Essential Utilities Inc (WTRG) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Essential Utilities Full Year 2022 Earnings Call. This meeting is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎來到 Essential Utilities 2022 年全年收益電話會議。正在錄製此會議。

At this time, I'd like to hand the call over to Brian Dingerdissen. Please go ahead, sir.

在這個時候，我想把電話轉給 Brian Dingerdissen。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Serge. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Essential Utilities 2022 full year earnings call. I am Brian Dingerdissen, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer at Essential.

謝謝你，塞爾。大家早上好，感謝您加入我們的 Essential Utilities 2022 全年財報電話會議。我是 Essential 投資者關係副總裁兼財務主管 Brian Dingerdissen。

If you did not receive a copy of the press release, you can find it by visiting the Investor Relations section of our website at essential.co. The slides that we will be referencing in the webcast of this event can also be found on our website.

如果您沒有收到新聞稿的副本，您可以訪問我們網站 essential.co 的投資者關係部分找到它。我們將在本次活動的網絡廣播中引用的幻燈片也可以在我們的網站上找到。

As a reminder, some of the matters discussed during this call may include forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to our most recent 10-Q, 10-K and other SEC filings for a description of such risks and uncertainties.

提醒一下，本次電話會議中討論的一些事項可能包括前瞻性陳述，這些陳述涉及風險、不確定性和其他因素，這些因素可能導致實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述明示或暗示的任何未來結果存在重大差異。有關此類風險和不確定性的描述，請參閱我們最近的 10-Q、10-K 和其他 SEC 文件。

During the course of this call, reference may be made to certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures is included at the end of the presentation and also posted in the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

在此次電話會議期間，可能會參考某些非 GAAP 財務指標。這些非 GAAP 與 GAAP 財務措施的對賬包含在演示文稿的末尾，並張貼在公司網站的投資者關係部分。

Here's our agenda for the call today. We'll begin with Chris Franklin, our Chairman and CEO, who will discuss the highlights from 2022 and provide a company update. Next, Dan Schuller, Executive Vice President and CFO, will discuss our financial results. Lastly, Chris will provide an update on our acquisition program and conclude the presentation with a summary of our guidance before opening the call up for questions.

這是我們今天電話會議的議程。我們將從我們的董事長兼首席執行官克里斯富蘭克林開始，他將討論 2022 年的亮點並提供公司更新。接下來，執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Dan Schuller 將討論我們的財務業績。最後，Chris 將提供我們採購計劃的最新情況，並在開始提問之前以我們的指導摘要結束演示。

With that, I will turn the call over to Chris Franklin.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給克里斯富蘭克林。

Thank you, Brian, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. Let's start out with some highlights from our 2022 year. Our focus on operational efficiency and infrastructure improvement and service-related priorities led us to another strong year, reporting earnings per share of $1.77, which is 6% better than last year and the midpoint of our 2022 guidance. It's also in line with our 5% to 7% long-term guidance despite macro challenges of inflation and rising interest rates, among others, as you all know about. Importantly, in the context of that, I want to point out that since I became CEO in 2015, my team and I have always met the guidance we provided to The Street. We take pride in our accuracy.

謝謝你，布賴恩，大家早上好。感謝您加入我們。讓我們從 2022 年的一些亮點開始。我們對運營效率和基礎設施改進以及與服務相關的優先事項的關注使我們又迎來了強勁的一年，每股收益為 1.77 美元，比去年高 6%，是我們 2022 年指導目標的中點。這也符合我們 5% 至 7% 的長期指導，儘管通貨膨脹和利率上升等宏觀挑戰，如你們所知。重要的是，在這種情況下，我想指出，自從我在 2015 年成為 CEO 以來，我和我的團隊一直遵守我們提供給 The Street 的指導。我們為我們的準確性感到自豪。

In 2022, we invested over $1.06 billion in infrastructure improvements as compared to $1.02 billion in 2021. Our commitment to investing in critical infrastructure across our footprint has led to the replacement, retirement and installation of over 430 miles of pipeline just last year throughout our water, wastewater and natural gas systems. These investments, along with our municipal acquisitions, led to rate base growth of 7.9%.

2022 年，我們投資了超過 10.6 億美元用於改善基礎設施，而 2021 年為 10.2 億美元。我們承諾投資於我們足跡內的關鍵基礎設施，僅在去年就更換、報廢和安裝了超過 430 英里的輸水管道、廢水和天然氣系統。這些投資，連同我們的市政收購，導致利率基數增長 7.9%。

Our municipal acquisition strategy continued to provide consistent and steady growth opportunities. And in 2022, we closed 3 acquisitions, adding approximately $120 million of rate base and over 23,000 new customers. These 3 acquisitions, coupled with strong organic growth led to customer growth of 2.7% for the regulated water segment.

我們的市政收購戰略繼續提供持續穩定的增長機會。 2022 年，我們完成了 3 項收購，增加了約 1.2 億美元的費率基礎和超過 23,000 名新客戶。這 3 次收購，加上強勁的有機增長，使受監管水部門的客戶增長了 2.7%。

Currently, we have asset purchase agreements signed for 9 municipal acquisitions, totaling nearly $380 million in purchase price. The success of our growth strategy has allowed us to report over $1 billion in revenues from our regulated water segment for the first time last year.

目前，我們已簽署了 9 項市政收購的資產購買協議，總收購價近 3.8 億美元。我們的增長戰略取得成功，這使我們去年首次報告受監管的水業務部門的收入超過 10 億美元。

I also want to take a moment to thank our employees who have diligently worked through the installation of SAP in our water utility over the last year. You may recall that our gas company already had SAP. We completed the conversion of our financials and expect a clean audit opinion, which if you're familiar with how this works, the complication of installing SAP is quite an accomplishment. We're very proud of it. These installations are difficult and time consuming, and we wouldn't be here if it were not for the efforts of so many patient and hard working at the company.

我還想花點時間感謝我們的員工，他們在過去一年中辛勤工作，為我們的自來水公司安裝了 SAP。您可能還記得我們的天然氣公司已經擁有 SAP。我們完成了財務數據的轉換，並期望獲得清晰的審計意見，如果您熟悉其工作原理，安裝 SAP 的複雜性是一項相當大的成就。我們為此感到非常自豪。這些安裝既困難又費時，如果沒有公司這麼多耐心和辛勤工作的努力，我們就不會在這裡。

Finally, I think it's important to mention the work our natural gas teams did during Winter Storm Elliott. In late December, just before Christmas, our teams worked through extremely cold weather to keep our customers' natural gas flowing so that their homes would remain warm. Our people worked long hours and right through Christmas Eve doing an unbelievable job for our customers under those extreme conditions, a real tribute to the folks working at our natural gas company.

最後，我認為有必要提及我們的天然氣團隊在冬季風暴埃利奧特期間所做的工作。 12 月下旬，就在聖誕節前夕，我們的團隊在極端寒冷的天氣中努力工作，以保持客戶的天然氣流通，從而使他們的房屋保持溫暖。我們的員工工作了很長時間，一直工作到平安夜，在極端條件下為我們的客戶完成了令人難以置信的工作，這是對在我們天然氣公司工作的人們的真正敬意。

Let's move on to the next slide and talk a little bit about ESG in 2022. Earlier this year, we reaffirmed our ESG commitments, and I am proud to report that as of year-end 2022, the company made really strong progress. Extensive gas pipeline replacement, renewable energy purchases, accelerated methane leak detection and repair and among many other initiatives, have led us substantial reduction of our Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. As of the end of the year, we are estimating a 23% reduction in emissions from our 2019 baseline and we remain on track toward our commitment of 60% reduction by 2035.

