Overall, we are confident in our long-term EPS growth CAGR of 6.5% to 7%.

展望未來，為了支持該地區強勁的經濟成長和我們的資本投資，我們繼續預期任何增量資本都將以 50% 的股權內容提供。整體而言，我們對長期每股收益複合年增長率 6.5% 至 7% 充滿信心。

With that, I'll turn it back to Scott.

說完這些，我就把話題轉回給史考特。

Thank you, Xia. Now as you may have seen, our Board in its January meeting increased the dividend by 6.9% to an annualized $3.57 per share. This will mark the 22nd consecutive year that our shareholders will be rewarded with higher dividends. The increase is consistent with our policy of paying out 65% to 70% of our earnings in dividends. Overall, we are on track and focused on providing value for our customers and our stockholders.

謝謝你，夏。正如您可能已經看到的，我們的董事會在 1 月會議上將股息提高了 6.9%，達到每股年化 3.57 美元。這將是我們股東連續第22年獲得更高的股利報酬。這一增長符合我們將 65% 至 70% 的收益用於支付股息的政策。總體而言，我們正在按計劃進行並專注於為我們的客戶和股東提供價值。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Shahriar Pourreza, Guggenheim Partners.

古根漢合夥人公司的 Shahriar Pourreza。

Scott, surprisingly a couple of data center questions for you. First, I just want -- Scott particularly, I just want to touch on the recent Cloverleaf data center announcement. It looks like it's a 1,000-acre campus in Port Washington. There's been some local headlines have kind of indicated that there's been pushback from the constituencies on and some of the local, obviously, ratepayers. Could we just get a status there? What's the timing expectations? How many megawatts is the project expected to be? And would this be incremental to your current plan?

史考特，出乎意料的是，我有幾個關於資料中心的問題想問你。首先，我只想 — — 特別是史考特，我只想談談最近的 Cloverleaf 資料中心公告。它看起來像是波特華盛頓一座佔地 1,000 英畝的校園。一些地方新聞頭條表明，選區民眾和部分當地納稅人對此表示反對。我們可以在那裡獲得狀態嗎？時間預期是怎樣的？該專案預計發電量為多少兆瓦？這對您目前的計劃是否有所補充？

Sure. Absolutely. So they announced the plan up in Port Washington, which is just north of Milwaukee. And our understanding, it's about 1,700 acres, so a little over the 1,000. There was an announcement at one time being 1,000, but I think they're up to 1,700 acres now.

當然。絕對地。因此他們在密爾瓦基北部的華盛頓港宣布了這項計劃。據我們了解，面積約為 1,700 英畝，略大於 1,000 英畝。曾經有公告稱面積為 1,000 英畝，但我認為現在已經達到 1,700 英畝了。

And right now, the initial look -- and in their initial announcement, they talked about a gigawatt of additional, which would be all incremental to our plan. I think there's -- it's early stages yet. So 1,700 acres provides a lot of opportunities. And my understanding is at Port Washington and the city of Port Washington has been very, very constructive and positive on the development. So we're excited about it. I think Cloverleaf is excited about it, and it looks like a good opportunity for all of us.

而現在，初步看來——在他們的初步公告中，他們談到了額外的一千兆瓦，這將是我們計劃的增量。我認為——現在還處於早期階段。因此，1,700 英畝的土地提供了許多機會。據我了解，波特華盛頓和波特華盛頓市對這一發展一直持非常、非常建設性和積極的態度。所以我們對此感到很興奮。我認為 Cloverleaf 對此感到很興奮，這對我們所有人來說都是一個很好的機會。

Got it. And then just -- sorry, Scott, this -- any opportunity will be incremental to the current plan?

知道了。然後只是 - 對不起，斯科特，這個 - 任何機會都會對當前計劃產生增量作用嗎？

Correct, correct. So that 1,800 megawatts that we talked about in our current five-year plan, that never contemplated any of this that was just announced. And when we wait until the customers make an announcement, like I said before, we've talked to a lot of data centers and other developers. But as they make announcements, that's when we'll first start rolling them into our plan. We'll take time now as we go through the plan and working with them this summer on when does that stage throughout the five-year plan and into the future five-year capital.

正確，正確。因此，我們在當前五年計劃中談到的 1,800 兆瓦，從未考慮過剛剛宣布的任何內容。當我們等待客戶發佈公告時，就像我之前說過的，我們已經與許多資料中心和其他開發人員進行了交談。但當他們發佈公告時，我們就會先將其納入我們的計劃。我們現在要花時間仔細研究這個計劃，並在今年夏天與他們一起研究這個階段在整個五年計劃和未來五年資本中何時進行。

Got it. Perfect. And just touching on just some of the recent Microsoft news. There's obviously been reports and we're seeing it. They're acquiring more land in Wisconsin. So it looks like it's full speed ahead. Obviously, the DeepSeek headlines have caused some confusion around US spending opportunities, and then there's Stargate. Are you seeing any sort of impacts in either direction with the Microsoft spending opportunities or trajectory? So just any kind of visibility there? And is there any update on the tariff negotiations?

知道了。完美的。我只是談微軟的一些最新消息。顯然已經有了報道，我們也看到了。他們正在威斯康辛州獲得更多土地。看起來它正在全速前進。顯然，《DeepSeek》的頭條新聞引起了美國消費機會的一些混亂，然後還有《星際之門》。您是否看到微軟支出機會或軌跡在任何一個方向上受到任何影響？那麼那裡有任何類型的可見性嗎？關稅談判有進展嗎？

Sure. So in the Microsoft, in fact, I was listening to the Microsoft conference call to get intel on what their DeepSeek and other conference calls about it. And everything I've heard is, if AI becomes more efficient, more people will use it and the demand is going to still be there. So we also -- internally, when we saw DeepSeek and other discussions about that, we reached out to data centers, and even the discussion that happened in Cloverleaf is after the DeepSeek. So all our capacity plans and all our growth plans, there's still no changes there. So that's been all very positive.

