Q4 2024 Alliant Energy Corp Earnings Call
Speaker Change: With me here today are Lisa Barton, President and CEO, and Robert Durian, Executive Vice President and CFO.
Speaker Change: Following prepared remarks by Lisa and Robert we will have time to take questions from the investment community.
Speaker Change: We issued a news release last night announcing Alliant Energy's yearend and fourth quarter financial results and affirmed our 2025 earnings guidance range.
Speaker Change: This release as well as an earnings presentation will be referenced during today's call and are available on the Investor website Web page of our website at Www Dot line energy Dot com.
Before we begin I need to remind you the remarks, we make on this call inner answers to your questions include forward looking statements. These forward looking statements are subject to risks that could cause actual results to be materially different those risks include among others matters discussed in Alliant Energy's new.
Speaker Change: As released last night and are filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Speaker Change: We disclaim any obligation to update these forward looking statements.
Speaker Change: In addition, this presentation contains references to your ongoing earnings per share, which is a non-GAAP financial measure references to ongoing earnings exclude material charges or income that are not normally associated with ongoing operations a reconciliation between aren't.
Speaker Change: Going in GAAP measures is provided in the earnings release, which is available on our website.
Speaker Change: non-GAAP adjustments include an asset valuation charge related to Ipl's Lansing generating station of 17 cents per share recorded in the second quarter of 'twenty 'twenty four reached.
Speaker Change: Restructuring and voluntary employee separation charges of eight cents per share recorded in the fourth quarter of 'twenty 'twenty four.
Speaker Change: An asset retirement obligation charge for steam assets at I P. O six cents per share recorded in the second quarter of 'twenty 'twenty four.
Speaker Change: And and adjustment of deferred tax assets due to high what tax reform four cents per share recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024 and in 2023.
Lisa Barton: At this point I will turn the call over to Lisa.
Lisa Barton: Thank you Sue and good morning, everyone and thank you for joining us 'twenty 'twenty four marked another year of solid financial and operational performance during which we made considerable progress on our key strategic priorities.
Lisa Barton: As we review our strong operational and financial performance for 'twenty 'twenty four will look ahead to 2020 five providing updates on our progress towards achieving key strategic objectives that enhance our ability to support our customers communities and importantly drive shareholder growth now and for generations.
To come.
Lisa Barton: Reflecting on 2024 I'm extremely proud of the progress we made and the strong foundation we built.
Lisa Barton: One that positions us well to drive sustainable growth and deliver meaningful value.
Lisa Barton: Our ongoing 'twenty 'twenty, four EPS growth aligns with our long term target of 5% to 7%.
Lisa Barton: We increased our dividend with 'twenty 'twenty, four marking the twenty-first straight year of dividend increases.
Lisa Barton: We successfully commissioned 1.5 gigawatts of solar energy investments, adding to our 1.8 gigawatt wind generation fleet reinforcing our leadership in regulated owned renewables.
Lisa Barton: Our approved electric rate review construct in Iowa stabilizes electric base rates for customers through the end of the decade and allows us to grow in tandem with our economic development success rate.
Lisa Barton: Positions the company to earn its authorized return on equity through the retention of new tax credits energy margins and capacity revenues, while we invest in energy resources to support rowing energy demand.
Lisa Barton: [noise] provides a framework to support economic development through an individual customer rate construct enabling the company to capture meaningful economic development growth to benefit our communities.
Lisa Barton: By putting our newly I you see approved construct into action, we reached a significant milestone in our economic development efforts securing commitments with signed agreements of up to one nine gigawatts of data center load at our big Cedar sites in Cedar Rapids.
Lisa Barton: Our individual customer right or I see our construct in Iowa, and Wisconsin, our key tools for economic development and community growth.
Lisa Barton: We recently filed an ICR contract for one of two Iowa data centers and we look forward to the I use. These review of this contract we expect the second ICR contract to be filed in the first quarter.
Lisa Barton: As we have highlighted in previous calls we are committed to ensuring all I see are a benefit to existing customers new customers and our shareholders, which will be demonstrated in these confidential filings.
