Fortis Inc.

Welcome to Fortis Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. During the call, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. There will be a question and answer session following the presentation. At that time, those with questions should press star followed by the number one on their telephone. 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 Amaymo. Please go ahead, Ms. Amaymo.

Thank you, Ludi, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Fortis' first quarter 2024 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 first quarter 2024 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. Before getting started, I'd like to introduce Stephanie Raymond to her first earnings call since being appointed president of Central Hudson in April. Stephanie will serve as president until Chris Capone's retirement in October, at which time she will assume full responsibilities as president and CEO. Welcome, Stephanie. We look forward to working with you on the Central Hudson team. For the first quarter, we delivered strong and consistent operational and financial results as our regulated utilities continue to effectively execute their business plans. And with $1.1 billion of capital investments made in the first quarter, our $4.8 billion capital plan for 2024 is on track. Our low-risk growth outlook remains intact and opportunities to expand and extend our plan continue to progress. On the regulatory front, ITC has been focused on the right of first refusal statute in Iowa. While new ROFA legislation did not advance last month, we remain confident that ITC Midwest has the legal right and obligation to construct the tranche one projects in Iowa assigned through the MISO's long-range transmission plan and associated tariffs. MISO also released its draft tranche two portfolio, including a preliminary project map While we expect further refinements, we view this as a promising step forward. With climate risks at the forefront of the utility sector, the recent release of our 2024 climate report was timely, highlighting how Fortis is preparing for and mitigating climate-related impacts across the group of companies. We continue our long track record of executing our capital plan. These investments in our energy systems support the delivery of cleaner energy and the reliability our customers expect. Our five-year capital plan of $25 billion remains on track, comprising of virtually all regulated investments and a diverse mix of highly executable, low-risk projects. With $7 billion earmarked for cleaner energy investments, we expect to interconnect renewables to the grid, invest in renewable generation and energy storage in Arizona, and deliver cleaner fuel solutions in British Columbia. Rate base is expected to increase by $12 billion to over $49 billion in 2028, supporting average annual rate base growth of 6.3%. Beyond the plan, our utilities continue to advance additional growth opportunities with a couple of key developments during the quarter. As mentioned, MISO released a preliminary map of its LRTP tranche 2 projects, with total transmission investments estimated in the range of 17 to 23 billion U.S. dollars. While it is too early to estimate the investment opportunities within ITC's footprint, MISO board approval is anticipated in the second half of 2024. The preliminary map of projects includes 765 KV transmission lines. If approved, These investments would bolster MISO's ability to facilitate the ongoing generation fleet transition, accommodate load growth, and address increasingly frequent and severe weather events. We believe this is exactly the forward-looking, innovative planning required to deliver a reliable, resilient grid of the future. In Arizona, the team is working to advance the 2023 integrated resource plans filed by Tucson Electric Power and UNS Electric. which requires incremental investments estimated at 2.5 to 5 billion U.S. dollars through 2038. In late 2023, TEP and UNS Electric released a joint all-source RFP, calling for up to 1,500 megawatts of new resources aligned with their respective IRPs. Proposals were received in March, and projects are expected to be announced later this year. In March, the BCUC approved key elements of FortisBC's Renewable Natural Gas, or RNG, application, requiring that natural gas deliveries to all customers include a portion of RNG. In addition, the BCUC accepted FortisBC's Long-Term Gas Resource Plan, which outlines FortisBC's plan to serve customers' energy needs, transition to a low-carbon energy future, and support meeting provincial greenhouse gas targets. Overall we are pleased with this decision as it recognizes the key role that the gas system will play in meeting British Columbia's energy future. Also in March, the province of British Columbia issued an environmental assessment certificate for the Tilbury Marine jetty project. The construction of the jetty supports the expansion of the Tilbury LNG facility, which is uniquely positioned to meet customer demand for natural gas. The site is scalable and can accommodate additional storage and liquefaction equipment and is close to international shipping lanes. Once constructed, the jetty would make use of FortisBC's assets at the Tilbury site to service marine bunkering. In the U.S., we are seeing momentum build around load growth opportunities. In ITC Midwest footprint, Google recently announced plans for a data center to be built in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a goal of coming online in 2026. The data center will support initial load growth of 300 megawatts and is expected to increase to 600 megawatts over time. In Michigan and Arizona, we are seeing increasing inquiries related to manufacturing facilities and data centers. Also in Arizona, SALT32 continues construction of the zinc and manganese Hermosa mine, which is expected to become one of UNS's largest customers. These developments can provide strong economic growth for our communities and favorably impact customer rates. During the quarter, we released the 2024 Climate Report, which assesses the impact of climate on our priority assets over multiple scenarios. The report identifies key risks related to climate change, forces mitigation activities to address those risks, and future opportunities to advance the resilience of our utilities. With a strong track record of increasing dividends for the past 50 consecutive years, coupled with our low-risk growth strategy, we remain confident in our 4% to 6% annual dividend growth guidance through 2028. Now I will turn the call over to Jocelyn for an update on our first quarter financial results.