Essential Utilities Inc (WTRG) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the Essential Utilities Full Year 2023 Earnings Call. Please note, this conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) I will now hand you over to your host, Brian Dingerdissen, to begin today's conference.

您好，歡迎參加基本公用事業 2023 年全年財報電話會議。請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。 （操作員指示）我現在將把您交給主持人 Brian Dingerdissen，開始今天的會議。

Thank you, Francois. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. 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 be found on the website.

謝謝你，弗朗索瓦。大家早安，感謝您加入我們。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可以在網站上找到。

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，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。

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 website. We will begin the call today with Chris Franklin, our Chairman and CEO, who will provide an update on the company. And then Dan Schuller, our CFO, will provide an overview of the financial results before Chris closes the call with an update on our guidance and overall company priorities. With that, I will turn the call over to Chris Franklin.

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網站的投資者關係部分。我們今天將與我們的董事長兼執行長 Chris Franklin 開始電話會議，他將介紹公司的最新情況。然後，我們的財務長 Dan Schuller 將在克里斯結束電話會議之前概述財務業績，並介紹我們的指導方針和公司整體優先事項的最新情況。這樣，我會將電話轉給克里斯·富蘭克林。

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. Let's start the call with some highlights from 2023 and some company updates. Despite the unusually warm winter weather in much of 2023, we remain focused on operational excellence and improving our Water and Natural Gas systems, by investing capital and continuous improvement measures.

謝謝布萊恩，大家早安。感謝您加入我們。讓我們以 2023 年的一些亮點和一些公司最新動態開始此次電話會議。儘管 2023 年大部分時間冬季天氣異常溫暖，但我們仍然專注於卓越運營，並透過投資和持續改進措施來改善我們的水和天然氣系統。

As a result of this good work, we're happy to report earnings per share of $1.86, which is in line with our 5% to 7% guidance. As Dan will discuss in a few moments in more detail, our team was able to make -- really make up for the $43 million of weather-related net revenue shortfall versus budget and still meet our guidance range, which was quite an accomplishment in 2023.

由於這項出色的工作，我們很高興報告每股收益為 1.86 美元，這符合我們 5% 至 7% 的指導。正如 Dan 將在稍後更詳細地討論的那樣，我們的團隊能夠真正彌補與預算相關的 4300 萬美元的淨收入缺口，並且仍然符合我們的指導範圍，這在 2023 年是一項相當大的成就。

Now last year, we invested nearly $1.2 billion in infrastructure improvements, as compared to $1.06 billion in 2022. Our commitment to investing in critical infrastructure across our footprint has led to the replacement, retirement and installation of over 300 miles of pipe in 2023 alone. This improved service and reliability for our customers throughout the water, wastewater and natural gas part of the platform.

去年，我們在基礎設施改善方面投資了近12 億美元，而2022 年為10.6 億美元。我們致力於在整個業務範圍內投資關鍵基礎設施，僅在2023 年就更換、退役和安裝了超過300 英里的管道。這改善了平台整個水、廢水和天然氣部分的客戶服務和可靠性。

As I've mentioned in the past, this investment spans thousands of projects and takes significant expertise to achieve. Excluding West Virginia, we reported year-over-year rate base growth of more than 10% from organic capital investment alone. We also took 2 divestiture actions last year, that will really allow us to place more focus on our core utilities with fewer distractions. You may recall, in Q4, we closed the sale of our West Virginia Gas utility, very small unit with less than 15,000 customers. And we announced the sale of our 3 nonutility microgrid and district energy projects in Pittsburgh.

正如我過去提到的，這項投資涉及數千個項目，需要大量的專業知識才能實現。除西維吉尼亞州外，我們報告僅有機資本投資的同比利率基數增長就超過 10%。去年我們還採取了兩項剝離行動，這確實讓我們能夠更加專注於我們的核心公用事業，減少干擾。您可能還記得，在第四季度，我們完成了西維吉尼亞天然氣公用事業公司的出售，這是一個非常小的單位，客戶數量不到 15,000 名。我們也宣佈出售位於匹茲堡的 3 個非公用事業微電網和區域能源項目。

We recently closed on the $165 million sale of those energy projects, which was, as you know, a very strong outcome. The proceeds of both were used to finance capital expenditures and water and wastewater acquisitions, in place of external funding from equity and debt issuances.

我們最近完成了這些能源項目 1.65 億美元的銷售，如您所知，這是一個非常強勁的成果。兩者的收益都用於為資本支出以及水和廢水收購提供資金，取代股票和債務發行的外部資金。

Now during the year, we continue to build on our 30-plus year track record of consolidation in the U.S. water and wastewater industry. Last year, we acquired 7 systems, adding over $44 million in rate base and over 11,000 new customers. We currently have asset purchase agreements, signed for 6 municipal acquisitions, totaling approximately $380 million in purchase price. This includes the recently signed agreement with North Versailles and (inaudible) sales to acquire their wastewater system in Pennsylvania.

今年，我們繼續鞏固美國供水和污水處理產業 30 多年的整合記錄。去年，我們收購了 7 個系統，增加了超過 4,400 萬美元的費率基礎和超過 11,000 個新客戶。我們目前已簽署了 6 項市政收購的資產購買協議，總購買價約為 3.8 億美元。這包括最近與北凡爾賽宮簽署的協議以及（聽不清楚）出售其位於賓州的廢水系統。

Later in the call, I'll update you on the latest acquisition-related activity. Lastly on this slide, I'm pleased to tell you that we have been named to Newsweek's 2024 list of America's most responsible companies. This is the third consecutive year that we've been on this list, that recognizes the top 600 most responsible public companies headquartered in the United States that have demonstrated meaningful and impactful business practices.

稍後在電話會議中，我將向您通報最新的收購相關活動。最後，在這張投影片上，我很高興地告訴您，我們已被《新聞週刊》評為 2024 年美國最負責任的公司名單。這是我們連續第三年躋身該榜單，該榜單旨在表彰總部位於美國、表現出有意義和影響力的商業實踐的 600 家最負責任的上市公司。

Now turning to the next slide. Maybe it goes without saying, but at Essential, our focus is on quality and reliability for our customers and sustainable returns for our investors. Our 138-year history, 32 years of dividend increases and many, many years of continuously delivering on our environmental commitments is made possible by an organization with several competitive advantages.

現在轉到下一張投影片。也許這是不言而喻的，但在 Essential，我們的重點是為客戶提供品質和可靠性，並為投資者提供可持續回報。我們擁有 138 年的歷史、32 年的股息成長以及多年來不斷兌現我們的環境承諾，這一切都歸功於我們擁有多項競爭優勢的組織。

First, I think of the importance of operating in constructive regulatory environments. Essential operates in 9 states, most of which have received favorable regulatory rankings. Secondly, we want to operate where there is growth opportunity. We're well positioned to grow both organically being in states with high population growth like Texas and North Carolina and through acquisition and we've demonstrated our ability to do so.

首先，我認為在建設性監管環境中運作的重要性。 Essential 在 9 個州開展業務，其中大部分都獲得了良好的監管排名。其次，我們希望在有成長機會的地方開展業務。我們處於有利位置，可以在德克薩斯州和北卡羅來納州等人口增長較高的州實現有機增長，也可以通過收購實現有機增長，並且我們已經證明了我們這樣做的能力。

In the water and natural gas industry, there's a great advantage to possessing advanced technical and engineering expertise. We were and plan to continue to be leaders on issues like PFAS mitigation and lead remediation, safety issues, et cetera. Last but not least, operational excellence. We have 3,000-plus dedicated people working every day to manage the complexity of thousands of projects, which have taken us to industry-leading quality and service levels.

在水和天然氣行業，擁有先進的技術和工程專業知識具有很大的優勢。我們曾經並且計劃繼續成為 PFAS 緩解和鉛修復、安全問題等問題的領導者。最後但並非最不重要的一點是卓越營運。我們擁有 3,000 多名專職人員，每天負責管理數千個專案的複雜性，這使我們達到了業界領先的品質和服務水準。

I want to share just a couple of those accomplishments of our operating team. By any measure, the numbers on this page make us a clear leader in both natural gas and water industries. The combination of operational excellence and capital investment have accelerated our quest to continue as leaders in the industry.

我只想分享我們營運團隊所取得的一些成就。無論以何種標準衡量，本頁的數字都使我們成為天然氣和水產業的明顯領導者。卓越營運和資本投資的結合加速了我們繼續成為行業領導者的步伐。

Now the backbone of our capital program in both water and gas is our pipe replacement program. The tightening of our water and gas mains improves compliance, reduces outages and improves the environment. According to a report by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, we are running a larger pipe replacement program than our peers. This large amount of gas pipe replacement, combined with a refocused effort on addressing leaks, has allowed us to shift to a find-and-fix approach to leaks.

現在，我們在水和天然氣方面的資本計劃的支柱是我們的管道更換計劃。我們對水和瓦斯總管的收緊提高了合規性，減少了停電並改善了環境。根據賓州公用事業委員會的報告，我們正在實施比同行更大的管道更換計劃。大量的燃氣管道更換，加上重新集中精力解決洩漏問題，使我們能夠轉向尋找和修復洩漏的方法。

And to put this in context, when we announced the acquisition of Peoples just a few years ago, the company, like most gas LDCs had a backlog of several hundred leaks. Over the period since we've acquired the company and run the company now, we have reduced outstanding leaks by 83%, so outstanding results.

更具體地說，當我們幾年前宣布收購 Peoples 時，該公司與大多數天然氣最不發達國家一樣，已經積壓了數百起洩漏事件。自從我們收購該公司並經營該公司以來，我們已將未決洩漏減少了 83%，因此取得了出色的成果。

Our Water business continues to operate at a 99.9% compliance rate, which is also outstanding. You can imagine the confidence that this builds in our customers' minds, as they drink and cook with the water we provide. From a reliability standpoint, our systems rarely have outages. And when they experience that rare outage, it's typically because a storm disrupts the power to a plant.

我們的水務業務繼續以 99.9% 的合規率運營，這也非常出色。您可以想像，當客戶用我們提供的水飲用和烹飪時，這會在他們心中建立起多大的信心。從可靠性的角度來看，我們的系統很少出現中斷。當他們遇到罕見的停電時，通常是因為暴風雨破壞了工廠的電力。

Now of course, we have larger -- our larger plants are supported with generators, and we continue to position our portable generation near our smaller systems, especially during storm prep. I am really of our operating team and they continue to raise the bar on operational excellence in both gas and water.