當然。因此，在微軟，事實上，我正在收聽微軟的電話會議，以了解有關他們的 DeepSeek 和其他電話會議的資訊。我聽到的是，如果人工智慧變得更有高效，將會有更多的人使用它，而且需求仍將存在。因此，當我們看到 DeepSeek 和其他關於該主題的討論時，我們也在內部聯繫了資料中心，甚至 Cloverleaf 中發生的討論也是在 DeepSeek 之後。因此，我們所有的產能計劃和成長計劃都沒有變化。這一切都是非常正面的。

What we have seen, and just to be very clear, there was an two area there in the Microsoft project that was paused. The one area has been released of the pause, design issues that they're looking at. And then the other area still being reviewed on design items that they're looking at, I think it has to deal with looking at a closed-loop water system. So that we expect to get more information on that in the next couple of months. So all moving forward there.

我們已經看到，並且非常清楚的是，微軟專案中有兩個區域已暫停。已經發布了暫停的其中一個領域，即他們正在研究的設計問題。然後，他們正在審查的設計項目的另一個領域仍在審查中，我認為它必須處理閉環水系統。因此我們希望在接下來的幾個月內獲得更多相關資訊。一切都在向前推進。

We're actively working with these large -- very large customers on tariffs. We expect something probably in the next six months that we'll be filing with them. But we're all aligned on what we need to do in order to be fair on cost allocation, and they all agree they need to pay their fair share. So more to come but all positive.

我們正在積極與這些大客戶——非常大的客戶——就關稅問題進行談判​​。我們預計未來六個月內我們會向他們提交一些文件。但為了公平分配成本，我們對需要做的事情都是一致的，而且他們都同意他們需要支付公平的份額。接下來還有更多，但都是正面的。

Bill Appicelli, UBS.

瑞銀的比爾‧阿皮塞利（Bill Appicelli）。

Just going -- a little bit expanding on the incremental demand that you're seeing. I mean, as we look across the 1,800 megawatts you guys outlined back in Q4, can you just remind us of what the generation capacity looks like? And when you factor in the combustion turbines and some of the stuff that's in the current plan, I mean, where does that get you in terms of net length in the system relative to what may be another wave of incremental demand from -- maybe from Cloverleaf or from additional Microsoft development?

只是—稍微擴大一下您所看到的增量需求。我的意思是，當我們回顧你們在第四季度概述的 1,800 兆瓦時，您能否提醒我們一下發電能力是什麼樣的？當您將燃氣渦輪機和當前計劃中的某些內容考慮在內時，我的意思是，相對於可能來自 Cloverleaf 或 Microsoft 的額外開發的另一波增量需求而言，這會給系統的淨長度帶來什麼影響？

Sure. And as we put our five-year plan together last fall with the 1,800 megawatts in the Southeastern Wisconsin region, which is all the great economic development going on in the region in addition to Microsoft, we are looking at the generation plan and the MISO rules and really building to what we need for capacity to support the MISO rules and the economic development. So there's not excess capacity out there. This would all be incremental support that we need for reliable capacity. So that will be reflected in our updated capital plans going forward.

當然。去年秋天，我們制定了五年計劃，將威斯康辛州東南部地區的 1,800 兆瓦電力納入其中，除了微軟之外，該地區還有許多偉大的經濟發展項目，我們正在研究發電計劃和 MISO 規則，並真正建立我們需要的容量來支持 MISO 規則和經濟發展。因此，不存在產能過剩的情況。這些都是我們實現可靠容量所需的增量支援。因此這將反映在我們未來更新的資本計劃中。

Okay. Right. So if projects like Cloverleaf were to come to fruition and the Microsoft expansion, that would likely need to be supported by additional generation investments?

好的。正確的。因此，如果 Cloverleaf 等計畫得以實現並實現微軟的擴張，那麼是否可能需要額外發電投資的支持？

That is correct. And a lot of these investments are looking for a mix of not just reliable gas capacity, but also renewables in a generation mix like we lay out at our plants.

正確。許多此類投資不僅尋求可靠的天然氣產能組合，還尋求再生能源發電組合，就像我們在工廠中佈局的那樣。

Okay. And then, I mean, how quickly can that be developed? I mean there's a lot of talk in the market about just the lead times for putting in additional generation capacity and whether or not that syncs up with sort of the development profiles or time lines of some of the data centers and large load customers.

好的。然後，我的意思是，它能發展多快？我的意思是，市場上有很多關於投入額外發電能力的準備時間的討論，以及這是否與某些資料中心和大負載客戶的發展概況或時間表同步。

That's a good question because a lot of people have plans, and everyone wants to do it very fast. When you look at to develop a data center starting with a farm field along with the transmission and the generation, it could take three to four years to get there. That's why we're working hand in glove with the American Transmission Company to continue to grow and what we need to do to deliver.

