Essential Utilities Inc (WTRG) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to today's Essential Utilities Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. This meeting is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎參加今天的基本公用事業 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。本次會議正在錄製中。

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

此時，我想將電話轉接給 Brian Dingerdissen。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Serge. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Essential Utilities Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call.

謝謝你，塞爾吉。大家早安，感謝您參加我們的基本公用事業 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。

I'm Brian Dingerdissen, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer at Essential. If you did not receive a copy of the press release, you can find it by visiting the Investor Relations section of our website. The slides that we will be referencing and the webcast of this event can also be found on the site.

我是 Brian Dingerdissen，Essential 投資者關係副總裁兼財務長。如果您沒有收到新聞稿的副本，您可以訪問我們網站的投資者關係部分找到它。我們將參考的幻燈片以及本次活動的網路廣播也可以在該網站上找到。

Here is our forward-looking statement. As a reminder, some of the matters discussed on 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. During the course of this call, reference may be made to certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of any non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures is posted in the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

這是我們的前瞻性聲明。提醒一下，本次電話會議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。請參閱我們最新的 10-Q、10-K 和其他 SEC 文件，以了解此類風險和不確定性的描述。在本次電話會議期間，可能會參考某些非公認會計準則財務指標。任何非公認會計原則與公認會計原則財務指標的調節表均發佈在本公司網站的投資者關係部分。

We'll begin the call with Chris Franklin, our Chairman and CEO, who will provide an update on the company.

我們將首先與我們的董事長兼首席執行官克里斯·富蘭克林進行通話，他將提供公司的最新情況。

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

這樣，我會將電話轉給克里斯。

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today.

謝謝布萊恩，大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們。

I want to start the call out by acknowledging an unfortunate event that some of you may have heard about our read about back in August. In a suburb of Pittsburgh, a home exploded, destroying and damaging multiple homes in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there were 6 fatalities, including 1 of our off-duty employees and his young son. The fire marshal has indicated that based on the investigation, the incident occurred inside of the home and was not a result of an issue with the gas utility. And we continue to, of course, fully cooperate with investigators. We really need to recognize our team for their response to this tragic event, their professionalism, their expertise and especially the way they performed under extremely difficult conditions just having lost one of their colleagues that day. Very difficult day for the team.

我想先承認一件不幸的事件，你們中的一些人可能已經聽說過我們八月讀到的報道。在匹茲堡郊區，一棟房屋發生爆炸，摧毀並損壞了附近的多棟房屋。不幸的是，共有 6 人死亡，其中包括 1 名下班員工及其年幼的兒子。消防隊長表示，根據調查，事件發生在房屋內，並不是因為瓦斯公司出現問題造成的。當然，我們將繼續全力配合調查人員。我們確實需要認可我們的團隊對這一悲慘事件的反應、他們的專業精神、他們的專業知識，尤其是他們在那天失去一名同事的極其困難的條件下的表現。對於球隊來說非常艱難的一天。

All right. Let me shift gears a little bit here and start off by expressing my appreciation to those of you who participated in our off-season governance meetings and our IR perception study. While they are still compiling and synthesizing your comments, want you know that we appreciate your time and your feedback. And most certainly, we'll take the insights gained very seriously.

好的。讓我在這裡稍微改變一下態度，首先向那些參加我們的淡季治理會議和 IR 認知研究的人們表示感謝。雖然他們仍在整理和綜合您的評論，但希望您知道我們感謝您的時間和回饋。毫無疑問，我們會非常認真地對待所獲得的見解。

Operating a public company, we're always glancing at the stock price throughout every given day. And as sizable shareholders ourselves, our management team and the board are well aware of the current performance of our stock. We acknowledge the sector has been trading off. Much of the industry performance over the past few months, we believe, has largely been driven by the macro environment and the recent sell-off of utilities due to the Fed's comments and actions on interest risk.

經營一家上市公司，我們每天都會關注股價。作為大股東，我們的管理團隊和董事會非常了解我們股票目前的表現。我們承認該行業一直在進行權衡。我們認為，過去幾個月的行業表現很大程度上是由宏觀環境以及近期因聯準會針對利率風險的言論和行動而引發的公用事業拋售所推動的。

We know that dividend paying stocks are typically out of favor during periods when investors can capture income through interest-bearing accounts without the risk of their principle. We also understand that some investors are concerned about utilities that have robust capital programs which need to be financed and then recovered through the rate process. Fortunately, our team has a long history of executing large capital programs and achieving timely regulatory recovery, obviously helped by the constructive regulatory environments in the states where we operate.

我們知道，當投資者可以透過計息帳戶獲取收入而無需承擔本金風險時，派息股票通常會失寵。我們還了解到，一些投資者擔心公用事業公司擁有強大的資本計劃，這些計劃需要融資，然後透過利率流程收回。幸運的是，我們的團隊在執行大型資本計畫和及時實現監管恢復方面有著悠久的歷史，這顯然得益於我們營運所在州的建設性監管環境。

Now I also want to acknowledge that we traded below our extend price. We don't like it. We don't believe it's as large as some might imply. We compare our PE to that of our most similar water utility peer and assume a slight discount because our projected growth rate is just slightly lower. We estimate that since the Peoples transaction in 2020, we've traded at an average discount of about 5%. Compared to the weighted average of our water and gas peers, that discount currently sits a little higher, roughly 10%. For those of you who've followed us or have been with us over the last 4 years, you know that there have been many fluctuations and often, we've traded above that target as well.

現在我還想承認我們的交易價格低於我們的延期價格。我們不喜歡它。我們認為它並不像某些人暗示的那麼大。我們將我們的本益比與最相似的自來水公司同行進行比較，並假設略有折扣，因為我們預期的成長率略低。我們估計，自 2020 年 Peoples 交易以來，我們的交易平均折扣約為 5%。與我們的水和天然氣同行的加權平均值相比，該折扣目前略高一些，約為 10%。對於那些關注我們或在過去 4 年裡一直與我們在一起的人來說，您知道存在許多波動，而且我們的交易也常常高於該目標。

Now to investors, when you consider various things, and we know that you're thinking about the fact that our 2 largest rate divisions will file for rates in the next 6 to 9 months. And we've had some challenges recently. Q1 weather was difficult on the gas side, continue to wrestle with the DELCORA and East Whiteland litigation. But remember, despite our challenges, we have continued to deliver on our EPS targets.

現在，對於投資者來說，當您考慮各種事情時，我們知道您正在考慮這樣一個事實：我們最大的兩個利率部門將在未來 6 至 9 個月內提交利率申請。我們最近遇到了一些挑戰。第一季天然氣的天氣很困難，繼續與 DELCORA 和 East Whiteland 的訴訟作鬥爭。但請記住，儘管面臨挑戰，我們仍繼續實現每股盈餘目標。

And from a stock performance perspective, some have written that this has been the worst year for utilities in 40 years. While that current climate is challenging, we have remained focused on strong execution and enhanced shareholder value. And I'll point you to our recent pruning of our small and underperforming West Virginia gas business, and the strong result of our sale of the energy projects to further refine our portfolio and offset equity needs.

從股票表現的角度來看，有些人寫道，今年是公用事業公司 40 年來最糟糕的一年。儘管當前的環境充滿挑戰，但我們仍然專注於強大的執行力和提高股東價值。我將向您介紹我們最近對規模較小且表現不佳的西維吉尼亞州天然氣業務進行的修剪，以及我們出售能源項目以進一步完善我們的投資組合併抵消股權需求的強勁成果。

And on a very positive note, we view the stock at its current price as a unique entry point and have been hearing from many new investors, potential investors that previously viewed water utilities as too expensive. So at roughly 19x 2023 earnings with an almost 3.5% yield, coupled with our strong record of operational execution, our large capital program, along with continued water system consolidation, the company is poised for long-term success.

從非常積極的角度來看，我們認為該股目前的價格是一個獨特的切入點，並且已經聽到許多新投資者和潛在投資者的來信，他們之前認為水務公司太貴了。因此，以大約 19 倍的 2023 年收益和近 3.5% 的收益率，加上我們良好的營運執行記錄、龐大的資本計劃以及持續的供水系統整合，該公司已為長期成功做好了準備。

I also want to emphasize that we don't need to close the DELCORA transaction to meet earnings guidance in '23 and '24. In fact, our earnings guidance '23 and '24 is not dependent on any of the acquisitions that are currently in our materials. This includes East Whiteland too. Remember that most municipal transactions lose money or breakeven until we bring them through a rate case. And you'll recall that our Pennsylvania water case we filed until 2024.