當然，現在我們有了更大的——我們更大的工廠配備了發電機，我們繼續將我們的便攜式發電機放置在我們較小的系統附近，特別是在風暴準備期間。我確實是我們營運團隊的一員，他們不斷提高天然氣和水務卓越營運的標準。

Now speaking of operational excellence on the next slide here, given the importance of the expected PFAS regulations from the U.S. EPA and the impact on our customers, we probably need to spend a few minutes on this topic.

現在，在下一張投影片中談到卓越運營，考慮到美國 EPA 預期 PFAS 法規的重要性以及對我們客戶的影響，我們可能需要花幾分鐘討論這個主題。

Now we're diligently working so that we are aligned with the EPA's time line and standards to ensure that our finished water does not exceed the federal maximum contaminant level of PFOA, PFOS and PFNA compounds. Our most recent disclosure is that we expect to spend about $450 million or I should say, at least $450 million, and that's included in the new capital investment guidance that we're providing today.

現在，我們正在努力工作，以便與 EPA 的時間表和標準保持一致，以確保我們的成品水不超過聯邦規定的 PFOA、PFOS 和 PFNA 化合物最高污染物水平。我們最近披露的資訊是，我們預計將花費約 4.5 億美元，或者我應該說，至少 4.5 億美元，這已包含在我們今天提供的新資本投資指南中。

Our capital spending on this mitigation effort is somewhat fluid, though, I have to point out, and we expect that the $450 million could increase as plans for construction are refined, the EPA and states timelines for compliance is determined, and if any additional sites pop up and require treatment as we move forward. Now for clarity, if the EPA and the state environmental agencies require a 3-year compliance timeline, we would expect our costs to rise because it may not fit with the timelines associated with applications for low interest loans and grants, could also cause us to work over time and cost contractor cost to rise.

不過，我必須指出，我們在這項緩解措施上的資本支出有些不穩定，我們預計，隨著建設計劃的完善、美國環保署和各州合規時間表的確定以及是否有任何其他站點，4.5 億美元可能會增加在我們前進的過程中突然出現並需要治療。現在澄清一下，如果 EPA 和州環境機構要求 3 年的合規時間表，我們預計我們的成本會上升，因為它可能不符合與低利率貸款和贈款申請相關的時間表，也可能導致我們工作時間和成本隨著時間的推移承包商成本會上升。

Having said that, we are in the process of meeting with the heads of all the agencies involved to press for accelerated approval processes for loans and grants to protect our customers and where appropriate, look for extensions in time to comply with this new regulation we expect in the coming month, year or so.

話雖如此，我們正在與所有相關機構的負責人會面，敦促加快貸款和贈款的審批流程，以保護我們的客戶，並在適當的情況下尋求及時延期，以遵守我們期望的這一新規定在接下來的一個月、一年左右的時間。

Now the effort to comply with the 4 parts per trillion standard will be significant. There's no doubt about that. Each of our 300-plus sites that need mitigation must be engineered, permitted, procured and constructed. To accomplish this in what is anticipated to be a 3-year time line, will be a huge and very expensive effort. Now make no mistake, our team is up to the task and we will meet compliance deadlines. So with that, let me hand it over to Dan to talk about the year's financial results.

現在，遵守萬億分之四標準的努力將是巨大的。毫無疑問。我們 300 多個需要緩解的站點中的每一個都必須進行設計、授權、採購和建造。要在預計 3 年的時間內完成這項任務，將是一項巨大且昂貴的工作。現在毫無疑問，我們的團隊能夠勝任這項任務，我們將在合規期限內完成任務。那麼，讓我把它交給丹來談談今年的財務表現。

Thanks, Chris, and good morning, everyone. On Slide 9, let's take a few minutes to review the fourth quarter highlights, before moving into the full year. Well, many of you focus on the company over a longer period of time, which we believe is appropriate, we did want to provide a quick update on how the fourth quarter of 2023 concluded.

謝謝克里斯，大家早安。在幻燈片 9 上，讓我們花幾分鐘回顧第四季度的亮點，然後再進入全年。好吧，你們中的許多人都在較長一段時間內關注公司，我們認為這是適當的，我們確實想提供有關 2023 年第四季度的情況的快速更新。

On a GAAP basis, we had revenues for the quarter of $479.4 million, compared to $705.4 million in the fourth quarter last year. As we experienced in prior quarters, the largest contributor to the decrease in revenues for the fourth quarter was the recovery of lower natural gas commodity prices, with purchased gas costs decreasing by $209.6 million, from the same period last year.

以 GAAP 計算，我們本季的營收為 4.794 億美元，而去年第四季的營收為 7.054 億美元。正如我們在前幾個季度所經歷的那樣，第四季度收入下降的最大原因是天然氣商品價格下降的復甦，購買天然氣成本比去年同期減少了 2.096 億美元。

Additionally, the weather in Q4 was warmer than normal and therefore, contributed to reduced gas usage by our customers. Our Regulated Water Segment contributed $281.8 million in revenue and our Regulated Natural Gas segment contributed $188.7 million. Incremental revenues from regulatory recoveries and water and wastewater customer growth contributed positively. However, these impacts were offset by the lower purchase gas costs, lower volumes in both the Natural Gas and Water segments and other items for the quarter.

此外，第四季度的天氣比正常情況更溫暖，因此導致我們的客戶減少了天然氣使用量。我們的監管水部門貢獻了 2.818 億美元的收入，我們的監管天然氣部門貢獻了 1.887 億美元的收入。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。然而，這些影響被本季較低的購買天然氣成本、天然氣和水部門以及其他項目的銷售下降所抵消。

Operations and maintenance expenses decreased 15% to $157 million for the quarter, down from $184.7 million in the same quarter of last year. Decreases in other items, lower recoverable costs related to our Natural Gas customer rider and lower bad debt were the primary drivers of the decrease. These were offset by higher water production costs and operating expenses related to acquired systems.

本季營運和維護費用下降 15%，至 1.57 億美元，低於去年同期的 1.847 億美元。其他項目的減少、與天然氣客戶相關的可收回成本的降低以及壞帳的降低是下降的主要驅動因素。這些被更高的水生產成本和與所購買系統相關的營運費用所抵消。

Net income was up year-over-year from $114.9 million to $135.4 million and GAAP EPS was up 13.6%, from $0.44 in the fourth quarter last year to $0.50 for the quarter this year. Next, we'll discuss the full year financial highlights.

淨利潤年增 1.149 億美元成長到 1.354 億美元，GAAP 每股盈餘成長 13.6%，從去年第四季的 0.44 美元成長到今年季度的 0.50 美元。接下來，我們將討論全年財務亮點。

Let's talk high level, and then we'll get into the details when we go to the waterfall. We ended the year with $2.05 billion in revenue compared to $2.29 billion last year. For the year, our Regulated Water segment contributed $1.15 billion of revenue, and our Regulated Natural Gas segment contributed nearly $864 million. Purchase gas costs decreased by $249.7 million or 41.5%, compared to prior year.

我們先說高層次的，等我們去瀑布的時候再說細節。截至今年年底，我們的收入為 20.5 億美元，而去年為 22.9 億美元。今年，我們的監管水部門貢獻了 11.5 億美元的收入，我們的監管天然氣部門貢獻了近 8.64 億美元。與前一年相比，購買天然氣成本減少了 2.497 億美元，即 41.5%。

Operations and maintenance expenses decreased 6.2%, from $613.6 million to $575.5 million. Operating income was up 4.7% from $661.2 million, to $692.1 million. Year-over-year, net income increased $33 million or 7.1%, from $465.2 million to $498.2 million and GAAP earnings per share increased 5.1% to $1.86, which was solidly in our $1.85 to $1.90 guidance range for the year. And earnings would have certainly been higher were it not for the balmy December weather in Pittsburgh.

營運和維護費用下降 6.2%，從 6.136 億美元降至 5.755 億美元。營業收入從 6.612 億美元成長 4.7% 至 6.921 億美元。淨利潤年增 3,300 萬美元，即 7.1%，從 4.652 億美元增至 4.982 億美元，GAAP 每股收益增長 5.1% 至 1.86 美元，完全處於我們今年 1.85 美元至 1.90 美元的指導範圍內。如果不是匹茲堡 12 月氣候宜人，收入肯定會更高。

Next, let's walk through the full year waterfalls, including how we successfully overcame adverse weather impacts in the first and fourth quarters of 2023, which caused a $43 million net revenue shortfall versus budget or normal weather.

接下來，讓我們回顧一下全年瀑布，包括我們如何成功克服 2023 年第一季和第四季的不利天氣影響，這些影響導致與預算或正常天氣相比淨收入缺口 4,300 萬美元。

Let's start with revenue on Slide 11. In 2023, revenues decreased $234 million or 10.2% on a GAAP basis. Starting on the left-hand side of the waterfall regulatory recoveries added $69.1 million in revenues year-over-year, which includes the impact of base rate cases or other regulatory proceedings.

讓我們從幻燈片 11 上的收入開始。2023 年，按照 GAAP 計算，收入減少了 2.34 億美元，即 10.2%。從瀑布左側開始，監管追償收入年增了 6,910 萬美元，其中包括基本費率案件或其他監管程序的影響。

Next, organic and acquisition growth from our Regulated Water segment provided an additional $13.1 million. The largest driver of the decreased revenue was the $249.7 million impact of lower purchased gas costs. Now this is simply a comparison of last year's purchased gas cost line on the income statement to this year's. So it reflects both a significant decline in natural gas commodity prices, as well as the lower quantity of gas being purchased.

接下來，我們的調節水部門的有機成長和收購成長額外提供了 1,310 萬美元。收入下降的最大驅動因素是購買天然氣成本下降造成的 2.497 億美元的影響。現在，這只是損益表上去年購買天然氣成本線與今年的比較。因此，這既反映了天然氣商品價格的大幅下降，也反映了天然氣購買量的減少。

Clearly, lower commodity prices are a good thing for our customers, who benefit with lower overall bills for heating and cooking. As a result of unfavorable weather throughout the quarter -- I should say, throughout the year, lower gas usage decreased revenue by $53.1 million, from 2022, and 2022 was colder than normal. And lower water and wastewater volumes decreased revenue by $7.5 million as well.

