Earnings Call Transcript - D Q2 2021

Operator, Operator

Welcome to the Dominion Energy Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, your line is in a listen-only mode. At the conclusion of today’s presentation, we will open the floor for questions. Instructions will be given for the procedure to follow if you would like to ask a question. I would now like to turn the call over to Steven Ridge, Vice President, Investor Relations.

Steven Ridge, Vice President, Investor Relations

Thank you, and good morning to everyone. Thanks for joining today's call. Earnings materials, including today's prepared remarks, may contain forward-looking statements and estimates that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our SEC filings, including our most recent annual reports on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for a discussion of factors that may cause results to differ from management's estimates and expectations. This morning, we'll discuss some measures of our company's performance that differ from those recognized by GAAP. Reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, which we can calculate, are contained in the earnings release kit. I encourage you to visit our Investor Relations website to review webcast slides as well as the earnings release kit. Joining today's call are Bob Blue, Chair, President, and Chief Executive Officer; Jim Chapman, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer; and other members of the executive management team. I'll turn the call over to Jim.

Jim Chapman, CFO

Thank you, Steven, and good morning, everyone. I know there's some competition for utility investors' attention this morning, with a couple of competing calls in this time slot. So thank you for joining our call and we promise to keep our call today somewhat brief. Before I report on our strong quarterly financial results, I'm going to start with a recap of our compelling investment proposition and highlight our focus on the consistent execution of our repositioned strategy. We expect to grow our earnings per share by 6.5% per year through at least 2025, supported by a $32 billion five-year growth capital plan. As outlined on our fourth quarter call in February, over 80% of that capital investment is emissions reduction enabling and over 70% is rider recovery eligible. We offer a nearly 3.5% yield and expect dividends per share to grow by 6% per year based on a target payout ratio of 65%. Taken together, Dominion Energy offers an approximately 10% total return, premised on a pure-play state-regulated utility profile, operating in premier regions of the country. Our industry-leading ESG positioning includes the largest regulated decarbonization investment opportunity in the nation, which as you'll hear in today's prepared remarks, is steadily transforming from opportunity to reality. Turning now to earnings. Our second quarter 2021 operating earnings, as shown on Slide 4, were $0.76 per share, which included a one-time hit from worse than normal weather in our utility service territories. Both actual results and weather-normalized results of $0.77 were above the midpoint of our quarterly guidance range. This marks our 22nd consecutive quarter, or 5.5 years now, of delivering weather-normal quarterly results that meet or exceed the midpoint of our quarterly guidance range. Note that our second quarter and year-to-date GAAP and operating earnings, together with comparative periods, have been adjusted to account for discontinued operations, including those associated with our gas transmission and storage assets. Second quarter GAAP earnings were $0.33 per share and reflect the mark-to-market impact of economic hedging activities, unrealized changes in the value of our nuclear decommissioning trust funds, the contribution from Questar pipeline, which will continue to be accounted for as discontinued operations until divested, and other adjustments. A summary of all adjustments between operating and reported results is included in Schedule 2 of our Earnings Release Kit. Turning now to guidance on Slide 5. We are providing a quarterly guidance range, which is designed primarily to account for variations from normal weather. For the third quarter of 2021, we expect operating earnings to be between $0.95 and $1.10 per share. We are affirming our existing full year and long-term operating earnings and dividend growth guidance as well. Through the first half of the year, weather-normal operating EPS of $1.86 represents approximately half of our full year guidance midpoint. So we are tracking nicely in line with our expectations. We'll provide our formal fourth quarter earnings guidance as is typical, on our next earnings call, but let me provide some commentary on the implied cadence of our earnings over the second half of the year. While Q3 guidance is roughly in line with weather-normal results from a year ago, we will see a multitude of small year-over-year boosts in Q4, such as normal course regulated rider growth, the impact of the South Carolina electric rate settlement, strengthening sales, modest margin help including from Millstone, continued expense management and tax timing that combined will help us deliver solid second half results. We continue to be very focused on extending our track record of achieving weather-normal results, at least equal to the midpoint of our guidance