這是個好問題，因為很多人都有計劃，而​​且每個人都想很快完成。當你考慮從農地開始開發資料中心以及傳輸和發電時，可能需要三到四年的時間才能實現。這就是我們與美國傳輸公司密切合作以繼續發展的原因，也是我們為實現目標所需要做的事情。

Okay. And then just lastly, on the system modernization program hearings last week, I guess, what should we make of the decision when we get it? I mean, does that have any impact on the gas CapEx outlook in the more near term? Or do we need to see what the future of natural gas proceeding kind of yields before we can make any longer-term capital decisions?

好的。最後，關於上週的系統現代化計劃聽證會，我想，當我們得到決定時，我們應該如何做？我的意思是，這對近期的天然氣資本支出前景有何影響？或者我們需要先了解天然氣加工的未來收益狀況，然後才能做出任何長期資本決策？

Sure. And just to give you a little color, what we currently have in our plan is approximately $90 million annually to support facility relocates for like the city of Chicago or any key reliability or safety issues that we need to address. So it's about $90 million.

當然。簡單介紹一下，我們目前的計劃是每年撥款約 9000 萬美元，用於支持芝加哥市等城市的設施搬遷，或解決任何關鍵的可靠性或安全問題。所以大約是9000萬美元。

In our filings, we talked about in order to get back to a plan, that would take up to about $300 million of capital. Now remember, the decision will come, we expect, in February. It will kind of gauge what's going off of their decision, but it takes a while to ramp up because remember, we were told to pause and stop all activity and reduce that spending. So we have to put more contracts in place, go through the permitting, go through the engineering, all of that. So it takes a while to ramp up. But we'll see what comes out of that decision in February. We expect it in February, March.

在我們的文件中，我們討論過為了重新制定計劃，這將需要大約 3 億美元的資金。請記住，我們預計決定將在二月做出。它會根據他們的決定來衡量結果，但需要一段時間才能見效，因為記住，我們被告知要暫停和停止所有活動並減少開支。因此，我們必須簽訂更多合同，辦理許可，完成工程等等。因此需要一段時間才能實現。但我們將在二月看到這項決定的結果。我們預計在二月或三月。

Durgesh Chopra, Evercore ISI.

Durgesh Chopra，Evercore ISI。

Just to start off, any updates on Point Beach? I know you were kind of talking with next year. Are there any updates there since we last spoke?

首先，有沒有關於 Point Beach 的最新消息？我知道你正在談論明年。自從我們上次談話以來，還有什麼進展嗎？

No. There really hasn't been any updates. And just so everyone recalls, the contracted Point Beach, the first lease ends in 2030. And the PPA -- the second PPA ends in 2033. So it's not it's not a fire drill that we're actively at it. And you could -- we've been busy with a lot of stuff. And I think you can tell, Dextera's been busy on a lot of stuff, so it hasn't been on the front burner for all of us. I expect we'll have more information in the first half of the year.

不。確實沒有任何更新。正如大家所記得的，簽約的 Point Beach，第一份租約將於 2030 年到期。第二份 PPA 將於 2033 年到期。因此，我們積極進行這項工作並不是一場消防演習。而且你也可以——我們一直忙於很多事情。我想您也看得出來，Dextera 一直忙於很多事情，因此它不是我們所有人的首要任務。我預計我們將在今年上半年獲得更多資訊。

That's perfect. And then maybe just a big question. With these tariffs, how should we, us and investors, think about implications to Wisconsin? And just broadly, utilities is -- it seems like these China tariffs are in effect right now. We're not sure how long they'll last. But how are you thinking through all of this?

那很完美。這也許只是一個大問題。有了這些關稅，我們（我們和投資者）應該如何看待對威斯康辛州的影響？就廣義而言，公用事業——這些中國關稅似乎現已生效。我們不確定它們能夠持續多久。但您是如何思考這一切的呢？

Well, we're watching them very closely, as you can imagine. And the China tariffs could affect us somewhat when you think about some of the solar projects we have and some of the sourcing that's needed. But once again, it's not a large part of the solar projects. So we think it's very manageable where they're currently at.

嗯，你可以想像，我們正在密切關注他們。當你考慮到我們的一些太陽能項目和所需的一些採購時，中國的關稅可能會對我們產生一定的影響。但再次強調，這並不是太陽能計畫的很大一部分。因此我們認為他們目前的情況是很容易管理的。

And the tariffs that we -- potentially out of Canada and Mexico, we are watching very closely also along with the cost of gas. But even with the cost of gas, when you're watching it at a 10% tariff, that was moving that gas cost from $3 to $3.30. And that's a small portion of the gas supply that we have. And we saw the gas prices move a lot faster with just some cold weather coming across. So we think it's going to be manageable, but we're watching it very closely.

我們正在密切關注加拿大和墨西哥可能徵收的關稅以及天然氣成本。但即使加上汽油成本，以 10% 的關稅計算，汽油成本也從 3 美元上漲到了 3.30 美元。這只是我們天然氣供應的一小部分。我們發現，隨著寒冷天氣的到來，油價變動速度加快了許多。因此我們認為這將是可控的，但我們正在密切關注。

Carly Davenport, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的卡莉‧達文波特 (Carly Davenport)。

You mentioned before renewable capacity as being part of what is being considered by some of these large load customers. I guess, do you see any implications from new policy priorities post inauguration that could potentially impact the cadence of your capital investment in renewables?

您之前提到再生能源容量是一些大負載客戶正在考慮的一部分。我想，您是否認為就職後的新政策重點可能會影響您對再生能源的資本投資節奏？

There's a potential, and we're evaluating all of that as we see what goes on with the administration and the tariffs and production tax credits. However, I do think the production -- the PTCs will continue, and they won't just be phased out immediately. I think there's a longer-term benefit for a lot of people, a lot of construction jobs, a lot of value for our customers. So I'm not anticipating big changes there, but of course, all of us, including the large customers, are watching it. But at this time, I don't see any issues on the horizon.