我還想強調，我們不需要關閉 DELCORA 交易來滿足 23 和 24 年的獲利指引。事實上，我們的獲利指引'23和'24並不依賴我們材料中目前的任何收購。這也包括東懷特蘭。請記住，在我們透過費率案件進行處理之前，大多數市政交易都會虧損或損益兩平。您還記得我們在 2024 年之前提交的賓州供水案件。

Now we'll use this window of time to work with regulators and stakeholders to improve the fair market value process and hopefully alleviate some of the headwinds that the sector has been facing related to municipal acquisitions, especially in Pennsylvania. We spent time on our last earnings call reminding investors about the primary source of earnings generation, the execution of our capital plan. Make no mistake, our acquisition program is important to our long-term success, but is often not as impactful as the negative impact to our stock price performance if these opportunities hit speed bumps or don't fully materialize in. Now listen, we're going to continue to work hard on our growth or acquisition program and we're going to go look at improved methods to communicate those opportunities so that we adjust expectations from the onset. We've heard you clearly on that.

現在，我們將利用這個時間窗口與監管機構和利益相關者合作，改進公平市場價值流程，並有望緩解該行業在市政收購方面面臨的一些不利因素，尤其是在賓州。我們在上次財報電話會議上花了很多時間提醒投資者獲利的主要來源，也就是我們資本計畫的執行。毫無疑問，我們的收購計劃對我們的長期成功很重要，但如果這些機會遇到減速或沒有完全實現，其影響往往不如對我們股價表現的負面影響那麼大。現在聽著，我們'我們將繼續努力實施我們的成長或收購計劃，我們將尋找改進的方法來傳達這些機會，以便我們從一開始就調整預期。我們已經清楚地聽到您的聲音了。

And one other factor that I wanted to mention that's been impacting our share price was the need for equity. In September, we completed our financings for the year, removing any perceived equity overhang. We heard the feedback related to our new guidance approach regarding equity needs. And believe me, we're going to take it into account as we finalize our future guidance plans. We've heard you loud and clear.

我想提到的另一個影響我們股價的因素是對股權的需求。九月，我們完成了今年的融資，消除了任何明顯的股本過剩。我們聽到了與我們有關股權需求的新指導方法相關的回饋。相信我，我們在最終確定未來的指導計劃時將考慮這一點。我們已經清楚地聽到您的聲音了。

All right. Let's move on to some highlights from the quarter and a couple of company updates. With a dedicated focus on capital investment and operational efficiency, we had a strong third quarter with earnings per share of $0.30, Dan will take you through those -- the financials in just a moment. We remain on track to invest $1.1 billion in capital projects this year and maybe even slightly higher than that, improving the service and reliability for our customers while adding substantial rate base growth.

好的。讓我們繼續討論本季的一些亮點和一些公司的最新動態。透過專注於資本投資和營運效率，我們第三季表現強勁，每股收益為 0.30 美元，丹將帶您了解這些——稍後介紹財務狀況。今年我們仍有望在資本項目上投資 11 億美元，甚至可能略高於這個數字，從而改善客戶的服務和可靠性，同時大幅提高費率基礎成長。

In the first 9 months of 2023, we've invested $874.5 million through our water, wastewater and natural gas systems as compared to $719.7 million for the same period last year. Keep in mind that our capital budget is composed of thousands of projects and it takes significant expertise to achieve success in those projects. We currently have asset purchase agreements signed for 5 municipal acquisitions totaling nearly $354 million in purchase price and continue to have a robust pipeline of opportunities.

2023 年前 9 個月，我們透過水、廢水和天然氣系統投資了 8.745 億美元，而去年同期為 7.197 億美元。請記住，我們的資本預算由數千個項目組成，需要大量的專業知識才能在這些項目中取得成功。目前，我們已經簽署了 5 項市政收購的資產購買協議，購買價格總計近 3.54 億美元，並且繼續擁有大量機會。

I mentioned the sale of our West Virginia gas utility assets, which was announced on October 2. This sale really enables management to focus on fewer states and specifically where we have larger bases of customers and growth opportunities. Then on October 3, we announced a $165 million binding agreement to sell 3 nonutility energy projects in Pittsburgh, including innovative microgrids and district energy system. And finally, in late October, the board appointed Rod West to the Board of Directors. Some of you may know Rod from the utility industry, he serves as the group vice -- I'm sorry, the Group President Utility Operations at Entergy Corporation. The departure of Chris Womack from our board, we were looking for a seasoned executive with utility experience, much like the skills that Chris brought to the board. We're really excited about Rod's experience and his expertise. And I think it's a great match for the Essential Utilities Board. We will -- Rod will serve on the corporate governance and risk mitigation committees when he joins us in December.

我提到了 10 月 2 日宣布的西維吉尼亞州天然氣公用事業資產的出售。這次出售確實使管理層能夠專注於更少的州，特別是我們擁有更大客戶群和成長機會的州。然後在 10 月 3 日，我們宣布了一項價值 1.65 億美元的約束協議，出售匹茲堡的 3 個非公用事業能源項目，包括創新微電網和區域能源系統。最後，十月下旬，董事會任命羅德·韋斯特 (Rod West) 為董事會成員。你們有些人可能認識公用事業行業的羅德，他擔任集團副總裁——對不起，是 Entergy 公司公用事業營運集團總裁。克里斯沃馬克 (Chris Womack) 離開董事會後，我們正在尋找一位經驗豐富、具有公用事業經驗的高階主管，就像克里斯為董事會帶來的技能一樣。我們對羅德的經驗和專業知識感到非常興奮。我認為這與基本公用事業委員會非常匹配。我們將—Rod 在 12 月加入我們時將在公司治理和風險緩解委員會任職。

Also I want to take a minute to discuss our recently published bi-annual Environmental, Social and Governance Report, which covers our performance in 2022. The updated ESG report tracks key progress on our commitments to the environment, our employees and the communities we serve. And while we made these commitments just a few years ago, I'm really proud to say that we've achieved our diverse supplier and employee commitments already, ensuring that the company's team and business reflects the communities we serve.

另外，我想花一點時間討論我們最近發布的半年度環境、社會和治理報告，其中涵蓋了我們2022 年的表現。更新後的ESG 報告跟踪了我們對環境、員工和我們所服務的社區的承諾的關鍵進展。雖然我們在幾年前就做出了這些承諾，但我真的很自豪地說，我們已經實現了多元化供應商和員工的承諾，確保公司的團隊和業務反映了我們所服務的社區。

We've reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions already by 25% from our 2019 baseline and are well on our way to our overall goal of a reduction of 60% by 2035. As a reminder, this is the equivalent of removing 80,000 cars from the road each year. This is significant. We were able to achieve this strong progress by successfully shifting to nearly 100% renewable electricity for our water segment in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Illinois, and by reducing stray methane emissions in our gas segment through our pipe replacement program. The report also highlights that the water segment outperformed the national average for water quality by nearly 5 times.

我們已將範圍 1 和範圍 2 溫室氣體排放量較 2019 年基準減少了 25%，並且正在順利實現到 2035 年減少 60% 的總體目標。需要提醒的是，這相當於消除每年有80,000 輛汽車上路。這很重要。我們能夠取得這一巨大進展，是因為我們在賓夕法尼亞州、新澤西州、俄亥俄州和伊利諾伊州的水務部門成功轉向近 100% 可再生電力，並透過管道更換計劃減少了天然氣部門的雜散甲烷排放。報告也強調，水務領域水質優於全國平均近5倍。

I think this is a test to our technical and operational expertise as an industry-leading utility and supports our proactive commitment to PFOS treatment. We continue to refine our numbers. So you'll notice that we have updated our capital investment estimates related to PFOS from approximately $350 million to now $450 million. Additionally, we estimate annual operating expenses will be in the 5% range of the capital -- overall capital expenditures. I'd encourage you to visit our ESG microsite where you can do a deep dive into the full report or just take a look at the supplemental reports for a brief overview.

我認為這是對我們作為行業領先公用事業公司的技術和營運專業知識的考驗，並支持我們對 PFOS 處理的積極承諾。我們繼續完善我們的數字。您會注意到，我們已將與 PFOS 相關的資本投資估算從約 3.5 億美元更新為現在的 4.5 億美元。此外，我們估計年度營運費用將在資本（總體資本支出）的 5% 範圍內。我鼓勵您訪問我們的 ESG 微型網站，您可以深入了解完整的報告，或只是查看補充報告以獲取簡要概述。

With that, let me hand it over to Dan to talk about our financial results.

接下來，讓我把它交給丹來談談我們的財務表現。

Thanks, Chris. Good morning, everyone.

