WEC Energy Group, Inc.

and welcome to WEC Energy Group's conference call for fourth quarter and year-end 2021 results. This call is being recorded for rebroadcast, and all participants are in a listen-only mode at this time. Before the conference call begins, I remind you that all statements in the presentation, other than historical facts, are forward-looking statements that involves risk and uncertainties that are subject to change at any time. Such statements are based on management expectations at the time they are made. In addition to the assumptions and other factors referred to in connection with the statements, factors described in WEC Energy Group's latest Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated. During the discussions, reference earnings per share will be based on diluted earnings per share, unless otherwise noted. After the presentation, the conference will be open to analysts for questions and answers. In conjunction with this call, A package of detailed financial information is posted at WECenergygroup.com. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the call. And now, it's my pleasure to introduce Gail Clapper, Executive Chairman of WEC Energy Group.

Well, good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today as we review our results for calendar year 2021. First, I'd like to introduce, as always, the members of our management team who are here with me today. We have Scott Lomber, who's now our president and chief executive, Shaw Liu, our chief financial officer, and Beth Straka, senior vice president of corporate communications and investor relations. As you saw from our news release this morning, we reported full year 2021 earnings of $4.11 a share. This exceeded the upper end of our most recent guidance, which was $4.07 a share. Our positive results were driven by favorable weather, solid economic recovery in our region, and our continued focus on operating efficiency. Our balance sheet and cash flows remain strong, and as we've discussed, this allows us to fund a highly executable capital plan without issuing equity. I would also note that the earnings we're reporting today are quality earnings with no adjustments. As you know, we've been very active in shaping the future of clean energy. Looking back on 2021, we set some of the most aggressive goals in our industry for reducing carbon emissions. Across our generating fleet, we're targeting a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2025 and an 80% reduction by the end of 2030. all from a 2005 baseline. In fact, by the end of 2030, we expect our use of coal for power generation will be immaterial, and our plan calls for a complete exit from coal by the year 2035. Of course, for the longer term, we remain focused on achieving net zero carbon emissions from power generation by 2050. Now, we all recognize that advances in technology will be needed to decarbonize the economy by 2050, And hydrogen, of course, could be a key player, a key part of the solution in the decades ahead. To that end, we announced last week one of the first hydrogen power pilot programs of its kind in the United States. We're joining with the Electric Power Research Institute to test hydrogen as a fuel source at one of our newer natural gas-powered units located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The project will be carried out this year, and the results will be shared across the industry to demonstrate how the use of hydrogen could materially reduce carbon emissions. Switching gears now, we're driving forward on our $17.7 billion ESG progress plan, the largest five-year plan in the company's history. The plan is focused on efficiency, sustainability, and growth. One of the highlights is the planned investment in nearly 2,400 megawatts of renewable capacity over the next five years. These renewable projects will serve the customers of our regulated utilities here in Wisconsin. Overall, we expect the ESG progress plan to support average growth in our asset base of 7% a year, driving earnings growth, dividend growth, and dramatically improved environmental performance. In summary, we believe we're poised to deliver among the very best risk-adjusted returns our industry has to offer. And now let's take a brief look at the regional economy. we saw a promising recovery throughout 2021 despite the prolonged pandemic. The latest available data show Wisconsin's unemployment rate down at 2.8%. Folks, that's a record low and more than a full percentage point below the national average. Importantly, jobs in the manufacturing sectors across Wisconsin have returned to pre-pandemic levels. And major economic development projects are moving full steam ahead. Haribo, the gummy bear company, is now recruiting workers at its brand new campus in Pleasant Prairie. Komatsu has begun relocating employees to its new state-of-the-art Milwaukee campus. Milwaukee Tools' downtown office tower is set to begin operations this month, and we see more growth ahead. For example, ABB, a global industrial and technology company, and Saputo, a leading dairy products company, have announced plans for major expansions in our region. And finally, you've heard the phrase, a rising tide lifts all boats. Well, I'm pleased to report that one of the most celebrated luxury boat makers in the world, Grand Craft Boats, is relocating its operations from Michigan to the Milwaukee region. You know, J-Lo, George Clooney, Robert Redford, they're among the high-profile clients of Grand Craft. So it'll be interesting to see who shows up, you know, below deck at our next Analyst Day. Bottom line, we remain optimistic about the strength of the regional economy and our outlook for long-term growth. With that, I'll turn the call over to Scott for more details on our utility operations and our infrastructure segment. Scott, all yours.

Thank you, Gail. Looking back, we made significant progress in 2021. I'll start by covering some developments in Wisconsin. As Gail mentioned, we're continuing to make progress on the transition of our generation fleet in our ESG progress plan. I am pleased to report that our Badger Hollow 1 solar project is now providing energy to our customers. You'll recall that we own 100 megawatts of this project in southwest Wisconsin. We have also made progress on the construction of Badger Hollow 2. Currently, we expect an in-service date in the first quarter of 2023. This factors in a delay of approximately three months due to ongoing supply chain constraints. We do not expect a material change in the construction costs. In addition, the Public Service Commission has approved our plans to build two liquefied natural gas storage facilities in the southeastern part of the state. Construction has started and we plan to bring the facilities into service in late 2023 and mid 2024. We expect this project to save our customers approximately $200 million over time and help ensure reliability during Wisconsin's coldest winters. And we recently signed our first contract for renewable natural gas, or RNG, for our gas distribution business. We'll be tapping into the output of one of our large local dairy farms. The gas supplied each year will directly replace higher emission methane from natural gas that would have entered our pipes. This one contract alone represents 25% of our 2030 goal for methane reduction. The Wisconsin-based company, U.S. Gain, is planning to have RNG flowing to our distribution network by the end of this year. The commission also approved the development of Red Barn, a wind farm in southwestern part of the state. We expect our Wisconsin public service utility to invest approximately $150 million in this project and for it to qualify for production tax credits. When complete, it will provide WPS with 82 megawatts of renewable capacity. And just this past Monday, we filed an application with the commission for approval to acquire a portion of the capacity from West Riverside Energy Center. West Riverside is a combined cycle natural gas plant owned by Alliant Energy. If approved, Wisconsin Public Service would acquire 100 megawatts for approximately $91 million. That's the first of two potential option exercises. We expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2023. Looking forward, we expect to file a rate review for our Wisconsin utilities by May. We have no other rate cases planned at this time. Turning now to our infrastructure segment, the 190 megawatt Jayhawk Wind Farm located in Kansas began service in December. We invested approximately $300 million in this project. Overall, we have brought six projects online in our infrastructure segment, representing more than 1,000 megawatts of capacity. And as you'll recall, we expect the Thunderhead Wind Farm to come online for the second quarter and the Sapphire Sky by the end of this year. Including these two projects, We plan to invest a total of $1.9 billion in this segment over the next five years, and we remain ahead of plan. And with that, I'll turn things back to Gail.