這是有潛力的，我們正在根據政府、關稅和生產稅收抵免的情況對所有這些進行評估。然而，我確實認為 PTC 的生產將會繼續，而且不會立即被淘汰。我認為這將為許多人、許多建築工作帶來長期利益，為我們的客戶帶來許多價值。所以我預計那裡不會發生大的變化，但當然，我們所有人，包括大客戶，都在關注它。但目前，我沒有看到任何問題出現。

Got it. Great. That's helpful. And then maybe just a housekeeping item. Just with the O&M coming in lower in 2024 versus your expectations, any color that you can prevent on how we should think about the year-over-year impacts for O&M looking to 2025?

知道了。偉大的。這很有幫助。然後也許只是一個家務用品。只是由於 2024 年的 O&M 低於您的預期，您能就我們應該如何看待 2025 年 O&M 的同比影響提供什麼指導嗎？

Sure. And I'll let -- and remember, there's a lot of this because of individual projects didn't come into service. And a lot of new projects are coming online in 2025, but Xia has pulled together some analysis. I'll let her walk you through it.

當然。我會 — — 請記住，出現這種情況的原因有很多，因為個別項目未能投入使用。2025年將有許多新項目上線，但夏已經整理了一些分析。我會讓她指導你。

Yeah. Carly, so over -- remember, '24 came in about 5% less than what we originally forecasted. And some of that is short-term initiatives to offset the mild heating season, and some of that is delayed of capital put in service. So we need to restore that kind of run rate, first of all. And on top of that, we have new projects we will put in service this year.

是的。卡莉，記住，24 年的收入比我們最初預測的少了約 5%。其中有些是為了抵銷暖氣季節溫和影響的短期舉措，有些則是延遲投入資本。因此，我們首先需要恢復這種運行率。除此之外，我們今年還會投入使用一些新項目。

And also, in the current -- the last rate cases in Wisconsin, the commission approved some increase in reliability spending, particularly for vegetation management. If you add all those moving pieces, it could be a relatively bigger growth year-over-year, but it's all driven by the factors I mentioned already.

此外，在威斯康辛州目前的最後一批案例中，委員會批准增加一些可靠性支出，特別是用於植被管理。如果把所有這些因素加起來，那麼同比增長可能會相對較大，但這一切都是由我已經提到的因素所推動的。

Got it. And when you say higher relative growth year-over-year, are you talking about in reference to the original guidance for '24 or where you actually ended up coming in?

知道了。當您說同比成長率較高時，您是指 24 年的原始指引，還是您最終的實際成長率？

When compared to original guidance, it's pretty normal. But if you compare to what 2024 came in, I don't know, 8%, 10% growth year-over-year.

與最初的指導相比，這是非常正常的。但如果與 2024 年的情況相比，我不知道，比去年同期成長 8% 還是 10%。

Julien Dumoulin-Smith, Jefferies.

朱利安‧杜穆蘭‧史密斯 (Julien Dumoulin-Smith)，傑富瑞 (Jefferies)。

Just a couple of cleanup items here, following up. First, on -- in Illinois, I want to come back to it because that staff recommendation for option 3 at $7.19 billion. That was a big number. Obviously, you put in a fairly modest plan here. How much of a doubt is there versus what you guys have reflected? I mean I just -- again, I get that apples-to-apples is difficult to discern at times, but how would you characterize that as far as the comparison?

這裡僅介紹幾項後續清理工作。首先，關於伊利諾州，我想回到這個問題，因為工作人員建議方案 3 的金額為 71.9 億美元。這是一個很大的數字。顯然，你在這裡制定了一個相當適中的計劃。與你們反映的相比，還有多少疑問？我的意思是我只是——再說一次，我知道有時很難區分同類事物，但就比較而言，您如何描述這一點？

Sure. And to get up to that staff number -- because they even said we should maybe do it at the same pace or even a little bit faster. To get up to that staff number, we'd have to ramp up to $300 million to maybe $350 million a year in the short term and then go higher than that as you get through it just the -- factored in just different inflation and stuff. So we'll see where that goes, but that would be $200 million to a little over $200 million more than what's annually more than what's in our plan.

當然。為了達到這一員工人數——因為他們甚至說我們應該以同樣的速度甚至更快一點的速度完成。為了達到這一員工人數，我們必須在短期內將每年的支出增加到 3 億美元到 3.5 億美元，然後逐漸將支出提高到更高的水平，只是考慮到不同的通貨膨脹和其他因素。所以我們會看看這個數字會是多少，但這將比我們計劃中每年的金額多出 2 億美元到 2 億美元多一點。

Got it. All right. Thanks for trying to reconcile. I know it's tricky on the fly here. And then just going back to -- I know there's been a lot of focus on the data stuff, but I just want to make sure I got this right here. Do we know the quantum of megawatts? I thought it was like a 3-gigawatt number out there with Cloverleaf. Do we have any sense of timing at all on the ramp?

知道了。好的。感謝您的努力和解。我知道這在現實中很棘手。然後回到——我知道大家非常關注數據問題，但我只是想確保我在這裡理解正確。我們知道兆瓦的量子嗎？我以為 Cloverleaf 的數字是 3 千兆瓦。我們在坡道上有任何時間觀念嗎？

And similarly, for Phase 3, what would be contemplated on ramp? I just want to make sure I have a sense from you. Which you were to get details here, the quantum of gigawatts and especially the ramp rate and would this be ready for like some updates this year? Or it sounds like maybe that's not a '25 event in as much as it could take some time to come together on those incremental issues.

