Emera Incorporated

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the AMIR Q2 2022 analyst call. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time during the call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. I would now like to turn the call over to Dave Benzanson. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Michelle, and thank you all for joining us this morning for AMIRA's Q2 2022 conference call and live webcast. AMIRA's second quarter earnings release was distributed this morning by Newswire, and the financial statements, management's discussion and analysis, and the presentation being referenced on this call are available on our website at AMIRA.com. Joining me for this morning's call are Scott Balfour, AMIRA's President and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Blunden, AMIRA's Chief Financial Officer, and other members of AMIRA's management team. This morning's discussion will include forward-looking information, which is subject to the cautionary statement contained in the supporting slide. Today's discussion and presentation will also include references to non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the appendix for definitional information and reconciliations of historical non-GAAP measures to the closest GAAP financial measure. And now I will turn things over to Scott.

Thank you, Dave, and good morning, everyone. This morning, we released our second quarter results, and I'm pleased to share that we continue to deliver steady, predictable earnings and cash flow growth. Our second quarter adjusted earnings per share increased 9% to 59 cents compared to 54 cents in the second quarter of last year. Operating cash flow is also up 9% over last year. For the year to date, adjusted earnings per share increased two cents to $1.51 compared to $1.49 last year. Similar to what we saw in both the second and third quarter last year, our reported earnings this quarter were impacted by mark-to-market losses at Amira Energy. Greg will walk you through the mechanics of these losses and our financial results in a few moments. Our regulated utilities delivered an 18% increase in adjusted earnings per share this quarter and 12% year to date, largely driven by strong results at TAMP Electric. Economic growth in Florida continues to drive meaningful customer growth at our utilities, over 2% at TAMP Electric and almost 5% at People's Gas year over year. Customer growth is one factor that helps to offset the rate requirements to finance the major investments being made to reduce the carbon intensity of the generation mix and to continue to improve the reliability of the system. In the first half of 2022, we've deployed over $1.1 billion in capital, and we're on track to deliver almost $3 billion in capital investment this year. We're working to complete the Big Bend modernization and install an additional 200 megawatts of solar in Florida at Tampa Electric by the end of this year. These projects are transforming the grid in Florida, and both are progressing well. In Nova Scotia, we are continuing to advance the Eastern Clean Energy Initiative, including the Atlantic Loop, which would enable the addition of more renewable energy onto the grid, the closure of coal-fired power plants, and improve grid reliability and resiliency. The recently announced investment in clean energy projects here in Nova Scotia by the Government of Canada is a significant step in Nova Scotia's transformational energy journey, facilitating more wind energy in the province, and a grid-scale battery project that will be among the largest battery storage projects in North America. In the Caribbean, we recently commissioned the Clean Energy Bridge, which will deliver roughly 27% of the energy needed on the island of Barbados. By replacing older infrastructure, this facility will reduce emissions while improving grid resiliency and reliability for customers. And at People's Gas, we expect to have two renewable natural gas facilities online by the end of the year. People's Gas is the largest natural gas distribution utility in Florida and the first to deliver RNG in the state. When complete, these two projects will not only contribute to a cleaner energy future, they will deliver enough energy to fuel almost 10,000 homes. This is incredible progress on our ambitious capital plan, especially as we continue to navigate supply challenges and proactively work to mitigate inflationary impacts on both our capital plan and in our business more broadly. So far, the effects of supply chain delays and inflation in our capital spend has not resulted in any material changes to our capital plan. We will share our 2023 through 2025 capital plan during our Q3 earnings call. In June, we released our sixth annual sustainability report. The report highlights AMIRA's strategy in action. and demonstrate the progress we are making towards a cleaner energy future and the role we are playing in building safer, more diverse, and inclusive teams and communities. This year's report includes a detailed climate strategy that provides an update on our progress toward our climate goals and the work underway across the business to lead a responsible and just energy transition that reduces environmental impacts while balancing investments in reliability, and the impacts to customers, employees, and the communities where we operate. Our clean energy journey began here in Nova Scotia, where we've led one of the most ambitious transitions to cleaner energy in Canada. We currently have over 600 megawatts of wind generation on the system at Nova Scotia Power, and our investment in the Maritime Link facilitates the transmission of more than 500 megawatts of clean hydro energy from Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2021, Nova Scotia Power tripled the amount of renewable energy it delivers to customers and reduced their coal usage by 43% compared to 2005 levels. And later this month, we'll achieve another milestone in our decarbonization journey by taking Lingen Unit 2, a 148 megawatt coal unit here in the province, out of regular service. In Florida, the investment in the Big Bend modernization has allowed us to retire one coal-fired unit and convert another to high efficiency natural gas. This investment and our ongoing solar investments will allow us to retire another coal unit in 2023, two decades ahead of its scheduled retirement. Since 2000, we've reduced our use of coal in Tampa by 90%. Closing coal units is critical to meeting government targets and community and customer expectations. Doing so in the most cost-effective way without putting system resiliency or reliability at risk for our customers is our mission and a requirement of our regulators. And then ensuring these closures are done in a just and balanced way is core to our culture. We understand the impact to employees who work in these plants and to the communities where the plants are located. We continue to work closely with government, employees, unions, and community groups to to ensure a just transition, one that is anchored in transparency and collaboration. We're proud of our progress to date, but as global demand for carbon reduction continues and policymakers target even faster timelines, it's important to recognize the significant and challenging work ahead. As I mentioned earlier, the recent funding announcement from the Government of Canada is an important milestone, and it supports our commitment to minimizing the cost impacts of the energy transition on our customers. But while wind and batteries are an important part of the solution, the reality is that these investments alone are not enough to allow us to close the remaining coal plants in Nova Scotia or to achieve Nova Scotia's 80% renewable energy target by 2030. That's why we continue to advance the Atlantic Loop project. We believe this important transmission infrastructure project will play a critical role in a more integrated clean energy grid in Nova Scotia and is instrumental in achieving both the federal and provincial government's ambitious climate goals. We continue to work with all stakeholders to advance this project and are cautiously optimistic on the progress and recent momentum. With 2030 quickly approaching, we hope to have more to share on this project later this year. It continues to be busy on the regulatory front as well, with rate cases ongoing in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. The team at New Mexico Gas recently filed an unopposed settlement agreement with the regulator which, if approved, will provide 19 million U.S. dollars in new rates effective January 1st of 2023. This will support our continued investment in pipeline integrity and reliability projects in the state. Rate cases in Nova Scotia and Barbados are ongoing, with hearings scheduled to begin in the coming months. We expect to have resolution on these outstanding rate applications by the end of this year. It's an exciting yet challenging time in the energy sector. Our team continues to navigate complex economic, political, and regulatory environments, and our proven strategy continues to deliver for customers, communities, and investors. And with that, I'll turn it over to Greg to take you through our financial results.