顯然，較低的商品價格對我們的客戶來說是一件好事，他們受益於較低的取暖和烹飪總費用。由於整個季度天氣不利——我應該說，全年天然氣使用量減少導致收入比 2022 年減少了 5,310 萬美元，而且 2022 年比正常情況更冷。水和廢水量的減少也使收入減少了 750 萬美元。

And lastly, other items of $6.1 million, which includes the impact of lower customer assistance program recoveries also contributed to the reduction in revenues. I'd like to remind everyone that we currently do not have weather normalization for our Pennsylvania Natural Gas business. In these results, we're seeing the significant impact of 2023's warmer than normal weather. However, had it been equally colder than normal, our customers would have seen significantly higher bills, resulting in higher revenues.

最後，其他 610 萬美元的項目，其中包括客戶援助計畫回收率下降的影響，也導致了收入的減少。我想提醒大家，我們的賓州天然氣業務目前尚未實現天氣正常化。在這些結果中，我們看到了 2023 年天氣比正常溫暖的重大影響。然而，如果天氣比正常情況同樣冷，我們的客戶會看到明顯更高的帳單，從而導致更高的收入。

Now as many of you know, we recently filed the first Pennsylvania Gas rate case, since our acquisition in 2020. And in that case, we proposed a weather normalization mechanism. Next, we'll review the operations and maintenance expenses.

正如你們許多人所知，自 2020 年收購以來，我們最近提交了第一個賓州天然氣費率案件。在該案件中，我們提出了天氣正常化機制。接下來，我們將審查營運和維護費用。

Operations and maintenance expenses were $575.5 million for the year, a decrease of 6.2%, compared to $613.6 million in 2022. Increased production costs, primarily related to chemicals, purchased water and purchased power contributed $12.2 million and operating expenses from newly acquired systems in our Regulated Water segment added another $5.8 million.

本年度營運和維護費用為5.755 億美元，與2022 年的6.136 億美元相比下降了6.2%。主要與化學品、外購水和外購電力相關的生產成本增加貢獻了1,220 萬美元，而營運費用來自我們新收購的系統監管水部門又增加了 580 萬美元。

These were offset by other items, including lower outside services costs and the prior year impact of a lease-related charge, as well as lower contributions to our foundation, which decreased operations and maintenance expenses by $27.6 million.

這些被其他項目所抵消，包括外部服務成本的降低和上一年租賃相關費用的影響，以及對我們基金會的捐款減少，從而使營運和維護費用減少了 2,760 萬美元。

The gas customer rider, which is recoverable through a revenue surcharge, decreased $18.7 million, again due to lower commodity prices in the regulated natural gas segment. Employee-related costs decreased by $5.4 million, partly due to the incremental pension contributions and an accrual for onetime inflation-related incentive compensation for non-officer level employees, back in 2022. And finally, lower bad debt decreased operations and maintenance expenses by another $4.4 million.

天然氣客戶附加費（可透過收入附加費收回）減少了 1,870 萬美元，這同樣是由於受監管天然氣領域的商品價格較低。員工相關成本減少了 540 萬美元，部分原因是 2022 年退休金繳款增量以及非官員級員工一次性通膨相關激勵薪酬的應計費用。最後，壞帳減少使營運和維護費用又減少了440萬美元。

Next, let's spend a minute on the earnings per share waterfall. Beginning on the left side of the slide, GAAP EPS for 2022 was $1.77. Regulatory recoveries contributed $0.19, lower O&M expenses contributed another $0.08 and organic and acquisition growth from our Regulated Water segment added $0.02.

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 GAAP 每股收益為 1.77 美元。監管回收貢獻了 0.19 美元，較低的營運和維護費用又貢獻了 0.08 美元，監管水部門的有機成長和收購成長貢獻了 0.02 美元。

These were offset by decreased volume from our Regulated Natural Gas segment of $0.14 and other items of $0.03, as well as decreased volume from our Regulated Water segment of $0.02. The result is GAAP EPS was $1.86 for the year. And given the fact that weather in Pittsburgh was approximately 16% warmer than normal for 2023, we believe this is an outstanding result.

這些被我們的受管制天然氣部門的銷量減少 0.14 美元和其他項目的銷量減少 0.03 美元以及我們的受管制水部門的銷量減少 0.02 美元所抵消。結果是，當年 GAAP 每股收益為 1.86 美元。鑑於 2023 年匹茲堡的天氣比正常情況溫暖約 16%，我們相信這是一個出色的結果。

Now in this waterfall, the other bar includes the impacts of increased interest and depreciation, offset by an increased tax benefit. This increased tax benefit is a result of both increased pipe replacement capital and the ongoing and onetime benefits related to the IRS' Natural Gas Safe Harbor, which we've discussed previously.

現在，在這個瀑布中，另一個欄位包括利息和折舊增加的影響，並被稅收優惠增加所抵消。這種稅收優惠的增加是管道更換資本增加以及與國稅局天然氣安全港相關的持續和一次性福利的結果，我們之前已經討論過。

The onetime benefit related to the IRS change was about $0.045. So all of these impacts, along with the pickups from the O&M items we discussed earlier and the purchase water pass-through in Texas as well as a tax-related change in New Jersey, these were all critical in offsetting the impacts of the unfavorable first and fourth quarter weather.

與 IRS 變更相關的一次性福利約為 0.045 美元。因此，所有這些影響，加上我們之前討論的營運和維護項目的回升、德克薩斯州的購水直通以及新澤西州的稅收相關變化，這些對於抵消第一個不利影響的影響至關重要和第四季的天氣。

I will note that regarding 2024 financings, you may have seen that last month, we completed a $500 million issuance of 10-year debt, at a rate of 5.38%. We also expect to raise approximately $250 million in 2024 through an ATM equity program. And given this, we'll file soon for an ATM of up to $1 billion, which should be viewed to cover our equity needs for multiple years.

我要指出的是，關於2024年的融資，大家可能已經看到，上個月，我們完成了5億美元的10年債務發行，利率為5.38%。我們也預計在 2024 年透過 ATM 股權計畫籌集約 2.5 億美元。有鑑於此，我們很快就會申請高達 10 億美元的 ATM，這應該可以滿足我們多年的股權需求。

Now moving to regulatory activity and other matters. In 2023, we completed rate cases or surcharge filings in all 9 states in our footprint with total annualized revenue increases of $47.2 million for Water and $21.3 million for Natural Gas.

現在轉向監管活動和其他事項。 2023 年，我們在業務範圍內的所有 9 個州完成了費率案件或附加費備案，水務年化總收入增加了 4,720 萬美元，天然氣年化總收入增加了 2,130 萬美元。

So far in 2024, we've completed rate cases or surcharge filings in 3 of our Water states with total annualized revenue increases of $9.1 million and achieved $22 million -- $22.1 million in our Regulated Natural Gas segment. We have a busy but manageable regulatory calendar in 2024, with base rate cases or surcharge filings underway in Illinois, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia for our Regulated Water segment.

2024 年到目前為止，我們已在3 個水州完成了費率案件或附加費申報，年化總收入增加了910 萬美元，並在我們的受監管天然氣部門實現了2200 萬美元- 2210 萬美元。 2024 年，我們的監管日程繁忙但易於管理，伊利諾伊州、新澤西州、德克薩斯州和維吉尼亞州的監管水部門正在進行基本費率案件或附加費申報。

And just before the end of 2023, we filed a base rate case for our Regulated Pennsylvania Natural Gas utility, which I'll discuss in more detail on the next slide. Now this is the first Pennsylvania Natural Gas rate case that we filed under our ownership. It's also the first since the adoption of tax repair in the Gas business and also the first case in which there's a request for weather normalization, which is a mechanism that a number of our peers in Pennsylvania have today.

就在 2023 年底之前，我們為受監管的賓州天然氣公用事業公司提交了基本費率案例，我將在下一張幻燈片中更詳細地討論該案例。現在，這是我們在我們的所有權下提起的第一個賓州天然氣費率案件。這也是自天然氣業務採用稅收修復以來的第一個案例，也是第一個要求天氣正常化的案例，這是我們賓州的許多同行今天採用的機制。

As a reminder, as part of this case, we expect the tax repair benefit to shift from the shareholders to the customers, as the tax benefit is incorporated into rates. Tax repair allowed us to stay out of rates for 5 years, and we would likely have stayed out longer, but the commission order associated with our repair election, required us to file by the end of 2023. And in this case, as you see on the slide, we've requested an increase of $156 million or 18.7% in terms of revenue.

提醒一下，作為本案的一部分，我們預計稅收修復利益將從股東轉移到客戶，因為稅收利益已納入費率。稅收修復使我們能夠在 5 年內不參與稅率，而且我們可能會停留更長時間，但與我們的修復選擇相關的佣金命令要求我們在 2023 年底之前提交文件。在這種情況下，如您所見在幻燈片中，我們要求收入增加1.56 億美元，即18.7%。

Now through the fully projected forward-looking test year, we'll have replaced over 1,000 miles of gas mains in Pennsylvania since the last rate case. And therefore, rate base growth at Peoples is significant. The $4.2 billion in rate base in this case is up from $2.1 billion in the prior case. So that's a doubling in a 5-year period. This investment has made our system safer and more reliable, while significantly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions since 2019.

現在，在全面預計的前瞻性測試年中，自上次費率案例以來，我們將更換賓州超過 1,000 英里的天然氣總管。因此，Peoples 的利率基數成長非常顯著。本案中 42 億美元的利率基數高於前一案的 21 億美元。因此，這一數字在 5 年內翻了一番。這項投資使我們的系統更加安全可靠，同時自 2019 年以來顯著減少了我們的溫室氣體排放。

Given the fully projected future test year, we anticipate recovering the impact of rising interest rates and inflation, through much of 2025. And in addition, we did want to mention that we expect to file a rate case for Aqua Pennsylvania in the second quarter, as it's been nearly 3 years since our last filing. We believe our rate activity, especially in Pennsylvania is very different than some of what you may be seeing across the industry.

考慮到未來測試年的全面預測，我們預計在2025 年的大部分時間裡將恢復利率上升和通貨膨脹的影響。此外，我們確實想提一下，我們預計將在第二季度為賓州水族公司提交利率申請，因為距離我們上次提交申請已經過去近三年了。我們相信我們的利率活動，尤其是在賓州，與您在整個行業中看到的一些活動非常不同。

We've been out of rates for nearly 3 years for Aqua Pennsylvania. Our plans are known by the regulators in advance, and we've maintained a strong focus on affordability. We will also take a responsible approach to our Proposed Act 11 subsidization. And with that, I'll hand it back over to Chris. Chris?