謝謝，克里斯。大家，早安。

I'll start off with the third quarter highlights. You'll recall that GAAP EPS revenues include purchased gas costs and that natural gas commodity prices have decreased significantly year-over-year. So on a GAAP basis, we had revenues for the quarter of $411.3 million compared to $434.6 million in the third quarter of last year. Similar to last quarter, the largest contributor to the decrease in revenues for the third quarter was the recovery of lower purchased gas commodity prices with purchased gas costs decreasing by $35.5 million from the same period last year. Our regulated water segment contributed $310.6 million and our regulated natural gas segment contributed $94.8 million. Incremental revenues from regulatory recoveries and water and wastewater customer growth contributed positively, offsetting lower purchased gas costs and lower volume in the water segment for the quarter.

我將從第三季的亮點開始。您會記得，公認會計準則每股收益收入包括購買天然氣成本，天然氣商品價格較去年同期大幅下降。因此，以 GAAP 計算，我們本季的營收為 4.113 億美元，而去年第三季的營收為 4.346 億美元。與上季類似，第三季營收下降的最大因素是外購天然氣商品價格下降的恢復，外購天然氣成本較去年同期減少了 3,550 萬美元。我們的受監管水部門貢獻了 3.106 億美元，我們的受監管天然氣部門貢獻了 9,480 萬美元。監管恢復以及水和廢水處理客戶成長帶來的收入增量做出了積極貢獻，抵消了本季購買天然氣成本的下降和水務部門銷售的下降。

O&M expenses decreased 2.9% to $147 million for the quarter down from $151.4 million in the same quarter of last year. Lower employee-related costs and lower recoverable costs related to our natural gas segment customer rider, were the primary drivers of the decrease and were offset by higher water production costs and operating expenses related to acquired systems. Net income was up year-over-year from $68.6 million to $80.1 million, and GAAP EPS was up approximately 15% from $0.26 in the third quarter last year to $0.30 for the quarter this year.

本季營運和維護費用下降 2.9%，至 1.47 億美元，低於去年同期的 1.514 億美元。員工相關成本的降低和與天然氣部門客戶相關的可回收成本的降低是下降的主要驅動因素，但被與收購的系統相關的更高的水生產成本和營運費用所抵消。淨利潤同比從 6,860 萬美元增長到 8,010 萬美元，GAAP 每股收益從去年第三季的 0.26 美元增長到今年季度的 0.30 美元，增長約 15%。

Next, let's look at the waterfall slides, starting with revenue. In the third quarter of 2023, revenues decreased $23.4 million or 5.4% on a GAAP basis. Starting on the left-hand side of the waterfall, regulatory recoveries added $14.1 million in revenues year-over-year. This includes impacts of base rate cases and other regulatory proceedings across all 9 states in our current footprint.

接下來，讓我們來看看瀑布幻燈片，從收入開始。 2023 年第三季度，以 GAAP 計算，營收減少 2,340 萬美元，即 5.4%。從瀑布左側開始，監管復甦較去年同期增加了 1,410 萬美元的收入。這包括我們目前足跡中所有 9 個州的基本費率案件和其他監管程序的影響。

Next, organic and acquisition growth from our regulated water segment provided an additional $3.2 million and other items, combined with increased volumes from our regulated natural gas segment added an additional $0.4 million towards the third quarter revenues.

接下來，我們受監管的水部門的有機增長和收購增長為第三季度的收入帶來了額外的320 萬美元和其他項目，再加上我們的受監管的天然氣部門的銷量增加，為第三季度的收入帶來了額外的40 萬美元。

Natural gas commodity prices have continued to decline from the significantly elevated prices in 2020. And therefore, when compared to the third quarter -- sorry, prices in 2022, and therefore, when compared to the third quarter in 2022, you'll notice the primary driver of the decrease in revenues for the quarter was the recovery of $35.5 million less in purchased gas costs. And lastly, decreased water volumes of $5.7 million from our regulated water segment also contributed to the reduction in revenues.

天然氣商品價格較 2020 年大幅上漲的價格繼續下降。因此，與第三季度相比——對不起，2022 年的價格，因此，與 2022 年第三季度相比，您會注意到本季度收入下降的主要原因是購買天然氣成本減少了3,550 萬美元。最後，我們的監管水部門的水量減少了 570 萬美元，這也導致了收入的減少。

Now let's walk through the operations and maintenance expenses. Operations and maintenance expenses were $147 million for the third quarter, a decrease of 2.9% compared to $151.4 million for the same period in 2022. Increased production costs related to chemicals, purchased water and purchased power contributed $3.2 million in incremental cost for the quarter and operating expenses from newly acquired systems in our regulated water segment added another $1.7 million. These were offset by lower employee-related costs of $6.3 million, which were related to the incremental pension contributions and an accrual for onetime incentive compensation for non-officer level employees in the third quarter of last year. The gas customer rider which is recoverable through a revenue surcharge decreased $2 million due to lower commodity prices in our regulated natural gas segment. And finally, other items, which include depreciation, interest and taxes, and lower bad debt combined decreased O&M expenses for the quarter by another $900,000.

現在讓我們來了解一下營運和維護費用。第三季營運和維護費用為1.47 億美元，比2022 年同期的1.514 億美元下降2.9%。與化學品、外購水和外購電力相關的生產成本增加為本季帶來了320 萬美元的增量成本，我們的監管水部門新收購的系統的營運費用又增加了 170 萬美元。這些費用被 630 萬美元的員工相關成本降低所抵消，這些成本與去年第三季非官員級員工的退休金繳款增量和應計一次性激勵薪酬有關。由於我們受監管的天然氣部門的商品價格下降，可透過收入附加費收回的天然氣客戶附加費減少了 200 萬美元。最後，其他項目，包括折舊、利息和稅收，以及壞帳的減少，使本季的營運和維護費用又減少了 90 萬美元。

Next, let's spend a minute on the earnings per share waterfall. Beginning on the left side of the slide, GAAP EPS for the third quarter of 2022 was $0.26. Regulatory recoveries contributed $0.038. Lower O&M expenses contributed another $0.013 and organic and acquisition growth from our regulated segment -- regulated water segment added $0.004. These were offset by decreased volume from our regulated water segment of $0.15 and other items of $0.002. The result is GAAP EPS of $0.30 for the third quarter of 2023, a 15.4% increase over last year. We continue to expect to meet our annual earnings per share guidance for the year and remain confident in our ability to deliver on the 5% to 7% earnings growth per share.

接下來，讓我們花一點時間了解每股盈餘瀑布。從幻燈片左側開始，2022 年第三季的 GAAP 每股收益為 0.26 美元。監管追收貢獻了 0.038 美元。較低的營運和維護費用又貢獻了 0.013 美元，我們的監管部門的有機成長和收購成長——監管水部門增加了 0.004 美元。這些被我們的管制水部分減少 0.15 美元和其他項目減少 0.002 美元所抵消。結果是 2023 年第三季 GAAP 每股收益為 0.30 美元，比去年增長 15.4%。我們繼續預計將達到今年的每股收益指引，並對我們實現 5% 至 7% 每股收益成長的能力保持信心。

Before moving on, you may also recall that in August and September, we agreed the issuances of common stock at market pricing to raise approximately $300 million. So with this, in addition to the equity raise earlier in the year through our ATM program, we've satisfied our 2023 common equity needs that were previously announced. Additionally, in August of 2023, the company's regulated water segment subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, issued $225 million of first mortgage bonds. The bonds consisted of $175 million of 5.48% first mortgage bonds due in 2053, and $50 million of 5.56% first mortgage bonds due in 2061. The proceeds from these offerings, both the equity and debt offerings were used to repay existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes, which include capital expenditures and acquisitions.

在繼續之前，您可能還記得，在 8 月和 9 月，我們同意以市場定價發行普通股，籌集約 3 億美元。因此，除了今年稍早透過我們的 ATM 計畫進行的股權融資之外，我們還滿足了先前宣布的 2023 年普通股需求。此外，2023 年 8 月，該公司受監管的水務部門子公司 Aqua賓州發行了 2.25 億美元的第一抵押債券。這些債券包括 1.75 億美元、將於 2053 年到期、利率為 5.48% 的第一抵押貸款債券，以及價值 5,000 萬美元、利率為 5.56%、於 2061 年到期的第一抵押貸款債券。公司目的，包括資本支出和收購。

As Chris mentioned earlier, we announced 2 portfolio rationalization efforts to further simplify the business. First, we completed the sale of the West Virginia Natural Gas utility assets which allow us to better focus on our core operations. And second, with the more recent news, really good news here of $165 million binding agreement to sell 3 nonutility energy projects in Pittsburgh. This transaction is subject to various closing conditions, so we'd expect it to close in late 2023 or early 2024. We plan to use the proceeds to finance our capital program and acquisitions in lieu of external funding from equity and debt issuances.

