The operator welcomes participants to Alliant Energy's Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call and introduces the host, Susan Gille. Gille thanks participants for joining and introduces the speakers, John Larsen, Lisa Barton, and Robert Durian. She reminds participants of the risks involved in forward-looking statements and mentions the use of non-GAAP financial measures. John Larsen thanks everyone for joining.

The speaker reports that the company is on track to achieve their strategic objectives and maintain their commitment to serving customers and building stronger communities. They address the recent announcement of the speaker's retirement and express gratitude for their colleagues and the company. The speaker also praises the new leader and the talented team, and highlights the company's efforts in reaching a partial settlement in their Iowa rate review. The speaker then hands over the call to the new leader, Lisa.

Lisa Barton thanks John for his leadership and recognizes his dedication to customers and clean energy solutions. She reaffirms the company's long-term earnings growth target and 2024 EPS guidance range. The company is focused on maintaining financial discipline and making capital investments while prioritizing reliability, economic growth, and affordability. The Iowa rate review settlement is seen as a positive step towards attracting economic development to the service territory.

The settlement in Iowa is a result of constructive discussions between parties and will provide stability for customers, attract new commercial and industrial customers, and benefit the state's economic growth. The settlement also allows for greater flexibility to attract economic development and has already resulted in agreements with data centers in Iowa and Wisconsin. Approval by the IUC is necessary for these projects to move forward. The company's incentive rate design structures in Iowa and Wisconsin have been successful in attracting interest and will contribute to earnings growth and affordability.

The company has formed partnerships with ATC and ITC Midwest to support economic development in their service area. They are prioritizing economic growth and attracting new industries, and the recently passed megasite legislation in Iowa is already generating interest. The company also has a Clean Energy Blueprint in place to plan for future generation development. They will provide updates on load forecast, resource needs, and capital expenditures in future filings. The company expresses appreciation for their employees, especially those who helped with mutual assistance during emergencies. The call is now being turned over to Robert Durian.

In the second quarter of 2024, the company announced GAAP earnings of $0.34 per share and ongoing earnings of $0.57 per share. The difference between these two amounts is due to non-recurring charges from legacy assets. These charges include a write-down of the Lansing Generating Station and an increase in asset retirement obligations related to ash ponds and landfills. The company is well positioned for compliance with the EPA's revised coal combustion residual rule. The quarter-over-quarter variances in earnings were driven by customer-focused capital investments and the timing of income tax expense.

The paragraph discusses the issue of modeling quarterly earnings for the current year, specifically regarding income tax expense. The company explains that fluctuations in tax expenses quarter-over-quarter will not impact full year earnings and that their annual tax benefits for 2024 are in-line with expectations. The company also mentions positive residential sales but offsetting decreased sales to industrial customers. They also highlight efforts to lower operating expenses, resulting in a significant reduction compared to the previous year.

Alliant Energy is reaffirming its earnings guidance for the full year and discussing its cash flow performance for the first half of 2024. The company has seen strong cash flows due to electric gas rate increases, tax credit monetization, and improvements in working capital. They expect continued improvements in cash flow metrics and have already executed a substantial portion of their financing plan for the year. This includes refinancing debt and selling a natural gas facility to reduce external financing requirements.

The paragraph discusses the sales of partial interest in West Riverside and progress on regulatory initiatives for Alliant Energy. It mentions a rate review settlement agreement and upcoming decisions from the PSCW in Wisconsin. The company is reaffirming its 2024 earnings guidance.

The company has made progress in regulatory and economic development and is looking forward to sharing updates on their Clean Energy Blueprint and economic development efforts. The Board Chairman thanks colleagues, investors, and analysts for their support. The company expects modest equity needs to maintain their current equity structure and will refresh their capital expenditure plans in November.

In this paragraph, Robert Durian discusses the company's earnings for the year and the impact of weather headwinds. He mentions non-recurring charges and a temporary issue with income tax expenses that will be reversed later in the year. He also mentions that the team has been successful in identifying opportunities to offset the costs of the weather impacts and that they are confident in reaffirming their guidance for the year. The next question is from Andrew Weisel, who asks Lisa to clarify her statement about data center customers or contracts being announced by the third quarter call.

Lisa Barton explains that the company thoroughly vets all economic development inquiries and has executed multiple agreements with data centers, which are confidential. They plan to announce these projects at their third quarter earnings call and will provide more details at EEI. The company is well positioned to communicate their plans. They have a unique approach with their clean energy blueprint and are looking at three different load levels in Iowa and Wisconsin. There are upside and downside risks to the earned ROE in the Iowa settlement, and the company may need relief in the event of a deep recession.

The Iowa rate review settlement is seen as a flywheel effect that will continue to fuel affordability and economic development. The company has off ramps in place to protect against any significant decrease in ROEs, but remains optimistic about the potential for new data center load growth and innovative models to capture tax benefits and energy margins.

Robert Durian and Lisa Barton discuss advanced ratemaking in the settlement and how it will be applied going forward. They mention that Iowa has recently passed legislation that expands the eligibility of ratemaking principles to include renewables, energy storage facilities, and nuclear. They see this as an opportunity for larger gas, renewable, and battery projects. They also mention that Iowa is open for business and dedicated to economic development, which is good for their company. When asked about the impact of two steam customer contracts ending in 2025, they say it will not have a significant impact on earnings.

Lisa Barton explains that the company has structured agreements to end in 2025 and the depreciation expense will also end at that time. She also mentions that the company is well positioned for future growth, specifically in the area of economic development and data centers. However, she cannot provide specific details on the company's capital needs for generation until they have more information on load growth and resources. She also mentions that the company's clean energy blueprint offers more flexibility than other companies in the industry.

The speaker, Lisa Barton, thanks the audience for their support and announces the end of the call. She mentions that a replay will be available and invites any follow-up questions. The operator then confirms that there are no further questions and closes the call.

This summary was generated with AI and may contain some inaccuracies.