我們已經有將近 3 年的時間沒有為 Aqua PAnnsylvania 提供優惠了。我們的計劃事先已被監管機構知曉，並且我們一直高度關注負擔能力。我們也將對擬議的第 11 號法案補助採取負責任的態度。有了這個，我會把它交還給克里斯。克里斯？

Thanks, Dan. And it's hard to believe it's been 5.5 years under your leadership as CFO, and I want to thank you for that. I also want to recognize the great work done by Dan and his team in achieving our 2023 financial results. It was a challenging year on the weather front.

謝謝，丹。很難相信您擔任 CFO 已經 5.5 年了，我想為此向您表示感謝。我還想表彰 Dan 和他的團隊為實現 2023 年財務業績所做的出色工作。就天氣而言，這是充滿挑戰的一年。

Thank you, Chris.

謝謝你，克里斯。

Yes. Let's talk for a moment about our Water and Wastewater acquisition program. As you know, the program has been successful and continuously evolving for nearly 30 years now. I have to tell you that we're really pleased with the leadership of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Chairman -- Commission Chairman, Steve DeFrank, on addressing some of the issues that have arisen associated with the use of the fair market value statute that was passed in 2016.

是的。讓我們談談我們的水和廢水收購計劃。如您所知，該計劃已經取得了成功，並且已經持續發展了近 30 年。我必須告訴你，我們對賓州公用事業委員會主席史蒂夫·德弗蘭克的領導感到非常滿意，他解決了與使用已通過的公平市場價值法規相關的一些問題2016年。

We believe that the proposal he has made at a recent PUC public meeting will make a real difference in moderating rate increases for customers, while still providing a fair price to governmental entities when they decide to sell their water or wastewater utilities. We view this as a very positive development in our acquisition program in Pennsylvania and believe that the pipeline remains strong.

我們相信，他在最近的一次公用事業委員會公開會議上提出的提案將對緩和客戶的費率上漲產生真正的影響，同時在政府實體決定出售其供水或廢水處理設施時仍為他們提供公平的價格。我們認為這是我們在賓州的收購計劃的一個非常積極的進展，並相信管道仍然強勁。

As I mentioned earlier in the call, in 2023, we acquired 7 systems, adding over 11,000 customer equivalents to our current water and wastewater footprint. We have now acquired over $500 million of rate base via acquisitions, since this leadership team came together in 2015. That statistic just doesn't do justice though to the amount of work that goes into the program. I fully expect that the company will continue to be a major player in the consolidation of the water and wastewater utility industry in the United States.

正如我之前在電話會議中提到的，2023 年，我們收購了 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 多個客戶等效項。自從這個領導團隊在 2015 年組建以來，我們現在已經透過收購獲得了超過 5 億美元的費率基礎。儘管該統計數據並不能公正地反映該計劃的工作量。我完全期望該公司將繼續成為美國供水和污水處理行業整合的主要參與者。

Now moving to the next slide, let's take a minute to review the pending transactions. As of this call, we have 6 signed asset purchase agreements in 2 states, in which we have existing water and wastewater operations. These acquisitions will add over 215,000 customer equivalents and total approximately $380 million in purchase price. As I noted in my opening remarks, this includes the recently signed agreement with North Versailles Township Sanitary Authority to acquire their wastewater system in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, which is expected to add approximately 4,400 customers to our Regulated Water segment.

現在轉到下一張投影片，讓我們花一點時間回顧一下待處理的交易。截至本次電話會議，我們已在 2 個州簽署了 6 項資產購買協議，我們在這些州擁有現有的供水和廢水處理業務。這些收購將增加超過 215,000 個客戶等價物，總收購價約為 3.8 億美元。正如我在開場白中指出的，這包括最近與北凡爾賽鎮衛生局簽署的協議，收購其位於賓夕法尼亞州阿勒格尼縣的廢水系統，預計將為我們的調節水部門增加約 4,400 名客戶。

Now, this is another transaction that resulted from the reputation and relationships of our Peoples Gas team in Western Pennsylvania. You had another opportunity to leverage that relationship between the gas and water utilities. 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 potential water and wastewater customers.

現在，這是另一筆交易，源自於我們賓州西部人民天然氣團隊的聲譽和關係。您還有另一個機會利用天然氣和自來水公司之間的關係。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 萬個潛在水和廢水處理客戶的市政當局進行積極討論。

If Chairman DeFrank's proposal is successful, there should be a much clearer path to closing municipal acquisitions in Pennsylvania in the future, and that is a bright spot. Now before moving on, I just want to note that the DECLORA regulatory process continues to be under a stay by the federal bankruptcy court, but we remain confident that we will ultimately close the DECLORA transaction.

如果德弗蘭克主席的提議成功，未來賓州的市政收購交易應該會有一條更清晰的路徑，這是一個亮點。在繼續之前，我只想指出，聯邦破產法院繼續中止 DECLORA 監管程序，但我們仍然有信心最終完成 DECLORA 交易。

In early February, we filed another motion requesting the Federal Bankruptcy Court judge lift the stay that has now been in place for 9 months. In April, there is a scheduled hearing at the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court to rule on Delaware County's appeal of the validity of our asset purchase agreement with DECLORA. You'll recall that was upheld successfully in the lower court. Based on what we know today, we still believe we can close this transaction by mid-2025.

2 月初，我們提交了另一項動議，要求聯邦破產法院法官解除目前已實施 9 個月的暫緩執行。 4 月份，賓州聯邦法院將舉行聽證會，對特拉華縣就我們與 DECLORA 資產購買協議的有效性提出的上訴做出裁決。您會記得這一點在下級法院得到了成功的維持。根據我們今天所知，我們仍然相信我們可以在 2025 年中期完成這筆交易。

Now before I get to guidance, I just want to reaffirm our strategy and visit some of our high priorities for the year. First, with regard to strategy, we're going to continue investing significant capital in needed infrastructure. This will drive quality, safety and reliability for our customers. It will also drive rate base growth, which in turn also drives shareholder value. Importantly, customer affordability is always a priority. We know a key piece of driving shareholder value is continued growth in our dividend, and we have a long track record of returning cash to our shareholders, and that will continue.

現在，在提供指導之前，我只想重申我們的策略並回顧我們今年的一些高度優先事項。首先，就策略而言，我們將繼續在所需的基礎設施上投入大量資金。這將為我們的客戶提高品質、安全性和可靠性。它也將推動利率基礎成長，進而推動股東價值。重要的是，客戶的承受能力始終是首要任務。我們知道，推動股東價值的關鍵因素是股利的持續成長，而且我們在向股東返還現金方面有著悠久的記錄，而且這種情況將會持續下去。

In fact, we've raised our dividend continuously for 30 years now. Lastly, we continue to see opportunities for further consolidation through acquisitions in the Water and Wastewater space, and we'll pursue transactions that broaden the customer base in a constructive regulatory environment, allow us to apply economies of scale to manage our costs and give us the opportunity to be a solution to communities that need our expertise or financial strength.

事實上，我們已經連續 30 年提高股利。最後，我們繼續看到透過水和廢水領域的收購進一步整合的機會，我們將在建設性的監管環境中尋求擴大客戶群的交易，使我們能夠應用規模經濟來管理我們的成本，並為我們提供支援。有機會為需要我們的專業知識或財務實力的社區提供解決方案。

We believe that this strategy puts us in a great position to continue building and delivering value for our shareholders. As we think about 2024, we have some important work to accomplish. I share my priorities each year with the Board and, of course, the management team, and I'll summarize them quickly for you here.

我們相信，這項策略使我們處於有利地位，可以繼續為股東創造和創造價值。展望 2024 年，我們有一些重要的工作需要完成。我每年都會與董事會以及管理團隊分享我的優先事項，我將在這裡快速為您總結它們。

First, we'll remain focused on operational excellence, throughout the year. I'll continue to share examples with you on our calls and meetings and this will include increased exposure to our segment presidents, Colleen Arnold and Mike Huwar. Secondly, we'll continue to look for opportunities to make tangible improvement in the service we provide to our customers.

首先，我們全年將繼續專注於卓越營運。我將繼續在電話會議和會議上與您分享範例，其中包括增加與我們部門總裁科琳·阿諾德 (Colleen Arnold) 和邁克·胡瓦爾 (Mike Huwar) 的接觸。其次，我們將持續尋找機會實際改善我們為客戶提供的服務。

In fact, we just rolled out an exciting new customer portal, to provide our water and wastewater customers with more visibility into outages and restoration, as well as allow them to see the details of their usage more easily and pay their bills online.

事實上，我們剛剛推出了一個令人興奮的新客戶門戶，為我們的水和廢水處理客戶提供更多關於停電和恢復的可見性，並讓他們更輕鬆地查看使用詳細信息並在線支付賬單。

Also this year, we'll continue our leadership role in remediating PFAS and lead across our footprint, and we'll share our knowledge across the industry to help others leverage what we know.

今年，我們將繼續在修復 PFAS 方面發揮領導作用，並在我們的足跡中發揮領導作用，並且我們將在整個行業中分享我們的知識，幫助其他人利用我們的知識。

Now sustainability. We're going to continue to focus on our continued commitments and sustainability and our accomplishments. We will continue to grow the company through accretive water and wastewater acquisitions. And last, we have some pretty important regulatory things in front of us this year, including 2 rate cases that Dan mentioned in Pennsylvania, among others, the FMV refinement and also the finalization of the PFAS regulations. It's going to be a very busy year this year, folks.

現在可持續性。我們將繼續專注於我們的持續承諾、永續性和我們的成就。我們將透過增加水和廢水收購來繼續發展公司。最後，今年我們面臨一些非常重要的監管問題，包括 Dan 在賓州提到的 2 個費率案例，以及 FMV 細化和 PFAS 法規的最終確定。夥計們，今年將是非常忙碌的一年。

All right. Let's get to guidance. Before we walk through this, I want to acknowledge what you read in the release last night. Now throughout this year, we will be working through 2 critical rate cases, both in our largest divisions in Gas and Water and both in Pennsylvania. Thus, we are refraining from providing a multiyear earnings per share growth rate guidance range. Now once both base rate cases are complete, which will be around this time next year, we will return to our normal longer-term earnings per share guidance range.