正如克里斯之前提到的，我們宣布了兩項投資組合合理化工作，以進一步簡化業務。首先，我們完成了西維吉尼亞州天然氣公用事業資產的出售，這使我們能夠更好地專注於我們的核心業務。其次，最近的消息是，確實是個好消息，即簽署了價值 1.65 億美元的約束協議，出售匹茲堡的 3 個非公用事業能源項目。該交易須滿足各種成交條件，因此我們預計將於 2023 年底或 2024 年初完成。我們計劃將所得款項用於為我們的資本計劃和收購提供資金，以代替股票和債務發行的外部融資。

I'm pleased to report that while there'll be a nearly $100 million gain, we expect to meet our current stated earnings guidance without factoring that in, presuming normal weather and resulting gas usage.

我很高興地向大家報告，雖然將會有近1 億美元的收益，但假設天氣正常且由此產生的天然氣使用量，我們預計將在不考慮這一因素的情況下達到當前規定的收益指導。

Under regulatory activity and other matters, so far in 2023, we completed rate cases or surcharge filings in all 9 states in our current footprint with the total annualized revenue increase of $42.4 million for our regulated water states and $21.3 million in our regulated natural gas segment. Also, we currently have base rate cases underway in Ohio and Virginia for our regulated water segment. As previously announced, we plan to file a base rate case for our Pennsylvania natural gas utility by the end of the year. As a reminder, this is the first Pennsylvania natural gas rate case filed under our ownership, the first rate case since the adoption of tax repair in the gas business and also the first case in which there will be a request for weather normalization, a mechanism that a number of our peers have today.

在監管活動和其他事項方面，截至2023 年，我們已在目前業務範圍內的所有9 個州完成了費率案件或附加費備案，受監管水州的年化總收入增加了4240 萬美元，受監管天然氣部門的年化總收入增加了2,130 萬美元。此外，我們目前正在俄亥俄州和維吉尼亞州針對我們的監管水部門進行基本費率案例。正如先前宣布的那樣，我們計劃在今年年底前為賓州天然氣公用事業公司提交基本費率案例。提醒一下，這是我們擁有的第一個賓州天然氣費率案件，也是自天然氣業務採用稅收修復以來的第一個費率案件，也是第一個要求天氣正常化的案件，這是一種機制我們的許多同行今天都擁有這樣的能力。

Given that we've replaced over 450 miles of pipe in Pennsylvania across our gas footprint, rate base at Peoples has grown significantly, while our system has become safer and more reliable and our greenhouse gas emissions have meaningfully declined. And lastly, I want to remind everyone that Pennsylvania allows base rate cases to be filed using a fully projected future test year and therefore, we anticipate recovering the impacts of rising interest rates and inflation through much of 2025.

鑑於我們在賓州的天然氣足跡中更換了超過 450 英里的管道，Peoples 的費率基礎顯著增長，同時我們的系統變得更安全、更可靠，我們的溫室氣體排放量也顯著下降。最後，我想提醒大家，賓州允許使用完全預測的未來測試年來提交基本利率案件，因此，我們預計在 2025 年的大部分時間裡都會恢復利率上升和通貨膨脹的影響。

And with that, I'll hand it back over to Chris.

有了這個，我會把它交還給克里斯。

Thanks, Dan. .

謝謝，丹。 。

Let's take a moment to talk about our water and wastewater acquisition program. As a reminder, with the closing of 4 transactions early in the third quarter, we've acquired 7 systems so far this year, adding over 11,000 customer equivalents to our current water and wastewater footprint. Remind you again that these acquisitions don't necessarily come at full earnings.

讓我們花點時間談談我們的水和廢水獲取計劃。提醒一下，隨著第三季初完成 4 筆交易，我們今年迄今已收購了 7 個系統，在我們目前的水和廢水足跡的基礎上增加了 11,000 多個客戶當量。再次提醒您，這些收購不一定能帶來全額收益。

In August of 2022, that acquired the East Whiteland wastewater assets in Pennsylvania, which was then subsequently appealed by the office of the Consumer Advocate to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. And then in July of '23, the Commonwealth Court issued a decision to overturn the PUC order approving the acquisition. Now just last month, the company, the PUC and the East Whiteland team then appealed the Commonwealth Court's July order to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and we're currently awaiting to hear if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear the case.

2022 年 8 月，該公司收購了賓州的東懷特蘭廢水資產，隨後消費者權益保護辦公室向賓州聯邦法院提起上訴。然後在 2023 年 7 月，聯邦法院做出裁決，推翻了 PUC 批准收購的命令。就在上個月，該公司、PUC 和東懷特蘭團隊隨後就聯邦法院 7 月的命令向賓州最高法院提出上訴，我們目前正在等待賓州最高法院是否會審理此案。

Now we'll continue to own and operate the East Whiteland system until we hear from the Supreme Court. In the meantime, we'll continue to work with regulators and stakeholders to attempt to make improvements to the fair market value process to bring more clarity to the rules and to ensure it brings value to all of those impacted by the process.

現在，我們將繼續擁有和經營東懷特蘭系統，直到收到最高法院的回覆。同時，我們將繼續與監管機構和利害關係人合作，嘗試改善公平市場價值流程，使規則更加清晰，並確保它為所有受該流程影響的人帶來價值。

All right. On to the next slide here. Let's take a minute to review our pending transactions and our acquisition pipeline. As of this call, we have 5 signed asset purchase agreements in 2 states, Pennsylvania and Illinois, where we currently have existing water operations. You may recall, in the second quarter, we announced the agreement for the Greenville wastewater system in Pennsylvania. And then more recently, we announced the agreement to acquire the Greenville water system which has 3,000 customer connections. Collectively, these 5 acquisitions are expected to add over 211,000 customers or customer equivalents and totaled nearly $354 million in purchase price.

好的。轉到下一張投影片。讓我們花一點時間回顧一下我們的待處理交易和收購管道。截至本次電話會議，我們已在賓州和伊利諾州這兩個州簽署了 5 項資產購買協議，我們目前在這兩個州擁有現有的水務業務。您可能還記得，在第二季度，我們宣布了賓州格林維爾廢水系統的協議。最近，我們宣布了收購格林維爾供水系統的協議，該系統擁有 3,000 個客戶連線。總的來說，這 5 次收購預計將增加超過 211,000 名客戶或同等客戶，總收購價將接近 3.54 億美元。

We continue to see a strong and healthy pipeline of opportunities for additional growth, and we're currently engaged in active discussions with municipalities which have over 400,000 water and wastewater customers.

我們繼續看到強大而健康的額外成長機會，目前我們正在與擁有超過 40 萬個水和廢水處理客戶的市政當局進行積極討論。

Now before moving on, I just want to note that the DELCORA regulatory process continues to be under a stay by the federal bankruptcy court, and we remain confident that we will ultimately close the DELCORA transaction despite the lack of a clear timeline. As we stated on our last quarter's call, we removed any impact to our guidance from DELCORA prior to the second half of 2025.

在繼續之前，我只想指出，聯邦破產法院繼續中止 DELCORA 監管程序，儘管缺乏明確的時間表，但我們仍然有信心最終完成 DELCORA 交易。正如我們在上一季的電話會議中所述，我們在 2025 年下半年之前消除了 DELCORA 對我們指導的任何影響。

All right. Let's wrap up with reaffirming the guidance for 2023. We continue to expect earnings to be between $1.85 and $1.90 per share and remain confident that our 3-year earnings per share growth will be 5% to 7% through 2025. Think of this, excluding any gain associated with the sale of the energy projects and assuming, of course, normal weather.

好的。最後，讓我們重申2023 年的指導。我們仍然預計每股收益將在1.85 美元至1.90 美元之間，並仍然有信心到2025 年我們的3 年每股收益增長將達到5% 至7%。想想這一點，不包括與能源項目銷售相關的任何收益，當然，假設天氣正常。

Our capital plans remain on track for the year as we expect to invest approximately $1.1 billion or maybe even a little bit better than that. We continue to expect rate base growth to be between 6% and 7% for water and between 8% and 10% for natural gas, with customer growth between 2% and 3% on average for water and stable for natural gas, excluding the sale of West Virginia.