Our team continues to advance our purpose driven strategy and it's taking measures today to enable the achievement of our financial and operational objectives over the long term.
Lisa Barton: We operate in two states that have enacted legislation to fast track and support economic development, creating new opportunities for growth and investment.
Speaker Change: To complement legislation adopted last year to support Mega projects I am Governor Kim Reynolds recently introduced legislation to continue providing tools to accelerate economic development in the states keep.
Speaker Change: Key provisions of the Bill include non contested integrated resource plan filings with the eye you see and the requirement to file non contestable IR piece at least every five years.
Speaker Change: Lowering the thresholds for advanced ratemaking to 40 megawatts and expanding eligibility requirements for advanced ratemaking to encourage all of the above energy solutions and technologies in Iowa.
Speaker Change: In Wisconsin, the legislature enacted a sales and use tax exemption for data centers. This legislation is designed to increase investments and growth in the sector.
Speaker Change: With that in mind I'm excited to announce we have an agreement in principle with a data center customer that has purchased land in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
Speaker Change: As noted in previous calls we have increased our focus on economic development and this will continue to be our focus in the months and years ahead.
Speaker Change: Expanding the competitive advantage of our service territory through our efforts to drive economic development in Iowa, and Wisconsin is driving meaningful outcomes, attracting new investments, creating jobs and supporting investments in the infrastructure needed to support long term growth and the communities we serve.
Speaker Change: Tying our economic development wins back to our Capex plans as you recall in November.
Speaker Change: 'twenty 'twenty four we refreshed our capital expenditure plan to incorporate energy resource investments to meet the first phase or up to 1.1 Gigawatts of our data center growth.
Speaker Change: At this time, we also at that time, we also indicated that.
Speaker Change: We had an additional 800 megawatts of data center load backed by fully executed land transmission and energy supply agreements, where we were awaiting greater clarity on the timing of blowed ramp we now have that clarity.
Speaker Change: Given our confidence in our Wisconsin Beaver Dam location, we expect to add this new data center demand to our updated resource supply plan capital expenditure plan and financing thing, which will be provided as part of our Q1 'twenty twenty-five earnings release.
Speaker Change: As noted in slide five we are taking a responsible approach to meeting these needs using a combination of existing capacity new generation demand response and capacity purchases. This allows us to accelerate our ability to serve the load while building lengthen our capex plan well into the future.
Speaker Change: Our economic development efforts, including the addition of new data center loads are projected to increase energy sales. This increase in sales will help distribute fixed costs across a larger customer base contributing to more stable and manageable rates for our customers.
Speaker Change: We recognize speed to market is critical for meeting the needs of growing and new customers, whether they are large load industries or local expansions are reliable balanced portfolio of existing resources combined with our inventory of MISO queue positions to connect new energy resource.
Speaker Change: This short term market purchases and our track record of successful execution gives us confidence in our ability to capture these opportunities.
Speaker Change: Now, let me briefly touch on the investment growth opportunities associated with our 16% interest in American transmission company.
Speaker Change: MISO transmission investments presents a strategic opportunity for us to enhance regional grid stability.
Speaker Change: Earlier, this year MISO announced capital investments for tranche 2.18.
Speaker Change: T C expects to be assigned approximately $2 billion of tranche 2.1, with an additional opportunity through the right of first refusal or competitive bid process of up to $1.8 billion.
Speaker Change: We do not expect a material impact to our current capital expenditure plan since the majority of investments related to tranche 2.1 would be post 2030.
Speaker Change: At Alliant energy, we are committed to strengthening the energy grid by reducing outages, improving recovery times and expanding capacity with a balanced mix of cost effective and proven technologies at.
At the same time, we continue investments in future innovations to meet growing demand, while maintaining affordability for our customers.
Speaker Change: Looking back on my first year as CEO I'm proud of our team's relentless dedication and execution of our purpose driven strategy their dedication not only strengthens our service to customers and communities, but also fuels sustainable long term value creation for our share.