好的。讓我們開始指導。在我們討論這個之前，我想感謝您昨晚在新聞稿中讀到的內容。今年，我們將處理兩個臨界率案例，兩個案例都在我們最大的天然氣和水部門以及賓州。因此，我們不會提供多年每股收益成長率指引範圍。現在，一旦兩個基本利率案例完成（大約在明年這個時候），我們將恢復到正常的長期每股盈餘指引範圍。

So let's review the guidance that we're providing, which we believe is significant and provides a clear line of sight to the opportunities in front of the company. In 2024, we expect to earn $1.96 to $2, which is a 5% to 7% earnings growth range. Through 2028, we plan to invest approximately $7.2 billion annually on regulated infrastructure in our existing utilities. And let me point out, that some of this increase is being driven by the regulatory requirements associated with PFAS and lead mitigation.

因此，讓我們回顧一下我們提供的指導，我們認為這些指導很重要，並且為公司面臨的機會提供了清晰的視野。 2024 年，我們預計營收為 1.96 美元至 2 美元，營收成長範圍為 5% 至 7%。到 2028 年，我們計劃每年投資約 72 億美元，用於現有公用事業的受監管基礎設施。我要指出的是，這種增長的部分原因是與 PFAS 和鉛減排相關的監管要求。

Now in 2024, we expect to invest between $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion. The annual amount may be a bit lumpy, based on the needs and regulatory recovery activity throughout the 5-year period and I'll point again to PFAS, as I mentioned earlier in the call.

到 2024 年，我們預計投資 13 億至 14 億美元。根據整個 5 年期間的需求和監管恢復活動，年度金額可能有點不穩定，我將再次提及 PFAS，正如我在電話會議之前提到的那樣。

I also want to point out that we're providing a 5-year outlook on capital investments for the first time. We've always provided you a 3-year capital outlook, and we hope that moving to a longer-term view of capital spending will provide a better picture of our long-term opportunities.

我還想指出，我們首次提供了資本投資的五年展望。我們一直為您提供 3 年資本展望，我們希望從更長遠的角度看待資本支出能夠更好地了解我們的長期機會。

Now based on this investment, we expect rate base will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of approximately 8% for Water and approximately 10% for Natural Gas through 2028. Defined utility base will grow at a compounded annual growth rate of over 8%. We continue to expect that together, organic customer growth and growth from acquisitions for Water and Wastewater will continue at a growth rate of 2% to 3%, on average. We are always reminding our investors that growth from acquisitions are lumpy and should be viewed over a 3-year average. We expect continued stability in our Natural Gas customer base.

現在，基於這項投資，我們預計到2028 年，水費率基數將以約8% 的複合年增長率增長，天然氣費率基數將以約10% 的複合年增長率增長。固定公用事業基數將以超過8% 的複合年增長率成長。我們繼續預計，有機客戶成長以及水和廢水收購帶來的成長將繼續以平均 2% 至 3% 的速度成長。我們總是提醒投資者，收購帶來的成長是不穩定的，應該以三年平均來看。我們預計天然氣客戶群將持續穩定。

Now as Dan mentioned, we also expect to raise about $250 million in 2024, using an ATM equity program. And we remain committed to reducing our Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2035 from our 2019 baseline. As you know, we've already made significant progress on this and we estimate it to be about 25%, as of the year-end 2023. All right. We've covered a lot. That concludes our formal remarks, and we're happy to take your questions. So let me turn it back to Francois.

正如 Dan 所提到的，我們也預計在 2024 年透過 ATM 股權計畫籌集約 2.5 億美元。我們仍致力於在 2035 年將範圍 1 和範圍 2 溫室氣體排放量較 2019 年基準減少 60%。如您所知，我們已經在這方面取得了重大進展，預計到 2023 年底，這一比例將達到 25% 左右。好的。我們已經介紹了很多。我們的正式演講到此結束，我們很高興回答您的問題。讓我把話題轉回弗朗索瓦身上。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

The first question comes from the line of Ryan Connors from Northcoast Research.

第一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Ryan Connors。

I think you did a great job with the details, Dan. Just a couple of bigger picture questions here. Chris, you talked about -- strategically about kind of rate and CapEx strategy. But tactically, lots of high-profile industry noise in Pennsylvania right now, in terms of rate increases in water. How does that impact your tactical thinking about rate strategy in PA, in terms of the rate cycle and the cadence of CapEx going forward? Any thoughts there?

我認為你在細節上做得很好，丹。這裡只是幾個更大的問題。克里斯，您從戰略上談到了利率和資本支出策略。但從戰術上講，賓州目前在水費上漲方面有很多引人注目的行業噪音。就費率週期和未來資本支出節奏而言，這對您對 PA 費率策略的戰術思考有何影響？有什麼想法嗎？

Yes, Ryan, listen, I think cadence is important. The challenge that we could face, and I outlined a moment ago is if Pennsylvania, for example, requires us to comply with the PFAS rules over a 3-year period. It appears in the federal regulation that hasn't been formally released yet, but the draft would suggest that states can extend that by 2 years. So if they allow us to extend it, it would give us an opportunity to spread that a little bit.

是的，瑞安，聽著，我認為節奏很重要。我剛剛概述了我們可能面臨的挑戰，例如賓州是否要求我們在 3 年內遵守 PFAS 規則。它出現在尚未正式發布的聯邦法規中，但草案建議各州可以將其延長兩年。因此，如果他們允許我們延長它，這將給我們一個機會來傳播一點。

That's the only thing that could push us in a little sooner. But we think that the cadence we have now is a good cadence. Now there's a lot of capital before us, including lead. So that could impact the cadence of future cases. But listen, I think affordability is key in how we think about things. I think how we think about Act 11 and shifting of cost is key to us. And I also think about that throttling of capital to make sure that things remain affordable to our customers is also critically important.

這是唯一能讓我們早點介入的事情。但我們認為我們現在的節奏是一個很好的節奏。現在我們面前有很多資本，其中包括鉛。因此這可能會影響未來案件的節奏。但聽著，我認為負擔能力是我們思考問題的關鍵。我認為我們如何看待第 11 號法案和成本轉移對我們至關重要。我還認為，限制資本以確保我們的客戶仍然負擔得起的東西也至關重要。

Yes. And then relatedly, so this -- you mentioned your comments on the M&A environment, which I appreciate, but there was some big news yesterday, not one of your deals, but the PUC actually rejecting an Act 12 deal. How do you view that in terms of the potential impact on the near-term pipeline? I mean will that scare off some potential sellers, at least until we can get finality on where this reform process ends up?

是的。與此相關的是，您提到了您對併購環境的評論，我對此表示讚賞，但昨天有一些重大新聞，不是您的一項交易，而是 PUC 實際上拒絕了第 12 號法案的交易。您如何看待這對近期管道的潛在影響？我的意思是，這會嚇跑一些潛在的賣家嗎？至少在我們最終確定改革進程的結果之前？

It's an interesting question. And I think what it does is it provides pretty clear guidance to sellers, as to what's the multiple on depreciated original cost that they can probably expect. Now we're probably a couple of months away from the finalization of Chairman DeFrank's motion because there's 30 days followed by a 15-day comment period. Assuming it stays even close to where Chairman's proposal is, it will give pretty clear guidance as to where those purchase prices can be.

這是一個有趣的問題。我認為它的作用是為賣家提供非常清晰的指導，告訴他們他們可以預期的折舊原始成本的倍數是多少。現在距離 DeFrank 主席的動議最終確定可能還有幾個月的時間，因為接下來有 30 天的評論期和 15 天的評論期。假設它甚至接近主席提議的水平，它將就購買價格的水平給出相當明確的指導。

And believe me, I think that those are still really nice premiums that can be paid for these utilities while we keep rates in check. And I think yesterday's decision probably is in line with the commissioner's 5-0 vote on Commissioner DeFrank's (c) motion on his proposed changes. I think that given the difference in the multiples on depreciated original cost, it would have been hard for them to do this one.

相信我，我認為在我們控制費率的同時，這些公用事業費用仍然非常可觀。我認為昨天的決定可能與專員對 DeFrank 專員關於其擬議修改的 (c) 動議的 5 比 0 投票結果一致。我認為，考慮到折舊原始成本的倍數差異，他們很難做到這一點。

Now I do think, and this is important, as we think about acquisitions, particularly in Pennsylvania, troubled systems are really differentiated from this process. And so I think the acquisitions that we have in the pipeline, many of them are troubled. And so you have a little bit more flexibility in this for troubled acquisitions and they may take more of a focus.

現在我確實認為，這很重要，因為我們考慮收​​購，特別是在賓州，陷入困境的系統確實與這個過程有所不同。因此，我認為我們正在進行的收購中，很多都遇到了麻煩。因此，對於陷入困境的收購，你有更多的靈活性，並且它們可能需要更多的關注。

Yes. I appreciate that. And one last one for me, if I could sneak it in. Just super big picture, Chris. I mean there seems like there's been a pretty big -- pretty stark role reversal for water and gas over the last 6 months or so. Water seems to be facing some headwinds now and gas utility stocks are now actually outperforming the water names. That's one of the reasons your stock has done relatively well.

是的。我很感激。最後一張是給我的，如果我能偷偷放進去的話。只是超級大的圖片，克里斯。我的意思是，在過去 6 個月左右的時間裡，水和天然氣的角色似乎發生了相當大、相當明顯的逆轉。水務股現在似乎面臨一些阻力，而天然氣公用事業股現在的表現實際上優於水務股。這就是你的股票表現相對較好的原因之一。

How does that shift your thinking, if at all, on portfolio strategy going forward? I mean, you've talked in the past about kind of staying put in gas and really growing in water. Is there a thought process that maybe gas could be more of a growth platform?

這將如何改變您對未來投資組合策略的看法（如果有的話）？我的意思是，你過去曾談到在氣體中生長和在水中生長的情況。是否有一個思考過程認為天然氣可能更像是成長平台？

Well, I'm not ready to say that yet, but I think you're exactly right in your -- the public sentiment. Including in Europe, you saw that -- even in the European Union, gas is now considered green again. So I think public sentiment has changed a bit. I think the realization that natural gas is going to be here for a very long time, given the critical role it plays in the energy mix is more evident in Peoples knowledge today.

