Essential Utilities, Inc.

Hello and welcome to the Essential Utilities Q1 2024 Earnings Call. My name is George. I'll be your coordinator for today's event. Please note, this conference is being recorded and for the duration of the call, you guys have been in listen-only mode. However, you will have the opportunity to ask questions towards the end of the presentation, and this can be done by pressing star 1 on your top right keypad to register your question. If you require assistance at any point, please press star 0 and you'll be connected to an operator. I'd like to hand it over to your host today, Mr. Brian Dinger-Deason, to begin today's conference. Please go ahead, sir.

Thanks, George. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our first quarter 2024 earnings call. If you did not receive a copy of the press release, you can find it by visiting the investor relations section of our website, and the slides that we will be referencing and webcasts of this event can also be found there.

As a reminder, some of the matters discussed during this call may include forward-looking statements that involve risk, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to our most recent 10Q, 10K, and other SEC filings for a description of such risk and uncertainties. During the course of this call, reference may be made to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliation of any non-GAAP to GAAP financial measures is posted on the website. We'll begin the call with Chris, our chairman and CEO, who will provide an update on the company. Mike Hewer, the president of our gas business, will then provide an update on the gas business.