讓我們轉到下一張幻燈片，談談 2022 年的 ESG。今年早些時候，我們重申了我們的 ESG 承諾，我很自豪地報告說，截至 2022 年底，公司取得了非常大的進步。廣泛的天然氣管道更換、可再生能源採購、加速甲烷洩漏檢測和修復以及許多其他舉措，使我們大幅減少了範圍 1 和範圍 2 的溫室氣體排放。截至今年年底，我們估計排放量將比 2019 年的基準減少 23%，並且我們仍在朝著到 2035 年減少 60% 的承諾邁進。

In the fall of 2023, we're going to again publish a fully refreshed ESG report on our website, and it was award winning last time we did it. We keep an eye out for it, it's always a good read. We also reaffirmed our industry-leading multiyear plan to ensure that we -- that our finished water does not exceed 13 parts per trillion of PFOA, [PFA] across all the states served by our regulated water segment. While we continue to wait for the EPA to issue their MCL or maximum contaminant level, it's worth noting that 2 of the states in which we have water (technical difficulty) have already enacted their own thresholds. Pennsylvania, where nearly 50% of our water customers are located, has set limits of 18 parts per trillion for PFAS and 14 parts per trillion for PFOA. And New Jersey has set limits at 14 parts per trillion for PFAS and 13 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFA. Our commitment is at or below each of these.

2023 年秋季，我們將再次在我們的網站上發布全面更新的 ESG 報告，我們上次發佈時獲得了獎項。我們會留意它，它總是一本好書。我們還重申了我們行業領先的多年計劃，以確保我們的成品水不超過萬億分之 13 的 PFOA，[PFA] 在我們受監管的水部門服務的所有州。在我們繼續等待 EPA 發布他們的 MCL 或最大污染物水平的同時，值得注意的是我們有水（技術困難）的兩個州已經制定了他們自己的閾值。賓夕法尼亞州近 50% 的水客戶都位於賓夕法尼亞州，該州已將 PFAS 和 PFOA 的限量分別設定為萬億分之 18 和萬億分之 14。新澤西州將 PFAS 的含量限制在萬億分之 14，PFOA 和 PFA 的含量限制在萬億分之 13。我們的承諾等於或低於其中每一項。

Now regarding our employee and supplier diversity commitments. We ended 2022 with people of color, representing 16% of our work towards our multiyear target of 17%. We're also pleased to report that we exceeded our supplier diversity target of 15% in 2022 and continue to work to we are aligned aligning the makeup of our workforce and the spending on goods and services with the makeup of our customer base. I'll remind you that we've been one of the leaders when it comes to connecting these metrics to incentive compensation.

現在關於我們的員工和供應商多元化承諾。到 2022 年，有色人種占我們工作的 16%，以實現我們 17% 的多年目標。我們也很高興地報告，我們在 2022 年超過了 15% 的供應商多元化目標，並將繼續努力使我們的員工構成以及商品和服務支出與我們客戶群的構成保持一致。我會提醒您，在將這些指標與激勵薪酬聯繫起來方面，我們一直是領先者之一。

Finally, we received a number of notable ESG awards and recognitions throughout 2022, including being renamed to Newsweek's America's Most Responsible Companies list, renamed to 3BL Media's Best Corporate Citizens list and renamed as Champion of Board Diversity by the Forum of Executive Women. We're recognized as a 3-plus company by 50-50 Women on Boards, highlighting the diversity of our Board, and we were also named Business of the Year by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce.

最後，我們在整個 2022 年獲得了多項著名的 ESG 獎項和認可，包括更名為《新聞周刊》的美國最具責任感公司名單、更名為 3BL Media 的最佳企業公民名單，以及被女性高管論壇更名為董事會多元化冠軍。我們被董事會中 50-50 名女性認可為 3 人以上的公司，突出了我們董事會的多元化，我們還被特拉華縣商會評為年度最佳企業。

Now in addition to these recognitions, we've continued to make strong advances in our ESG ratings. Upgrades from MSCI, [Sustainalytics], CDP and ISS have placed Essential as an industry leader and at or near the top of our proxy peer group in 2022. Focus is work that we are very proud of and plan to continue.

現在，除了這些認可之外，我們還在 ESG 評級方面取得了長足進步。 MSCI、[Sustainalytics]、CDP 和 ISS 的升級使 Essential 成為行業領導者，並在 2022 年處於或接近我們的代理同行組的首位。重點是我們引以為豪併計劃繼續的工作。

Now with that, let me hand it over to Dan to discuss our financial results. Dan?

現在，讓我把它交給丹來討論我們的財務業績。擔？

Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. Let's take a few minutes to review the fourth quarter highlights before moving into the full year, where we'll spend most of our time this morning. We ended the quarter with revenues of $705.4 million, up 31.7% compared to the fourth quarter of last year. Our regulated water segment contributed $273.1 million and our regulated natural gas segment contributed $411.5 million, with the balance coming from our limited nonregulated operations.

謝謝，克里斯，大家早上好。在進入全年之前，讓我們花幾分鐘時間回顧一下第四季度的亮點，今天早上我們將花費大部分時間。本季度末，我們的收入為 7.054 億美元，比去年第四季度增長 31.7%。我們受監管的水部門貢獻了 2.731 億美元，我們受監管的天然氣部門貢獻了 4.115 億美元，餘額來自我們有限的非監管業務。

Higher natural gas commodity prices continued through the fourth quarter, and therefore, purchased gas costs increased by $109.4 million year-over-year. O&M expenses increased to $184.7 million for the quarter, up from $158.6 million in the fourth quarter of last year. Its maintenance expenses, recoverable costs related to our natural gas segment customer assistance program, higher water production costs, bad debt and employee-related costs were the main drivers for the quarter.

第四季度天然氣商品價格持續走高，因此天然氣採購成本同比增加 1.094 億美元。本季度的運維費用從去年第四季度的 1.586 億美元增至 1.847 億美元。其維護費用、與我們的天然氣部門客戶援助計劃相關的可收回成本、更高的水生產成本、壞賬和員工相關成本是本季度的主要驅動因素。

Net income was down year-over-year from $116.5 million to $114.9 million and GAAP EPS was $0.44 for the quarter, in line with the prior year.

淨收入同比從 1.165 億美元下降至 1.149 億美元，本季度 GAAP 每股收益為 0.44 美元，與上年同期持平。

Next, we'll discuss the full year financial highlights. We ended the year with $2.29 billion in revenue, up 21.8% from last year. For the year, our Regulated Water segment contributed $1.08 billion and our regulated natural gas segment contributed $1.14 billion. This is the first year that the growth of the company pushed Water segment revenue above $1 billion, which really is something to celebrate.

接下來，我們將討論全年的財務亮點。到年底，我們的收入為 22.9 億美元，比去年增長 21.8%。全年，我們的受管制水部門貢獻了 10.8 億美元，我們的受管制天然氣部門貢獻了 11.4 億美元。這是公司增長推動水部門收入超過 10 億美元的第一年，這確實值得慶祝。

Purchased gas costs increased by $261.7 million or 76.9% compared to prior year. O&M expenses increased 11.5% to $613.6 million. Operating income was up 9.7% to $661.2 million, and year-over-year net income increased $33.6 million or 7.8% from $431.6 million to $465.2 million. And GAAP EPS increased 6% to $1.77 which was in the middle of our $1.75 to $1.80 guidance range for the year.