好吧，我還沒準備好這麼說，但我認為你的——公眾情緒是完全正確的。包括在歐洲，你看到了——即使在歐盟，天然氣現在又被認為是綠色的。所以我認為公眾的情緒已經發生了一些變化。我認為，鑑於天然氣在能源結構中發揮的關鍵作用，天然氣將存在很長一段時間，這一認識在今天的人們的知識中更加明顯。

But having said that, listen, we're going to remain focused this year on delivering a really quality rate case in Pennsylvania. And so that's going to be our primary focus in the Gas business in 2024.

但話雖如此，聽著，我們今年將繼續專注於在賓夕法尼亞州提供真正優質的費率案例。因此，這將是我們 2024 年天然氣業務的主要關注點。

The next question comes from the line of Durgesh Chopra from Evercore ISI.

下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Durgesh Chopra。

Just I wanted to kind of stick on the theme of the rate cases, getting a lot of questions from investors, obviously, on the water front. Maybe can you just give us a sense of what kind of revenue or rate increase ask that you might seek in the upcoming water case? You mentioned affordability several times in your comments. So just trying to get a sense of how big a rate increase you might see if you can give us a range or something along those lines?

只是我想堅持利率案例的主題，顯然，投資人提出了很多問題。也許您可以讓我們了解您在即將到來的水案件中可能會尋求什麼樣的收入或升息要求？您在評論中多次提到了負擔能力。那麼，如果您能給我們一個範圍或類似的信息，那麼只是想了解一下您可能會看到多大的利率上漲？

So Durgesh, we're still working through that case right now. And of course, as you indicated, affordability is a concern. So we don't have a number to share. We'll obviously share that number -- or we'll be pretty close to that number when we have our first quarter call. So we'll provide more detail at that point.

杜爾格甚，我們現在仍在處理這個案子。當然，正如您所指出的，負擔能力是一個問題。所以我們沒有可以分享的數字。顯然我們會分享這個數字——或者當我們進行第一季電話會議時我們會非常接近這個數字。因此，我們將在那時提供更多詳細資訊。

I would say though, and you see it in the 5-year CapEx guidance that we've shown, that we're going to continue to have strong CapEx in the Water business and PFAS and later a portion of that CapEx. So those capital expenditures here for the time period kind of through 2025 will be included in this rate case.

不過，我想說的是，您可以在我們展示的 5 年資本支出指南中看到，我們將繼續在水業務和 PFAS 以及隨後的部分資本支出中擁有強勁的資本支出。因此，到 2025 年期間的資本支出將包含在該費率案例中。

Yes. Let me just point you to, Durgesh, to some of the comments I made in the call here. We're meeting with regulators as we speak -- environmental regulators, that is, to talk about this time line for PFAS. We pretty much know where we're going with lead. But that timing is a key consideration even in this -- how we think about this case. So numbers are still moving around a bit. But as Dan said, it should be clear in the coming months.

是的。杜爾格甚，讓我向您指出我在電話會議中發表的一些評論。我們正在與監管機構會面——環境監管機構，即討論 PFAS 的時間表。我們非常清楚鉛的用途。但即使在這種情況下，這個時機也是一個關鍵的考慮因素——我們如何看待這個案子。所以數字仍然在波動。但正如丹所說，未來幾個月應該會很清楚。

I appreciate that. And then a pretty large step up in CapEx. I think if I just take the average annual capital amount, it's like 30% higher versus previous guidance. 1.4% on average versus 1.1%. Maybe just, can you talk to -- obviously -- and thank you, by the way, for sharing the equity plan for this year, much appreciated. But then can you talk to the financing needs in '25 and beyond. Should we use that $250 million as a run rate? Or should it be higher given the CapEx is stepping up quite a bit? Maybe just talk to that? And then I have a follow-up.

我很感激。然後資本支出有了相當大的進步。我認為，如果只考慮平均年資本金額，它比之前的指導值高出 30%。平均 1.4% 對比 1.1%。也許只是，你能談談——顯然——順便說一句，謝謝你分享今年的股權計劃，非常感謝。但你能談談 25 年及以後的融資需求嗎？我們應該使用這 2.5 億美元作為運行率嗎？或者考慮到資本支出大幅增加，它應該更高嗎？也許只是談談這個？然後我有一個後續行動。

Yes. We probably won't provide too many details on that beyond 2024, only because the needs in the future for equity also depend on acquisitions and how they play out. But I would say, as we think about that $1 billion ATM program, generally, we're thinking about that as 3-plus years. But again, it depends on both acquisitions and investment needs.

是的。我們可能不會在 2024 年之後提供太多細節，只是因為未來對股權的需求也取決於收購及其實施方式。但我想說的是，當我們考慮 10 億美元的 ATM 計畫時，一般來說，我們會考慮 3 年多的時間。但同樣，這取決於收購和投資需求。

Okay. Perfect. I appreciate that, Dan. And then maybe just like one last question for me is, rate base is growing at a materially faster clip or projected to grow at a materially faster clip, assuming you've got favorable regulatory outcomes in the PA rate cases? Could we see a step-up in long-term growth rate going forward, as you're spending more money? Or maybe perhaps to the -- towards the high end of that 5% to 7%? Or how should we think about that? I don't know -- I appreciate there's no long-term guidance, but maybe directionally, you could help us think about long-term growth rate.

好的。完美的。我很感激，丹。然後也許就像我的最後一個問題一樣，假設您在 PA 利率案例中獲得了有利的監管結果，那麼利率基礎正在以更快的速度增長，或者預計將以更快的速度增長？隨著你花更多的錢，我們能否看到未來長期成長率的提高？或者也許會達到 5% 到 7% 的高端？或者說我們該如何思考這個問題？我不知道——我很欣賞沒有長期指導，但也許從方向上來說，你可以幫助我們考慮長期成長率。

Yes. Listen, I think we're trying to refrain from front-running the commission in Pennsylvania. So I'm going to be careful in how I answer this. Listen, I think Peoples is coming out of repair, which we've -- I think we've talked about many, many times. And so as we think about coming out of repair and earning well before that, the step is not what would be in a normal step rate case. So I think I would be -- I think we're comfortable with the guidance we've given. And hopefully, that gives you a little bit of sense of how we think about it.

是的。聽著，我認為我們正在努力避免領先賓州的委員會。所以我會小心地回答這個問題。聽著，我認為人民已經不再修復，我們已經討論過很多次了。因此，當我們考慮在此之前完成修復並賺取收入時，該步驟並不是正常步驟率情況下的情況。所以我想我會——我認為我們對我們給予的指導感到滿意。希望這能讓您稍微了解我們的想法。

The next question comes from the line of Travis Miller from Morningstar.

下一個問題來自晨星公司的崔維斯‧米勒（Travis Miller）。

Kind of going back to again, this whole PFAS discussion and the investment needs. I think, Chris, if I heard you correctly, huge and expensive was the quote? Does that refer to the $450 million in the 5% O&M? Or is there more potential CapEx and/or O&M?

有點像是再次回到整個 PFAS 討論和投資需求。我想，克里斯，如果我沒聽錯的話，報價是巨大且昂貴的嗎？這是指 5% O&M 中的 4.5 億美元嗎？或者是否有更多潛在的資本支出和/或營運維護？

Yes. Yes, good question. So here's how we think about it. As we estimate today, we're saying at least $450 million. But the timing, right, if -- for example, we heard this week when we were in North Carolina, that we must comply with the 3-year time line in North Carolina. And so we're going to be all on push.

是的。是的，好問題。這就是我們的想法。正如我們今天估計的，至少 4.5 億美元。但是，時機是對的，例如，本週我們在北卡羅來納州時聽說我們必須遵守北卡羅來納州的三年時間表。因此，我們將全力以赴。

In Pennsylvania, we're hoping to get some definition around that from the regulators here. But if we have to move faster, if we have to comply with 3, which we originally were hoping for a 5-year, then it could be added cost. And the added costs come from potentially our inability to get loans -- low interest loans and grants in that process because often, they require us to apply and get the grant before we build, and we can't wait.

在賓州，我們希望從這裡的監管機構得到一些定義。但如果我們必須加快步伐，如果我們必須遵守 3（我們最初希望 5 年），那麼成本可能會增加。增加的成本來自於我們可能無法獲得貸款——這個過程中的低利率貸款和贈款，因為它們通常要求我們在建造之前申請並獲得贈款，而我們等不及了。

And so that's the conversation that we're having with the regulators now is help us, help our customers. Our customers didn't put this contaminant in the water nor did we, but we are all faced with fixing it and paying for it. And so we're trying to mitigate those costs as best we can. That's why that number is moving around a little bit and could go north more, if we can't attain some of these grants.

這就是我們現在與監管機構進行的對話，幫助我們、幫助我們的客戶。我們的客戶沒有將這種污染物放入水中，我們也沒有，但我們都面臨著修復它並為此付費的問題。因此，我們正在盡力降低這些成本。這就是為什麼這個數字會稍微移動，如果我們無法獲得其中一些補助金，這個數字可能會進一步向北移動。

Okay. That partially answers and then my follow-up was how much discussion are you having with regulators in terms of getting some of those costs recovered outside of having to file full base rate cases? Would there be some kind of (inaudible) treatment potential? Have you discussed that at all? Or is that on the table?

好的。這部分回答了問題，然後我的後續行動是，您與監管機構進行了多少討論，以在必須提交完整基本費率案件之外收回部分成本？是否有某種（聽不清楚）治療潛力？你們討論過這個問題嗎？或者說這是在桌上的嗎？

That is a discussion we are having in several locations. We had a long discussion even internally here about how to make some of those things happen last night. And I think it's important for customers to recognize that, that portion of their rates is associated with compliance with a cleanup and not simply an investment in pipe or improvement that we would normally make in the course of running a utility.

這是我們在多個地點進行的討論。昨晚，我們甚至在內部就如何實現其中一些事情進行了長時間的討論。我認為客戶必須認識到，他們的那部分費用與遵守清理規定有關，而不僅僅是我們通常在運行公用事業過程中進行的管道投資或改進。

I really want customers to understand that they're paying for some of these costs. Now I'll remind you that we are getting some recovery from lawsuits. We hope to get somewhere between $90 million and $110 million from the polluters, but that's not going to cover, clearly, the costs we're talking about here.