Speaker Change: Our holders.
Speaker Change: As we celebrate National Engineers week I'm proud to recognize the exceptional contribution of our engineers, whose innovation and expertise continue to propel our industry forward.
Speaker Change: Equally important I extend my deepest gratitude to our dedicated generation team line crews and extended team for their unwavering commitment to delivering reliable energy to our customers. Your hard work and dedication are the backbone of our operational success and a driving force behind our.
Speaker Change: Continued progress.
Speaker Change: I'll now turn the call over to Robert to provide our financial results financing plans and an update on regulatory matters.
Robert Durian: Thank you Lisa good morning, everyone.
Robert Durian: Yesterday, we announced 'twenty 'twenty four ongoing earnings of $3.04 per share compared to ongoing earnings of $2.82 per share in 2023.
Robert Durian: These ongoing earnings contributed to a compounded annual earnings growth rate in excess of 6% over the last 10 years.
Our year over your ongoing earnings change was primarily due to higher revenue requirements from couple of Muslims.
Robert Durian: It was positive driver was partially offset by higher depreciation and finance expense and lower if you do see associated with our customer focused capital expenditure programs.
Robert Durian: The remaining year over year earnings drivers largely related to the negative impacts of milder temperatures on electric and gas sales.
Robert Durian: And our team's successful efforts to offset a significant portion of the negative 2024 temperature in books with actions taken to capture higher tax benefits and lower O&M expenses.
Robert Durian: We are extremely proud that our 2020 for O&M expenses, excluding non-GAAP adjustments were approximately $30 million less than in 2023.
The result of our employees' efforts to manage our business to deliver long term financial consistency.
Robert Durian: We also completed restructuring activities in the fourth quarter of 'twenty, 'twenty, four which resulted in a 5% reduction in our workforce.
Robert Durian: Individuals who chose a voluntary employee separation package, which will provide sustainable cost savings in the future.
Robert Durian: The winter temperatures in 'twenty 'twenty four for some of the warmest on record in our service territory and across the U S.
Robert Durian: These temperature impacts on electric and gas margins decreased a lot and introduce earnings by approximately 15 cents per share in 2024.
Robert Durian: In comparison temperatures decreased a lot energy's earnings by six cents per share in 2023.
Robert Durian: Excluding the impacts of mild temperatures.
Robert Durian: The margins from our electric sales were close to play with.
Robert Durian: With higher than expected sales to residential and commercial customers due to greater than forecasted meter growth.
Robert Durian: Partially offset by lower sales to our lower margin IPO industrial customers, primarily due to less demand from customers who operate their own generation.
Robert Durian: And 'twenty 'twenty four we continued our steadfast focus on keeping bills cost effective for the customers we have the privilege to serve.
Robert Durian: On a revenue per kilowatt hour basis average retail electric rates only increased by approximately 2% and 1% for IPO and W. P O respectively.
Robert Durian: Both changes were below the U S rate of inflation in 2024.
Robert Durian: And our average retail natural gas rates on a cross protective therm sold declined by approximately 10% when compared to 2023. These.
Robert Durian: These results were achieved despite both utilities implementing base rate increases in 2024.
Robert Durian: Yeah.
Robert Durian: We were also successful with many initiatives in 'twenty 'twenty four to help create value for our customers in the future.
Robert Durian: We were awarded $80 million of grants to lower capital costs for customer focus investments.
Robert Durian: We secured $3 billion of conditional commitments for loan guarantees from the U S Department of Energy's loan programs office.
Robert Durian: And if finalized those loans would help us cost effectively finance future clean energy generation.
Robert Durian: Storage for both Iowa, and Wisconsin customers.
Robert Durian: We initiated safe harbor activities with the intention of preserving the qualification of tax credits for future energy storage and renewable projects.
Lisa Barton: And as Lisa mentioned, we are utilizing our individual transfer rate construct in both states.
Lisa Barton: Which allows us to capture growth from economic development activities occurring within our states.
Lisa Barton: Which will in turn absorb a portion of our fixed costs help introduce costs for all customers.
