MADISON, Wis., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliant Energy
Corporation (NYSE: LNT) is announcing several important updates regarding
overall company performance.
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Proposed Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL) Rate Case Settlement
Earlier this week WPL filed a stipulation agreement with the Public
Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) relating to its pending 2009 retail
electric and gas rate case. The agreement reached with the Citizens Utility
Board, Wisconsin Industrial Energy Group, and others, and under the guidance
of the PSCW staff, holds electric rates flat and decreases annual gas revenues
by approximately $4 million. Other important elements of the agreement
include the authorization to defer increasing pension and benefit expenses and
the option for WPL to file for a full 2010 test year rate case instead of the
limited reopener that was part of the original rate case filing. The
stipulation is subject to review and approval by the PSCW. The PSCW is
expected to take up the agreement at its open meeting scheduled for later
today.
"We believe this agreement represents the best possible short-term outcome
for our customers and our shareholders," said Barbara Swan, President-WPL.
"While we believe the record that was established during the rate case process
clearly established WPL's need to collect incremental revenue, we recognize
the PSCW's sensitivity to increasing customer rates in the current economic
climate."
Financial Guidance
Alliant Energy currently expects to be at the low end ($2.65 per share for
Alliant Energy, $2.25 for the utility business) or slightly below the earnings
guidance for 2008 that was issued on October 31, 2008. Alliant Energy plans
to report its 2008 financial results in early February 2009.
Alliant Energy is also announcing guidance for 2009 earnings from
continuing operations of $2.18 - 2.48 per share. Supplemental information is
available at http://www.alliantenergy.com/investors. Additional details of
the guidance are as follows:
2009 Guidance
Utility business $1.95 - 2.25
Non-regulated businesses 0.23 - 0.27
Parent company (0.04) - 0.00
Alliant Energy $2.18 - 2.48
"While 2009 begins to see the earnings benefit of our rate base growth
initiatives, these gains are being more than offset by declining retail sales,
regulatory lag recovering cost increases at Interstate Power and Light Company
(IPL), and the rate case settlement at WPL," said Bill Harvey, Alliant
Energy's Chairman, President and CEO. "While we are disappointed with our
2009 utility earnings outlook, we believe there is strong earnings growth
potential in the near term. In 2010 we are expecting to place almost $1
billion of new wind generation and several large environmental projects in
service. Construction on several of these planned additions is already
underway."
The 2008 and 2009 guidance does not include the impact of any potential
asset valuation charges that Alliant Energy may incur, the impact of certain
non-cash mark-to-market adjustments, the impact of any future adjustments made
to Alliant Energy's deferred tax asset valuation allowances, the impacts of
any cumulative effects of changes in accounting principles or any gains/losses
and related tax impact that may be realized from possible sales of certain
Alliant Energy investments that would be reported in earnings from continuing
operations. Finally, the guidance also assumes that no businesses will be re-
classified to or from "discontinued operations".
Drivers for Alliant Energy's earnings from continuing operations estimates
include, but are not limited to:
-- Flood-related issues, including anticipated amount of operating and
maintenance expenses, levels of steam margins, and insurance and
regulatory recoveries
-- Normal weather conditions in its utility service territories for the
remainder of 2008 and 2009
-- Ability to recover future purchased power, fuel and fuel-related costs
through rates in a timely manner
-- State of the economy in its utility service territory and resulting
implications on sales
-- Continuing cost controls and operational efficiencies
-- Ability of IPL and WPL to recover their operating costs and deferred
expenditures, and to earn a reasonable rate of return in future rate
proceedings
-- Execution of IPL's and WPL's generation build-out and environmental
expenditure plans
-- Ability to utilize tax capital losses generated to-date, and those that
may be generated in the future, before they expire
-- Execution of RMT and WindConnect(R) projects as planned
Projected Capital Expenditures
Alliant Energy's anticipated capital expenditures for 2009-2011 are as follows
(in millions):
Alliant Energy
2009 2010 2011
Utility business
Generation - new facilities
IPL Coal - Sutherland #4 $205 $455 $285
IPL Wind - Whispering Willow East 250 10 --
WPL Wind - Bent Tree 165 285 --
WPL Wind - Other 20 90 135
Sub-total 640 840 420
Environmental 135 240 390
Advanced metering infrastructure 55 75 25
Other utility capital expenditures 465 380 380
Total utility business 1,295 1,535 1,215
Non-regulated business 15 10 10
Total $1,310 $1,545 $1,225
Dividend
The Alliant Energy board of directors has approved an increase in its 2009
expected annual common stock dividend to $1.50 per share from the current
annual dividend of $1.40 per share. Payment of the 2009 quarterly dividends
will be subject to the actual dividend declaration by the board of directors,
which is expected in January for the initial quarterly dividend. The increase
places the dividend slightly above Alliant Energy's targeted dividend payout
ratio of 60 to 70 percent of the earnings of its utility subsidiaries based on
the $2.10 earnings per share of the 2009 utility guidance.
Conference Call
A conference call to review the 2009 financial guidance is scheduled for
Thursday, December 18th at 9:00 a.m. central time. Alliant Energy Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer William D. Harvey and Senior Executive
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Eliot G. Protsch will host the
call. The conference call is open to the public and can be accessed in two
ways. Interested parties may listen to the call by dialing 888-221-9591
(United States or Canada) or 913-312-1434 (International), passcode 6090407.
