NiSource Inc

an opportunity to ask questions. To ask questions, you may press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to answer a question, please press star followed by the number one again. I will now turn the conference over to Dave Brough Communications. Please go ahead.

Good morning and welcome to the NYSOR's first quarter 2025 investor call. Joining me today are President and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Yates, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Shawn Anderson, Executive Vice President of Technology, Customer, and Chief Commercial Officer, Michael Luers, and Executive Vice President and Group President, NYSource Utilities, Melody Birmingham. Today, we will review NYSource's financial performance for the first quarter and provide an update on operations and growth drivers. we'll open the call to your questions following prepared remarks. Slides for today's call are available in the investor relations section of our website. Some statements made during this presentation will be forward-looking. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Information concerning such risks and uncertainties is included in the risk factors and MD&A sections of our periodic SEC filings. Additionally, some statements made on this call relate to non-GAAP earnings measures. Please refer to the supplemental slides, segment information, and full financial schedules for information on the most directly comparable GAAP measure and a reconciliation of these measures. Now, I'll turn the call over to Lloyd.

Thank you, Dave, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin on slide three. The NYSOR strategy is simple. We are committed to delivering safe, reliable, and affordable energy to our customers. We execute this strategy through efficient deployment of capital, safe asset operations, and constructive regulatory mechanisms. These are converted into a reasonable return on invested capital, enhancements to our balance sheet position, and offer a dependable and growing dividend. These are the foundation of the NYSOR's business plan, which continues to offer compelling value to stakeholders, driven by regulated utility operations across premium jurisdictions with diversification across geography and fuel type and disciplined capital allocations. Advancing to slide four, we will step through our key priorities. Collaborative regulatory and stakeholder relationships and operating with excellence paves the way for NYSource to execute on its financial commitments. NYSource continues to work alongside stakeholders through regulatory processes to ensure resources are available for critical investments in safety, reliability, and economic development. One example was a recent Ohio legislative proposal to modernize natural gas rate making. It passed Senate Bill 103, which shortened the time between capital outlay and recovery. This minimizes regulatory lag and maximizes the value of the investments for our communities. It also creates a special contract approval process to facilitate attracting new large load customers. This promotes economic development greater job creation to enhance local tax base, and would make Ohio more competitive with its surrounding states. Our dedication to operational excellence continues to advance as we leverage AI in our operations to revolutionize our company and how we deliver service to our communities while driving greater efficiency and enhancing the reliability of our business for our customers. Today, We reported first quarter 2025 adjusted EPS of 98 cents, which is 15% above the same quarter of 85 cents reported one year ago. We are reaffirming 2025 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.85 to $1.89, as well as reaffirming annual 2025 to 2029 guidance for adjusted EPS of 6% to 8%, rate base of 8% to 10%, and targeting 14% to 16% SFO to debt in all years of the plan. Our plan remains resilient and executable in the current macroeconomic environment. The stability of our regulatory foundation and intentional capital deployment is fundamental to the NYSOR's business plan. Additionally, we are continuing commercial negotiations to support data center build-out in northern Indiana. While these negotiations continue, we have also advanced our pending application to the IURC to establish NIPSCO GenCo and support Megaload customers. Our testimony in this process supports four key goals. First, it protects existing system customers by separating costs. The JANCO strategy shields existing customers from the financial impact of new capacity investments. Second, it allows us to construct the generation resources necessary to serve this customer class with the speed and flexibility that meets their needs. Third, it maintains NIPSCO's financial integrity. As with all investments, we give thoughtful consideration to the risk profile of new investments and how those drive value and ensure long-term cash flow quality for our business. Last, we're preserving flexibility in our business model by creating another tool within our portfolio to meet the evolving needs of our customers. The declination filing requests the Commission to decline jurisdiction on a limited scope of activity related to GENCO to support a data-centered design strategy. We are in active settlement negotiations And while we cannot provide an update on this call, if there is any movement on this topic, notice of progress will be followed with the commission. This is an exciting opportunity to advance unprecedented development in Indiana, which could provide significant resources to communities and drive meaningful value to all stakeholders. We're very pleased with the progress we've made and continue to work with potential customers to make this development strategy a reality. Moving on to slide five, our commitment to deliver operational excellence is evidenced through key initiatives to standardize work and enhance risk management. Last July, we launched our work management intelligence program at Columbia Gas of Ohio. Since then, productivity gains exceeded 40,000 hours across the service territory. We have extended our work management intelligence programs to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, and Virginia. In these regions, we have observed consistent productivity gains averaging 16.5%. We are leveraging AI to revolutionize our company and its operations. To date, more than 17 operations centers use AI-generated optimized schedules, resulting in over 60,000 hours of productivity improvement compared to the same period in 2023. And we have introduced real-time analytical dashboards, enabling tracking and performance evaluation at every level, from field operations to executive leadership. Continuous improvement is at the heart of the Project Apollo strategy. which targets sustainable cost savings by reducing inefficiency across our operations. In addition to leveraging AI, we further improve service and reduce waste through other key projects launched in 2025. Meanwhile, 75% of initiatives launched in 2024 continue to provide efficiency in 2025. Moving to slide six, we will highlight progress made on our regulatory agenda. We are proactive on the regulatory front through general rate case and rider filings. A Maryland final order approved in April continues a constructive path of approval for critical safety, compliance, and reliability capital additions in the state, including nearly $11 million in investments in 2024. The Virginia rate case remains on track with an order expected in the second quarter. Our Pennsylvania team filed a new rate case to recover over $400 million of anticipated investments necessary to deliver safe and reliable service to our customers. Pennsylvania has a track record of constructive regulation, and our team has achieved a settlement with stakeholders in 11 of the last 12 rate cases. The final order is anticipated in the fourth quarter. The Nipsco electric rate case has $2.5 billion of incremental investments for our customers and communities in northern Indiana. In February, we reached a settlement agreement, making our seventh settlement in the last 10 years across both the electric and gas businesses. We expect a final order in third quarter. Our teams are continuously engaged with key stakeholders to deliver stable and predictable outcomes for our customers while ensuring safe and reliable service in our communities. I'll now turn things over to Sean.