Lisa Barton: Yeah.
Lisa Barton: Our teams also had success with improving cash flows last year.
Lisa Barton: 'twenty 'twenty four cash flows from operations increased by approximately $300 million or <unk> 35 per cent when compared to 2023.
Lisa Barton: This substantial increase was primarily the result of the successful monetization of tax credits generated in 'twenty 'twenty four.
Lisa Barton: Improved recoveries of infrastructure investments with new base rates in both Iowa and Wisconsin.
Lisa Barton: And so social efforts by our employees to reduce the working capital requirements of our core utility business.
Lisa Barton: I'm also pleased to report that our investing cash flows in 2024 align with our projected capital expenditures set at the beginning of the year due.
Lisa Barton: Due to our proactive procurement activities and our continued track record of successful execution of our key construction projects.
Yeah.
Lisa Barton: Moving into 2025, we are affirming our 2025 earnings guidance range of $3.15 to $3.25 per share.
Lisa Barton: We have based our long term, 5% to 7% earnings growth rate target for 'twenty 'twenty four ongoing earnings of $3.04.
Lisa Barton: Our efforts to support customer value by making smart investments in controlling operating costs, all while receiving constructive regulatory outcomes will support our ability to consistently deliver solid financial results.
Lisa Barton: Okay.
Lisa Barton: Turning to 2025 financing our current 2025 financing plans are included on slide eight.
Lisa Barton: We anticipate updating our 2025 to 2028 financing plans in conjunction with our next capital expenditure update.
Lisa Barton: Which we expect to share on next quarter's earnings call.
Lisa Barton: Yeah.
Finally, I'll highlight our regulatory initiatives and progress as well as those regulatory filings we plan to initiate later this year.
Lisa Barton: We have four active dockets in progress before the public service Commission of Wisconsin, which involved requests for certificates of authority for customer focused investments.
Lisa Barton: These dockets relate to investments which will.
Enhance the reliability and resiliency of the Riverside natural gas generating facility.
Lisa Barton: Refurbished the forward wind and bent tree wind farms to extend production tax credits from the facilities for the benefit of our customers.
Lisa Barton: And enabling new long duration energy storage project called energy dorm, which will be decided next to Adobe pills Columbia Energy Center.
Lisa Barton: Do you expect the timing of decisions from the public Service Commission of Wisconsin are these dockets.
Lisa Barton: On slide nine.
Lisa Barton: We also have two active filings in progress before the Iowa Utilities Commission seeking approval for an individual customer rate for one of the new data centers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Lisa Barton: And an approximate 100 megawatt sooner river natural gas generated station, which would be located on the existing side of the Prairie Creek generating station.
Lisa Barton: Finally for our planned regular regulatory filings this year.
Lisa Barton: At this rate filing our Wisconsin retail electric and gas rate review for test years, 2026, and 2027 at the end of this quarter.
Lisa Barton: And then in conjunction with our updated capital expenditure plan.
Lisa Barton: We also expect to make regulatory filings later this year in both Iowa and Wisconsin for.
Lisa Barton: For additional renewables and dispatch will resources to enhance reliability for their first five our energy resources and meet growing customer energy needs.
Lisa Barton: We thank you for your continued support and look forward to speaking with many of you in the coming months.
Lisa Barton: This time I will turn the call back over to Lisa to provide closing remarks.
Lisa Barton: Thank you Robert I'd like to close by focusing on what you can expect from the Alliant energy team. We are actively looking to expand our competitive advantage by driving sustainable growth and long term value.
Lisa Barton: Our tenants driving affordability and delivering value.
Lisa Barton: Advancing growth at scale through economic development.
Lisa Barton: Adapting regulatory and advocating for legislative construct to support growth and win win outcomes.
Lisa Barton: Sponsored bleep powering growth by growing at the pace of our customers and using capacity links new resources load response and capacity purchases I'm extremely proud of the foundation. We've established in 'twenty 'twenty four we are well positioned to drive sustainable growth and create meaningful.