on both a quarterly and annual basis. Turning now to a couple of macro items. Overall electric sales trends in Virginia show a 1.2% year-over-year increase in the second quarter, and 3.2% in South Carolina. In both states, increased usage from commercial and industrial segments overcame declines among residential users as the stay-at-home impact of COVID waned. You'll recall that demand in DOM Zone last year was resilient due to robust residential and data center demand. It's not surprising to see South Carolina's relatively higher growth in Q2, given the larger toll COVID had on sales there last year. We're encouraged by the strong return of commercial and industrial volumes in South Carolina in the second quarter. Looking ahead, we expect electric sales growth in our Virginia and South Carolina service territories to continue at a run rate of 1% to 1.5% per year, similar to what we were observing pre-pandemic. Next, let me discuss what we're seeing around input prices. As discussed on last quarter's call, we're continuing to monitor raw material costs. Across a number of industries right now, we're observing higher prices, although we have seen a moderation in the upward pressure over the last few months, especially in steel. Despite these cost pressures, as it relates to offshore wind, in particular, we remain confident in our ability to deliver that project within our previously guided levelized cost of energy range of $80 to $90 per megawatt-hour. On the solar side, we're seeing again what others seem to be seeing: supply is tight, and prices for steel, poly, and glass are up, but our 2021 projects remain on track with most material now already on site. We're beginning to see moderation in pricing and relief from modest shipping constraints, which bodes well, we expect, for our post-2021 projects. So, again, we're watching, but no material financial impacts at this time. Let me address a few additional topics on Slide 6. First, Questar Pipeline. Last month, Dominion Energy and Berkshire Hathaway Energy mutually agreed to terminate our planned sale of Questar Pipeline due to ongoing uncertainty associated with the timing and the likelihood of ultimately achieving Hart-Scott renewal clearance. We felt that a timely clearance and closing was the logical outcome given the facts and circumstances surrounding that transaction. We did build into the original Berkshire sale contract the flexibility to easily accommodate a termination if needed. Second, we are already at a reasonably advanced stage of an alternate competitive sale process for Questar Pipeline, with expected closing by the end of this year. Third, its termination has no impact on the sale of the gas transmission storage assets to Berkshire, which we successfully completed back in November of last year, representing approximately 80% of the originally announced transaction value. Finally, this termination nor the outcome of the ongoing sale process impacts Dominion Energy's existing financial guidance. As mentioned, Questar Pipeline will continue to be accounted for as discontinued operations excluded from the company's calculation of operating earnings. Briefly, on credit, we've continued to deliberately enhance our qualitative and quantitative credit measures. Last month, we were pleased to see Fitch upgrade Dominion Energy South Carolina's credit rating from BBB+ to A-. Fitch cited both improved regulatory relationships, including the unanimous approval of the General Electric rate settlement, which Bob will discuss in more detail, as well as good balance sheet management. So, let me turn now to a couple of ESG-related topics. In June, we announced the successful syndication of sustainability-linked credit facilities totaling $6.9 billion. We appreciate the efforts and support of all the banks who worked with us on what we view as a very interesting new type of financing. The $6 billion master credit facility links pricing to achievement of annual renewable electric generation and diversity and inclusion milestones. The $900 million supplemental facility presents a first-of-its-kind structure where pricing benefits accrue for draws related to qualified environmental and social spending programs. In other words, going forward, if we meet or exceed our quantifiable goals in these areas, our borrowing costs decline. The opposite is also true; if we fail to meet our goals, we pay more. For this financing, we're very much putting our money where our mouth is when it comes to ESG performance. We're looking for more ways to deploy green capital raises as we execute on our fixed income financing plan during the balance of the year. In July, we issued an updated and comprehensive climate report, reflecting the task force on climate-related financial disclosures or TCFD methodology. We are one of six US electric utilities that have pledged formal support for TCFD. As described in the report, which is available on our website, we've modeled several potential pathways to achieve net zero emissions across our electric and gas business that reflect 1.5-degree scenarios and are consistent with the Paris Agreement on climate change. The climate report shows we are a leader in both greenhouse gas emission reductions over the last 15 years and in our commitment to transparent progress towards our goal of net zero emissions. With that, I'll turn the call over to Bob.