同樣，對於第三階段，會考慮哪些面向？我只是想確認一下你的意思。您想在這裡獲得哪些詳細信息，千兆瓦的量，特別是爬坡率，以及今年是否準備好進行一些更新？或者聽起來這可能不是 25 年的事件，因為可能需要一些時間來解決這些漸進式問題。

Sure. And Cloverleaf, it is a tremendously nice site. It's a great opportunity. And in our prepared remarks, we said 1 gigawatt. I have heard that it could be significantly larger, like you mentioned. I anticipate that if things continue to move as they have that we could start seeing some construction perhaps this fall even. But that ramp rate then to actually get to energy flowing probably would take three to four years, I would imagine, to flow substantial amounts, so probably in that '28 or '29 time frame. But we're working with them and working with American Transmission Company to provide services as fast as they can -- they need it.

當然。還有 Cloverleaf，這是一個非常棒的網站。這是一個很好的機會。在我們準備好的發言中，我們說的是1千兆瓦。我聽說它可能會大得多，就像您提到的那樣。我預計，如果事態繼續發展，也許今年秋天我們就能開始看到一些建設。但我認為，這個上升速度要真正達到能源流動可能需要三到四年的時間，才能達到大量的能源流動，所以可能是在 1928 年或 1929 年的時間範圍內。但我們正在與他們合作並與美國傳輸公司合作，盡快提供服務——他們需要它。

Got it. And Phase 3 is a similar dynamic that -- maybe the punchline is, would you expect there to be kind of a tangible update by the end of this year kind of in your normal course or -- just to set expectations today.

知道了。第三階段也有一個類似的動態，也許關鍵在於，您是否預計在今年年底前會有一個實質性的更新，這在正常情況下是這樣的，或者只是在今天設定預期。

Absolutely. I think there'll be more of an update at the end of this year, absolutely, with our updated five-year plan.

絕對地。我認為今年年底肯定會有更多更新，屆時我們將更新五年計畫。

Andrew Weisel, Scotiabank.

加拿大豐業銀行的安德魯‧韋塞爾 (Andrew Weisel)。

My first question -- and you might have just been alluding to this a moment ago, but I was wondering when we get the next updates to the long-term spending plan. You typically give those in November, I know, but you've already mentioned $2 billion of MISO transmission spending with maybe almost $2 billion more to come soon, the Cloverleaf spending adding more incremental CapEx and possibly some other needs. Should we expect to hear anything between now and November? Or would we wait till the -- later in the year for your goal timing?

我的第一個問題——您可能剛剛提到了這一點，但我想知道我們何時會得到長期支出計劃的下一次更新。我知道您通常會在 11 月給出這些資金，但您已經提到了 20 億美元的 MISO 輸電支出，可能很快就會增加近 20 億美元，Cloverleaf 支出將增加更多增量資本支出，並且可能還會有一些其他需求。從現在到十一月我們能聽到什麼消息嗎？或者我們要等到今年晚些時候才能實現您的目標？

Sure. That's a great question. And just to set expectations, I anticipate it will be in that October, November time frame, and here's why. The American transmission growth that we're talking about 2.1, that's most likely in that '28-'29, more in the '29-'30 and past time frame, so later out further. So it will affect this five-year plan as much.

當然。這是一個很好的問題。為了設定預期，我預計它將在十月、十一月的時間範圍內，原因如下。我們談論的美國傳播成長率為 2.1，最有可能出現在 28-29 年，更多地出現在 29-30 年及之後的時間範圍內，因此未來還會進一步成長。所以這會對這個五年計劃產生很大影響。

And then as you think about these additional megawatt-hour sales potential, as we said, it will take a while to ramp up, probably later in the five-year plan. And we'll pull all those plans together right now. So it's not like it's really going to affect dramatically in '25 or '26 or '27, probably.

然後，當您考慮這些額外的兆瓦時銷售潛力時，正如我們所說，它需要一段時間才能實現，可能在五年計劃的後期。我們現在就把所有這些計劃整合在一起。因此，它可能不會在 25 年、26 年或 27 年產生巨大影響。

Okay. Great. And then I guess similar question on the regulatory front. You obviously just completed your two-year rate case in Wisconsin, but you'll probably need to make some important investment decisions sooner than the next rate cases. So you made the comment about a quiet regulatory calendar, but how do we juxtapose that with a very busy environment with economic development?

好的。偉大的。然後我猜在監管方面也會有類似的問題。您顯然剛剛在威斯康辛州完成了兩年期的利率案件，但您可能需要比下一個利率案件更早做出一些重要的投資決策。所以，您談到了安靜的監管日程，但我們如何將其與經濟發展非常繁忙的環境進行對比？

Sure. That is a very good question. And we have -- from a rate case perspective, it's very quiet. From a Wisconsin perspective, as we have significant number of projects at the commission right now for approval -- so I think we have close to $5 billion of projects sitting at the commission between the gas generation, which includes CTs and rice units, gas lateral, the LNG plant that we put in service to have that additional reliability plus solar, wind and some battery capacity. There's a lot of projects at the commission to get approval.

