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#Good morning
Strong operational and safety performance continued at Dominion
All of our business units either met or exceeded their safety goals through the first nine months of the year
I'm pleased that our employees set an all-time low OSHA Recordable Rate of 0.66 last year and are on track to improve on that record this year
Our nuclear fleet continues to operate well
The net capacity factor of our six units through the end of the third quarter was over 96%
Weather-normalized electric sales for the first three quarters of the year were up 1.7% over the same period last year, led by growth in sales to data centers and residential customers
Year-to-date total new customer connects are in line with our expectations, and strong growth in commercial connections have offset slightly lower than expected growth in residential new connects
Through the third quarter, we have connected 11 new data centers compared to 7 for the first nine months of last year
Also during the quarter, our Gas Infrastructure group executed an amendment to an existing Marcellus farm-out agreement, locking in the remaining value under the agreement and securing payments totaling $130 million in 2017 and 2018. You will recall that in 2015 when we began discussing our farm-out program, we anticipated generating between $450 million and $500 million in earnings from farm-out transactions from 2015 through 2020. We are halfway through that timeline, and despite less than ideal commodity market conditions, we have already achieved nearly three-quarters of our objective
Last week, the Connecticut General Assembly approved legislation that will allow our Millstone nuclear plant the opportunity to compete with other non-emitting generating resources in a state-sponsored solicitation for zero-carbon electricity
On behalf of the 1,500 women and men working at Millstone Power Station, Dominion Energy thanks the General Assembly for giving Millstone this opportunity and is grateful to the Malloy administration for his work in negotiating the current form of the legislation
It provides a path forward to retain 1,500 well-paying jobs and Millstone's substantial environmental, energy, and economic benefits to Connecticut
Now, for an update on our growth plans; construction of the 1,588-megawatt Greensville County Combined Cycle Power Station continues on-time and on-budget
As of September 30, the $1.3 billion project was 60% complete
The air-cooled condenser is over 80% complete
All pipe rack modules have been set and pipe welding continues at a steady rate
Greensville is on schedule to achieve first fire in the second quarter of next year, and is expected to achieve commercial operations in late 2018. We have a number of solar projects under development, and continue to see demand for renewables from our customers
Year-to-date, six solar facilities totaling approximately 169 megawatts have achieved commercial operation
For all remaining 2017 projects, panel deliveries have been secured and the projects are on schedule for completion this quarter
In total, we have announced 457 megawatts that will go into service this year, and expect to add another 200 megawatts by the end of next year, increasing our gross operating portfolio from 1,660 megawatts to over 1,800 megawatts, of which 700 will be in Virginia and North Carolina
Earlier this month, we announced we will add solar generation to serve a new data center Facebook plans to build in Central Virginia
Pending State Corporation Commission approval, this need will be met with a new rate option, Schedule RF, which will allow large energy users to meet their needs through the addition of renewable energy resources
We are currently evaluating the potential for pump storage project in the coalfield region of Virginia
A preliminary permanent application has been filed with FERC, identifying a potential project site in Tazewell County, Virginia
We've also contracted with Virginia Tech to study the feasibility of using an abandoned coal mine in Wise County to construct a pump storage facility
The General Assembly has enacted legislation stating that construction of one or more new pump storage electric generating facilities in Southwest Virginia is in the public interest with costs recoverable through a rate rider
In July, we announced that we had signed an agreement with Ørsted, formerly DONG Energy of Denmark, a global leader in offshore wind development, to build two turbines off the coast of Virginia Beach
The two companies are now refining agreements for engineering, procurement, and construction
Dominion Energy will remain the sole owner of the project, which is targeted for completion in 2020. We plan to seek wider recovery for the project during the first half of next year
We have a number of electric transmission projects at various stages of regulatory approval and construction
Through the end of the third quarter, $419 million of assets have been placed into service
We plan to invest $800 million in our electric transmission business this year and every year thereafter for at least the next decade
Progress on our growth plan for Gas Infrastructure continues as well
Our Cove Point Liquefaction Project is now 97% complete and remains on-time and on-budget
Construction is essentially complete
All processes have been turned over for site commissioning and we have entered the final phase of start-up
We have completed the initial operating run on auxiliary reboilers, steam turbine generators, Frame 7EA combustion turbine, and numerous motors, pumps, and compressors that are part of the liquefaction process
FERC has approved the introduction of all hydrocarbons necessary to generate LNG
The operation's formal training is complete
We are fully staffed with trained and qualified operators
We will begin generating LNG next month, then conclude commissioning in December, and expect to be in service by the end of the year
We're continuing the work toward the commencement of construction on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the related Supply Header Project