Lisa Barton: Shareholder value. Thank you for your continued support at this time I will turn the call back over to the operator to facilitate the question and answer session.
Speaker Change: Thank you Ms. Martin at this time the company will open the call up for questions from members of the investment community.
Speaker Change: If you don't have any questions. Please press star followed by one on your desktop phone you will hear a prompt that youre hand has been raised should you wish to decline from the polling process.
Speaker Change: Star followed by two and that's using a speaker phone. Please lift the handset first before pressing any keys. Please go ahead with Westar one now if you have any questions.
First we will hear from shopper grows up goes.
Speaker Change: Home partners. Please go ahead.
Speaker Change: Hi, good morning.
Speaker Change: Hey, Shar how are you.
Speaker Change: Good how are you doing great.
Speaker Change: Great. Thanks excellent so at least to the data center. So we got a new data center in Wisconsin. The Capex update is coming next quarter can we just get a little bit more color on where you could see yourself within that five to seven, especially as we look out towards the end of the plan are we piercing the top.
Speaker Change: And is this something you'll communicate on the <unk>. The Capex revision I think I'm, just a little bit more sense there.
Speaker Change: At Q1, we will have a much better line of sight scharf with respect to where will it be a what you will see and that will be the 1.9 gigawatts associated with phase one and phase two of the Cedar Rapids build out as well as the new Wisconsin.
Speaker Change: Facility.
Speaker Change: So let me so the early.
Speaker Change: Early right now to get it to project out into the future.
Speaker Change: Got it got it and then just on the Capex update at least Woop woop is it kind of where we see normal distribution spend pushed out or do you think it's purely additive to the 10% CAGR.
Speaker Change: One of the things right now we're looking at is just what are the needs of our customers and communities and we are leaning in a little bit more on the generation side right now and a little less so on the distribution.
Speaker Change: Okay.
Speaker Change: That is perfect and then just one last one if I may just obviously a lot of focus around the Wisconsin opportunity.
Speaker Change: Maybe if we can come back to Iowa for a SEC any updated color on a potential phase two.
Speaker Change: Big Cedar <unk> Prairie view, just any timing of that announcement.
Speaker Change: Yeah.
Speaker Change: So what we have basically what is in our phase two is a reflected there right now. So we had one one gigawatts was phase one another 800 being the phase two totaling 1.9 that you see there and that's with two different data center customers.
Speaker Change: <unk>.
Speaker Change: One you probably saw the announcement on as Q T. S. The other one is.
Speaker Change: Is not wanting us to release their name at this point in time, and we just want to always make sure that were abiding by the wishes of our customers got it it makes sense congrats on the execution appreciate it too soon.
Speaker Change: Thank you bye bye.
Next question will be from Nicholas Campanella of Barclays. Please go ahead.
Nicholas Campanella: Hi, Nick.
Nicholas Campanella: Hey, everyone. Good morning, Thanks for all the updates.
Speaker Change: Wanted to ask when we kind of think about financing this incremental capex, that's going to be coming just in general across the plan like if we were to add a dollar of capex like what's the associated equity needs with that going forward and maybe you can kind of update us on where your episodes that is trending.
Speaker Change: Yeah. Nick this is Robert so with your first question as we think about kind of where we stand right now with our balance sheet and we feel like we've got a really strong balance sheet and improving cash flows, which I'll get into here in a little bit but.
Speaker Change: As you think about the capital expenditure refresh that we plan on sharing with the first quarter call.
Speaker Change: Think about roughly 45% to 50% of any new capital additions are expected to be financed through equity and the remaining through what I'd characterize as debt issuances.
Speaker Change: And then specifically on your your cash flow question as I shared with my prepared remarks. So we made some pretty significant progress with improving our cash flows in 2024, Oh, we saw about a 35% and crews are about $300 million of cash flows from operations relative to what we saw in 2023 that was largely because of them.
Speaker Change: Monetization of tax credits are the improvements that we saw as a result of the.
