Avangrid, Inc. (AGR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

I declare the polls closed and ask the secretary to tabulate the ballot.

Mr. Chairman, you may proceed.

I'm advised the ballots have been counted. Will the secretary please report the preliminary result of the voting?

On behalf of the inspector of elections, I wish to report the following: As to the first proposal, in excess of the majority of the votes of the shares of voting stock present in-person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at this meeting were cast in favor of the election of each of the 14 nominees to the Board of Directors, and each such nominee is hereby duly elected. As to the remaining proposals in excess of the majority of the votes of shares of voting stock present in-person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote at this meeting were cast in favor of each such proposal, and each such proposal is hereby approved.

Since there are no further business, we will now adjourn the meeting. This concludes the formal part of the 2021 annual meeting.

As we say, any time we make forward-looking statements, these statements reflect management's intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or forecasts for the future. The company's actual results may differ materially from these statements. The factors that may affect the risks and uncertainties regarding our expectations are included in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements, of course, are only as of this date, and we do not undertake any obligation to revise or update them.

Well, good morning, and thank you all for joining us today. I'm Dennis Arriola, Chief Executive Officer of AVANGRID. As health and safety are our core values at AVANGRID, we're once again hosting this year's annual shareholder meeting virtually. Our focus from the start of the pandemic has been to safely and reliably deliver clean energy and maintain our [indiscernible] service for our customers. And since I came onboard as AVANGRID's CEO nearly one year ago, I've been continuously impressed by our team's resiliency, dedication and our ability to go above and beyond when it matters most, for our customers, our communities and for each other. So I want to begin by first saying thank you. Thank you to the AVANGRID team for their efforts every day. You make us proud. Now overall, 2020 positions us for tremendous opportunity going forward. We invested approximately $3 billion to create a cleaner, more connected grid and to expand our growing renewables portfolio. In networks, our major achievements include our 3-year rate plan in New York. Our teams also worked proactively and thoughtfully to respond to major storms like tropical storm Isaias. Additionally, your company made a significant strategic announcement with our $8.3 billion merger agreement with PNM Resources in New Mexico and Texas. Once we close the transaction, AVANGRID will serve a population of approximately 10 million people. In Renewables, we completed approximately 620 megawatts of new wind projects and 370 megawatts of repower projects, bringing our total installed capacity to approximately 7.9 gigawatts. 2020 was also defined by our new ESG&F or Environmental Social Governance and Financial sustainability strategy. And earlier this month, AVANGRID named its first Chief Sustainability Officer. Throughout the pandemic, your company and employees have supported our customers and communities when they've needed it most. Together with the AVANGRID foundation, we donated $2.5 million to any response and recovery efforts nationwide. And our effort and our commitment to ESG&F was recognized by external organizations like Forbes and JUST Capital, who named AVANGRID one of the 2021 JUST 100, an annual ranking of the most JUST public companies in the U.S. AVANGRID was recognized as the industry leader in environment and in community support. In regard to our financial performance, we exceeded our revised 2020 guidance of $1.90 to $2 in adjusted earnings per share, ending the year at $2.02 per share. [Audio Gap] focused on driving execution and delivering strong and consistent results. These are the elements that build trust and confidence, create long-term value and foster the financial sustainability that is a cornerstone of our ESG&F strategy. Now more than ever, it's clear. Sustainability, both in energy and in business is critical to future success. We see our ESG&F strategy as a better and balanced way to do business, one that creates the best outcomes for all stakeholders and sets us up for long-term success to continue to provide value to you, our shareholders. Our view of ESG&F is segmented into 4 distinct, but balanced, components. First, environment. Driving investments in a cleaner energy future and building a road to carbon neutrality. Second, social. Compelling us to better serve our customers and communities, and to enhance our focus on diversity and inclusion. Third, governance. Setting the highest ethical standards for how we manage and operate our company. And finally, financial. We believe that you can't make a material and lasting impact if you're not also delivering strong long-term financial results that allow you to invest for growth and to create value. At AVANGRID, we aspire to be the leading sustainable energy company in the U.S. It's a bold aspiration, certainly, but it is achievable. And it is with this strategy in hand that we'll do it. We recognize that we must continue to grow and transform our business. We can't rest on our laurels or be satisfied with yesterday's results. By focusing on customer satisfaction, enhancing our employee experience, driving continuous improvement and innovation, building a performance culture and keeping safety and health at our core, we will make AVANGRID better every day and fully harness our growth potential. I'm proud to lead your team at AVANGRID and look forward to sharing the accomplishments that come. Now it's my pleasure to hand it back to the Chairman of our Board of Directors, Ignacio Galan, who will share his thoughts on the future of AVANGRID and our long-term vision.