與上一年相比，採購天然氣成本增加了 2.617 億美元或 76.9%。運維費用增長 11.5% 至 6.136 億美元。營業收入增長 9.7% 至 6.612 億美元，淨收入同比增長 3360 萬美元或 7.8%，從 4.316 億美元增至 4.652 億美元。 GAAP 每股收益增長 6% 至 1.77 美元，處於我們今年 1.75 美元至 1.80 美元的指導範圍的中間。

Next, let's walk through the full year waterfalls beginning with revenue. As you can see, we had a very strong year revenue-wise. In 2022, revenues increased $409.9 million or 21.8% on a GAAP. You'll notice that the purchased gas was the largest driver, contributing $261.7 million of the overall increase. This was due to a significant increase in natural gas commodity prices, which we've been reporting throughout the year. Fortunately, though, gas prices have eased in recent months.

接下來，讓我們從收入開始了解全年瀑布。如您所見，我們今年的收入非常強勁。 2022 年，按 GAAP 計算，收入增長 4.099 億美元或 21.8%。您會注意到購買的天然氣是最大的驅動因素，貢獻了 2.617 億美元的總增長。這是由於天然氣商品價格大幅上漲，我們全年都在報告這一點。不過幸運的是，最近幾個月天然氣價格有所回落。

Regulatory recoveries from our regulated water and natural gas segments added a combined $81.1 million. Over $63 million of this is attributed to water given recent rate (technical difficulty).

我們受監管的水和天然氣部門的監管回收共增加了 8110 萬美元。鑑於最近的速度（技術難度），其中超過 6300 萬美元歸因於水資源。

The portion related to gas is mostly due to increased surcharges for our customer assistance program, which has a 1:1 offset in our O&M expenses.

與天然氣相關的部分主要是由於我們的客戶援助計劃的附加費增加，這對我們的 O&M 費用有 1:1 的抵消。

Increased volumes from our Regulated Natural Gas segment contributed $26 million. And you'll recall that weather has a very direct impact on gas consumption, which we see in that 20 (inaudible) and -- so we closely monitor the heating degree days as an indicator. 2022 weather in the Pittsburgh area was 3.9% colder than normal resulting in 5,648 total heating degree days compared to 5,139 heating degree days in 2021. And in 2022, over 80% of the gas was consumed during the heating season, meaning during the first and fourth quarters of the year.

我們受管制的天然氣部門增加的銷量貢獻了 2600 萬美元。你會記得天氣對天然氣消耗有非常直接的影響，我們在 20 天（聽不清）中看到了這一點，因此我們密切監測供暖度數天數作為指標。匹茲堡地區 2022 年的天氣比正常情況冷 3.9%，導致總采暖度日數為 5,648 個，而 2021 年為 5,139 個采暖度日數。2022 年，超過 80% 的天然氣在采暖季消耗，這意味著在第一個和第二個采暖季今年第四季度。

Moving on, combined growth and increased volumes to our Regulated Water segment contributed an additional $36.5 million. And finally, other provided $4.6 million of the overall revenue increase.

繼續前進，我們的 Regulated Water 部門的綜合增長和增加的數量貢獻了額外的 3650 萬美元。最後，其他提供了 460 萬美元的總收入增長。

Next, let's move on to the O&M expenses. Operations and maintenance expenses were $613.6 million for the year compared to $550.6 million in 2021. Other items contributed $20 million to the increase, and much of this was related to inflation-related increases and lower capitalization in outside services and material supplies as well as higher insurance expenses, offset by higher capitalization in the gas segment.

接下來，讓我們繼續討論運維費用。運營和維護費用全年為 6.136 億美元，而 2021 年為 5.506 億美元。其他項目貢獻了 2000 萬美元的增長，其中大部分與通貨膨脹相關的增長和外部服務和材料供應的資本化減少以及更高的成本有關保險費用，被天然氣部門更高的資本化所抵消。

Employee-related costs added $17.1 million, which included regular merit increases, targeted market adjustments and expense for onetime inflation payments for non-officer level employees as well as benefits. The gas customer systems program expenses, which are recoverable through our revenue surcharge, increased to $12.8 million. And expenses related to newly acquired water and wastewater customers added $6.9 million and increased production costs in our regulated water segment at an additional [$63] million. We continue to see year-on-year increases in production costs with the largest inflation-related increases for chemicals and sludge handling and hauling.

與員工相關的成本增加了 1710 萬美元，其中包括定期加薪、有針對性的市場調整和為非官員級別員工支付的一次性通貨膨脹費用以及福利。可通過我們的收入附加費收回的天然氣客戶系統計劃費用增加到 1280 萬美元。與新收購的水和廢水客戶相關的費用增加了 690 萬美元，並使我們受監管的水部門的生產成本增加了 [63] 億美元。我們繼續看到生產成本逐年增加，其中與通貨膨脹相關的化學品和污泥處理和運輸成本增幅最大。

Next, we'll spend a minute on the earnings per share waterfall. Beginning on the left side of the slide, with 2021 GAAP EPS of $1.67, regulatory recoveries contributed nearly $0.22 and increased volume from our regulated natural gas segment added $0.07. Combined, the increased volume and growth from our regulated water segment added another $0.08. These were offset by $0.14 of other items, which included increased depreciation, interest and taxes other than income taxes as well as $0.126 of expenses. The result is a GAAP EPS of $1.77 for the year.

接下來，我們將花一分鐘時間了解每股收益瀑布。從幻燈片的左側開始，2021 年 GAAP 每股收益為 1.67 美元，監管回收貢獻了近 0.22 美元，我們受監管的天然氣部門的增加量增加了 0.07 美元。結合起來，我們受監管的水部門的增加量和增長又增加了 0.08 美元。這些被 0.14 美元的其他項目所抵消，其中包括增加的折舊、利息和除所得稅以外的稅收以及 0.126 美元的費用。結果是當年的 GAAP 每股收益為 1.77 美元。

Moving on to regulatory activity and other matters. In 2022, we completed rate cases or surcharge filings in our regulated water segment in IIIionis, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, and we completed a rate case in our regulated natural gas segment in Kentucky, for a combined total annualized revenue increase of approximately $88.8 million.

繼續討論監管活動和其他事項。 2022 年，我們在北卡羅來納州、俄亥俄州和賓夕法尼亞州的 IIIionis 的受監管水部門完成了費率案例或附加費備案，並在肯塔基州的受監管天然氣部門完成了費率案例，年化總收入增加了約 88.8 美元百萬。

So far in 2023, we completed rate cases or surcharge filings in 3 of our regulated water states with total annualized revenue increase of $3.6 million. Also, we currently have base rate cases or surcharge filings underway in North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Virginia for our regulated water segment and in Kentucky for our regulated natural gas segment.

到 2023 年為止，我們在 3 個受監管的水域州完成了費率案件或附加費備案，年化總收入增加了 360 萬美元。此外，我們目前在北卡羅來納州、俄亥俄州、得克薩斯州和弗吉尼亞州為我們的受監管水部門和肯塔基州為我們受監管的天然氣部門提交基本費率案件或附加費申請。

Finally, I wanted to provide an update on the equity ATM program established in October. This program gives us a mechanism to issue equity over time as we continue to deploy a significant amount of capital to grow the business through both supply acquisitions and capital expenditures.

最後，我想提供有關 10 月份建立的股權 ATM 計劃的最新情況。隨著我們繼續部署大量資本以通過供應收購和資本支出來發展業務，該計劃為我們提供了一種隨著時間的推移發行股權的機制。

As of December 31, 2022, we had issued approximately 1.32 million shares. And in January, we issued an additional [399,000] shares for a total of $82.3 million net of expenses. As we indicated in the slide deck when we announced guidance in January, we expect to raise approximately $400 million to $500 million in equity or equity-linked securities over the next 18 months to maintain our credit metrics while we invest capital and close municipal acquisitions. We continue to evaluate how to most efficiently execute this capital raise and the exact amount and timing is dependent on acquisition closings and other factors.