我真的希望客戶明白他們正在支付其中一些費用。現在我要提醒您，我們正在從訴訟中獲得一些賠償。我們希望從污染者那裡獲得 9,000 萬至 1.1 億美元的補償，但這顯然無法涵蓋我們在這裡討論的成本。

Okay. That's all helpful. And then one other on the gas side. Any thoughts in terms of getting a weather normalization clause, either in this rate case or a separate application? I know that at least one other gas utility in the state has a pretty robust weather normalization -- weather normalization costs. So I wonder if that's part of the discussions in the current rate case? Or is that something that would come along in a separate filing?

好的。這很有幫助。然後是氣體一側的另一個。對於獲得天氣正常化條款有什麼想法，無論是在這種情況下還是單獨的申請？我知道該州至少還有一家天然氣公用事業公司具有相當強大的天氣正常化能力——天氣正常化成本。所以我想知道這是否是當前利率案例討論的一部分？或者這會在單獨的文件中出現嗎？

Let me just remind you, this is our first rate case too, since we've owned the company. So that's why we don't have weather norm. Go ahead, Dan.

讓我提醒您，這也是我們的一流案例，因為我們擁有該公司。這就是為什麼我們沒有天氣常態。繼續吧，丹。

Great point, Chris. So yes, Travis, we have filed this rate case, including a request for weather normalization. And to your point, a few of our peer companies here in Pennsylvania have it and achieving a similar program will be very beneficial to our company.

說得好，克里斯。所以，是的，特拉維斯，我們已經提交了這個費率案件，包括天氣正常化的請求。就您而言，賓夕法尼亞州的一些同行公司擁有該計劃，而實現類似的計劃將對我們公司非常有利。

Okay. Handicap wise, do you think given that the other utilities have it, that there's a good chance? Or is there something unique about what you're discussing with regulators?

好的。就障礙而言，您認為考慮到其他公用事業公司也有這種情況，機會很大嗎？或者您與監管機構討論的內容有什麼獨特之處嗎？

I would say the fact that other utilities in the state have it bodes well for a positive decision here.

我想說的是，該州的其他公用事業公司擁有它這一事實預示著這裡的積極決定。

The next question comes from the line of Davis Sunderland from Baird.

下一個問題來自貝爾德 (Baird) 的戴維斯桑德蘭 (Davis Sunderland)。

Two questions for me. I wanted to ask about the decision not to give long-term EPS guidance. And I know you guys mentioned the rate case for being the reason for this, but should we think of any pending acquisitions, as playing a role in this? And then I have one follow-up.

有兩個問題問我。我想詢問不提供長期每股盈餘指引的決定。我知道你們提到了利率情況是造成這種情況的原因，但我們是否應該考慮任何懸而未決的收購，因為在這方面發揮了作用？然後我有一個後續行動。

Yes. No, not at all. We're not worried about the acquisitions. It's really the fact that we have 2 major rate cases filed in Pennsylvania, which account for, as you all know, a large portion of our net income. And so I actually had conversations with regulators who said it was to be a sign of respect to be able to do that. And so I gladly comply with that.

是的。一點都不。我們並不擔心收購。事實上，我們在賓州提起了兩起主要的利率案件，眾所周知，這占我們淨利潤的很大一部分。因此，我實際上與監管機構進行了交談，他們說能夠做到這一點是一種尊重的表現。所以我很樂意遵守這一點。

So it was really just not front-running the commission in terms of how they think about returns and processing a rate case, especially given its import to the overall picture here in our company.

因此，就他們如何看待退貨和處理費率案例而言，這實際上並沒有領先於委員會，特別是考慮到它對我們公司整體情況的重要性。

That makes sense. And then another one on just the acquisition pipeline. Broadly speaking, I guess, at a high level, have you seen in light of the higher rate environment an increase in the number of systems or I guess, maybe any thoughts on where valuations are? Any commentary on where you're at with the 400,000 customers too right now would be helpful?

這就說得通了。然後是關於收購管道的另一項。從廣義上講，我想，在較高的層面上，您是否看到鑑於利率較高的環境，系統數量有所增加，或者我想，也許對估值有什麼想法？任何有關您目前與 400,000 名客戶的關係的評論都會有幫助嗎？

Yes. I would say there's a lot of active conversations happening. Clearly, the news of the Chairman's (c) motion and then maybe the newest information on (inaudible) that just occurred is -- people are processing that information. I'd say that was really, really new information, both of those. So not sure exactly how the market will react.

是的。我想說，正在進行很多正面的對話。顯然，主席 (c) 動議的消息以及剛剛發生的（聽不清楚）最新資訊可能是——人們正在處理該資訊。我想說這都是非常非常新的訊息。因此不確定市場將如何反應。

But I'll tell you what, assuming the Chairman's motion is successful and we see a clear path to actually closing these and not having to deal with the court issues and just the prolonged nature of the challenges. I think that will actually be a very positive signal to the market. Number one, they can be paid a premium, all to be at a controlled premium. And then two, there's a clear path to closing, which I think in some of these cases today, that path is not as clear.

但我會告訴你，假設主席的動議獲得成功，並且我們看到了實際結束這些問題的明確途徑，而不必處理法院問題以及挑戰的長期性。我認為這實際上對市場來說是一個非常積極的信號。第一，他們可以獲得溢價，溢價是可控的。第二，有一條明確的關閉路徑，我認為在今天的某些案例中，這條路徑並不那麼清晰。

So now in terms of our general conversations with others in the pipeline. I would say they're steady as she goes, municipal acquisitions are lumpy. We've talked about that many times. And so sometimes you feel like it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back. But nevertheless, I do feel comfortable that the pipeline is still strong.

現在就我們與其他人的一般對話而言。我想說的是，隨著她的發展，它們是穩定的，市政收購則不穩定。我們已經討論過很多次了。所以有時你會覺得前進了 2 步，後退了 1 步。但儘管如此，我確實對管道仍然強大感到放心。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

The next question comes from the line of Jonathan Reeder from Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自富國銀行的喬納森·里德（Jonathan Reeder）。

I just wanted to quickly clarify that the '24 guidance range doesn't include the onetime gain from the nonregulated sales that recently closed. Is that correct?

我只是想快速澄清一下，24 年指導範圍不包括最近結束的非監管銷售的一次性收益。那是對的嗎？

Yes. That's correct, Jonathan. So that EPS guidance presumes normalized weather and excludes that gain on sale.

是的。沒錯，喬納森。因此，每股收益指引假定天氣正常，並排除銷售收益。

Okay. Great. And I appreciate that you rolled out the 5-year guidance in terms of CapEx and rate base. I'm still just a little confused, why you didn't also provide, I guess, the long-term EPS CAGR, since there's potentially another round of PA rate cases that would fall during that 2024 to 2028 period, after the pending gas and soon to be filed (inaudible) kind of wrapped up.

好的。偉大的。我很感謝你們在資本支出和費率基礎方面推出了 5 年指引。我還是有點困惑，為什麼你沒有提供長期每股收益複合年增長率，因為在 2024 年至 2028 年期間，在未決天然氣之後，可能會有另一輪 PA 利率案例下降很快就會被歸檔（聽不清楚）。

So I guess, kind of the first part of the question is, do you just intend to provide a 3-year EPS CAGR when you do roll it out next year. And then the second part, if we were to assume no change to the current (inaudible) Gas and Water, like return parameters, meaning the allowed ROEs and equity ratios. Is there any reason the EPS CAGR wouldn't be consistent with the prior 5% to 7% range, given rate base is expected to grow at over 8%, even taking into account presumed step-down in people's earned ROE?

所以我想，問題的第一部分是，當你明年推出它時，你是否只想提供 3 年每股盈餘複合年增長率。然後是第二部分，如果我們假設目前（聽不清楚）天然氣和水沒有變化，例如回報參數，即允許的股本回報率和股本比率。鑑於利率基數預計將成長超過 8%，即使考慮到人們賺取的 ROE 的假定下降，EPS 複合年增長率是否有任何原因與之前的 5% 至 7% 範圍不一致？

Yes. So a lot of questions into one question. So in terms of the guidance range and why with regulators. I kind of covered that before, Jonathan, but I'll just say again. I recognize there's a stream of cases coming through Pennsylvania. And so, the way we think about it is take one case at a time. We just happen to have a really heavy overlap here. The Peoples case won't conclude until really fourth quarter 2024. The Aqua case won't conclude until first quarter, probably of 2025. It's just right on top of each other.

是的。所以很多問題都集中在一個問題上。因此，就指導範圍以及監管機構的原因而言。喬納森，我之前已經介紹過這一點，但我還是再說一次。我知道賓州出現了一系列病例。因此，我們的思考方式是一次只處理一個案例。我們只是碰巧在這裡有很大的重疊。 Peoples 案要到 2024 年第四季才能結案。Aqua 案要到第一季（可能是 2025 年）才能結案。這兩個案子正好重疊。

I think we have to look at the cadence and then how we would provide that respect to our regulators and guidance to our investors. And evaluate it as we go. And hopefully, we can stay with largely the guides we've always provided. I would anticipate as we return at this time next year to regular guidance, I would expect a 3-year cadence, not -- we could probably continue to do 5 years on CapEx, but a 3-year guides. I just think there's so many things happening in the industry. That's a much clear view of what's coming.

我認為我們必須考慮節奏，然後考慮如何向監管機構提供尊重並為投資者提供指導。並在我們進行的過程中對其進行評估。希望我們能夠在很大程度上保留我們一直提供的指南。我預計，當我們明年這個時候恢復常規指導時，我預計會採用 3 年的節奏，而不是——我們可能會繼續在資本支出上進行 5 年，而是 3 年的指導。我只是認為這個行業發生了很多事情。這是對即將發生的事情的非常清晰的看法。

And I think, too, Jonathan, if you look at what we provided in terms of the Peoples Natural Gas rate case and rate base and equity layer and so forth. We've tried to provide some data there that would help you model 2025, a fully projected future test year in terms of an outcome. So if you need any more help on that, we obviously take your call any time and we can have conversations. But we're just not going to provide a guidance range at this moment.

我也認為，喬納森，如果你看看我們在人民天然氣費率案例、費率基礎和股權層等方面提供的內容。我們試圖在那裡提供一些數據，幫助您對 2025 年進行建模，這是一個完全預測的未來測試年的結果。因此，如果您需要更多幫助，我們顯然可以隨時接聽您的電話，我們可以進行對話。但我們目前不打算提供指導範圍。

Yes. No, I mean, just with the step-up in CapEx, even the rate base growth, the strength there -- I just now some people kind of wondering like is it sending a mixed message, but if it's just purely out of deference to the regulators and the plan was just to keep the EPS CAGR at 3 years versus 5 year along with the other stuff. Then I guess that makes a little more sense.