當然。這是一個非常好的問題。從利率情況來看，情況非常平靜。從威斯康辛州的角度來看，由於我們目前有大量項目正在等待委員會批准——所以我認為我們有近 50 億美元的項目正在等待委員會批准，包括天然氣發電，其中包括 CT 和水稻單位、天然氣支線、我們投入使用的液化天然氣工廠，以提高可靠性，還有太陽能、風能和一些電池容量。委員會有很多項目需要批准。

When they get approval, they get approved, which we anticipate some of the gas turbines to get approved by probably in the second or third quarter, we'll start construction. And during that period, we're really incurring or earning AFUDC on those projects, and then they'll go into future rates and probably future rate cases. It takes a while to build. So we do have a very busy schedule getting approval on projects.

當他們獲得批准時，我們預計一些燃氣渦輪機可能會在第二季或第三季獲得批准，我們將開始施工。在此期間，我們實際上在這些項目中產生或賺取了 AFUDC，然後它們將進入未來利率，甚至可能是未來利率案例。建造需要一段時間。因此，我們的專案審批日程確實非常繁忙。

Okay. Great. That's really helpful. And one last one. At WEC Infrastructure, I believe you've now completed all of your planned spending for the five-year outlook. So first question, am I correct that 2025 will still have some earnings growth, thanks to the recently completed projects? And then second, how do you think about your appetite for incremental regulated projects? You obviously have a ton of utility opportunities. How do you think about the opportunity for more stuff at WEC E?

好的。偉大的。這真的很有幫助。最後一個。在 WEC 基礎設施方面，我相信你們現在已經完成了五年計畫的所有支出。所以第一個問題，我是否正確地認為，由於最近完成的項目，2025 年仍將有一些獲利成長？第二，您如何看待自己對增量監理專案的興趣？顯然，您擁有大量的實用機會。您如何看待 WEC E 上有更多的機會？

Sure. And you described it very well. We've had two projects that came in the end of last year. One, we expect to close -- the next one, we expect to close in the first quarter this year. So there's incremental, which include incremental production tax credits.

當然。你描述得很好。去年年底我們有兩個計畫陸續啟動。第一個，我們預計將完成——第二個，我們預計將在今年第一季完成。因此存在增量，其中包括增量生產稅收抵免。

But you hit the nail on the head. We have so much growth in Wisconsin and American Transmission Company that right now, we don't have anything in our plans for that WEC Infrastructure. I'll never say never, but right now, we really don't have any plans in that infrastructure because we have so much to execute within the utilities.

但您說到了點子上。威斯康辛州和美國傳輸公司的發展非常迅速，目前，我們還沒有針對 WEC 基礎設施的任何計劃。我永遠不會說永遠，但是現在，我們確實沒有在該基礎設施方面製定任何計劃，因為我們在公用事業方面有太多事情要做。

Michael Sullivan, Wolfe Research.

沙利文（Michael Sullivan），沃爾夫研究公司。

Scott, I wanted to go back to just the sales growth conversation. I think given everything seems on track with maybe even upward bias. I think you're pointing to just shy of a 1% growth on the electric side this year. Are we going to get into that like 4.5%, 5% range by next year? Is that still a fair assumption to work with?

史考特，我想回到銷售成長的話題。我認為一切似乎都步入正軌，甚至可能呈現上行趨勢。我認為您指的是今年電力方面的成長率略低於 1%。到明年我們會達到 4.5% 或 5% 左右的範圍嗎？這仍然是一個合理的假設嗎？

Yes. And Xia has looked at that. We're slowly going to start to see some ramp up. But really, the big stuff goes into service in 2026. Xia, any other --

是的。夏已經看過了。我們將會慢慢看到一些上升趨勢。但實際上，這些大型設施將於 2026 年投入使用。夏，任何其他--

No. I think that's it. And embedded in that 0.7% growth is the LC&I growth, which is about 1.9%, Michael. So that's a good, nice ramp-up from where we landed in 2024. And I mean, everybody is focused on data centers, but we really have really good growth across all the 16 sectors that we track. Just to give you a sense, 11 of the 16 sectors last year had positive or relatively flat growth by the end of 2024. So we feel really good about the forecast for '25. And we think the 4.5% to 5% will be reached maybe in the, I don't know, late 2026 time frame.

不。我認為就是這樣。在這 0.7% 的成長中，包含 LC&I 的成長，大約為 1.9%，Michael。因此，從我們在 2024 年達成的目標來看，這是一個很好的提升。我的意思是，每個人都專注於資料中心，但我們在追蹤的所有 16 個領域都取得了良好的成長。舉個例子，去年 16 個產業中有 11 個到 2024 年底實現了正成長或相對持平的成長。因此，我們對 25 年的預測感到非常樂觀。我們認為 4.5% 到 5% 的目標可能會在 2026 年底實現。

Okay. Very helpful. Appreciate the color there. And then switching back to the ATC side of things, just the upside potential beyond the $2.1 billion. When would you anticipate getting some clarity on that, whether it be competitive bids or the ROFR option?

好的。非常有幫助。欣賞那裡的色彩。然後回到 ATC 方面，上行潛力超過 21 億美元。您預計什麼時候能夠明確這一點，是競爭性投標還是 ROFR 選擇權？

Sure. And the ROFR option, American Transmission Company is working with the legislature to hopefully get something adopted or proposed and hopefully approved in this quarter or this first half of the year. And then I think if there's a bidding option, I think those bids will be required. If we don't get the ROFR, those bids are required probably in the first half of this year, too. So more would come in the next couple -- next year or so here.