截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們已發行約 132 萬股。 1 月份，我們增發了 [399,000] 股股票，扣除費用後總計 8,230 萬美元。正如我們在 1 月份宣布指引時在幻燈片中指出的那樣，我們預計在未來 18 個月內將籌集大約 4 億至 5 億美元的股權或股權相關證券，以在我們投資資本和完成市政收購的同時維持我們的信用指標。我們將繼續評估如何最有效地執行此次融資，具體金額和時間取決於收購完成和其他因素。

And with that, I'll hand it back over to Chris to discuss acquisition growth and our 2023 guidance.

有了這個，我會把它交還給克里斯來討論收購增長和我們的 2023 年指導。

Great. Thanks, Dan. And let's talk a little bit about the municipal [transaction] activity first. You'll notice on the left-hand side of this slide that municipal growth through acquisition has been a long and successful base component of our growth through acquisition strategy, which complements our continued investment in infrastructure in our existing business.

偉大的。謝謝，丹。讓我們先談談市政 [交易] 活動。您會在這張幻燈片的左側注意到，通過收購實現市政增長一直是我們通過收購戰略實現增長的長期成功的基礎組成部分，它補充了我們對現有業務基礎設施的持續投資。

Just since 2015, we've added nearly 118,000 customer equivalents and nearly $0.5 billion in rate base to our water footprint through acquisitions. Most recently, we announced the closing of the Oak Brook water system acquisition in Illinois, which serves approximately 4,000 customer equivalents. Including Oak brook, we closed 3 acquisitions in '22 and which added over 23,000 customer equivalents and approximately $100 million in rate base to our company. Combined with organic growth, the company increased its regulated water customer base by 2.7%.

自 2015 年以來，我們通過收購為我們的水足跡增加了近 118,000 個等效客戶和近 5 億美元的費率基礎。最近，我們宣布完成對伊利諾伊州 Oak Brook 供水系統的收購，該系統為大約 4,000 名客戶提供服務。包括 Oak brook，我們在 22 年完成了 3 項收購，為我們公司增加了 23,000 多個等同客戶和大約 1 億美元的費率基礎。結合有機增長，該公司將其受監管的水客戶群增加了 2.7%。

On the next slide here. As of this call, we have 8 signed asset purchase agreements for 9 systems across 4 states. All of these are in states where we currently do business, these acquisitions will add nearly 219,000 customers or customer equivalents and totaled nearly $380 million in purchase price.

在下一張幻燈片上。截至本次電話會議，我們已經為 4 個州的 9 個系統簽署了 8 份資產購買協議。所有這些都在我們目前開展業務的州，這些收購將增加近 219,000 名客戶或等同的客戶，收購價格總計近 3.8 億美元。

Now let's take a minute and talk about the status of DELCORA. On our last call, you will recall that we provided the PUC procedural schedule and our expectations of closing this acquisition in the first of 2023. Based on the most recent legal and regulatory actions, a midyear closing is now unlikely. We now expect to close toward the end of this year, and we continue to be confident that we will close the DELCORA transaction and also continue to believe that there is a path forward in settlement that works for all the parties.

現在讓我們花點時間談談 DELCORA 的狀態。在我們上次電話會議上，您會記得我們提供了 PUC 程序時間表以及我們對在 2023 年初完成此次收購的預期。根據最近的法律和監管行動，現在不太可能在年中完成。我們現在預計將在今年年底結束，我們仍然相信我們將完成 DELCORA 交易，並且繼續相信有一條對所有各方都有效的和解之路。

All right. On the next slide, in addition to the signed municipal transactions on the previous slide, our pipeline of opportunities for growth remain strong and healthy. Currently, we're engaged in active discussions with municipalities and pursuing over 400,000 potential water and wastewater customers as illustrated on this slide.

好的。在下一張幻燈片中，除了上一張幻燈片中已簽署的市政交易外，我們的增長機會渠道仍然強勁而健康。目前，我們正在與市政當局進行積極討論，並尋求超過 400,000 名潛在的水和廢水客戶，如本幻燈片所示。

Our in-state teams continue to focus on potential acquisitions that have at least 2,500 to 25,000 customers (inaudible). We believe our strong value proposition including our ability to pay a competitive purchase price, our technical and operational expertise, our commitment to spend the capital to make improvements and our long-term commitment to the communities we serve, altogether make a compelling case to municipal governments who are considering their options. We will continue to focus on growth in all 8 states where we have water utilities and fair market value statutes are in place.

我們的州內團隊繼續專注於至少擁有 2,500 至 25,000 名客戶（聽不清）的潛在收購。我們相信，我們強大的價值主張，包括我們支付有競爭力的購買價格的能力、我們的技術和運營專業知識、我們投入資金進行改進的承諾以及我們對我們所服務社區的長期承諾，共同為市政提供了令人信服的理由正在考慮其選擇的政府。我們將繼續關注我們擁有自來水公司和公平市場價值法規的所有 8 個州的增長。

On 2022, we, like so many other companies were faced with rising interest rates, inflation, supply chain challenges. However, the ability of our people to overcome these challenges and focus on integration, growth and operational excellence provided us the opportunity to report such strong results for the year. As we look at 2023, we remain committed to the pillars and priorities that ensure the safety, quality and reliability our customers, employees and shareholders have come to expect.

2022 年，我們和許多其他公司一樣面臨利率上升、通貨膨脹和供應鏈挑戰。然而，我們的員工克服這些挑戰並專注於整合、增長和卓越運營的能力使我們有機會報告今年如此強勁的業績。展望 2023 年，我們將繼續致力於確保我們的客戶、員工和股東所期望的安全、質量和可靠性的支柱和優先事項。

Now for those of you who have followed us, you know that throughout our history, we have continuously reviewed our portfolio of assets and their contributions. As a result of our most recent review, last year, we decided to sell our West Virginia natural gas assets, and we announced that sale early last month.

現在，對於那些關注我們的人來說，您知道在我們的整個歷史中，我們一直在不斷審查我們的資產組合及其貢獻。作為我們最近一次審查的結果，去年，我們決定出售我們的西弗吉尼亞天然氣資產，並於上月初宣佈出售。

We believe that this decision will be beneficial to the 13,000 West Virginia customers because it will provide rate stability for rate stability and an opportunity for them to benefit from economies of scale in West Virginia. We were very small there, as you know. The completion of this transaction will also eliminate the outsized or oversized draw of management attention that our West Virginia operations required.

我們相信這一決定將有利於 13,000 名西弗吉尼亞州的客戶，因為它將為費率穩定提供費率穩定，並為他們提供從西弗吉尼亞州的規模經濟中受益的機會。如你所知，我們在那裡很小。此次交易的完成還將消除我們西弗吉尼亞業務所需的大量或過多的管理層注意力。

All right. Now before we walk through our 2023 guidance, I want to provide clarity on how we're thinking about the impacts of both weather and our acquisition program on the guidance we provided to you last month. Dan mentioned earlier in the call, the colder-than-normal weather in 2022 had a favorable impact on revenues.

好的。現在，在我們完成 2023 年指南之前，我想澄清一下我們是如何考慮天氣和採購計劃對我們上個月提供給您的指南的影響的。丹在電話中早些時候提到，2022 年比正常情況更冷的天氣對收入產生了有利影響。

And while it's very early in the year, and we still have another month left in the first quarter, year-to-date 2023 weather for the region where our natural gas segment is located, has been approximately 20% warmer than normal. This will likely be a topic for our next earnings call for first quarter. But as a reminder, the fourth quarter has a significant impact of usage as well. So it's far too early to determine the weather impact on our results for the year.