我們今年的資本計畫仍按計畫進行，預計投資約 11 億美元，甚至可能比這個數字好一點。我們繼續預期水費率基數成長率將在6% 至7% 之間，天然氣費率基數成長率將在8% 至10% 之間，水費率基數成長率將在2% 至3% 之間，天然氣客戶成長率保持穩定（不包括銷售）西維吉尼亞州。

Finally, we remain committed to our ESG targets, commitments and initiatives, and we welcome you to take a look at the recently published 2022 ESG report and updated ESG website. We are currently discussing our plans for providing 2024 guidance and our approach and timing is similar to past year as our board doesn't meet until mid-December where they approved the budget.

最後，我們仍致力於我們的 ESG 目標、承諾和舉措，歡迎您查看最近發布的 2022 年 ESG 報告和更新的 ESG 網站。我們目前正在討論提供 2024 年指導的計劃，我們的方法和時間表與去年相似，因為我們的董事會要到 12 月中旬才會召開會議，批准預算。

And that concludes our formal remarks. With that, I'd like to open up the line for questions. Back to you, Sergey.

我們的正式發言到此結束。至此，我想開通提問專線。回到你身邊，謝爾蓋。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Julien Dumoulin-Smith from Bank of America.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自美國銀行的 Julien Dumoulin-Smith。

Maybe just to come back to where you started this call, right? I mean, obviously, a certain degree of frustration. Obviously, you've got multiyear guidance out there. How do you think about responding to the current environment? Again, I just -- I hear your frustration in your voice same time providing perhaps even further extended out guidance and a refresh could be still pending for a bit here considering the upcoming case. But I wanted to put it back on you as far as incremental data points that could help derisk or provide a longer-term refresh on the outlook, if you will.

也許只是為了回到你開始通話的地方，對吧？顯然，我的意思是某種程度的挫折感。顯然，您已經獲得了多年的指導。您認為如何應對當前環境？再說一遍，我只是——我從你的聲音中聽到了你的沮喪，同時提供了可能進一步擴展的指導，考慮到即將發生的情況，刷新可能仍需等待一段時間。但如果您願意的話，我想向您提供增量數據點，這些數據點可以幫助降低風險或提供對前景的長期更新。

Yes. Listen, I think we provided our thoughts pretty thoroughly. I guess I would just add my optimism. We're all going through -- I mean when I say we are in the utility industry are going through a rocky time for our investments in utilities, and we all acknowledge that. And then we further acknowledge that we've got some headwinds we've been dealing with. We're going to work on some of this regulatory process in Pennsylvania and see if we can reach some improvements there. .

是的。聽著，我想我們已經非常徹底地表達了我們的想法。我想我會增加我的樂觀情緒。我們都在經歷——我的意思是，當我說我們在公用事業行業時，我們對公用事業的投資正在經歷一段艱難的時期，我們都承認這一點。然後我們進一步承認我們一直在應對一些阻力。我們將在賓州開展一些監管流程，看看是否可以在那裡取得一些改進。 。

Listen, litigation is always frustrating. And if you sense that in my voice, you'd be right. It is frustrating. Having said that though, these are adders. Our base earnings generated from our capital program are solid as can be, and we continue to perform and are highly -- in our good states where -- regulatory climate states. And so we feel good about the base business and our continued ability to produce nice earnings growth, especially in what is a generally tough environment for utilities. So listen, I'll just conclude that thought with my optimism.

聽著，訴訟總是令人沮喪。如果你從我的聲音感覺到這一點，那你就是對的。這令人沮喪。儘管如此，這些都是加法器。我們的資本計畫產生的基本收入非常穩定，而且我們繼續表現良好，並且在監管環境良好的情況下處於良好狀態。因此，我們對基礎業務以及我們持續實現良好獲利成長的能力感到滿意，尤其是在公用事業普遍嚴峻的環境下。所以聽著，我會用我的樂觀態度來總結這個想法。

Dan, do you have anything to add?

丹，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

The only thing I'd add, Julien, is I think like all utilities, we're obviously facing higher interest rates and inflation and I think as utilities in general, we'll respond to that by having more frequent regulatory filings.

朱利安，我唯一要補充的是，我認為像所有公用事業公司一樣，我們顯然面臨著更高的利率和通貨膨脹，我認為作為一般公用事業公司，我們將透過更頻繁的監管備案來應對這一問題。

Yes. No, indeed. All right, a couple of follow-ups there on a more specific basis. The $165 million pending for the nonutility projects, energy projects, can you talk a little bit about the timing element here and how that fits into your financing plan the expense to which that does or does not close here in the near term or what have you? Just again, maybe that's more of a Dan than a Chris question here.

是的。不，確實如此。好吧，有一些更具體的後續行動。非公用事業項目、能源項目的 1.65 億美元懸而未決，您能否談談這裡的時間因素以及它如何適合您的融資計劃，短期內是否會結束的費用，或者您有什麼？再說一次，也許這更像是丹的問題，而不是克里斯的問題。

Yes, Julian, I think to either close late 2023 or early 2024. So either side of the end of the calendar year here would not really change how we think about it from a financing perspective.

是的，朱利安，我認為要么在 2023 年末，要么在 2024 年初結束。因此，日曆年結束的任何一方都不會真正改變我們從融資角度看待它的方式。

Right. Yes, and you're excluding the gain anyway from your core earnings numbers anyway. All right. Fair enough. And then just coming back on this Pennsylvania case, I mean, obviously, it's been a minute since you all filed here, and obviously, it's a new owner, et cetera. I mean, how are you thinking about the rate increase and the impact on customers as it stands right now? I mean you've done a lot of investment. Obviously, there are potentially some degree of benefits that could go back to customers as well to mitigate it. Any updated thoughts?

正確的。是的，無論如何你都會從你的核心收益數據中排除收益。好的。很公平。然後回到賓州的這個案子，我的意思是，顯然，你們都在這裡提交文件已經有一分鐘了，顯然，它是一個新的所有者，等等。我的意思是，您如何看待目前的費率上漲以及對客戶的影響？我的意思是你已經做了很多投資。顯然，潛在的某種程度的好處也可以回饋給客戶並減輕這種影響。有更新的想法嗎？

Yes, Julien, I guess I'd say we're still in the process now. It's clearly an important case for us. We've been out for 5 years. It's the first case since we bought the gas business. This case combines both the Peoples Gas business and the Peoples Natural Gas business as we did a filing to combine those entities. And it will have significant rate base addition in the case. So vested a lot of capital here. So as we think about the fully projected future test year in this case that we're going to file versus last case, the increase in rate base is about $1.9 billion. Now that includes about $300 million that came across from the Peoples Gas business into Peoples Natural Gas, but it's still a very significant capital investment that we'll be filing for here.

是的，朱利安，我想我會說我們現在仍在進行中。這對我們來說顯然是一個重要的案例。我們已經出去5年了。這是我們收購燃氣業務以來的第一個案例。本案合併了人民天然氣業務和人民天然氣業務，因為我們提交了合併這些實體的文件。在這種情況下，它將有顯著的費率基礎增加。所以這裡投入了大量的資本。因此，當我們考慮與上一個案例相比，在本案例中完全預期的未來測試年時，費率基數的增加約為 19 億美元。現在，其中包括從 Peoples Gas 業務進入 Peoples Natural Gas 的約 3 億美元，但這仍然是我們將在這裡申請的非常重要的資本投資。

Now this is the case, too, Julien, as a reminder, that really incorporates the benefits of tax repair. So we've had this tax repair scenario for the last few years. We're going to continue to invest capital that's repair eligible going forward, which lowers the effective tax rate and that low effective tax rate will be incorporated into the rate so it will benefit the customers and help to mitigate what would otherwise be the anticipated increase here tied to the capital. But of course, I'm not -- I don't want to say there is not an increase here, but that repair benefit will help to moderate that increase.

現在情況也是如此，朱利安，提醒一下，這確實包含了稅收修復的好處。因此，過去幾年我們一直面臨著這種稅收修復的情況。我們將繼續投資符合修復條件的資本，這會降低有效稅率，並且低有效稅率將納入稅率中，從而使客戶受益，並有助於減輕預期的增長這裡與首都相連。但當然，我不是——我不想說這裡沒有增加，但修復效益將有助於緩和這種增加。

We're still kind of working through the specifics here. We'd expect the equity layer in this case to be consistent with other cases we've filed for water in Pennsylvania as well as what Peoples had filed previously for gas. And in terms of sort of the ROE ask and the revenue requirement increase, that's something we're still working through in this case process. So standby as we file that and we have to file it by the end of the year, you'll see the details of that in the filing.

