Fortis Inc.

good morning everyone thank you for standing by my name is Michelle and I will be your conference operator today welcome to Fortis Q2 2023 earnings conference call and webcast during this call all participants will be in a listen only mode following the presentation there will be a question and answer session at that time those with questions should press star followed by the number one on their telephone keypad If at any time during the conference you need to reach an operator, please press star zero. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Stephanie Amimo. Please go ahead, Stephanie.

Thanks, Michelle, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to Fortis' second quarter 2023 results conference call. I'm joined by David Hutchins, President and CEO, Jocelyn Perry, Executive VP and CFO, other members of the senior management team, as well as CEOs from certain subsidiaries. Before we begin today's call, I want to remind you that the discussion will include forward-looking information, which is subject to the cautionary statement contained in the supporting slideshow. Actual results can differ materially from the forecast projections included in the forward-looking information presented today. All non-GAAP financial measures referenced in our prepared remarks are reconciled to the related U.S. GAAP financial measures in our second quarter 2023 MD&A. Also, unless otherwise specified, all financial information referenced is in Canadian dollars. With that, I will turn the call over to David.

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Florida continues to build on its strong momentum from the first quarter. Operationally, our utilities delivered safe and reliable service in the second quarter, even with the extreme weather events in western Canada. Notably, we replaced almost 1,000 poles and structures in Alberta damaged by wildfires. Fortunately, customer impacts were minimal given successful mitigation efforts and a strong response and restoration by the team. Our regulated rate-based growth has supported EPS through the first half of 2023 as we have invested capital of approximately $2 billion. Our investments continue to focus on modernizing the grid, enhancing system reliability, and delivering cleaner energy. During the quarter, we continue to advance our sustainability priorities and regulatory proceedings, which we will speak to in more detail shortly. And lastly, the sale of Aiken Creek is on track to close in the second half of 2023, subject to approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission. Today, we released our 2023 Sustainability Update Report, which includes our key ESG performance indicators for 2022. The report highlights our 29% reduction in Scope 1 greenhouse gas emissions since 2019. This marks significant progress towards Fortis' greenhouse gas reduction targets of 50% by 2030, 75% by 2035, and net zero by 2050. For the first time, the report includes limited assurance by a third party on certain key performance indicators, including Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions data. The report also highlights Fortis' advancement in diversity, equity, and inclusion. The corporation has achieved its Board of Directors diversity targets, with 58% of the board comprised of women and two of the 12 members identifying as visible minorities. The report also highlights the further alignment of our ESG priorities with our approach to executive compensation. For 2023, we have increased the weightings for ESG leadership and safety performance in our short-term incentive plan and added a new DEI measure to our long-term plan. With $2 billion invested in our systems through June, our $4.3 billion annual capital plan remains on track. Our $22.3 billion five-year capital plan consisting of virtually all regulated investments in a diverse mix of highly executable, low-risk projects also remains on track. We expect rate base will increase by $12 billion to over $46 billion in 2027, supporting average annual rate base growth of 6.2%. Outside of the capital plan, our utilities are pursuing regulated growth opportunities. Central Hudson is a minority investor in New York Transco. Recently, the New York ISO selected a proposal to construct transmission infrastructure to deliver at least 3,000 megawatts of energy from Long Island offshore wind facilities to the rest of the state by 2030. Transco's portion of the project is estimated to be 2.2 billion U.S. dollars, with Central Hudson's portion of this investment estimated at 10%. With a strong track record of increase in dividends for the past 49 consecutive years, coupled with our low-risk growth strategy, we remain confident in our 4% to 6% annual dividend growth guidance through 2027. Now I will turn the call over to Jocelyn for an update on our second quarter financial results.