當然。關於 ROFR 選項，美國傳輸公司正在與立法機構合作，希望能夠在本季度或今年上半年得到採納或提議並獲得批准。然後我認為如果有競標選項，我認為這些競標是必要的。如果我們得不到 ROFR，那麼今年上半年可能也需要這些投標。因此，明年左右還會有更多產品推出。

Now when we look at the ROFR, and the ROFR -- when you're in Wisconsin and you have the ROFR, it's a great investment for our -- for American Transmission Company. But it also -- when you look at the cost and how it's allocated, it's a good investment also for our Wisconsin customers. It saves money for them too. So we think there's a great opportunity for the ROFR in Wisconsin.

現在，當我們看一下 ROFR，當你在威斯康辛州並且擁有 ROFR 時，對於我們——美國傳輸公司來說，這是一項巨大的投資。但當你考慮成本及其分配方式時，你會發現這對我們威斯康辛州的客戶來說也是一項很好的投資。這也為他們節省了錢。因此我們認為威斯康辛州的 ROFR 存在著巨大的機會。

Jeremy Tonet, JPMorgan.

摩根大通的傑里米·托內特 (Jeremy Tonet)。

Just a real quick one for me, right? I was thinking with regards to your experience with the RICE engines there. We hear a lot about speed to market these days. Do you think your experience RICE be at utility or WEC E would offer you kind of the ability to give a differentiated service as it relates to speed to market?

對我來說這只是一個非常快速的過程，對嗎？我在思考您在那裡使用 RICE 引擎的經歷。最近我們聽到很多有關產品上市速度的討論。您是否認為您在公用事業或 WEC E 方面的經驗可以為您提供與加速上市速度相關的差異化服務的能力？

Well, that's a good question. And we have the RICE units in our plan. We've got three sites of RICE units up and running, very happy with the RICE units. And we have a combination of RICE units along with CTs. So we look at it kind of an all of the above and how do we grow our generation to be reliable, and RICE units is part of the complement.

嗯，這是個好問題。我們的計劃中就有 RICE 單位。我們已在三個站點建立了 RICE 裝置並開始運行，我們對 RICE 裝置非常滿意。我們將 RICE 單元與 CT 進行了結合。因此，我們從以上所有角度來看待這個問題，以及如何發展我們的一代產品以使其更加可靠，而 RICE 單位是補充的一部分。

I don't know -- I think it's good to have them part of our mix, but I don't know if we'd just go 100% with RICE units or CT. So it's been a combination. So they're very good, and they've been very effective for us as we've been using them in our load here for a couple of years now.

我不知道——我認為將它們納入我們的組合中是件好事，但我不知道我們是否會 100% 使用 RICE 單位或 CT。因此，這是一種組合。所以它們非常好，而且對我們來說非常有效，因為我們已經在這裡使用它們好幾年了。

Got it. That's helpful. And I might have missed it earlier, if you touched on it already, sorry. But any thoughts on OpenAI's CFO mentioning Wisconsin as a possible data center site in -- beyond Microsoft? Could you walk us through your ability to accommodate if you do get more of these -- more people coming in?

知道了。這很有幫助。如果您已經提到它，我可能早就錯過了，很抱歉。但是，對於 OpenAI 的財務長提到威斯康辛州是除微軟之外的潛在資料中心站點，您有何看法？如果有更多的人來，您能否向我們介紹一下您的接待能力？

Sure. And like I said, our development people are talking all the time with potential opportunities. And we work with them and kind of lay out the game plan. You need to get transmission. But in order to get orders in and stuff, you'd need to design purchase cancellation agreements to protect our core customers. So we're working with a variety of people. So potentially, there's even more out there, but we just got to get into the queue and lay out a game plan with them. So there's always more potential.

當然。正如我所說的，我們的開發人員一直在談論潛在的機會。我們與他們合作並製定比賽計劃。您需要獲得傳輸。但是為了獲得訂單等，您需要設計購買取消協議來保護我們的核心客戶。因此，我們和各種各樣的人合作。因此，潛在的情況可能不止於此，但我們只需要排隊並與他們制定遊戲計劃。因此總是有更多潛力。

Got it. Quick last one, if I could. With all this hitting in the back end of the plan, how do you think this might impact the CAGR?

知道了。如果可以的話，最後再說一次。由於所有這些都影響到計劃的後端，您認為這會對複合年增長率產生什麼影響？

We're going to put all that together this summer as we look at our fall here. And we'll update that -- and whatever we decide to do, they will come on our third quarter call.

今年夏天，我們將把所有這些放在一起，展望秋天。我們將對此進行更新——無論我們決定做什麼，它們都會在我們的第三季電話會議上公佈。

Paul Fremont, Ladenburg.

保羅弗里蒙特，拉登堡。

Quick question of clarification for the -- sort of for the Microsoft pause. My understanding is that the closed-loop design is also being used in Arizona. Is the pause Wisconsin-specific? Or is it more generic to all of their facilities that are going to use the closed-loop design?

快速澄清一個問題——關於微軟的停頓。據我了解，亞利桑那州也正在使用閉環設計。這次暫停是威斯康辛州特有的嗎？或者它對於所有將要使用閉環設計的設施來說是否更通用？

Well, I don't know the specifics of what's going on, on the other projects. I did read that their projects going forward, new projects, including Arizona and Mount Pleasant, will pilot zero-water evaporating designs in 2026. So I can't speak to the other projects in Microsoft area. I know ours is a -- Xia is here, and they've already started one of the sites backup. It's just the one that's on a pause still.