Interested parties may also listen to a webcast at
www.alliantenergy.com/investors. In conjunction with the information in this
financial guidance call, Alliant Energy posted on its Web site supplemental
information including a comparison of its forecasted 2008 and 2009 earnings
from continuing operations. A replay of the call will be available through
December 25, 2008, at 888-203-1112 (United States or Canada) or 719-457-0820
(International), passcode 8244179. An archive of the webcast will be
available on the Company's Web site at http://www.alliantenergy.com/investors
for at least twelve months.
Alliant Energy is the parent company of two public utility companies --
Interstate Power and Light Company (IP&L) and Wisconsin Power and Light
Company (WP&L) -- and of Alliant Energy Resources, LLC., the parent company of
Alliant Energy's non-regulated operations. Alliant Energy is an
energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million
electric and approximately 400,000 natural gas customers. Providing its
customers in the Midwest with regulated electricity and natural gas service is
the Company's primary focus. Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis.,
is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol LNT. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at
http://www.alliantenergy.com.
This press release includes forward-looking statements. These
forward- looking statements can be identified as such because the statements
include words such as "expect," "believe" or other words of similar import.
Similarly, statements that describe future financial performance or plans or
strategies are forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those currently anticipated. Actual results could be affected
by the following factors, among others: federal and state regulatory or
governmental actions, including the impact of energy-related and tax
legislation and regulatory agency orders; IPL's and WPL's ability to obtain
adequate and timely rate relief to allow for, among other things, the recovery
of operating costs, capital expenditures and deferred expenditures, the
earning of reasonable rates of return and the payment of expected levels of
dividends; Alliant Energy's ability to achieve and/or sustain its dividend
payout ratio goal; economic and political conditions in IPL's and WPL's
service territories; current or future litigation, regulatory investigations,
proceedings or inquiries; Alliant Energy Resources, LLC's (AER) ability to
successfully defend against, and any liabilities arising out of, the alleged
default by AER under the Indenture related to its Exchangeable Senior Notes
due 2030 (PHONES); Alliant Energy's ability to successfully defend against,
and any liabilities arising out of, the alleged violation of ERISA by the cash
balance pension plan; developments that adversely impact the ability to
implement strategic plans including unanticipated issues in connection with
construction of their new generating facilities and WPL's potential purchases
of the Riverside Energy Center and AER's electric generating facility in
Neenah, Wisconsin; issues related to the availability of generating facilities
and the supply and delivery of fuel and purchased electricity and price
thereof, including the ability to recover and retain purchased power, fuel and
fuel-related costs through rates in a timely manner; the impact fuel and
fuel-related prices and other economic conditions may have on IPL's and WPL's
customers' demand for utility services; IPL's and WPL's ability to collect
unpaid utility bills; issues associated with environmental remediation efforts
and with environmental compliance generally including changing environmental
laws and regulations (including the impacts of the CAIR vacatur and the
vacatur's impact on emission allowance forward contracts) and the ability to
recover through rates all environmental compliance costs; potential impacts of
any future laws or regulations regarding global climate change or carbon
emissions reductions; weather effects on results of operations; financial
impacts of hedging strategies, including the impact of weather hedges on
earnings; unplanned outages at generating facilities and risks related to
recovery of incremental costs through rates; impacts that storms or natural
disasters in IPL's and WPL's service territories may have on IPL's and WPL's
operations, including uncertainties associated with efforts to remediate the
effects of the June 2008 Midwest flooding, reimbursement of storm-related
costs covered by insurance, rate relief for costs associated with restoration
and impacts of the flooding on the economic conditions of the affected service
territories; impairments; the growth rate of ethanol and biodiesel production
in IPL's and WPL's service territories; any material post-closing adjustments
related to any of their past asset divestitures; employee workforce factors,
including changes in key executives, collective bargaining agreements or work
stoppages; continued access to the capital markets under competitive terms and
rates; access to technological developments; issues related to electric
transmission, including operating in the Midwest Independent Transmission
System Operator (MISO) energy market, the impacts of potential future billing
adjustments from MISO and recovery of costs incurred; inflation and interest
rates; the impact of necessary accruals for the terms of incentive
compensation plans; the effect of accounting pronouncements issued
periodically by standard-setting bodies; the ability to continue cost controls
and operational efficiencies; the ability to utilize tax capital losses
generated to date, and those that may be generated in the future, before they
expire; the direct or indirect effects resulting from terrorist incidents or
responses to such incidents; the ability to successfully complete ongoing tax
audits and appeals with no material impact on earnings and cash flows. Without
limitation, the expectations with respect to projected earnings in the
"Financial Guidance" and "Projected Capital Expenditures" sections of this
press release are forward-looking statements and are based in part on certain
assumptions made by Alliant Energy, some of which are referred to in the
forward-looking statements. Alliant Energy cannot provide any assurance that
the assumptions referred to in the forward-looking statements or otherwise are
accurate or will prove to be correct. Any assumptions that are inaccurate or
do not prove to be correct could have a material adverse effect on Alliant
Energy's ability to achieve the estimates or other targets included in the
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included herein are
made as of the date hereof and Alliant Energy undertakes no obligation to
update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