Bob Blue, CEO

Thanks, Jim. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin my prepared remarks by commenting on our safety performance. As shown on Slide 7, I'm very pleased that our results over the first two quarters of this year surpassed even our record-setting results from last year. Our safety performance matters immensely to our more than 17,000 employees, to their families, and to the communities we serve, which is why it matters so much to us and why it's our first core value. Turning to Slide 8. I often describe our pure-play state-regulated strategy as centering around five premier states, all of which share the philosophy that a common-sense approach to energy policy and regulation puts a priority on safety, reliability, affordability, and increasingly sustainability. We were pleased that CNBC's list of America's top states for business ranked Virginia, North Carolina, and Utah as one, two, and three respectively—a podium sweep for three of our five primary jurisdictions, with a fourth major service territory, Ohio, also ranking in the top 10. This is the second consecutive number one ranking for Virginia. An assessment of this variety is just one of several ways to evaluate state-specific business environments, but we're pleased with the independent confirmation of what we observe every day working on the ground in all our regions. We've strategically repositioned our business around the state-regulated utility model to offer investors increased stability, which is further enhanced by our concentration in these fast-growing, constructive, and business-friendly states. Next, I'd like to highlight the outstanding work done across our operating segments by the women and men of Dominion Energy who exemplify our core values of safety, ethics, excellence, embracing change, and One Dominion Energy. At gas distribution, our colleagues have collaborated across our national footprint to share best practices, resulting in nearly a 20% reduction of third-party excavation damage to our underground infrastructure as compared to 2019. Each instance of damage prevention enhances the safety and reliability of our system while also reducing the emissions profile of our operations. At Dominion Energy South Carolina, our ability to work in close partnership with state and local officials, combined with our commitment to meet an aggressive timeline for electric and gas service delivery, was key to attracting a new $400 million brewery to the state last year. The facility is expected to create 300 local jobs and is one of the largest breweries built in the United States in the last 25 years. Being on time, however, wasn’t good enough for our South Carolina colleagues who safely completed the infrastructure upgrades and installation ahead of an already ambitious schedule. We take pride in examples like this that demonstrate how DESC plays a key role in supporting South Carolina's economic and job growth. In Virginia, despite several days of near-record peak demand in June, our generation colleagues delivered exceptional performance as evidenced by the absence during those periods of any forced outages across our fleet. Our transmission and distribution team members kept the grid operating flawlessly under demanding load conditions while also keeping pace with robust residential connects and remarkable data center demand growth, continuing the trend of robust growth over the last several years with no end in sight. I'll now turn to updates around the execution of our growth plan. The 2.6 gigawatt Coastal Virginia offshore wind project received its notice of intent or NOI from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in early July, consistent with the timeline we had previously communicated. The issuance of an NOI formally commenced the federal permitting review, which based on our previously disclosed timeline, is expected to take about two years. Key schedule milestones are shown on Slide 10. Later this year, we'll file our CPCN and rider applications with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. In June, we announced an agreement with Orsted and Eversource under which they will charter our Jones Act-compliant wind turbine installation vessel for the construction of two offshore wind farms in the Northeast. The vessel remains on track for delivery in late 2023 and will be an invaluable resource to DEV as well as to the growing US offshore wind industry. Turning to Slide 11. The Virginia triannual review is currently in the discovery phase and the company is providing timely responses to requests for information, all of which generally conform with what we would reasonably expect during a rate proceeding of this size and complexity. As a reminder, the earnings review applies only to the Virginia base portion of our rate base, which becomes smaller as a percentage of DEV and Dominion Energy during our forecast period. Virginia rider investments like offshore wind, solar, battery storage, nuclear life extension, and electric transmission, which are outside the scope of the proceeding, represent the vast majority of the growth at DEV. We've provided a summary of our filing position and key milestones in the procedural schedule. A few items to reiterate here: first, our filing highlights the compelling value we've provided to customers during the review period of 2017 through 2020. We've delivered safe and reliable service at affordable rates that are well below regional and national averages, while taking aggressive steps to accelerate decarbonization by pursuing early retirement of fossil fuel and power generation units. Second, at the direction of the General Assembly, we've provided over $200 million of customer arrears forgiveness to assist families and businesses in overcoming financial difficulties caused by the pandemic. Third, we've invested over $300 million in CCRO-eligible projects, including our offshore wind test project, which is the first operational wind turbine built in federal waters in the United States. Finally, our filing reports a regulatory return that aligns closely with our authorized ROE, plus the 70 basis point color. Inclusive of arrears forgiveness, this financial result warrants neither refund nor a change to revenues. While offshore wind and the triennial review are understandably areas of focus, we’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight the blocking and tackling we're doing to advance other very material growth investments and their associated regulatory processes for the benefit of our customers, communities, and the environment. Since our last update, we've received our fourth consecutive regulatory approval for investments in utility-owned rider recoverable solar projects. We've now surpassed 1,000 megawatts of Dominion Energy-owned solar generation in service in Virginia and there is a lot more to come. In fact, our pipeline of company-owned solar projects in Virginia under various stages of development currently totals nearly 4,000 megawatts, which gives us great confidence in our ability to achieve the solar capacity targets set forth in Virginia law and which support our long-term growth capital plans. In the very near term—about 25 days to be specific—we'll make our next and largest clean energy submission. We expect the filing to include up to 1,100 megawatts of utility-owned and PPA solar, roughly consistent with the 65-35 split identified in the Virginia Clean Economy Act. It will also include around 100 megawatts of battery storage, including 70 megawatts of utility-owned projects. Taken together, the filing will represent as much as $1.5 billion of