On October 13, FERC issued its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, and we filed our acceptance of the certificate the following week
The project has achieved several additional permitting milestones over the last few weeks, including the Biological Opinion from the U.S
Fish and Wildlife Service, approval of the Virginia Outdoor Foundation easements, and approval from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
ACP and Supply Header have essentially completed the design and engineering, executed the construction contracts, and completed 90% of materials procurement
We expect to commence construction late this year and to complete both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Supply Header in the second half of 2019. We've also made progress on nine Gas Infrastructure growth projects representing over $1 billion of investment
Three of these projects have been completed this year, and we expect two more to be completed by year-end
In addition to these incremental projects, we plan to invest $325 million to $350 million per year in our three gas utilities as part of our ongoing pipeline replacement programs
These costs are recoverable through rate rider programs in all three jurisdictions
And in September, we announced a long-term investment program to modernize our Dominion Energy Transmission's pipeline and storage infrastructure
These investments will deliver operating reliability, security, safety, and environmental benefits, and are expected to total about $250 million per year
To support this investment program, we plan to file a rate case in the first half of next year, the first for this pipeline in over 20 years, in which we will request updated rates and establish a tracker for recovery of the modernization investments
Finally, earlier this month, Dominion Energy's board of directors declared a dividend of $0.77 per share for the fourth quarter of this year, an increase of 10% above the dividend paid in the fourth quarter of last year
The increase reflects the board's confidence in Dominion Energy's execution of its growth plan, and the enhanced cash flows made possible by our master limited partnership
Our plan is to share these benefits with our shareholders by growing our dividend at a 10% rate through at least 2020. So, to summarize, our business has delivered strong operating and safety performance in the third quarter
Construction of the Greensville County project is on-time and on-budget
Construction of the Cove Point Liquefaction Project is essentially complete, and commissioning is well underway to be in service late this year, on-time and on-budget
We received the FERC Certificate for Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project and will commence construction soon
And we expect earnings of at least 10% in 2018, driven by completion of the Cove Point Liquefaction Project, and 6% to 8% growth from 2017 to 2020. We further expect earnings per share growth of at least 5% per year thereafter, supported by a diverse set of growth programs
Because of our unique MLP structure, our superior cash flows will also allow a dividend growth rate at Dominion Energy of 10% per year through at least 2020. With that, we will be happy to take your questions
Question-and-Answer Session
Morning, <UNK>
<UNK>, first, we're not going to comment any further on what's going on in Connecticut
The Governor has the budget and the Millstone legislation, and until we've gotten through that process, we're just going to remain – we'll see what happens
We'll have further comments after that has taken its course
Well, there's two parts to that question
First part, how surprised are we? We weren't surprised
We've been working on it for two years and been deeply involved in it for that period of time
And as far as how the Governor is going to react to it, we're going to make no further comments on what goes on in Connecticut until we get on the other side of that process
We're just going to have to hold off on giving any further information on what the future of Millstone Power Station is and how it will play through under this auction until we get through this legislative process
Good morning
There's no M&A involved in that, and there aren't any big projects
I think if you look at the presentations we've made through these fall conferences, we lay out a more programmatic method of achieving that growth post 2020 in all aspects – all parts of the business
There's a lot of slides available on our website
I think they can take you through all that
<UNK>, do you want to add anything?
Thank you
Are you talking about the DOE letter to FERC initiating the rule-making?
It's going to be very interesting to see but – what happens, I mean we still only have three FERC commissioners and two more coming
So, I don't think we really have an idea
And I've read some comments by at least one of them who doesn't think we should – as he had put it, should be putting their finger on the scales of fuel sources
But they've reacted quickly
I don't want to predict how that's going to come out, but it certainly – Connecticut certainly hasn't been willing to depend on it
Thank you
Good morning
I wouldn't think so
I think we do expect to land on that $450 million to $500 million
It's just, I think, more will be more timing of when the farm-outs come in
But I wouldn't – I'd love to say yes, but I don't think that would be reasonable at this time, unless you see dramatic increase in commodity prices
Thank you
Good morning
I'll give you a general answer and <UNK> can fill in any specific questions
We really, there's – we need water permits in West Virginia and North Carolina and Virginia
We expect all those by the middle part of December, as we're going through the process
It's a very typical process, lots of questions come from the regulators
We provide answers that makes them ask more questions, and we provide more answers
But we're coming to the end of that process, and we expect to have all those permits by the middle part of December and be underway
<UNK>, anything to add to that?
Good question
But the way that – our shippers get to take up whatever excess capacity there is
Thank you
I'm talking about our existing shippers obviously
Hey, <UNK>
Thank you