雖然現在還很早，而且我們在第一季度還有一個月的時間，但我們的天然氣部門所在地區的 2023 年年初至今的天氣比正常溫度高了大約 20%。這可能是我們下一次第一季度財報電話會議的主題。但提醒一下，第四季度對使用量也有重大影響。因此，現在確定天氣對我們今年業績的影響還為時過早。

Regarding our acquisition program, you may recall that DELCORA was included in the guidance we provided for 2023. But I want to point out that we do not believe that a delay in the closing of DELCORA alone would cause us to fall outside our existing EPS guidance range for 2023. So we'll continue to monitor the impacts of weather and acquisitions, but we remain confident in 2023 guidance we released last month. So I'll wrap up the call by reviewing that guidance. We expect earnings to be between $1.85 and $1.90 per share. We're confident in the 3-year earnings per share growth of 5% to 7% through 2025. And we'll be investing approximately $1.1 billion on regulated infrastructure, which is an increase of about $100 million annually over last year's plan. We continue to expect rate base growth will be between 6% and 7% for water and between 8% and 10% for natural gas. And (inaudible) number growth will be between 2% and 3% for water and stable for natural gas other than obviously the sale of our West Virginia properties as I just mentioned.

關於我們的收購計劃，您可能還記得 DELCORA 已包含在我們為 2023 年提供的指導中。但我想指出，我們認為僅延遲關閉 DELCORA 不會導致我們超出現有的 EPS 指導2023 年的範圍。因此，我們將繼續監測天氣和收購的影響，但我們對上個月發布的 2023 年指南仍然充滿信心。因此，我將通過回顧該指南來結束電話會議。我們預計每股收益在 1.85 美元至 1.90 美元之間。我們對到 2025 年 3 年每股收益增長 5% 至 7% 充滿信心。我們將在受監管的基礎設施上投資約 11 億美元，比去年的計劃每年增加約 1 億美元。我們繼續預計水的費率基礎增長率將在 6% 至 7% 之間，天然氣的費率基礎增長率將在 8% 至 10% 之間。並且（聽不清）水的數量增長將在 2% 到 3% 之間，天然氣的數量增長將保持穩定，除了我剛才提到的我們西弗吉尼亞州房產的銷售之外。

So in closing, I want to mention that I believe the management team at Essential Utilities is among the best in the industry. Our team continues to -- on an already industry-leading operational excellence while continuously integrating acquired customers nearly seamlessly and all despite the numerous challenges once in lifetime pandemic, unprecedented inflation, soaring interest rates, and the installation of a major system, SAP.

所以最後，我想提一下，我相信 Essential Utilities 的管理團隊是業內最好的。我們的團隊繼續——在已經行業領先的卓越運營的基礎上，同時不斷地幾乎無縫地整合收購的客戶，儘管面臨一生一次的大流行病、前所未有的通貨膨脹、飆升的利率以及主要係統 SAP 的安裝等眾多挑戰。

This team led all of this while meeting or exceeding the standards that our stakeholders expect. And I would say it's truly amazing [in] 2022. It's incredible to reflect on the dramatic growth the company has experienced over the past 7.5 years. In 2015, when the current leadership team came together, our revenues were about $814 million. And now in 2022, just our Regulated Water segment revenue was over $1 billion for the first time.

該團隊領導了所有這一切，同時達到或超過了我們的利益相關者期望的標準。我想說 [in] 2022 年真的很了不起。回想一下公司在過去 7.5 年中經歷的巨大增長真是令人難以置信。 2015 年，當現任領導團隊齊聚一堂時，我們的收入約為 8.14 億美元。現在到 2022 年，僅我們的受控水部門收入就首次超過 10 億美元。

Our annual CapEx has grown from nearly $365 million to now over $1 billion a year in that same time. All of this could not have been possible without the dedicated team of over 3,200 professionals that I am really incredibly proud to work with every day.

同時，我們的年度資本支出從近 3.65 億美元增長到現在的每年超過 10 億美元。如果沒有 3,200 多名專業人士組成的敬業團隊，我每天都非常自豪地與他們一起工作，這一切都是不可能的。

So on that note, I want to conclude our formal remarks and open the call up for questions. Operator?

因此，關於這一點，我想結束我們的正式發言並開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) first question comes from Ryan Connors from North Coast Research.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 North Coast Research 的 Ryan Connors。

A couple of housekeeping on the financials and then a big picture question for Chris. But Dan, in the waterfall, you mentioned the $17 million headwind from employee-related costs I mean, obviously, that's not shocking given inflation and so forth. But do you expect that run rate of increase to kind of moderate from '23 and '24? Is that kind of a onetime jump? Or should we continue to expect elevated inflation at that level?

一些財務方面的內務管理，然後是克里斯的一個大局問題。但是丹，在瀑布中，你提到了與員工相關的成本帶來的 1700 萬美元逆風，我的意思是，顯然，考慮到通貨膨脹等因素，這並不令人震驚。但是您是否預計從 23 年和 24 年開始的運行率會適度增長？那是一次性的跳躍嗎？還是我們應該繼續預期該水平的高通脹？

So Ryan, I think that will moderate in 2023 and 2024. There are a few things in there like one that I noted in the script was that we did in 2022, an inflation-related payment for our broad employee base, so I think non-officer level. So that was something we did in 2022, which we would not expect to do in 2023. We also did some select market adjustments compensation wise that I think at this point we feel we've got those market adjustments behind us. So we would expect that to moderate to more normal sort of merit increases and increases in benefit costs going forward.

所以 Ryan，我認為這將在 2023 年和 2024 年有所緩和。有幾件事像我在劇本中提到的那樣是我們在 2022 年所做的，這是針對我們廣泛的員工基礎的與通貨膨脹相關的支付，所以我認為非- 官員級別。所以這是我們在 2022 年所做的事情，我們預計不會在 2023 年這樣做。我們還明智地進行了一些選擇性的市場調整補償，我認為在這一點上我們覺得我們已經完成了這些市場調整。因此，我們預計未來會緩和更正常的績效增長和福利成本增長。

Okay. And did you give us -- are you able to disclose a specific amount on that onetime kind of inflation payment or no?

好的。你是否給了我們 - 你是否能夠披露這種一次性通貨膨脹支付的具體金額？

Yes. And so what we did there, Ryan, is it's call it, $3 million kind of $1,000 across an employee base of 3,000 people. So that's the rough number on that. And it was just that, Ryan, as we thought about what employees were paying for groceries to grocery store, gas to gas pump last year. We just thought this was something that the company was able to do to help our employees out help ease that burden a little bit.

是的。因此，瑞安，我們在那裡所做的就是所謂的，在 3,000 名員工基礎上投入 300 萬美元或 1,000 美元。這就是粗略的數字。就是這樣，瑞安，當我們考慮員工去年為雜貨店支付的費用，加油站支付的費用時。我們只是認為這是公司能夠幫助我們的員工減輕一點負擔的事情。

Got it. Okay. The other one was on interest expense. Obviously, it was a jump, which isn't surprising given where rates have been in our headed. But anything we should be aware of there in terms of variable rate aspects going forward? And also, is that all kind of pass-through? Or are there certain parent company things related to people or otherwise that maybe aren't as quick of a pass-through?