Speaker Change: Base rate in place the increases that we implemented to recover infrastructure, but probably one of the things I'm more proud of is the fact that we're doing a really good job with the kind of optimizing our working capital. So so we're looking forward to continuing that trend here into 2025 mm and actually seeing probably if anything an upside when it comes to additional tax credit.
Speaker Change: Monetization as we continue to build up more renewables and storage and generate more tax credits that are available for sale.
Speaker Change: That's great that's great.
Speaker Change: And then just with the Wisconsin opportunities still in focus Youre also going to be filing this Wisconsin rate review soon maybe you can just kind of talk about what's different in this case versus versus prior cases.
Speaker Change: I don't know if it's much different I would kind of I would.
There is a kind of the key drivers for this railroad are predominantly related to rate base additions since the last case well.
Speaker Change: Think about all of the solar that we completed over.
Speaker Change: Over the last couple of years as well as we got new battery storage projects. So all of that stuff has been approved by the public.
Speaker Change: Service question, Wisconsin, but we also have some advanced gas pass projects, which are.
Our intended to improve the capacity and efficiency of our neenah in Sheboygan natural gas facilities that have been approved by the PSC W. So a large portion of what we're seeking for recovery will be seeking for recoveries as rate base additions, partially offset by some of the fuel cost savings from those projects.
Well as some of the tax benefits so as.
Speaker Change: As far as some of the key issues, you'll see the typical questions about return on equity capital structure I'm going to feel like we're well positioned to have a good case in front of the commission here in a couple of months.
Speaker Change: Alright, great well looking for the first quarter and have a great weekend. Thank you.
Speaker Change: Yeah.
Speaker Change: Sue.
Speaker Change: Thank you next question will be from James Smith of Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Speaker Change: Thank you operator, and thank you Jim appreciate it appreciate the time and congratulations again very nicely down here with you.
Speaker Change: Okay.
Speaker Change: Thank you maybe just a follow up absolutely maybe just a follow up on a few things here one item that stands out is just the backdrop of renewables and renewables execution and just the reliance on tax credits through the plan specifically some of the dynamics through the plan of the 29.
Speaker Change: Question around how you think about safe harboring and to what extent you guys have along with your partners insured access to the tax credits and or any other avenues to ensure that the plan is intact and I just want to make sure that we've got the visibility on whats out there, including the wind repowering.
Speaker Change: Yeah, Great question, Julian So yeah, I'm extremely proud of the activities of the team in the fourth quarter and here into the first quarter of 2025.
Speaker Change: So really positioned us well to I would say safe Harbor, a significant majority of the renewables and battery storage that we have in our current plan.
Speaker Change: We've taken actions to put down payments on certain projects, we've initiated construction activities for other projects and so we feel well positioned with safe harboring what I'd characterize as a substantial majority of all of the projects that go through the next four years are related to the renewables, including wind and solar as well as the battery storage projects that we.
Speaker Change: <unk> got an airplane right now.
Right and that's because of ongoing permitting activities you're comfortable.
Speaker Change: So we don't have any concerns currently with the permitting we don't tend to put our wind projects on public lands and so dogface that kind of risk.
Speaker Change: So and we've been pretty proactive as you probably know from some of our previous discussions about getting ahead on MISO queue positions and other things that have positioned us well to be able to navigate it.
Speaker Change: It's kind of a choppy period right now with some of these activities.
Speaker Change: And just to highlight that Julien you know we've gone through the safe harboring before so we're very experienced with this so we're feeling very comfortable about how we've positioned ourselves for the future.
Speaker Change: I would expect that big last week.
Speaker Change: Thank you on that I appreciate it.
Speaker Change: [laughter], knowing you and your team just with respect to the data center opportunity real quickly can you elaborate a little bit more on the opportunities piece right in the slides right for as much as the slide shows something like viewpoint, one gigawatts to be delineated by the first quarter plan can you talk a little bit on.
Speaker Change: The timeline here to get up to that full Idaho 2.9 ish. That's the slides seem to indicate here given that they all seem to be coming online in that 28 time period, I imagine it'll be pretty swift to get further clarity on that that upside opportunity bucket.
