No bad stock

NiSource Inc.
CEO : Mr. Lloyd M. Yates

Quarterly earnings growth(YoY,%)

Lloyd Yates says,

Key Takeaways

• The company has confidence in its strategic plan and strong progress in delivering on its commitments.
• The company exceeded its 2022 earnings guidance and raised its 2023 guidance.
• The company is committed to driving top-tier growth through investments of $15 billion in regulated CapEx from 2023 to 2027, and $30 billion from 2023 to 2032.
• The company’s regulatory team has been successful in filing and resolving rate cases in various states.
• The company has identified additional investment opportunities in both the near and long term, including replacing pre-1985 plastic gas pipes and enhancing electric grid hardening.

Shawn Anderson says,

Electric Rate Case Settlement

• NIPSCO is actively working with stakeholders towards a settlement in its electric rate case, which is expected to take effect in September 2023 with an incremental rate step applied in 2024.

Generation Portfolio

• NIPSCO is on track to retire all coal-fired generation by the end of 2028 with new assets, predominantly wind and solar facilities coming online.
• All renewable generation projects remain on target with previously revised in-service dates.
• The Indiana Crossroads Solar and Dunns Bridge Solar 1 are projected to be in service in the first half of 2023, and the Indiana Crossroads 2 wind project is pacing towards the start of commercial operations by the end of 2023.
• Contract amendments for the Dunns Bridge 2, Cavalry, and Fairbanks projects have been entered into to address previously communicated project completion dates and reflect market pressures on pricing.

Applicability of Inflation Reduction Act to Generation Portfolio

• NIPSCO is evaluating the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act and its applicability to the projects in its generation portfolio, including the potential application of tax transferability, along with the enhanced tax credits provided for in the act.
• The application of all tax credits is analyzed on a project-by-project basis and is impacted by various factors such as capital costs and the expected production of the asset.

New Project Agreements

• NIPSCO is in active commercial negotiations with potential counterparties to fulfill the preferred portfolio outlined in its 2021 integrated resource plan.
• Project agreements resulting from the all-sources RFP as well as the targeted gas peaking RFP at Schahfer Generating Station are expected to be announced this summer.

Federal Legislation and Funding Opportunities

• Additional work continues around capturing direct and indirect funding opportunities from all of the federal legislation passed recently, most notably the nearly $500 billion generated from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
• NIPSCO has been active in several hydrogen hub proposals across its territory, each of which has received encouragement from the DOE to submit a full application for the regional clean hydrogen hub funding opportunity announcement as designated in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Environmental Impact Targets

• NIPSCO is on track to achieve its industry-leading environmental impact targets, namely a 90% reduction in Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.
• This progress is consistent with the reductions needed to achieve its goal of net 0 Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040, which NIPSCO announced in November.

Q & A sessions,

O&M and Rate Cases

• NIPSCO is aligning O&M with rate cases, but any O&M that can be removed from the system to keep rates affordable for customers will be leaned out of the system on any given day, regardless of rate cases.
• The company’s strategy is ultimately focused on benefiting customers and being efficient, not on lining up O&M with rate cases.

NIPSCO Rate Case

• The capital investments for renewable projects in Titus have been agreed upon and are not being debated.
• The debate is over O&M and ROE, which is a positive sign for the rate case.
• When limited to these two subject matters, settlements can typically be reached, and the company is optimistic about the next two weeks for all involved stakeholders.