我們仍在研究具體細節。我們預計本案中的權益層與我們在賓州提交的其他水案件以及 Peoples 之前提交的天然氣案件一致。就 ROE 要求和收入要求增加而言，這是我們在本案流程中仍在解決的問題。因此，請等待我們提交該文件，我們必須在今年年底之前提交，您將在文件中看到詳細資訊。

Dan just maybe one adder to that, affordability. When you think about rates, fortunately, where we sit on Marcellus Shale, our commodity price is better than most, right? And as we know, if you look at the spot market, natural gas is in a pretty good place right now in terms of pricing. And so Julien, when you look even a decade ago before directional drilling, rates were higher than they are today. And if you look at a year or so ago, when rates spiked our rate rates are better today as well. And so we're in a pretty good position with our customers. .

丹也許只是其中的一個補充，就是負擔能力。當你考慮價格時，幸運的是，我們在馬塞勒斯頁岩的位置，我們的商品價格比大多數公司都要好，對嗎？眾所周知，如果你看看現貨市場，天然氣目前的定價相當不錯。因此，朱利安（Julien），當你回顧十年前定向鑽探之前的情況時，你會發現速率比現在要高。如果你看看大約一年前，當利率飆升時，我們今天的利率也更好。因此，我們在客戶面前處於非常有利的地位。 。

Having said that, we also have significant safety net programs in place. In fact, our safety net last year, I think, was in the range of $35 million that we helped customers who couldn't afford our bills. So I think we're in a really good place, and this is a capital case, capital case largely. I mean there's an inflation element, no doubt, but this is largely a capital case. And I think our rates are in a pretty good place.

話雖如此，我們也制定了重要的安全網計畫。事實上，我認為去年我們的安全網為那些無法負擔帳單的客戶提供了 3,500 萬美元的資金。所以我認為我們處於一個非常好的位置，這是一個資本案例，很大程度上是資本案例。我的意思是，毫無疑問地存在通膨因素，但這在很大程度上是一種致命的情況。我認為我們的價格非常好。

Got it. Excellent. Sorry, last quick one, just maybe to bring it home. Year-to-date, obviously, employee is trending well here in terms of cost benefits? And then also tax. I mean how are you tracking against full year here, just to flag the big deltas there that are favorable for you, especially gas?

知道了。出色的。抱歉，最後一個，也許只是為了把它帶回家。顯然，今年迄今為止，員工在成本效益方面的趨勢良好？然後還要繳稅。我的意思是，您如何追蹤全年情況，只是為了標記對您有利的大三角洲，尤其是天然氣？

Yes. Well, certainly, we've had -- and as you know, we had a warm winter. So the first quarter was tough in terms of the gas business. We've had some nice pick up since then, some things are broken in our direction in terms of operating expenses in terms of weather later in the, call it, the second quarter for the gas business, a little bit of a pickup there. We had a purchase water pass-through pickup in Texas that I think I talked about on the last call. And then certainly, this natural gas safe harbor has been beneficial because what it's done is really increased the eligibility of the pipe that we put into the ground. So the more of that pipe is eligible for the tax repair benefit and that's certainly been helpful here as well in terms of making up for what we saw in the first quarter and helping us to get into that guidance range for full year, presuming, again, as Chris said, that we've got normal weather here in November and December.

是的。嗯，當然，我們已經度過了——正如你所知，我們度過了一個溫暖的冬天。因此，第一季天然氣業務表現不佳。從那時起，我們有了一些不錯的回升，在營運費用方面，在我們的方向上，有些事情被打破了，在天氣方面，稱之為天然氣業務的第二季度，那裡有一點回升。我們在德克薩斯州購買了一個直通水的皮卡，我想我在上次電話中談到了這一點。當然，這個天然氣安全港是有益的，因為它所做的確實提高了我們埋入地下的管道的資格。因此，更多的管道有資格享受稅收修復優惠，這當然也很有幫助，可以彌補我們在第一季度看到的情況，並幫助我們進入全年指導範圍，假設，再次正如克里斯所說，我們這裡十一月和十二月的天氣正常。

Durgesh Chopra from Evercore, please go ahead.

來自 Evercore 的 Durgesh Chopra，請繼續。

Just can you give us maybe a bit more clarity on as you file this rate case, how should we think about disclosures, whether it's long-term earnings growth guidance. When to expect that -- will that be in December or on the Q4 call? Just anything that you can share there in terms of timing?

您能否在提交此利率案例時向我們提供更清晰的信息，我們應該如何考慮披露，是否是長期盈利增長指導。什麼時候會發生——是在 12 月還是在第四季度的電話會議上？可以在時間上分享什麼嗎？

Yes. I think what we'll do on that, Durgesh, is provide guidance consistent with what we've done over the past few years, which is sort of a January, February timing there.

是的。我認為，Durgesh，我們要做的就是提供與我們過去幾年所做的事情一致的指導，這有點像一月、二月的時間安排。

Yes. As I mentioned, Durgesh, our board meets in the next couple of weeks, actually mid-December, and we don't approve the budget until then. So we'll provide guidance as Dan said, on our normal schedule.

是的。正如我所提到的，Durgesh，我們的董事會將在接下來的幾週內（實際上是 12 月中旬）召開會議，在那之前我們不會批准預算。因此，我們將按照丹所說的那樣，按照正常時間表提供指導。

Okay. Got you. I just want to make sure there was no changes there given the rate filing. It sounds like even if you're going to follow basically what you've done in past years. Okay.

好的。明白你了。我只是想確保費率備案沒有任何變化。聽起來即使你基本上會遵循過去幾年所做的事情。好的。

Yes. That's right.

是的。這是正確的。

Okay. Perfect. And then just -- can you talk about the PFOS, PFAS? I think the -- in the last call, you might have highlighted $350 million in incremental capital opportunity if I captured that correctly. How has that view evolved or changed? Do you see that as potentially raising your capital, like your $1.1 billion run rate capital going forward? Just any color that you can share there, please?

好的。完美的。然後，您能談談 PFOS、PFAS 嗎？我認為，在上次電話會議中，如果我正確地抓住了這一點，您可能會強調 3.5 億美元的增量資本機會。這種觀點是如何演變或改變的？您是否認為這有可能籌集您的資本，例如您未來 11 億美元的營運資本？請問有什麼顏色可以分享嗎？

Yes, sure. I mentioned that we've now upped our estimate from $350 million to $450 million. And so it will increase our spend. However, what we've also said, we continue to look at our capital budget and opportunities to displace other projects that maybe don't have the same level of urgency as the PFOS mitigation does and so we don't see it as a material change to our capital guidance and spend over the next few years. Having said that, listen, $450 million to mitigate PFOS is a big deal. And it's several sets of projects, right, as you do it across the company. So it will be time, energy and cost, but we just don't see it as a major adder to the capital budget.

是的，當然。我提到我們現在已將預估從 3.5 億美元上調至 4.5 億美元。因此這會增加我們的支出。然而，我們也說過，我們將繼續審視我們的資本預算和取代其他項目的機會，這些項目的緊迫性可能不如 PFOS 緩解措施，因此我們不認為它是一個重要的項目。改變我們未來幾年的資本指導和支出。話雖如此，聽著，花費 4.5 億美元來減少 PFOS 是一件大事。這是幾組項目，對吧，就像你在整個公司所做的那樣。因此，這將是時間、能源和成本，但我們只是不認為它是資本預算的主要增加因素。

Gregg Orrill from UBS, please go ahead.

瑞銀 (UBS) 的格雷格·奧裡爾 (Gregg Orrill)，請繼續。

Yes. Following up there on PFOS, just has anything changed about the timing of potentially getting proceeds from the legal arena to offset the PFOS investments that I guess the consequence of that would be that you're thinking about PFOS as more of a rate base eligible investment at this point?

是的。接下來，關於 PFOS，從法律領域獲得收益以抵消 PFOS 投資的潛在收益的時間發生了任何變化，我想這樣做的結果是，您將 PFOS 視為更多的利率基礎合格投資在此刻？

Yes. So as we think about the recoveries from lawsuits, again, call it, the 3Ms and so forth, we have some key decisions to be made. The whole industry actually does early in December here. And those decisions are, you stay in with the group, with the class action or do you separate and assuming you can do better on your own. Those decisions are currently under discussion in all other companies, we're no exception. .