Thank you, Dennis. The climate crisis is one of the most urgent challenges we face globally. AVANGRID's focus on sustainability and its clean generation portfolio position us to become the national leader. We are leading the way to a cleaner energy future through dozens of Renewable and Networks investment all around the country, including the largest clean energy project in New England, the Vineyard Wind and Park City Wind offshore project and the New England Clean Energy Connect high-voltage line. With Vineyard Wind, we are pioneers of the new American industry, opening the door for huge investment in our communities and for job creation. Last month, we received the final approval from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It was truly a historic decision for the entire U.S. energy industry and for the New England. We are proud to have led the way once again. In addition, our 1,200 megawatt New England Clean Energy Connect project has completed all major permitting, and construction is now underway, bringing jobs and economic benefit domain in the New England region. Together, Vineyard Wind and NECEC will create over 5,000 jobs. Our clean energy leadership does not end with the current project under construction. We have approximately 23,000 megawatt of additional projects in our pipeline that we will drive continued growth in renewable for years to come. As you know, last year, we announced the integration of P&L resources to our funding of companies, expanding our networks operations to Texas, New Mexico and driving continued growth for Evergreen. We are progressing as planned of the required regulatory approvals, and we are ready to receive the approval from Public and Telecommunication at Texas last month. We are focused on obtaining the last remaining approval, including from the commission of New Mexico and remain on track to close in the second half of this year. The U.S. has a unique opportunity to create new era of economic growth through investment in clean infrastructure. The administration is targeting to reduce emission economy wide by 50% to 52% by 2030 to the carbonated power sector by 2035 and to region exceeding by 2050. This is supported by a $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, which include $100 billion for grid investment and additional transmission as well as a goal to deploy 50,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030. With our stock presence in networks and renewables, AVANGRID is in the best position to lead the way. We will also continue to support the more than 70,000 jobs that depend on our activities and investment in United States, which contribute to nearly $10 billion to the country's GDP. Between 2020 and 2025, AVANGRID plans to invest $35 billion in total, included in our business and P&L process, nearly turning our network rate base and significantly increasing our renewal installed capacity, particularly in offshore wind. This investment will drive sustainable and consistent growth, launching and expanding the new United States offshore wind industry, developing additional solar and offshore wind and building the network infrastructure required to increase resiliency and integrating clean energy resources. AVANGRID strategy and our ESG+F commitments will create sustainable value for all stakeholders. We are placed to achieve carbon neutrality from our electric generation by 2035. We are also advancing innovation and sustainable supply chain. In 2020, AVANGRID made over $3 billion in purchase, 97% of which were from United States suppliers. We have made commitments to enhance supplier sustainability and diversity and to implement new technologies, such as storage and green hydrogen. We are also ensuring diversity and equal opportunities at all levels of organization, and we have a proven track record of tactical business and good product governance. In conclusion, our industry is at the unique moment in time to drive storage investment in clean energy and networks to lead a new transition in U.S. and to create jobs and stimulate an economic growth. But to complete this, we must act quickly. AVANGRID has the experience and expertise needed and is prepared to lead the way. Thank you very much for your confidence and your support.

Thank you for attending the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders of AVANGRID, Inc. This meeting has concluded. You may now disconnect.