知道了。好的。另一個是利息支出。顯然，這是一個跳躍，考慮到利率一直在我們的頭腦中，這並不奇怪。但在未來的可變利率方面，我們應該注意什麼？而且，這是所有類型的直通嗎？或者是否有某些與人或其他方面有關的母公司事情可能不會那麼快通過？

Yes. The way I would think of that, Ryan, is the only place we have variable rate debt really is our revolving credit facilities. And so we've got the essential over, and we've got revolvers at the bigger subsidiaries. Gas side, we use it for gas purchase costs. But that's where we're seeing a pickup in financing cost. If you think of a year ago, we were LIBOR-based and LIBOR was -- we can pick a number, 25 basis points or something quite low. And this year, it's SOFR-based only because of the change, but think of that SOFR as above 4%.

是的。瑞安，我的想法是，我們唯一擁有可變利率債務的地方實際上是我們的循環信貸額度。因此，我們已經完成了基本任務，並且我們在較大的子公司中配備了左輪手槍。氣體方面，我們用它來支付氣體購買成本。但這就是我們看到融資成本上升的地方。如果你想想一年前，我們是基於 LIBOR 的，而 LIBOR 是——我們可以選擇一個數字，25 個基點或相當低的數字。而今年，它是基於 SOFR 的，只是因為發生了變化，但想想 SOFR 超過 4%。

So significant increase in the borrowing cost for anything that sits on that revolving credit facility. So that leads us to think about how do we think about terming that facility out, right, in 2023, just like we tend to do every year. The rest of our debt tends to be long-range fixed rate debt, classic sort of utility financing.

任何依賴於該循環信貸機制的借貸成本都會顯著增加。因此，這讓我們思考如何考慮在 2023 年終止該設施，就像我們每年都會做的那樣。我們其餘的債務往往是長期固定利率債務，這是一種典型的公用事業融資。

Got it. Okay. And then just my bigger picture question was we've heard so much about affordability and becoming a bigger issue, especially on the water side, we passed and one of the things, I guess, that seems to be emerging is the staggered multiyear rate increases instead of getting the rate increase all in right away -- get it over several years. It looks like that's the way your request in North Carolina is, in fact, structured, is that something you expect -- we should expect to start seeing more across the board? Or is that North Carolina more of a one-off?

知道了。好的。然後我更大的問題是我們已經聽到了很多關於負擔能力的問題並成為一個更大的問題，特別是在水方面，我們通過了其中一件事，我想，這似乎正在出現的是交錯的多年利率增長與其立即提高利率，不如分幾年來提高。看起來這就是您在北卡羅來納州提出的請求的方式，事實上，結構化，這是您期望的 - 我們應該期望開始全面看到更多嗎？或者北卡羅來納州更像是一次性的？

So North Carolina, there was a change a couple of years ago that allows for this multiyear rate making. And so this is the first time that we're in (inaudible) we're taking advantage of that new construct.

所以北卡羅來納州，幾年前發生了一個變化，允許這種多年利率制定。因此，這是我們第一次（聽不清）利用這種新結構。

Pennsylvania allows for an alternative ratemaking, which one could -- a company could propose a multiyear. It hasn't been used any great. We saw 1 water case where that was proposed. But I think by and large, all of our other states are effectively 1 increase based either on a historic test year or future or fully projected future test years. But those are the only 2 places I would say we have any ability to think multiyear at this point.

賓夕法尼亞州允許另一種費率制定方式，這可以——一家公司可以提出多年費率。它沒有被很好地使用。我們看到了 1 個提議的水箱。但我認為總的來說，我們所有其他州都有效地增加了 1 基於歷史測試年或未來或完全預測的未來測試年。但這些是我認為目前我們有能力考慮多年的僅有的兩個地方。

Ryan, I would say though, that you're right to ask about affordability. It's currently a theme not only across the utility space at NARUC and everything else. But it's even a theme in our boardroom. We're very focused on affordability for our customers. And that's why we were the first to get out there with our universal service program in Pennsylvania. That's why we continue to focus on affordability in all of our states.

瑞安，不過我要說的是，你問的是負擔能力是對的。目前，它不僅是 NARUC 實用空間和其他一切的主題。但這甚至是我們董事會的主題。我們非常注重客戶的負擔能力。這就是為什麼我們率先在賓夕法尼亞開展我們的普遍服務計劃。這就是為什麼我們繼續關注我們所有州的負擔能力。

We think about grants for some of our PFOS, PFOA mitigation work we're doing, which obviously then is passed directly on to only rate payers, customers, not shareholders. So big focus on affordability in the industry. And I think that will remain true. These are tough economic times generally. And I think, especially for those that maybe had a little less, this is an important topic. So you'll see regulatory themes and probably different schemes, I should say, that companies will try all at the attempt of being continually more affordable.

我們考慮為我們正在進行的一些 PFOS、PFOA 緩解工作提供贈款，這些工作顯然只會直接轉給納稅人、客戶，而不是股東。因此非常關注行業的負擔能力。我認為這將保持不變。這些通常是艱難的經濟時期。而且我認為，特別是對於那些可能少一點的人來說，這是一個重要的話題。所以你會看到監管主題和可能不同的計劃，我應該說，公司將盡一切努力不斷降低成本。

And our next question comes from Travis Miller from Morningstar.

我們的下一個問題來自 Morningstar 的 Travis Miller。

Quick question in terms of, I think, a follow-up really to what you just add to -- when you take the surcharge and annual rate adjustments versus base rate cases, how do you think about that balance currently? And what do you think about in terms of the cadence for the base rate cases? Does that make sense to get an idea of annual versus kind of whatever your run rate, I think, on the base case.

快速提問，我認為，真正跟進你剛剛添加的內容 - 當你將附加費和年費率調整與基本費率案例進行比較時，你如何看待目前的平衡？您如何看待基本利率案例的節奏？我認為，在基本情況下，了解年度與您的任何運行率是否有意義。

The recoverability varies a little bit state by state, but the mix in states like Pennsylvania is pretty good. Dan, you know the mix.

可恢復性因州而異，但賓夕法尼亞等州的混合情況非常好。丹，你知道組合。

Yes. I mean we -- as we think about it, we probably -- it depends state by state. We have different DSIC or SIC structures. Pennsylvania for water increased rates up to 7.5% between rate cases based on the DSIC. I think the Illinois models 4.5% in any sort of 2-year period.

是的。我的意思是我們 - 正如我們所考慮的那樣，我們可能 - 這取決於各州。我們有不同的 DSIC 或 SIC 結構。賓夕法尼亞州的水費在基於 DSIC 的費率案例之間增加了 7.5%。我認為伊利諾伊州模型在任何 2 年期間都為 4.5%。

North Carolina has 1.

北卡羅來納州有 1 個。

North Carolina has 1. But I think, Travis, maybe to get to kind of what your question is here. As we think about, say, Pennsylvania, between what we have in the DSIC and what we proposed in a rate case and expect to achieve in that rate case, we're thinking on the order of 5% per year. But that's a combination. And what that could mean is we run a rate case every 3 years or we could shorten that cadence a little bit to something shorter. But I think in terms of that 5% per year in total, over a rate case period.

北卡羅來納州有 1 個。但我認為，特拉維斯，也許可以了解你的問題。例如，在我們考慮賓夕法尼亞州時，在我們在 DSIC 中擁有的內容與我們在利率案例中提出的建議以及期望在該利率案例中實現的內容之間，我們正在考慮每年 5% 的數量級。但這是一個組合。這可能意味著我們每 3 年運行一次利率案例，或者我們可以將節奏稍微縮短一點。但我認為，在一個費率案例期間，每年總共 5%。

Okay. Yes, that makes sense. No, that's what I was asking. So okay. Great. And then a higher-level question. Municipal growth. It seems like when you have the puts and takes over the last few quarters, you've been excluding DELCORA somewhere in the 100,000 and correct me if I'm wrong, the number is wrong, but 100,000 or so run rate of pipeline, what's the macro environment look like? Is there something that's either holding back the pipeline over the last few quarters and then it could accelerate? Or is this kind of a run rate pipeline that you'd expect?

