Entergy on Wednesday said it is engaging with stakeholders as it prepares regulatory filings related to its proposed $15 billion, 10-year accelerated resilience plan to upgrade its system against future storm damage.
“We’ve invested in new infrastructure built to higher standards that will improve the system’s resilience,” CEO Drew Marsh told analysts during Entergy’s third-quarter conference call. “We expect our proposed investments to significantly reduce physical and financial storm risk.”
Marsh said the plan is “heavily informed” by Florida’s recent experience with Hurricane Ian.
“We did our homework,” the new CEO said. “Knowing that their hardened assets performed well in Hurricane Ian, along with the strong performance of our own hardened infrastructure over the past couple of years, gives us confidence that we can substantially reduce our exposure to storms and provide meaningful benefits to customers.”
Entergy CEO Drew Marsh | EntergyThe utility has already made its first filing, with New Orleans, where it came under heavy criticism last year after Ida took out all eight transmission lines servicing the city. (See Entergy Touts Restoration; NOLA Leaders Question Lack of Blackstart Service.)
The New Orleans City Council has already approved a $206 million securitization recovery for Entergy New Orleans’ Hurricane Ida costs and to replenish the company’s storm escrow. The company plans to file its resilience request in Louisiana by the end of the year and in Texas next year.
Entergy reported quarterly earnings of $561 million ($2.74/share), up from the same period a year ago when it delivered earnings of $531 million ($2.63). Marsh said the strong quarter allowed Entergy to cut 10 cents off its year-end adjusted earnings guidance, now $6.25 to $6.45.
The utility’s adjusted earnings of $2.84/share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.67/share.
The earnings call was Marsh’s first as CEO. He replaced Leo Denault, who stepped down on Nov. 1 and continues to chair the company’s board. (See Entergy CEO Denault Stepping Down in 2023.)
CenterPoint Exceeds Expectations
CenterPoint Energy on Tuesday reported earnings of $189 million ($0.30/diluted share), a tick down from last year’s third quarter of $190 million ($0.32/diluted share).
The Houston-based company updated its capital expenditure plan by $2.3 billion to nearly $43 billion. CEO David Lesar said the incremental capital will be dedicated to further distribution system resilience, reliability and grid modernization, and transmission upgrades in its Houston Electric area.
CenterPoint’s adjusted earnings of 32 cents/share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents, the 10th straight quarter Lesar’s management team has met or exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.
The company’s share price peaked at $28.93 on Tuesday before finishing at $28.11 on Wednesday, down 48 cents from its pre-announcement close.
