Q2 2019 Earnings Call

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Kevin Laflam K E V I and.

Oh, a F.L.A.M. and E.

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I E R. Eight.

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Dumoulin Smith from Bank of America. Please go ahead your line is open.

Good morning. This is various laws may on for Julian I, just wanted to briefly touch on the Iowa Intervener testimony that you mentioned a minute ago.

Are there any specific read throughs that you can share as far as are we.

Equity needs or.

Oh, the renewable writer at this time.

Yeah. This is Robert Yes, maybe just to summarize a couple that positions.

So for they are always really there's two primary underwriters that have provided.

Called the full revenue requirements testimony and I'm, one is the O. CA and the other is.

I bet because is the term we use for them.

Both of them are roughly around 9% I think one was 8.9% and the other was 9.2%.

And then from a capital structure I believe the associated proposed a 47% equity ratio and then I back was a 50% equity ratio.

And then on the renewable rider.

Yes, the renewable rider neither one of them had supported our position. So we are working with them in the next few weeks or whatever to see if we can gain alignment there.

Okay, great. Thank you and just one follow up.

Any commentary as far as pursuing a multi year rate cases in the future.

Yes, generally speaking I don't think anybody in these interveners testimony supported that so again, we'll be we'll be working with them over the course of the next few weeks into a into the next year, probably to try and figure out or if they'll support is going to have a longer time frame than the the one year that we're currently pursuing.

Okay, great. Thank you very much.

Thank you if you find your question has been answered you may remain if you will so from the Q like pricing stuff too.

We can now take our next question from Andrew Weisel from Scotia, Howard Weil. Please go ahead.

Hey, good morning, everybody.

First question good morning, Andrew.

You mentioned, you're trending toward the high end of guidance does that reflect a two cents benefit from the hot July weather and ore expenses from the storms that John mentioned or does that assume normal weather for you know since June thirtyth.

Yeah, Andrew This is John it it does not include both of those items.

Okay, just maybe or yeah, Andrew for that for the year, we picked up five cents in the first quarter from whether we lost two cents in the second quarter from weather and then we're expecting to pick another two cents up in July .

So year to date through July were about five cents ahead of plan as a result of weather impacts on temperatures.

As far as the storm itself that John referred to we don't expect any significant impacts on earnings as a result of that so that really puts us like I said around five cents ahead of plan right now.

Very good.

All right next question I know you up there didn't roll forward. The Capex forecast in November I think you mentioned that in the remarks as well I'm, hoping we can get some kind of a sneak peak here in the past you've been pretty consistently increasing capex guidance for the near term years should we expect that again or might there be other limiting factors being affordability or the balance sheet or whatever.

Yeah, like I said, Andrew will be prepared to talk about that in more detail. When we issue that information in early November and then go into a fair amount of discussion with a lot of the analysts and during our E. I Finance conference in early November .

Fair enough I'll have to be a bit more patient I guess.

And then lastly, if I can squeeze a third one in a lot of your neighbors in Wisconsin or taking the approach of combining efforts to own larger solar farm sites benefits like economies of scale et cetera, and I know you have joint ownership of a natural gas plants, though I do remember the history behind that as well.

This joint effort approach something that you might consider in the future I know your near term plans are pretty locked and loaded for renewable but overtime should we think that you will continue to build your own assets or might you combine with other utilities in your states.

Yeah. Thanks. Thanks for the question. Andrew. This is John is certainly all of those options will be on the table leap.

I had a solid track record of some of our individual owning and operating but partnerships with others is certainly a possibility as well.

All right. Thank you very much.

Thank you we can now take our next question from Michael Sullivan from Wolfe Research. Please go ahead.

Hey, good morning.

Good morning, Good morning, just this.

Just circling back to that one of the questions I was asked on on the rate case I'm just given the recommendations that were given on equity ratio and just the spread relative to what you're asking I guess, what what kind of gives you guys. The a level of comfort.

That will be needed to.

To give equity plans.

And with a Q3 update.

Yeah, Michael right now what we're planning on doing I would say over there probably matter of maybe eight weeks or so we'll be working closely with the interveners to.

Try and identify opportunities for us to align on settlements parameters. So right now the procedural schedule.

Oh provides for some additional rebuttal testimony between the different Interveners and number we have a dates and later September were any agreements that we reach before we get to the hearing process. We file as part of a settlement notice. So we'll be working closely with the interveners over like I said the better. The next few weeks to try and figure out how we can gain more alignments on those types of issues as well as.

Probably other issues that have been filed as part of the testimony. So we've we've had a really long history of engaging in these collaborative processes with interested parties.

And so what we believe in the merits of our case. So we're looking forward to a to try and figure out some collaboration to reach alignment on some of these issues before we get to the hearing.

Okay, and you had just I mean kind of given what you said on the on the history and what you've seen from yesterday's filings would kind of be.

Relatively in line with what you would have expected and not something like too far.

Out of whack that would take a settlement.

Possibility is off the table.

Yeah, I think that's a fair assessment, so not nothing that we saw in yesterday's testimony was unexpected at this point.

That's a normal part of the process I'm. So like I said, we'll be working with them closely over the next two weeks to try and gain alignment before we get to the hearing.

Okay. Thanks, and then my last one just also kind of tied to the rate case, but also just thinking longer term about your.

Generation needs and the like.

How so once once you get through this upcoming.

When program, particularly in Iowa, how tied is is there an opportunity for more beyond that when do you start thinking about that and how tied is it to the renewables rider that that you're asking for in the case.

Yeah. Michael This is John we certainly see some opportunity for additional great investments on the heels of the Oh, great renewable.

A portfolio that we're putting forward right now so I would I would see that being a little more.

In the center of our next investment cycle for IPO.

Okay. Thank you.

MS skill there are no further questions at this time.

With no more questions. This concludes our call a replay will be available through August nine 2019 at 82 out of three one last one for you I think Canada.

Or 71945 7082 year for international.

Holly should reference conference I'd 4175543 and Penn.

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In addition, an archive of the conference call in his script of the prepared remarks made on the call will be available on the investors section of the website later today.

Well. Thank you for your continued support of Alliant energy and feel free to contact me with any follow up questions.

This does concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation you may now disconnect.