utility-owned and rider-eligible investment, further derisking our growth capital guidance provided in our fourth quarter 2020 earnings call. Next, the State Corporation Commission approved our inaugural renewable portfolio standard development plan and rider filings. This annual accounting is mandated under the VCEA and provides a status update on the company's progress towards meeting both near and long-term requirements under the state's RPS targets. We received commission approval for our Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative or REGI rider file. Under state law, Virginia has joined with other REGI states to promote a marketplace for emissions credits with the goal of significantly reducing greenhouse gases over time. This approval allows for timely recovery of our cost of compliance. Next, we received authorization from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to extend the life of our two nuclear units at the Surry power station for an additional 20 years. These units currently provide around 45% of the state's zero carbon generation and under this authorization will be upgraded to continue providing significant environmental and economic benefits for many years to come. We expect to file for rider cost recovery associated with license renewal capital investment later this year. And last but not least, progress on our grid's transformation plans. Our first phase covering 2019 through 2021 is well underway. We recently filed our Phase II plan with Virginia regulators, covering the years 2022 and 2023. The second phase includes approximately $669 million in capital investment needed to facilitate and optimize the integration of distributed energy resources while continuing to address the essential reality that reliability and security are vital to our company and its customers. We expect the final CPCN order around the end of the year. Our customers and policymakers have made it abundantly clear: they want cleaner energy, delivered safely, reliably, and affordably. We're pleased to be executing on that vision on multiple fronts, while extending the track record of constructive regulatory outcomes to the benefit of all stakeholders. Turning now to our gas distribution business, we're leading the industry in initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of our essential natural gas distribution services. Our efforts include modifications to our operating and maintenance procedures, systematic pipeline and aging infrastructure replacement, third-party damage prevention, piloting applications for hydrogen blending, producing and promoting the use of carbon-beneficial renewable natural gas, and offering innovative customer programs. For example, in Utah, we're seeking approval for a program that would enable customers to purchase voluntary carbon offsets. For around $5 per month on a typical residential bill, customers that opt into the program will offset the carbon impact of their gas distribution use. This program allows customers to make choices about how to manage and lower their individual carbon profile, one way we're reimagining how gas distribution service intersects with an increasingly sustainable energy future. Along those lines, our hydrogen blending pilot in Utah is performing in line with expectations, and we're in the planning stages of expanding the pilot to test communities. We filed for a similar blending pilot in North Carolina and are evaluating appropriate next steps for blending in our Ohio system. As it relates to our already industry-leading renewable natural gas platform, we're pleased to announce an expansion of our strategic alliance with Vanguard Renewables. As a result, we expect to grow our dairy RNG portfolio from six projects in five states to 22 projects in seven states through the second half of the decade and enhance our development pipeline towards our aspirational goal of investing up to $2 billion by 2035. Our current pipeline of projects will result in an estimated annual reduction of 5.5 million metric tons of CO2e, equivalent to removing 1.2 million cars from the road. Turning now to South Carolina. On July 21st, the South Carolina Public Service Commission, with the support of all parties, unanimously approved the proposed comprehensive settlement in the pending general electric rate case. We appreciate the collaborative approach among the parties over the last six months, which allowed us to produce this agreement that provides significant customer benefits, as shown on Slide 14; supports our ability to continue providing safe, reliable, affordable, and increasingly sustainable energy; and aligns with our existing consolidated financial earnings guidance. Further, the approval allows all parties to turn the page and focus on South Carolina's bright energy future. It's also worth noting that the commission also recently approved our modified IRP, which favors a plan that would result in the retirement of all coal-fired generation in our South Carolina system by the end of the decade. While the IRP is an informational filing and does not provide approval or disapproval for any specific capital project, we look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders including the commission to drive towards an increasingly low carbon future. Before I summarize these prepared remarks and open the line for questions, I'd like to recognize three interrelated organizational changes we announced yesterday that will affect our team and our Investor Relations efforts. First, Senior Vice President Craig Wagstaff, who has provided over 10 years of exemplary leadership for our gas utility operations in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, will be retiring early next year. He will be sorely missed. Craig joined Questar Corp. in 1984 and we have benefited greatly from his contributions since the Dominion Energy Questar merger in 2016. Best wishes to Craig and his family in his retirement. We’ve asked Steven Ridge, our current Vice President of Investor Relations, to relocate to Salt Lake City effective October 1st, to assume the role of Vice President and General Manager for our Western natural gas distribution operations. Steven has been a valuable member of our IR efforts over the last nearly four years, and we have confidence in his ability to follow Craig's long-standing example of serving our Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho customers and communities well. Finally, David McFarland, who's been working on our Investor Relations team since October of last year, will assume responsibility for our IR efforts as Steven transitions into his new role later this year. We congratulate David on this new opportunity. Our investors should expect no change to our aim to provide consistently a high level of responsiveness and accuracy. With that let me summarize our remarks on Slide 15. Our safety performance year-to-date is on track to improve upon last year's record-setting achievement. We reported our 22nd consecutive quarterly result as normalized for weather meets or exceeds the midpoint of our guidance range. We affirmed our existing annual and long-term earnings guidance and our dividend growth guidance. We're focused on executing across project construction and achieving regulatory outcomes that serve our customers well. We're aggressively pursuing our vision to become the most sustainable regulated energy company in America. With that, we're ready to take your questions.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. We are now ready to take questions. Our first question comes from Paul Zembardo with Bank of America.