好的。是的，這是有道理的。不，這就是我要問的。好吧。偉大的。然後是更高層次的問題。市政增長。看起來當你有看跌期權並接管過去幾個季度時，你一直在將 DELCORA 排除在 100,000 的某個地方，如果我錯了請糾正我，這個數字是錯誤的，但是 100,000 左右的管道運行率，這是什麼宏觀環境是什麼樣的？在過去的幾個季度裡，是否有什麼東西阻礙了管道的發展，然後它可能會加速？還是您期望的這種運行率管道？

Yes. I think the pipeline is strong. We talked about 400,000 customers in our pipeline. So that piece of it is strong. But it's chunky, and it always has been chunky. In other words, we'll have a big year than a little slower one at all. There are so many factors, Travis that go into it, everything from local politics, to macro economics, interest rates and other drivers. But I would say, the activity, the discussions that we're having currently are really encouraging, and we're generally very optimistic about not only the near term, but the long term in terms of municipal privatization.

是的。我認為管道很強大。我們談到了我們管道中的 400,000 名客戶。所以那一塊很強。但它很矮胖，而且一直很矮胖。換句話說，我們將度過一個豐收的一年，而不是一個緩慢的一年。有很多因素，特拉維斯參與其中，從地方政治到宏觀經濟、利率和其他驅動因素。但我要說的是，我們目前正在進行的活動和討論確實令人鼓舞，而且我們總體上對市政私有化不僅近期而且長期都非常樂觀。

The next question comes from Gregg Orrill from UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的 Gregg Orrill。

I was just wondering if you could sort of speak to the stay order on DELCORA review in Pennsylvania, just what's the process and outlook there?

我只是想知道您是否可以談談賓夕法尼亞州 DELCORA 審查的暫緩令，那裡的流程和前景如何？

Yes. Sure. So just for clarity, there are 2 stays that we talk about that are in play here. The 1 stay is really between -- is really regarding the Chester City bankruptcy. Remember, DELCORA serves, the city of Chester. And so in 1973, Chester City basically contributed or sold their assets to DELCORA. And they have reversionary, right? So the -- currently, the bankruptcy has an automatic stay on the DELCORA proceeding. Now today, we're in court with the bankruptcy court, trying to get relief from that automatic stay. So that's 1 stay. Hopefully, we'll see some reaction from the judge. Usually bankruptcy courts moved pretty quickly. So who knows that may be a fairly quick answer from the judge there.

是的。當然。因此，為了清楚起見，我們討論的有 2 個停留在這裡發揮作用。第一次中止真的是——真的是關於切斯特城的破產。請記住，DELCORA 服務於切斯特市。所以在 1973 年，切斯特城基本上將他們的資產貢獻或出售給了 DELCORA。他們有復原權，對吧？所以——目前，破產自動中止了 DELCORA 程序。現在，今天，我們在破產法庭出庭，試圖從自動中止中解脫出來。所以這是 1 次住宿。希望我們能看到法官的一些反應。通常破產法庭的處理速度非常快。所以誰知道那裡的法官可能會很快給出答复。

The second stay is from the administrative law judge at the Public Utility Commission. And so that stay is based on what the county has the DELCORA has filed in terms of a municipal court case in Delaware County for seeking clarification on 2 items. Now at the ALJ's stay, we have the ability to file an interlocutory action which basically asks the 5 commissioners then to vote to uphold the stay or relieve the stay.

第二次停留來自公用事業委員會的行政法法官。因此，中止是基於 DELCORA 縣在特拉華縣的市法院案件中提交的，要求對 2 項進行澄清。現在，在 ALJ 暫緩執行期間，我們可以提出一項中間行動，基本上要求 5 名委員投票決定維持暫緩執行或解除暫緩執行。

And so we are currently thinking about our options. Clearly, we want to see first how the bankruptcy court goes today, and then we'll look from there. But those are the 2 stays that are in place. And I know it's -- there's a lot of moving parts, but that's hopefully clear to you.

因此，我們目前正在考慮我們的選擇。顯然，我們首先想看看今天破產法庭的情況如何，然後再從那裡看。但那些是 2 次停留。而且我知道這是 - 有很多活動部件，但希望你清楚。

And our next question comes from Davis Sunderland from Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自貝爾德的戴維斯桑德蘭。

Congrats on a good quarter. Just wanted to ask quickly about your guys' guidance for capital investments increase of an extra $100 million per year. Do we think about this as an acceleration to your previous growth plan or part of it being related to inflationary pressures? And then I guess a follow-up to that would just be anything you're seeing on supply chain difficulties with investment.

祝賀一個好的季度。只是想快速詢問一下你們對資本投資每年額外增加 1 億美元的指導意見。我們是否將此視為您之前的增長計劃的加速或部分與通脹壓力有關？然後我想後續行動就是你在供應鏈投資困難方面看到的任何事情。

Do you want to take the supply chain one first, Dan?

丹，你想先談談供應鏈嗎？

Sure. Yes. I mean in terms of the supply chain, I would say that throughout the out the kind of pandemic and post pending where there have been supply chain constraints, we've generally been able to obtain things that we need. Some items, larger diameter things, larger diameter pipes, larger diameter valves and fittings and such have been more delayed. And so we've had to plan ahead on projects like that. The one place we continue to see some delays is things that are related where we have Microchip so specifically with ERTs related to our meters that we've got some supply chain constraints there. we're starting to see that open up a bit. But there have been some challenges, but nothing that we've not been able to work through during these last couple of years there.

當然。是的。我的意思是，就供應鏈而言，我想說的是，在整個大流行期間，在存在供應鏈限制的情況下，我們通常能夠獲得我們需要的東西。一些項目，更大直徑的東西，更大直徑的管道，更大直徑的閥門和配件等已經延遲了更多。所以我們不得不提前計劃這樣的項目。我們繼續看到一些延遲的一個地方是與我們擁有 Microchip 的地方相關的事情，特別是與我們的儀表相關的 ERT，我們在那裡有一些供應鏈限制。我們開始看到它有點開放。但是也有一些挑戰，但在過去的幾年裡我們沒有無法克服的挑戰。

And then I guess, we think about the change from kind of $1 billion a year to $1.1 billion a year on average, you're seeing the opportunity to continue to invest capital and thus increase that rate a bit. But to your point, capital costs are up. So that's factored into that total dollar objective as well.

然後我想，我們考慮從每年 10 億美元到平均每年 11 億美元的變化，你看到了繼續投資資本的機會，從而稍微提高了這一速度。但就您而言，資本成本上升了。所以這也被計入了總美元目標。

I'd just add that even the cost of pipe is almost double over the last year or so. And so conceptually, you get less done -- we're trying to be as efficient as we possibly can, but you get less done for the same dollar. And so I would not consider this in the category of an acceleration, but more as we continue to identify capital opportunities, we're working through those. And then, of course, we're trying to stay pace with the needs -- of the infrastructure needs, especially our pipe replacement needs, both water and in natural gas. And those don't go away despite the price increases.

