Entergy Corporation

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Entergy First Quarter 2019 Earnings Release Teleconference. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode, so if anyone should require assistance during the call, please press star, then zero on your touchtone telephone to reach an operator. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session, and instructions will follow at that time. As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded. I'd now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Mr. David Board, Vice President, Investor Relations. Sir, please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning and thank you for joining us. We will begin today with comments from Entergy's chairman and CEO, Leo Denault, and then Drew Marsh, our CFO, will review results. In an effort to accommodate everyone who has questions, we request that each person ask no more than one question and one follow-up. In today's call, management will make certain forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors which are set forth in our earnings release our slide presentation, and our SEC filings. Entergy does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Management will also discuss non-GAAP financial information. Reconciliations to the applicable GAAP measures are included in today's press release and slide presentation, both of which can be found on the investor relations section of our website. And now I will turn the call over to Leo.

Thank you, David, and good morning, everyone. We've had a productive start to the year and today we are reporting first quarter adjusted earnings of 82 cents per share. While weather was a headwind, we remain firmly on track to achieve our full year guidance and our longer term outlooks. We checked off every first quarter key deliverable and we added an important new milestone. We announced our agreement for a post shutdown sale of Indian Point to Holtec International. With this announcement, We now have definitive agreements to sell all of EWC's remaining nuclear assets. We will shut down Pilgrim this month and we plan to close on the sale of that plant by the end of the year. We will then shut down Indian Point Unit 2 next year and Unit 3 in 2021. The sale of all Indian Point units is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021. and we expect to complete the Palisades transaction after its shutdown in 2022. The sales of these plants are important. Not only do they secure our orderly exit from the merchant business, but they do so in a way that benefits stakeholders by accelerating the decommissioning timeline, drawing on industry-leading decommissioning and site remediation expertise and experience, and laying the foundation for future business development opportunities in the regions. We are grateful to our nuclear teams who remain focused on finishing strong with safe and secure operations. Our Pilgrim employees are a shining example of this hard work, commitment, and dedication. In March, Pilgrim returned to normal baseline oversight site by the NRC, moving to column one in the agency's reactor oversight program. Over the last two years, Pilgrim's 600 employees exhibited professionalism and pride resulting in this important milestone for our organization. At the utility business, we also executed on key deliverables in the quarter. We continue to pursue our commitment to renewable resources, and two of our operating companies, Entergy Arkansas and Entergy Texas, have each issued requests for proposals for 200 megawatts of solar resources. Entergy Arkansas also announced plans for a 100 megawatt solar facility. This project pending approval by the Arkansas Public Service Commission, will be the largest utility-owned solar facility in the state and the first to feature battery storage. The facility is expected to be in service by 2021. We are pleased with the progress we continue to make on developing renewable projects as they are an important resource beyond their obvious environmental attributes. They can provide cost-effective energy supply, fuel diversity, and advance the adoption of distributed energy solutions for our customers. We currently have just over 230 megawatts of renewable resources in service, including hydro, solar, and biomass technologies. We also have 185 megawatts of new solar projects that have been approved and are moving forward, just under 300 megawatts that are pending regulatory approval, and the 400 megawatts that I mentioned from Arkansas and Texas RFPs. And as the economics and performance of renewable resources continue to improve, we will engage with our regulators and stakeholders to expand their use across our service area. In January, we began installment of the first automated meters. Over the next three years, we will install approximately 3 million automated meters across our jurisdictions with plans to activate 1 million new meters in 2019. The new meters will benefit our customers with faster outage identification enhanced customer service, and cost savings. Additionally, these meters will provide us with the tools to help our customers manage their energy usage and lower their bills. And we will recycle the old meters after removal. They will be sustainably dismantled, yielding copper and aluminum scrap that can be recycled. Our new built CCGT projects remain on budget and on schedule. After a little over two years of construction, St. Charles Power Station is in its final commissioning phase and that plant is expected to be placed in service this quarter. Construction activity at the New Orleans Power Station kicked into high gear after the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality issued its Clean Air Permit. The plant will be a much needed local resource of modern natural gas generated power for residents and businesses. In Mississippi, we continue to work through the Choctaw Generating Station acquisition to ensure that the plant is a good value for our customers. Our due diligence has