Speaker Change: So think of it this way that upside light blue of the opportunities those are companies, where we're having active discussions and so forth and that's why what you'll see is very much a balanced approach in terms of our resources it'll be new it'll be extensions as you know we.
Speaker Change: We extended an intended.
Speaker Change: It to convert Edgewater, Oh, we're evaluating Colombia in Colombia, So we're really using an all of the above approach when it comes to positioning ourselves we want to make sure that we're as competitive as possible so that when data centers come knocking.
Speaker Change: Alliance is the first place that they'll go so that's the approach that we're taking.
Speaker Change: And we'll have a lot more information for you in Q1.
Speaker Change: All will be revealed in Q1, [laughter], including the upside opportunities excellent. Thank you.
Speaker Change: Thank you next question will be from Andrew Weisel of Scotia Bank. Please go ahead.
Hi, good morning, everybody.
Speaker Change: Hi, good morning, just to clarify.
Speaker Change: First question.
Speaker Change: To be clear is big Cedar essentially fully booked up at this point.
Speaker Change: It is.
Speaker Change: Okay, Great and then do you have a new customer at Beaver Dam, then you have the additional sites I guess my question is how confident do you feel that you've got ample opportunity should you have the good problem, where a lot of customers come knocking at your door in other words do you feel comfort.
Speaker Change: That you'll be able to serve a strong number of potential data et cetera customers overtime.
Speaker Change: We really want to position ourselves to attract as much economic development for our communities as possible.
Speaker Change: And so that's why we're we've made some of the decisions that we've made our economic development team is acutely focused on figuring out how do we attract these customers and to make sure that it's a it's a win win win I can't emphasize that enough it needs to be a win for not only new customers, but existing customers as well.
Speaker Change: Well as shareholders as well yeah. The one thing to keep in mind is that while the growth that we've had is tied to some of the lands that we have it's not necessary a it's been a great accelerator for some of these opportunities, but just like you've seen in other jurisdictions.
Speaker Change: So these types of customers are really looking for a transmission capacity and having sufficient generation available to to meet their needs. We will we.
Speaker Change: We have a very flexible resource planning process and that allows us to be pretty adaptive I think come to compare it to a number of our peers.
Speaker Change: Okay, Great that's very helpful and actually ties in very neatly into my next question. The proposed legislation in the Io about integrated resource planning, how do you think about that in terms of flexibility or or lack thereof. I mean on the one hand, it helps with long term generation planning on the other hand, you can have.
To be very flexible to work with these fast moving hyperscale and data centers. So how do you think about that in terms of adding or limiting your flexibility.
Speaker Change: Oh, I think it's actually relatively neutral with respect to that because we can file a plan at any time, what the legislation is really intended to do is to not have people go beyond five years, you know we in order to adapt to the needs of our customers and communities would be filing more off.
Speaker Change: Often and as you may recall, the last resource plan exercise that we went through we basically had you know low medium and high.
Speaker Change: Low cases, and that allowed us to have a considerable amount of flexibility in terms of determining what resources that we need.
Speaker Change: So I mean quite frankly, if we wanted to go in Tomorrow. We can go in tomorrow and violent other resource plan. So we feel that it's a very supportive of what we need to advance economic development.
Speaker Change: Okay, Great and one last one maybe.
Speaker Change: Sorry go ahead, just a I do have one correction to what I said earlier, which is we do have a little bit of room is still a big cedar So my apologies.
Speaker Change: Okay, great more options is always a good thing.
Speaker Change: And then one last one.
Speaker Change: The advanced Ratemaking, it's been a little bit of a moving target if I can describe it that way maybe in the past can you talk about the proposed legislation and how it maybe might clarify things going forward or maybe just a little bit more detail on what's in that proposal and how you think it might play out.
Speaker Change: Yeah, that's a great question, Andrew so so historically.
Speaker Change: We have taken the opportunity to utilize advanced ratemaking principles for largely a renewable expansion program and some of our larger natural gas facilities.