是的。不，我的意思是，隨著資本支出的增加，甚至是利率基礎的增長，那裡的實力——我只是現在有些人想知道它是否發出了一個混合的信息，但如果這只是純粹出於對監管機構和計劃只是將EPS 複合年增長率保持在3 年而不是5 年以及其他因素。然後我想這更有意義。

So in terms of kind of, I guess, modeling the $7.2 billion, like first off, that's just pure CapEx, that doesn't include anything for pending M&A or future placeholder, right, consistent with how you've done it in the past?

因此，我想，就 72 億美元的建模而言，首先，這只是純粹的資本支出，不包括任何待決併購或未來佔位符，對，與您過去的做法一致？

Yes. It's consistent with the past. So it includes -- it doesn't include acquisition prices -- purchase prices paid. It does include CapEx subsequent to acquisitions closing for those acquisitions, where we have a signed purchase and sale agreement.

是的。這與過去是一致的。所以它包括——不包括收購價格——支付的購買價格。它確實包括收購結束後的資本支出，我們已簽署了購買和銷售協議。

Okay. And then in terms of like (inaudible), should we just assume like gradual annual increases off of the [$1.3 billion] to [$1.4 billion] or -- is it going to be a little more heavy in '25 and '26 because of the PFAS stuff? I mean, I guess that's what you -- still a little bit to be determined, but...

好的。然後就（聽不清楚）而言，我們是否應該假設每年從 [13 億美元] 逐漸增加到 [14 億美元]，或者 - 25 年和 26 年的增幅是否會更大一些，因為PFAS 的東西？我的意思是，我想這就是你的想法——還有一點有待確定，但......

Yes, a little bit to be determined whether PFAS is a 5-year or 3-year program and by state. Otherwise, I guess I would say that if you take $7.2 billion and you divide it by 5, you're kind of in this $1.3 billion, $1.4 billion range, and it kind of bounces around in that range over those years. It's not necessarily a directionality to it.

是的，PFAS 是一個 5 年期還是 3 年期計劃以及各州還需要確定。否則，我想我會說，如果你拿 72 億美元除以 5，你就處於這個 13 億美元、14 億美元的範圍內，並且在這些年裡它在這個範圍內反彈。這不一定是方向性。

Okay, can you kind of just talk about the drivers of the CapEx increase? What caused you to kind of step it up? Because I think you'd kind of been relatively consistent the past few years in your budget. This is a lot bigger increase. And then along with that, what sort of impact the higher CapEx will have on the average annual customer bill increases that you foresee?

好的，可以談談資本支出增加的驅動因素嗎？是什麼讓你加快了步伐？因為我認為過去幾年你們的預算相對穩定。這是一個更大的成長。除此之外，更高的資本支出將對您預期的平均年度客戶帳單成長產生什麼樣的影響？

Yes. I'm happy to start and then Chris can chime in. But as we look forward, and I think all utilities and really all companies that do construction work have experienced this, we do see higher construction costs in the future than we've had in the past. So that gets incorporated when we develop our 5-year plan. And then, of course, we've got a bit more clarity here in this 5-year plan regarding PFAS and lead than we had previously as well. And then...go ahead, Chris.

是的。我很高興開始，然後克里斯可以插話。但是當我們展望未來時，我認為所有公用事業公司和所有從事建築工作的公司都經歷過這種情況，我們確實看到未來的建築成本比以前更高在過去。因此，當我們制定五年計劃時，就會將其納入其中。當然，我們在這個 5 年計畫中對 PFAS 和鉛的了解也比以前更明確。然後...繼續吧，克里斯。

Yes, it's really step up. I mean we were [$1.1 billion] in '22, [$1.2 billion] in '23 and now we're coming up to, call it, an average of [$1.4 billion]. So it's not a massive increase. But given the cost we're seeing -- labor costs as well, we're seeing increase. And then more clarity on PFAS and lead, it just is migrating north.

是的，確實是進步了。我的意思是，我們在 22 年為 [11 億美元]，在 23 年為 [12 億美元]，現在我們即將達到平均 [14 億美元]。所以這並不是一個巨大的成長。但考慮到我們所看到的成本——還有勞動成本，我們看到了增加。然後更清楚地了解 PFAS 和鉛，它只是向北遷移。

Okay. And then last for me, on the PFAS front. Can you provide any update on federal or state efforts to protect the water utilities from any potential liabilities related to distributing water, that might have a PFAS in it prior to the EPA actually establishing a rule? I think there's some class action lawsuits perhaps in Connecticut around this issue that have been filed?

好的。最後是我的 PFAS 方面。您能否提供有關聯邦或州為保護供水公司免受與供水相關的任何潛在責任（在 EPA 實際制定規則之前可能含有 PFAS）的最新資訊？我認為康乃狄克州可能已經圍繞這個問題提起了一些集體訴訟？

Yes. I mean listen, I think a number of people are trying to figure out ways in -- at the state level even to protect water utilities through legislation from that kind of liability. As you said, there's 2 in Connecticut, with the public company there. One is about product liability lawsuits, class action. And -- which we're watching clearly very closely as the rest of the industry as well.

是的。我的意思是，聽著，我認為很多人正在試圖找出方法——在州一級甚至通過立法來保護水務公司免受這種責任。正如你所說，康乃狄克州有 2 家上市公司。一是關於產品責任訴訟、集體訴訟。而且——我們和業界其他公司一樣正在密切關注這一點。

I'm not aware of any that have successfully passed in terms of protections. As we think about looking for protection, we're also looking for on the waste side, right? (inaudible) we want to understand really how we're going to be treated going forward with the waste. So work to be done. Listening to guys like (inaudible) and the industry lobbyists are working hard in Washington to try and get protection. And I'll just give a quick shout out to Senator Shelley Capito, who's really done nice work in this area and leading some of the work and really understands what we're facing.

我不知道有哪一個成功通過了保護措施。當我們考慮尋求保護時，我們也在尋找廢物方面，對吧？ （聽不清楚）我們想真正了解我們將如何處理廢物。所以工作要做。聽聽像（聽不清楚）這樣的人以及產業遊說者正在華盛頓努力爭取保護。我要向參議員雪萊·卡皮托表示感謝，他在這一領域做得很好，領導了一些工作，並且真正理解我們所面臨的問題。

The team, Jonathan, that we're talking to -- elected officials about is, again, we didn't put the water there. As a matter of fact, we've taken steps even before now to put mitigation in place. And so we believe that our customers and our companies need to be protected. So I would put that in the category of work that needs to be done.

喬納森，我們正在談論的團隊——民選官員，再說一次，我們沒有把水放在那裡。事實上，我們甚至在此之前就採取了措施來實施緩解措施。因此，我們相信我們的客戶和公司需要受到保護。所以我會把它歸類在需要完成的工作類別。

Okay. Yes, I know it's definitely kind of interest, given the size of the liabilities that the actual polluters face is, hopefully, that doesn't come back on the water utilities, which ultimately gets passed on to the customers and bills and everything like that. So good luck with that.

好的。是的，我知道這絕對是一種興趣，考慮到實際污染者所面臨的負債規模，希望這不會回到水務公司身上，最終會轉嫁給客戶和帳單之類的東西。祝你好運。

Yes, thank you.

是的，謝謝。

Next question comes from the line of Gregg Orrill from UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的 Gregg Orrill。

Just thoughts on Aquarion and how your criteria would align with that as an opportunity, how you think about that? And I guess a separate question, I guess, '23 is the base year for the rate base growth guidance?

只是對 Aquarion 的思考，以及你的標準如何與它作為一個機會一致，你對此有何看法？我猜想還有一個單獨的問題，『23 是利率基數成長指引的基年？

Yes, that's correct.

對，那是正確的。

Yes. On Aquarion, Greg, it's a good question. Obviously, the asset is in the market as announced by Eversource. Let's start with -- it's a strong asset in terms of the quality of the asset itself. Don Morrissey, who runs the company, along with Joe Nolan, who runs Eversource, they've done a nice job in maintaining the asset, growing it a little bit. So from that perspective, I think it's a nice asset.

是的。關於 Aquarion，Greg，這是一個很好的問題。顯然，正如 Eversource 所宣布的那樣，該資產已在市場上。首先，就資產本身的品質而言，它是一項強大的資產。經營該公司的唐·莫里西 (Don Morrissey) 和經營 Eversource 的喬·諾蘭 (Joe Nolan) 一起，他們在維護資產方面做得很好，並使其有所增長。所以從這個角度來看，我認為這是一筆很好的資產。

But I also think it's a challenged regulatory environment. An 8.7% ROE in the latest case is a little bit concerning, I think to any potential buyer. And I think the ability to grow in Connecticut is also challenging with the requirement of a referendum to grow.

但我也認為這是一個充滿挑戰的監管環境。我認為對於任何潛在買家來說，最新案例中 8.7% 的股本回報率都有點令人擔憂。我認為康乃狄克州的成長能力也面臨挑戰，因為需要公投來成長。

So I think there are some challenging things. Listen, there's a lot of people are going to look at that asset. We don't talk about what our plans are. But I think it's an interesting asset, and it has some pluses and minuses to it.

所以我認為有一些具有挑戰性的事情。聽著，有很多人會關注該資產。我們不談論我們的計劃是什麼。但我認為這是一項有趣的資產，它有一些優點和缺點。

There are no further questions. So I'll hand you back to Christopher Franklin to conclude today's call.

沒有其他問題了。因此，我將請克里斯托弗·富蘭克林（Christopher Franklin）結束今天的電話會議。

Thanks for sticking with us, folks. I know we went a little long today, but good questions and a lot of material to cover on the year, so many things happening in the industry. Obviously, Dan, myself, Brian and the team are always available for your follow-ups. Thanks for joining us today.

謝謝你們堅持我們，夥伴們。我知道我們今天講的有點長，但是提出了很好的問題，並且討論了這一年的很多材料，行業中發生了很多事情。顯然，丹、我自己、布萊恩和團隊隨時可以為您提供後續服務。感謝您今天加入我們。

Thank you for joining today's call. You may now disconnect your lines.

感謝您參加今天的電話會議。現在您可以斷開線路。