是的。因此，當我們考慮從訴訟（再次稱之為 3M）等訴訟中獲得賠償時，我們需要做出一些關鍵決定。事實上，整個產業在 12 月初就已經開始這樣做了。這些決定是，你留在團隊中，參與集體訴訟，還是分開並假設你自己可以做得更好。目前所有其他公司都在討論這些決定，我們也不例外。 。

And then I think the prevailing thought is that should we stay in and get our piece of some of those settlements, it would be paid out over a 10-year period. And so the capital that we would spend, Gregg, would be largely done and invested and recovered before the main portion of the proceeds of a settlement would come through. And so whether that would be -- end up being an offset to operating costs or how we would account for it, I think yet to be decided, but I think that's generally how we think about it.

然後我認為普遍的想法是，如果我們留下來並從其中一些和解中獲得我們的份額，它將在 10 年內支付。因此，格雷格，我們將花費的資本將在和解收益的主要部分到位之前大部分完成、投資和回收。因此，我認為這是否最終會抵消營運成本或我們如何解釋它，我認為尚未決定，但我認為這通常是我們的想法。

And how does the PFAS capital investment relate to your capital budgeting plan and guidance?

PFAS 資本投資與您的資本預算計畫和指導有何關係？

Yes, it's embedded and we, of course, will update it. But we don't see a material change to our overall capital budget. We're always measuring ourselves against affordability. And so we may spread some of the projects that are in our current plan out a little bit further. Not bad for investors, but short term, focus more on PFOS in that capital budget. I'm not saying there won't be any increase, but it won't be material.

是的，它是嵌入的，我們當然會更新它。但我們沒有看到我們的總體資本預算發生重大變化。我們總是根據承受能力來衡量自己。因此，我們可能會將目前計劃中的一些項目進一步展開。對投資者來說不錯，但從短期來看，在資本預算中更專注於 PFOS。我並不是說不會有任何增加，但不會是實質的。

Jonathan Reeder from Wells Fargo, please go ahead.

富國銀行的喬納森·里德（Jonathan Reeder），請繼續。

A lot of my questions have already been asked. But just kind of curious, was the Q3 '23 weather, was that below normal? Or was Q3 '22 just above normal, making the Q over -- quarter-over-quarter comps tougher on the water side?

我的很多問題已經被問到了。但只是有點好奇，23 年第三季的天氣是否低於正常？還是 22 年第三季略高於正常水平，使得水方面的季度環比比較更加艱難？

I guess, I would think about it on a state-by-state basis. So we certainly had in our northern states, a little bit certainly rainier weather. And so I would attribute less water usage to that. In our southern states, though, we had higher consumption in both Texas and in North Carolina, indicating that weather there was a little better, if you will, than normal. So it's geographically specific.

我想，我會根據每個州的情況來考慮這個問題。因此，我們的北部各州肯定會遇到多雨的天氣。所以我認為這就是用水量減少的原因。不過，在我們南部各州，德州和北卡羅來納州的消費量都較高，這表明那裡的天氣比正常情況要好一些。所以它是有地理特定性的。

Okay. But overall, I mean, with the North being a lot bigger it was tougher -- normal weather in Q3.

好的。但總的來說，我的意思是，隨著北方面積更大，情況變得更加艱難——第三季天氣正常。

Yes. That's why you saw that consumption-related impact, if you will, in the revenue waterfall.

是的。這就是為什麼你會在收入瀑布中看到與消費相關的影響（如果你願意的話）。

Yes. Okay. did you guys -- I mean, have to do more on the kind of the O&M expense mitigation side than in Q3 to kind of offset that weather headwind or just the measures you already had in place kind of put you in a spot?

是的。好的。你們是否——我的意思是，是否必須在營運和維護費用緩解方面比第三季度採取更多措施來抵消天氣逆風，或者只是你們已經採取的措施讓你們陷入困境？

Well, I think as we've been talking about in these calls since the beginning of the year, we are really trying to have a laser focus on our operating expenses this year, and it's always been part of our culture, but ensuring that it's a daily focus for our operating team. So I would say we've just continued more of the same in that regard.

嗯，我認為，正如我們自今年年初以來一直在這些電話中討論的那樣，我們今年確實在努力重點關注我們的營運支出，這一直是我們文化的一部分，但要確保它我們營運團隊的日常重點。所以我想說，我們在這方面只是繼續做更多相同的事情。

Okay. And then in terms of the East Whiteland proceeding, does the fact that the case has now appealed to the supreme court mean that the lower court denied, I guess, the request for rehearing? And then what happens if the supreme court doesn't hear the case or uphold the lower court's order?

好的。那麼就東懷特蘭訴訟而言，該案現已上訴至最高法院，是否意味著下級法院拒絕了我猜的重審請求？如果最高法院不審理此案或維持下級法院的命令，會發生什麼事？

Yes. So yes. Yes to your first answer -- the first question. So that's why it's going to supreme court and we've asked for an audience there. The supreme court were to not take it or rule against us, I think same effect, the lower court ruling would stand.

是的。所以是的。是的，你的第一個答案──第一個問題。這就是為什麼它會被提交到最高法院，我們要求在那裡有觀眾。最高法院不會接受或作出對我們不利的裁決，我認為同樣的效果，下級法院的裁決將成立。

And then the DLS to get unwound somehow, but like who owns it if East Whiteland doesn't want to own it?

然後 DLS 以某種方式解散，但如果東懷特蘭不想擁有它，誰擁有它？

Yes. So here's -- I think pragmatically how to think about it, we would probably need to just refile and we have to articulate the affirmative benefits, if you will. So what the office of the consumer advocate is really picking apart in the case is the fact that in their mind, the commission didn't articulate those affirmative benefits in the case. They really referred to the fact that we're a large capable utility that we could handle this, and that was the benefit. So the OCA just felt that they didn't go far enough in articulating or didn't articulate to the satisfaction of the OCA, the benefit. We -- I believe we did in our filing articulate those well. .

是的。所以，我認為務實地考慮如何考慮這個問題，我們可能需要重新提交文件，如果您願意的話，我們必須闡明積極的好處。因此，消費者權益倡導辦公室在該案中真正挑剔的是，在他們看來，該委員會並未在該案中闡明這些積極的好處。他們確實提到了這樣一個事實，即我們是一家有能力的大型公用事業公司，我們可以處理這個問題，這就是好處。因此，OCA 只是覺得他們在闡明利益方面做得不夠，或者沒有闡明令 OCA 滿意的利益。我相信我們在文件中確實很好地闡明了這些內容。 。

Now so it would probably be a refiling and whether there'd be a negotiation or some kind of a settlement discussion with the OCA, I don't want to put words in the OCA's mouth, but when a township doesn't want the utility back, we found plenty of opportunity to make improvements. We've obviously -- if it had to go back, it would have to be refinanced at higher rates, bad for the township. An unwind is not a favorable thing for anybody. So I do think there is opportunity for settlement. But I think some of that, Jonathan, could be tied up also in hopefully, what's a further discussion with the commission on how do we make fair market value a process that is -- feels fair to everybody, including the office of the consumer advocate, including to various customers who have strong feelings about this as well. So I see it as a sort of an intertwined effort here.

現在可能會重新備案，是否會與 OCA 進行談判或某種形式的和解討論，我不想把話放在 OCA 的嘴裡，但是當一個鄉鎮不想要公用事業時回來後，我們發現了很多改進的機會。顯然，如果必須退回，就必須以更高的利率進行再融資，這對小鎮不利。放鬆對任何人來說都不是一件好事。所以我確實認為有解決的機會。但喬納森，我認為其中一些也可能與委員會進一步討論我們如何使公平市場價值成為一個對每個人都感到公平的過程有關，包括消費者權益倡導辦公室，包括對此也有強烈感受的各種客戶。所以我認為這是一種相互交織的努力。

Does that makes sense?

這樣有道理嗎？

Yes. No, it does. But how long does it take for the supreme court to kind of let you know if you're taking up the case and then ruling like would it be easier just to almost go down that refiling or reapproval path instead? Or would that be more...

是的。不，確實如此。但是，最高法院需要多長時間才能讓您知道您是否正在接受此案，然後做出裁決，例如是否可以更容易走上重新申請或重新批准的道路？或者說會不會更...

Well, it might be. But I think just letting the court decision stand as it currently sits is not ideal for the industry. And so not to say we couldn't figure -- listen, what it does, it says we got to be more sharply focused on impacts to customers, more sharply focused on facility and more sharply focused on the various issues that we articulate as affirmative public benefit of the transaction. And so that's really what the net effect is. And so I would leave you with this, Jonathan. We're not going to just sit and let the court play out. We are going to actively work with the commission, the OCA and other parties to see if we can really come to some terms here that makes sense going forward because it has general effects on the industry and ability to do these transactions in an efficient way.

