Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Common Shares

Hello and welcome to the Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp. Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star 1 on your telephone keypad. I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Brian Chin, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our second quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Joining me on the call today will be Rod West, Chief Executive Officer, and Sarah McDonald, Chief Transformation Officer. To accompany today's earnings call, we have a supplemental webcast presentation available on our website, AlgonquinPower.com. Our financial statements and management discussion and analysis are also available on the website, as well as on Cedar Plus and EDGAR. We'd like to remind you that our discussion during the call will include certain forward-looking information and non-GAAP measures. Actual results could differ materially from any forecast or projection contained in such forward-looking information. Certain material factors and assumptions were applied in making the forecasts and projections reflected in such forward-looking information. Please note and review the related disclaimers located on slide two of our earnings call presentation at the investor relations section of our website at algonquinpower.com. Please also refer to our most recent MD&A filed on Cedar Plus and EDGAR and available on our website for additional important information on these items. On the call this morning, Rod will provide a review of the key highlights and operational updates for the quarter, and I will follow with the details of our financial results. We'll then open the line for questions. We ask that you kindly restrict your questions to two, then re-queue if you have any additional questions to allow others the opportunity to participate. With that, I'll turn things over to Rod.

Thanks, Brian, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us on the call this morning. At first glance, the past quarter may appear relatively quiet in terms of outward-facing updates, but rest assured, the calm belies a great deal of focused activity behind the scenes. Our team has been hard at work laying critical groundwork, refining internal systems, and making strategic progress that sets the stage for what's to come. We're already starting to see the impacts of spending discipline take shape, and while other efforts may not be immediately visible, there are essential investments in achieving our goals related to an improved customer experience and continued growth, resilience, and innovation, all on our path to becoming a premium pure play regulated utility. I remain motivated and excited for the opportunities ahead. And now some highlights from the quarter. Firstly, our Q2 financial results were solid and put us on track to meet our financial outlook for 2025. More from Brian on the financials shortly. Second, our regulatory schedule is proceeding as expected with notable rate case filings made during the quarter at Arizona Litchfield Park Water, New England Natural Gas, and a total combined rate adjustment request of $73.6 million. Next, we continue to strengthen our executive management team with the appointments of Noel Black as Chief Regulatory and External Affairs Officer and Amy Walt as our Chief Customer Officer. These strategic additions fortify our bench strength as a leadership team and underscore the company's commitment to operational excellence and stakeholder engagement, and ultimately, advance Algonquin's pure play utility objectives. And lastly, on June 3rd, the company announced its three-year financial outlook and back-to-basics customer-centric plan, which is focused on improving customer outcomes, driving operational efficiencies, and achieving constructive regulatory outcomes. In addition to announcing our estimated adjusted net EPS outlook for 2025 through 2027, We provided projections reflecting expected improvements to our earned ROE and operating expenses as a percent of revenues, anticipated organic capital investment deployment, continued maintenance of our BBB investment grade credit rating, and our expectation that no common equity financings will be needed through 2027, all in the context of increasing value for our four key stakeholder groups. Turning now to some updates on the operational front, starting with regulatory updates that occurred during the period. The Arizona Corporation Commission approved a settlement agreement resulting in a $4.2 million revenue adjustment at the company's four water and wastewater facilities in Arizona, with approved rates taking effect July 1. A settlement agreement is awaiting approval with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, supporting Continuation of rates approved back in October 2023 at our Energy North gas utility. The hearing was held on July 31, and we are awaiting a commission order. And some final comments before I turn things over to Brian. As a utility provider, we recognize that reliable infrastructure and energy services are the foundation of sustainable economic development. Our commitment goes beyond delivering services. We're proud to be an active partner in initiatives that drive growth, attract investment, and support the long-term vitality of the communities we serve. As a company still in transition, we continue to refocus our efforts on investing in our local communities. We desire to be a key partner in enabling growth and becoming a catalyst for economic development in the 13 states we serve. As part of our long-term strategy, We're actively developing targeted investment plans aimed at driving economic progress across our service areas. I'll now turn things back to Brian to review the financial highlights from the quarter. Brian?