identified a potential mechanical issue that may need to be addressed prior to closing. There is a possibility that closing may be delayed to allow time to resolve the issue. We will know more in the coming weeks and will provide an update on our next earnings call. At this point, we do not foresee a delay that would have a material financial impact. These are just a few examples of the investments we are making in our efficient and sustainable power system for the benefit of our customers. We kicked off 2019's base rate filings with Entergy Mississippi's annual FRP, which was submitted on March 15th. We are working through that process and expect new rates to be effective in June. We're also preparing to file our annual FRPs in Louisiana and Arkansas later this year. Our New Orleans rate case is ongoing, and we remain on track to have new rates effective this summer, and we've requested a formula rate plan to take effect next year. In addition, proposed legislation in Texas could help reduce regulatory lag on generation investment in that jurisdiction. The legislation passed the House. It was also passed by the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, and it will now be considered by the full Senate. If signed into law, the legislation would allow the commission to approve a rider to recover reasonable and necessary generation investment, which would be more timely and less burdensome than a base rate case filing. This legislation is consistent with our desire to align regulatory structures with customer benefits. Three of our five jurisdictions, which generate approximately 80% of the utility's revenue, have annual formula rate plan mechanisms. These, combined with other constructs that allow for timely recovery of investments which benefit customers, provide clarity to our plans and solidify the financial commitments we've made to provide steady, predictable growth in earnings and dividends. At Entergy, our people are critical to our success. Our employees make it possible to implement our strategy and achieve our objectives. Acquiring, retaining, and developing the talent we need to meet today's business needs and to prepare for the workplace of tomorrow are important. As part of our employee focus, we are proud to promote supportive work environments for members of the National Guard and Reserve. In recognition of this, we won the 2019 Pro Patria Award from the Department of Defense, and we were a semifinalist for the 2019 Freedom Award. Entregy is also committed to supporting businesses in the communities we serve. The Women's Business Enterprise National Council recognized our efforts and once again presented the prestigious America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises Award to Entergy. The national award recognizes companies with world-class diversity and inclusion programs that enable growth and innovation while breaking down barriers for women-owned businesses. These awards are a good validation of our mission to create value for all of our stakeholders, customers, employees, communities, and owners. We recently released our annual integrated report titled, When Does One Equal More? It illustrates how our efforts to serve the needs of each stakeholder creates value for all. Our report outlines how the emergence of new technologies enables us to build more individualized relationships with our customers and partner with them on solutions that make their lives better, and how providing opportunities for our employees to adopt new skill sets to effectively implement and manage new technologies will drive transformative change. Entergy is also recognized as an industry leader for taking action to address climate issues. In 2001, we were the first U.S. electric utility to commit voluntarily to stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2005, we upped that commitment to capping our carbon dioxide emissions at 20 percent below year 2000 levels through the year 2010. Then in 2011, we extended that commitment through 2020. Even though Entergy's carbon dioxide emissions rate continues to be one of the lowest among our peers, the broad consensus of current scientific data on climate change indicates that, as an industry, we must do more to reduce our footprint and that of our customers and communities. Entergy sees this not as a choice but as a responsibility and an opportunity. That is why, in addition to our integrated report, we also released our climate scenario analysis and evaluation of risks and opportunities. This report outlines our role in meeting the worldwide imperative to reduce risk that's posed by climate change and announces a new greenhouse gas emissions goal to reduce our CO2 emissions rate to 50% below year 2000 levels by 2030. That means that for every unit of electricity we generate in 2030, we will emit half the carbon dioxide we did in 2000. Entergy's leadership in sustainability and social responsibility makes us a successful Fortune 500 company with a conscience. Our actions and commitments to sustainability position us to effectively benefit our stakeholders today while securing a bright tomorrow. For the first quarter of 2019, we continue on track of steady, successful execution of our strategy. And 2019 will be another successful year for us. Our operating and financial positions are solid, and our strategic direction is clear. We are an industry leader in critical measures of sustainability. We have among the lowest retail rates in the country, and we operate one of the cleanest large-scale fleets in the United States. We also benefit from strong industrial growth within our service territory. We invest in our employees and our communities, and our strategy is aligned with the goals of our regulators. This is what makes Entergy a compelling long-term investment, and this is the foundation from which we will continue to grow and innovate for the benefit of all of our stakeholders. I will now turn the call over to Drew, who will provide more detail on our first quarter financial results.