我只想補充一點，在過去一年左右的時間裡，即使是管道成本也幾乎翻了一番。所以從概念上講，你做的事更少——我們正在努力盡可能地提高效率，但你花同樣的錢做的事卻更少。因此，我不會在加速的範疇內考慮這一點，但隨著我們繼續尋找資本機會，我們正在努力解決這些問題。然後，當然，我們正在努力跟上需求——基礎設施需求，尤其是我們的管道更換需求，包括水和天然氣。儘管價格上漲，但這些並沒有消失。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Jonathan Reeder from Wells Fargo.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Jonathan Reeder。

I appreciate the (inaudible) on DELCORA. Can you just indicate whether your expectations for close now towards year-end? Do those rely on the ability to reach this potential settlement? Or is that schedule kind of more based on the latest legal challenges playing out to say getting addressed in a fully litigated process resuming at the Public Utilities Commission.

我很欣賞 DELCORA 上的（聽不清）。您能否僅說明您對年底結束的預期？這些是否依賴於達成這種潛在解決方案的能力？或者，該時間表是否更多地基於最新的法律挑戰，即在公用事業委員會恢復的全面訴訟程序中得到解決。

Yes. I would say probably a combination, Jonathan. I mean, here's how we think about it. We're still going to have to go through a full PUC process, right? We were expected to have evidentiary hearings in February, the 14 and 15, I think, were the original dates. Those are now pushed off. We'll still need to go through those once the stay is lifted. And so while -- whether you call it a fully litigated or -- but I would say it will be -- continue to be a full process.

是的。我會說可能是一個組合，喬納森。我的意思是，這就是我們的想法。我們仍然需要完成完整的 PUC 流程，對嗎？我們預計將在 2 月舉行證據聽證會，我認為 14 日和 15 日是最初的日期。那些現在被推遲了。一旦中止取消，我們仍然需要檢查這些。因此，無論你稱之為完全訴訟還是 - 但我會說它會 - 繼續成為一個完整的過程。

Certainly, a settlement, if we could reach one then relieves the -- any opportunity for additional delays and appeals. And so that's why I think about a settlement is optimal for closing this year. I don't want to mischaracterize those discussions, but I would say they're constructive conversations and ongoing conversations, and I remain optimistic about a settlement.

當然，如果我們能夠達成一項解決方案，那麼就可以消除任何進一步拖延和上訴的機會。所以這就是為什麼我認為解決方案是今年關閉的最佳選擇。我不想錯誤地描述這些討論，但我會說它們是建設性的對話和持續的對話，我對達成和解持樂觀態度。

Okay. So conversations are still occurring. You think they are constructive and still hopeful to get there. Okay.

好的。所以對話仍在進行。你認為他們是有建設性的，並且仍然有希望到達那裡。好的。

Yes.

是的。

Okay. And then second question, you opened the call noting how the team has always delivered on the guidance ranges and made the comments later with respect to the year-to-date weather headwind and obviously, the delay in DELCORA, do you have other levers that you can pull and perhaps plan to pull if needed to offset the weather impact? I mean I know essentially as a reputation of running a pretty lean ship already. But might there be some temporary cost offsets that you could implement later in '23, if needed.

好的。然後是第二個問題，你打開電話時注意到團隊如何始終在指導範圍內交付並稍後就今年迄今為止的天氣逆風發表評論，顯然，DELCORA 的延遲，你是否有其他槓桿如果需要抵消天氣影響，您可以拉動並且可能計划拉動？我的意思是，我知道基本上已經以經營精簡船而聞名。但是，如果需要，您可能會在 23 年晚些時候實施一些臨時成本抵消。

I think the short answer is yes.

我認為簡短的回答是肯定的。

Yes. Probably some things, Ryan, is that we're evaluating now -- I mean -- Jonathan, sorry. So we're evaluating now that we may be able to say more about it progresses here. But certainly, we've always, to your point, had a strong cost culture, and we're really encouraging that today as people look at expenses, sort of the idea of think before you spend. Do I need this? What is the quantity I really need? What do I have the optimal price, et cetera? So ensuring that, that remains a strong part of our culture really is critical here in 2023.

是的。可能有些事情，瑞安，我們現在正在評估——我的意思是——喬納森，抱歉。所以我們現在正在評估，我們也許可以在這裡說更多關於它的進展。但可以肯定的是，就你的觀點而言，我們一直擁有強大的成本文化，今天我們真的很鼓勵人們在考慮開支時，有點像花錢前三思而後行的想法。我需要這個嗎？我真正需要的數量是多少？我有什麼最優價格，等等？因此，確保這在 2023 年仍然是我們文化的重要組成部分確實至關重要。

Right. Okay. Great. No. I mean it's hard to control the weather. So good luck offsetting that if need be and looking forward to, hopefully, DELCORA can move forward.

正確的。好的。偉大的。不，我的意思是很難控制天氣。祝你好運抵消，如果需要並期待，希望 DELCORA 能夠向前邁進。

And we have a follow-up question from Ryan for Northcoast Research.

我們收到了 Ryan 為 Northcoast Research 提出的後續問題。

Just a quick follow-up, if I could. Yes, Chris. Just on -- thanks for all the updates on DELCORA, but given that we're talking about it in the context of the bankruptcy proceeding in Chester itself -- any -- can you update us how we should think about Chester Water Authority and how that's -- whether the chance that, that reemerges as we move through the bankruptcy proceeding and then how they choose to solve their fiscal issues?

如果可以的話，只是快速跟進。是的，克里斯。剛好——感謝關於 DELCORA 的所有更新，但考慮到我們是在切斯特本身的破產程序的背景下談論它——任何——你能告訴我們我們應該如何考慮切斯特水務局以及如何那就是——當我們通過破產程序以及他們如何選擇解決他們的財政問題時，這種情況是否有機會再次出現？

Yes. Listen, it would all just be speculation at this point, Ryan. But my two cents is that there's no other option. They don't have another asset. The debt is deep -- short of a massive bail out from the state or federal government. The only option they have, including restructuring, is to sell that asset. Now it's still tied up. Remember, even if the receiver says sell that asset, there's still a Supreme Court decision that then would have to be moved ahead.

是的。聽著，這一切都只是猜測，Ryan。但我的兩分錢是沒有其他選擇。他們沒有其他資產。債務很深——缺少州或聯邦政府的大規模救助。他們唯一的選擇，包括重組，就是出售該資產。現在還是綁著的。請記住，即使接管人說要出售該資產，最高法院的決定仍然必須繼續推進。

And the final determination that the city, in fact, owns that asset. So I would say that, that is not a front-burner issue for today for us. We see some other exciting things. But we'll continue to be engaged there. And certainly, as DELCORA progresses and we become utility in the city, we'll be -- have great interest in making that all work together and improving the conditions inside the city.

最終確定該市實際上擁有該資產。所以我想說，這對我們來說不是今天的首要問題。我們看到了一些其他令人興奮的事情。但我們將繼續參與其中。當然，隨著 DELCORA 的進步和我們成為城市的公用事業，我們將非常有興趣讓所有這些一起工作並改善城市內部的條件。

If there are no further questions in the queue. I'd like to hand the call back over to Christopher Franklin for his closing remarks.

如果隊列中沒有其他問題。我想將電話轉回給克里斯托弗富蘭克林，聽取他的結束語。

Thank you all for your time and for joining us today. Obviously, we're always available for follow-up questions. Brian, Dan and I are available anytime. Thank you again for joining us.

感謝大家的寶貴時間和今天加入我們。顯然，我們隨時可以回答後續問題。 Brian、Dan 和我隨時有空。再次感謝您加入我們。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation, ladies and gentlemen. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，女士們，先生們。您現在可以斷開連接。