嗯，可能是這樣。但我認為，僅僅讓法院目前的判決維持原樣對於該行業來說並不理想。所以並不是說我們無法弄清楚——聽著，它做了什麼，它說我們必須更加專注於對客戶的影響，更加專注於設施，更加專注於我們明確表達為肯定的各種問題交易的公共利益。這就是最終的效果。所以我想把這個留給你，喬納森。我們不會只是坐著聽法庭的裁決​​。我們將積極與委員會、OCA 和其他各方合作，看看我們是否真的能在此達成一些對未來有意義的條款，因為它對行業產生普遍影響，並有能力以有效的方式進行這些交易。

And Ryan Connors from Northcoast Research, please go ahead.

來自 Northcoast Research 的 Ryan Connors，請繼續。

So yes, just -- most of my stuff has been answered as well, but I did want to get your take on -- I guess there was a new DSIC ROE set in Pennsylvania with water set below gas and electric. And I guess there was a 4 to 1 vote in the dissenting commissioner did have some pretty strong words about that being a negative for water utilities in terms of competing with other state's capital and that sort of thing. Any take on that decision and both the tactical impact on earnings and the bigger picture thoughts there?

所以，是的，只是——我的大部分問題也得到了回答，但我確實想聽聽你的看法——我想賓夕法尼亞州有一個新的 DSIC ROE 設置，水設置低於天然氣和電力。我猜反對票委員以 4 比 1 的投票結果確實發表了一些相當強烈的言論，認為這對水務公司在與其他州首府競爭等方面不利。對這項決定以及對收益的戰術影響和更大的前景有何看法？

Yes, a couple of thoughts. Maybe Dan may have some others as well. But number one, let's remember that at least right now, we're still under our last rate case ROE. So it really -- that ROE does not impact Aqua at this point. So it will in the future, but it doesn't at this point. .

是的，有幾個想法。也許丹可能還有其他一些。但第一，讓我們記住，至少現在，我們仍然低於最後一個利率案例的淨資產回報率。所以，ROE 目前確實不會影響 Aqua。未來會如此，但目前還不會。 。

Secondly, the -- as you know, the decision that was recently made on the DSIC is they let it flat. They did not increase it. And I think Commissioner [Younora], thought it should be increased like electric, which is we share that thought as well. But the commission is looking at there are various measures and they'll make those decisions. I think we're -- we still feel good about the overall ROE that we could get in the case. But these are decisions that the commission weighs and looks at the numbers after each decision -- or before each decision.

其次，如你所知，最近對 DSIC 做出的決定是讓其保持穩定。他們沒有增加它。我認為專員 [Younora] 認為它應該像電力一樣增加，我們也同意這個想法。但委員會正在研究各種措施，他們將做出這些決定。我認為我們仍然對在這種情況下可以獲得的整體 ROE 感到滿意。但這些都是委員會在每個決定之後或之前都會權衡並查看數字的決定。

So, Dan, I don't know if you've anything to add to that?

那麼，丹，我不知道你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

I think you generally covered it, Chris, but I would add, and maybe just to clarify, the reason that we're still under our prior ROE or rate case ROE, if you will, is because we had a litigated outcome in that case. So then that trumps the DSIC ROE that's been stated here by the commission. But as you know, it's a bit of a Tale of Two Cities on these DSIC ROEs because on the gas side, the ROE is nicely above 10%, I think it's 10.15%, whereas that water ROE has been dropped. So as we go into the gas rate case for the gas DSIC ROE of 10.15%, I think we feel pretty good about our ability to achieve a nice outcome in terms of ROE in this upcoming case.

克里斯，我想你基本上已經涵蓋了它，但我想補充一點，也許只是為了澄清，我們仍然處於之前的淨資產收益率或費率案例淨資產收益率（如果你願意的話）之下的原因是因為我們在這種情況下有訴訟結果。那麼這勝過委員會在此聲明的 DSIC ROE。但如你所知，這些 DSIC ROE 有點像兩個城市的故事，因為在天然氣方面，ROE 遠高於 10%，我認為是 10.15%，而水 ROE 已經下降。因此，當我們進入天然氣 DSIC ROE 為 10.15% 的天然氣費率案例時，我認為我們對在即將到來的案例中在 ROE 方面取得良好結果的能力感到非常滿意。

Yes. Okay. That's very helpful color. And then sticking with the gas side, Dan, so West Virginia divested. What about Kentucky? Is that any shift in the thinking there? Or is that Kentucky piece big enough where you consider that to be core?

是的。好的。這是非常有用的顏色。丹，然後堅持天然氣方面，所以西維吉尼亞州放棄了。肯塔基州呢？那裡的想法有什麼轉變嗎？或者說肯塔基州的那塊夠大，你認為它是核心？

Yes. The Kentucky piece is -- it's a nice subsidiary. It's like any of our water subsidiaries, and we view that to be core to the business that we have.

是的。肯塔基州的那件事是－它是一個很好的子公司。它就像我們的任何水務子公司一樣，我們認為這是我們業務的核心。

And I was just in Kentucky last week, Ryan, and we think the commission is a constructive commission down there. We met with all the commissioners, and we would actually like to grow in the water business down there. And so it's a relatively new state for us, but I think there's opportunity for some growth down there as well.

瑞安，我上週剛在肯塔基州，我們認為該委員會是那裡的一個建設性委員會。我們會見了所有委員，我們實際上希望發展那裡的水業務。因此，這對我們來說是一個相對較新的州，但我認為那裡也有一些成長的機會。

Yes. Okay. And then finally, just -- I appreciate your comments, Chris, on the strategic incident. It must be very tough for everybody involved. But -- in terms of what that says about the big picture for gas, I know -- it's one of the ironies is you mentioned earlier, the gas trade at a discount to water in terms of the stock price, but rate base growth is actually faster than water. I mean I would imagine that even though that's -- the company is not culpable that that really heightens the focus on many investments that need to be made and the type of thing that can happen if those investments aren't made. So I mean, does that kind of just reinforce the rate base growth outlook that's above water? And just what are your thoughts on that in terms of just that rate base growth in gas relative to electric?

是的。好的。最後，克里斯，我感謝你對這一戰略事件的評論。對於每個參與其中的人來說，這一定是非常艱難的。但是 - 就天然氣的整體情況而言，我知道 - 你之前提到的諷刺之一是，天然氣交易的股價比水有折扣，但利率基礎增長是實際上比水還快。我的意思是，我想，即使如此，公司也沒有責任，因為這確實提高了對許多需要進行的投資以及如果不進行這些投資可能發生的事情類型的關注。所以我的意思是，這是否只是強化了高於水位的利率基礎成長前景？您對天然氣相對於電力的基礎成長率有何看法？

Yes. Listen, as a general theme, I think that's right. This specific case as determined by the fire marshal was work being done inside a home and not our equipment or our pipe. So I just want to make that clarification. But generally, yes, the safer the system and the more environmentally friendly the system is, the better off we all are as a society, better off we are as a company and the better off our customers are as well. That's why we continue to be laser-focused on meeting our LTIIP work, as outlined by the PUC and implementing the miles and miles of pipeline replacement that we've already accomplished and that we plan to do in our upcoming 3 to 5 years. That work, coupled with some other work we're trying to do around hydrogen and other innovative ideas I think will come together and hopefully make it even more environmentally friendly in the future and safer.

是的。聽著，作為一個總體主題，我認為這是正確的。消防隊長確定的這種具體情況是在家中進行的工作，而不是我們的設備或管道。所以我只想澄清一下。但總的來說，是的，系統越安全、越環保，我們作為一個社會、我們作為一家公司的狀況就越好，我們的客戶的狀況也越好。這就是為什麼我們繼續專注於完成 PUC 概述的 LTIIP 工作，並實施我們已經完成的和計劃在未來 3 到 5 年內完成的大量管道更換。這項工作，再加上我們圍繞氫和其他創新想法所做的一些其他工作，我認為將會結合在一起，並希望使其在未來更加環保、更加安全。

Thank you. With this, I'd like to hand the call back over to Chris Franklin for any additional or closing remarks. Over to you, sir.

謝謝。在此，我想將電話轉回給克里斯·富蘭克林，讓其發表補充或結束語。交給你了，先生。

As always, we're available for follow-up. I really appreciate your time and questions today. But Brian, Renee, Dan and myself are all available for follow-up questions at your convenience. Have a great day.

像往常一樣，我們可以進行後續跟進。我非常感謝您今天的時間和提問。但布萊恩、蕾妮、丹和我都可以在您方便的時候回答後續問題。祝你有美好的一天。

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，你們現在可以斷開連結了。