嗯，我不知道其他專案的具體進展。我確實讀到他們未來的項目，包括亞利桑那州和芒特普萊森特在內的新項目將在 2026 年試行零水蒸發設計。所以我無法談論微軟領域的其他專案。我知道我們的是——Xia 在這裡，他們已經開始了其中一個網站的備份。只是現在仍處於暫停狀態。

Great. And then just a quick question on sort of any comments on the NextEra-GE Renova partnership and what impact that might have on the availability of gas turbines as you move out into the future?

偉大的。然後一個簡單的問題，關於 NextEra-GE Renova 合作關係的任何評論以及這對未來燃氣渦輪機的可用性可能產生什麼影響？

That's a good question. And what we have in our 5-year plan, we have already sites to that generation. And we'll see what the demand is as we continue to work with our large customers in for '29, '30, '31. I mean there's no doubt that GE has probably ramped up their supply and their ability also to deliver more units. So we'll see where it goes.

這是個好問題。我們的五年計劃中已經為這一代人設立了網站。我們將在'29、'30、'31年繼續與大客戶合作，了解需求狀況。我的意思是，毫無疑問通用電氣可能已經增加了供應量，並且提高了交付更多產品的能力。我們看看結果會如何。

Paul, the good news for us is our current CTs and generation plan in the five-year plan, we already signed the contract. So we're ready to move right now for this phase.

保羅，對我們來說好消息是，我們目前的 CT 和五年計劃中的發電計劃已經簽署了合約。我們現在就準備好進入這個階段。

Paul Patterson, Glenrock Associates.

保羅·帕特森（Paul Patterson），Glenrock Associates。

Just a few quick questions. So on -- in Illinois, when you guys had your gas case, there was an Amarin gas case that was kind of at the same time. And they've gotten an order from the appeals court that reversed some of the denials or -- denials and what have you. And I was wondering how you felt how that -- if that has any impact on your thoughts regarding the gas situation with respect to your S&P or your other -- or your -- or I think you guys also appealed your gas case or -- if I'm not wrong, if there's any maybe carry over there that you might be thinking about.

只要問幾個簡單的問題。所以 - 在伊利諾州，當你們發生毒氣案時，同時也發生了一起阿馬林毒氣案。他們已經收到上訴法院的命令，推翻了一些否認或否認之類的判決。我想知道您對此有何感受——這是否會對您對標準普爾或其他公司的天然氣情況的看法產生影響——或者——或者我認為您也對天然氣案提出了上訴——如果我沒錯的話，您是否可能會考慮那裡的任何延續性問題。

Sure. That's a good question. And I did see where some of those repeals were sent back to the commission. And we also have appealed our rate case order specifically as it related to some of our service center facilities that were denied 100% and other aspects of the case. We'll see where our appeals go.

當然。這是個好問題。我確實看到一些廢除的法令被送回了委員會。我們也對我們的費率案件命令提出了上訴，特別是因為它涉及我們的一些被 100% 拒絕的服務中心設施以及案件的其他方面。我們將看看我們的訴求會得到怎樣的結果。

As it relates to the S&P, I think we'll -- I think our record was very clear. It's needed for reliability, it's needed for safety. There's a lot of hypes in the city of Chicago. In fact, we're working on one back from 1861. So I think the facts of the case are going to drive it as the S&P for what we'll see in the next quarter here. The appeal, we'll see where the court goes with our appeal. I think it's in a different circuit, but it's somewhat positive to see an appeal at Amarin want a few of them to go back to the commission.

就標準普爾而言，我認為我們的記錄非常清楚。為了可靠性需要它，為了安全需要它。芝加哥這座城市充滿了炒作。事實上，我們正​​在研究 1861 年的一件事。因此，我認為案件的事實將決定標準普爾指數在下個季度的表現。上訴，我們將看看法庭如何看待我們的上訴。我認為這是不同的情況，但看到阿馬林的上訴希望他們中的一些人回到委員會，這在某種程度上是積極的。

Okay. And then finally, just a bookkeeping. On the extinguishment of debt, what are your expectations going forward on what kind of opportunities might be there with respect to that category?

好的。最後，只需記帳即可。關於債務清償，您對該類別未來可能存在哪些機會有何期待？

Well, we've been using that as a -- I don't know, it's not in the plan, but we try to be opportunistic. Last December, when we extinguished some of the debt, we were able to realize some gain but really also kind of neutral for 2025. So we want to be flexible. And if if you have a really bad year in weather or something, that could be a tool for us to consider. And so -- but it's not in the base plan.

好吧，我們一直在利用這一點——我不知道，這不在計劃中，但我們會嘗試抓住機會。去年 12 月，當我們償還部分債務時，我們實現了一定收益，但對於 2025 年而言，這實際上還是比較中性的。因此我們希望保持靈活性。如果您所在年份的天氣或其他情況真的很糟糕，這可能是我們可以考慮的工具。所以——但這不在基本計劃中。

And we'll have to also see what the markets at that time.

我們也必須觀察當時的市場狀況。

Exactly.

確切地。

Okay. And the opportunities are being driven pretty much by interest rates. Is that how we should think about it? Or is there anything else something unusual that doesn't come to mind?

好的。這些機會很大程度上是由利率推動的。我們該這樣思考嗎？或者還有其他什麼你沒有想到的不尋常的事情嗎？

We'll see, market conditions, interest rates and everything around it.

我們將看到市場狀況、利率以及周圍的一切。

Thank you. Well, that concludes our conference call for today. Thank you for participating. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact Beth Straka at (414) 221-4639.

謝謝。好的，我們今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。如果您還有其他問題，請隨時聯絡Beth Straka，電話：（414）221-4639。

And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call, and we thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束，感謝你們的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。