RICHMOND, Va., June 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Dominion Energy (NYSE: D) has updated its second-quarter operating earnings guidance range to $0.44 to $0.50 per share. The revised guidance reflects the estimated impact of historically mild weather, unplanned outages at the Millstone Power Station, and positive factors such as lower costs. The original second-quarter guidance range was $0.58 to $0.68 per share.
Given the pending business review, the company has not provided full-year 2023 earnings guidance. The company plans to host an investor event in the third quarter, during which it will provide an updated strategic and financial outlook based on the results of the business review, which is still underway.
Updated operating earnings guidance drivers
Extremely mild weather in the company’s electric service territories, relative to 15-year normal, is expected to negatively impact second-quarter operating earnings by $0.07 to $0.09 per share. Second-quarter weather is currently expected to be the mildest relative to normal over the last 50 years.
On April 6, 2023, Millstone Power Station Unit 2 entered a planned refueling outage. The outage lasted longer than expected due to additional work identified during the outage to ensure the unit will run reliably for the next operating cycle. All necessary work has been completed, and the unit is in the process of returning to service.
On May 30, 2023, Millstone Power Station Unit 3 had an automatic reactor trip due to a turbine trip caused by electrical protection. All systems responded as expected to the trip, and all necessary work has been completed. The unit returned to service on June 29, 2023.
Millstone Power Station has a strong history of exemplary performance, in both safety and reliability. It is the largest carbon-free generating facility in New England. For the past two decades, it has provided reliable and affordable power to New England consumers on the hottest and coldest days. That is why the company worked efficiently to resolve issues impacting reliability, consistent with the high standards of the company’s nuclear operations.
Important note to investors regarding operating, reported earnings
Dominion Energy uses operating earnings (non-GAAP) as the primary performance measurement of its earnings guidance and results for public communications with analysts and investors. Operating earnings are defined as reported earnings adjusted for certain items. Dominion Energy also uses operating earnings internally for budgeting, for reporting to the Board of Directors, for the company’s incentive compensation plans, and for its targeted dividend payouts and other purposes. Dominion Energy management believes operating earnings provide a more meaningful representation of the company’s fundamental earnings power.
In providing its operating earnings guidance, the company notes that there could be differences between expected reported earnings and estimated operating earnings for matters such as, but not limited to, the mark-to-market impact of economic hedging activities, gains and losses on nuclear decommissioning trust funds, acquisitions, divestitures or extreme weather events and other natural disasters. Dominion Energy management is not able to estimate the aggregate impact of these items on future period reported earnings.
About Dominion Energy
About 7 million customers in 16 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to safely providing reliable, affordable and sustainable energy and to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.
This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including forecasted operating earnings for the second-quarter 2023 that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: the direct and indirect impacts of implementing recommendations resulting from the business review announced in November 2022; unusual weather conditions and their effect on energy sales to customers and energy commodity prices; extreme weather events and other natural disasters; extraordinary external events, such as the current pandemic health event resulting from COVID-19; federal, state and local legislative and regulatory developments; changes to regulated rates collected by Dominion Energy; timing and receipt of regulatory approvals necessary for planned construction or expansion projects and compliance with conditions associated with such regulatory approvals; the inability to complete planned construction projects within time frames initially anticipated; risks and uncertainties that may impact the ability to develop and construct the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) Commercial Project within the currently proposed timeline, or at all, and consistent with current cost estimates along with the ability to recover such costs from customers; changes to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, including those related to climate change; cost of environmental strategy and compliance, including cost related to climate change; changes in implementation and enforcement practices of regulators relating to environmental standards and litigation exposure for remedial activities; changes in operating, maintenance and construction costs; additional competition in Dominion Energy’s industries; changes in demand for Dominion Energy’s services; receipt of approvals for, and timing of, closing dates for acquisitions and divestitures; impacts of acquisitions, divestitures, transfers of assets by Dominion Energy to joint ventures, and retirements of assets based on asset portfolio reviews; adverse outcomes in litigation matters or regulatory proceedings; fluctuations in interest rates; the effectiveness to which existing economic hedging instruments mitigate fluctuations in currency exchange rates of the Euro and Danish Krone associated with certain fixed price contracts for the major offshore construction and equipment components of the CVOW Commercial Project; changes in rating agency requirements or credit ratings and their effect on availability and cost of capital; and capital market conditions, including the availability of credit and the ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms. Other risk factors are detailed from time to time in Dominion Energy’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Dominion Energy