Speaker Change: More recently with some recent legislation that was already a past it expanded it to include battery storage as well as nuclear.
Speaker Change: Now they've taken even a more of them I called on all of the above approach where they've lowered them.
Speaker Change: The the gas requirement down to 40 megawatts and so we really see this as a great opportunity to use all kinds of different resources to be able to meet the demands that we see coming from new customers. So so a lot of flexibility with it and I think it's just a kind of a demonstration of the.
Speaker Change: The willingness of the state of Iowa to drive economic development to make sure. We've got the ability with flexibility to to be able to meet it with different resources. So we're looking forward to to seeing that go through the legislation process and hopefully be able to utilize that here in the near future.
Speaker Change: Flexibility seems to be a theme. Thank you very much guys I appreciate the help.
Thank you once again, a reminder to please press star one if you have any questions next we will hear from Paul Fremont at Ladenburg. Please go ahead.
Speaker Change:
Paul Fremont: Hi, congratulations on a good quarter.
Paul Fremont: Can you.
Speaker Change: Would you potentially look to to put into place a similar regulatory structure.
Speaker Change: As what you have in Iowa and Wisconsin.
Speaker Change: Yeah like large data centers.
Yeah. It's a great question, I mean, with Wisconsin, and Iowa had very different constructs were in Iowa.
Speaker Change: Yeah.
Speaker Change: We'd go in maybe say every four years so it became.
Speaker Change: It could be a challenge in terms of growing at the pace of our customers in Wisconsin, We really don't have that because we're in every two years with a forward looking construct.
Speaker Change: So no plans.
Speaker Change: Okay.
Speaker Change: Hum.
Speaker Change: Can you.
Speaker Change: Scott I guess in one of your slides you mentioned Ah.
Speaker Change: Our flexible rate structure as part of what's being considered.
Speaker Change: In legislation in Iowa.
Speaker Change: How.
Speaker Change: What can you describe what those contact changes might look like.
Speaker Change: Oh, so the individual customer right.
Speaker Change: Yeah, I think that's what you're referring to yes. So the individual customer rate construct that we have is associated with the settlement.
Speaker Change: With that we worked through last year and what that allows us to do is to customize the contracts for the needs of a particular customer and then it is submitted confidentially to the eye you see for their approval they have to act within.
Speaker Change: Ah 90 days or it's otherwise approved.
Speaker Change: Right, but in other words.
It does.
Speaker Change: Quite a sort of proposed legislation in Iowa, So how would that change what changes that they're talking about in terms of establishing a flexible ray tool to help electric utility companies attract new large energy use our customers.
Speaker Change: What changes what would that mean in terms of Iowa.
Robert Durian: Yeah. Paul This is Robert if you if you're thinking about the legislation and what's being proposed at this point in time think of it as just a further expansion there are certain I would say parameters that the individual customer rate that was approved in the rate order allow you to do this would expand it even further so it gives us even more flexibility or opportunity to offer those types of rates to even.
Speaker Change: More customers beyond.
Robert Durian: The data centers that we currently are pursuing with the individual costs were raised in the last rate order.
Robert Durian: Right and then last question in terms of the additional generation Ah Ah that Youre looking to add is should we think of all of that is being renewable or some of that.
Robert Durian: Gonna be gas.
Robert Durian: Yeah. Some of it will be gas, it's all of the above.
Robert Durian: Great. Thank you so much.
Robert Durian: Youre welcome.
Speaker Change: Next question will be from Ashok Khan. Please go ahead.
Robert Durian: Thank you my questions have been answered I appreciate it.
Robert Durian: Thank you.
Speaker Change: MS. Gill there are no further questions at this time.
Robert Durian: Okay.
Robert Durian: With no more questions. This concludes our call a replay will be available on our investor website. We thank you for your continued support of Alliant energy and feel free to contact me with any follow up questions.
Speaker Change: Thank you ladies and gentlemen, this does indeed conclude your conference call for today. Once again, thank you for attending and at this time, we ask that you. Please disconnect your lines enjoy the rest of your day.
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