Entergy CEO shares bold vision for improving stakeholder outcomes at annual meeting

Rhea-AI Summary

Entergy CEO Drew Marsh shared a bold vision for improving stakeholder outcomes at the company's 75th annual meeting. The focus is on customer growth, cleaner energy, reliability, and resilience while maintaining affordability. Key achievements in 2023 include strong industrial sales, customer growth, renewable energy investments, and approvals for major resilience projects. Entergy is committed to meeting customer expectations and driving growth opportunities for the future.

Positive

• Entergy achieved outstanding results in 2023, with a focus on safety and reliability, despite challenges like record-breaking heat.

• Significant customer growth was witnessed in 2023, with new electric service agreements signed and investments in renewable energy solutions.

• Approval for significant investments by Amazon Web Services in Mississippi will boost job creation and economic development.

• Approval of resilience investments by the New Orleans City Council and the Louisiana Public Service Commission signal progress in meeting customer expectations for reliability and resilience.

• Entergy's steady growth in adjusted earnings per share, dividend per share, and meeting credit metric targets demonstrate financial stability and growth.

Negative

• Despite the positive outcomes, the company may face challenges related to maintaining affordability for customers while investing in cleaner energy and reliability initiatives.

• There could be potential risks associated with the implementation of major resilience projects and the need for substantial investment in infrastructure upgrades.

NEW ORLEANS, May 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy is supporting customer growth, expectations for cleaner energy, growing reliability and resilience needs, while balancing affordability for its customers, said Chair and Chief Executive Officer Drew Marsh, during the company's 75th annual meeting of shareholders today.

"As we look ahead, we see unprecedented growth potential for our company and our region stemming from a number of factors, including strong industrial sales," said Marsh. "This growth has been driven by industrial manufacturing investments along the Gulf Coast area, which has advantages unmatched anywhere else that are driving investment to our region."

Regarding Entergy's customers' desire to achieve their own carbon reduction goals, Marsh added that the company is "focused on capturing that tremendous growth opportunity for the benefit of all our customers. We're meeting our customers' growing reliability and resilience needs, all while balancing bill affordability for our customers. Together, we're writing a growth story for the Entergy of tomorrow."

To meet our customers' expectations, Entergy has built its capital plan across generation, transmission and distribution investments.

Entergy is focused on initiatives to improve outcomes for all stakeholders, including the completion of major rate filings and decisions, operational investments, and continued progress on several key customer solutions like green tariffs, renewable energy and other carbon-free energy projects.

Marsh cited several achievements for the business in 2023:

• "Entergy's generation fleet had an outstanding year while maintaining a focus on safety. Even with challenges from record-breaking heat last summer, we achieved our best forced outage rate since 2011. Not only did we meet our customers' demands, we also exported power to other utilities during the moments that mattered."
   
• "2023 was a strong year for customer growth. We signed 61 new electric service agreements, representing more than 1.3 gigawatts of generation capacity. And, driven by customer interest, we continued to invest in renewable energy and other clean technology solutions. We now have more than 900 megawatts in service and approximately 2,100 megawatts of renewable energy projects are approved or under construction."
   
• "Entergy Mississippi will soon provide power to support the single largest capital investment in the state of Mississippi's history. A $10 billion planned investment by Amazon Web Services, or AWS, which received supportive legislation finalized by Mississippi lawmakers earlier this year, will bring new jobs and economic development opportunities to the state."
  
  
• "Our customers are very interested in resilience investment, and our stakeholder engagement focus on resilience in 2023 has led to important milestones in early 2024. Those include approval by the New Orleans City Council to invest in important hardening, battery and microgrid investments in New Orleans East with the support of approximately $55 million of grants through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. In addition, the Louisiana Public Service Commission recently approved $1.9 billion of investment over the next five years to support roughly 2,100 individual resilience projects across the state. These are the first critical steps to improve our network to meet changing customer expectations for reliability and resilience in an information economy and an increasingly hostile weather environment."
   
• "We again delivered steady and predictable growth last year, with adjusted earnings per share once again exceeding our original expectations. We also grew our quarterly dividend per share by approximately 6% and, importantly, we met our credit metric targets."

Read about our growth opportunities ahead and view additional milestones from last year in our 2023 Performance Report.

Other business

Additional business conducted during today's shareholder meeting:

• Entergy shareholders elected all 11 nominees to the company's board of directors.
   
• Two management proposals related to the appointment of the company's independent public accountants and executive compensation were voted on and approved by shareholders.
   
• Marsh responded to several shareholder questions on a range of topics, including the company's progress on grid resilience efforts and artificial intelligence.

A replay of the meeting and responses to questions will be published on Entergy's Investor Relations website next week.

About Entergy

Entergy (NYSE: ETR) is a Fortune 500 company that powers life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We're investing in the reliability and resilience of the energy system while helping our region transition to cleaner, more efficient energy solutions. With roots in our communities for more than 100 years, Entergy is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship. Since 2018, we have delivered more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to local communities through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and connect with @Entergy on social media. #WePowerLife

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

In this news release, and from time to time, Entergy Corporation makes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding Entergy's current financial and operational outlooks; industrial load growth outlooks; statements regarding its resilience plans, goals, beliefs, or expectations; and other statements of Entergy's plans, beliefs, or expectations included in this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, Entergy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed elsewhere in this news release and in Entergy's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Entergy's other reports and filings made under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (b) uncertainties associated with (1) rate proceedings, formula rate plans, and other cost recovery mechanisms, including the risk that costs may not be recoverable to the extent or on the timeline anticipated by the utilities and (2) implementation of the ratemaking effects of changes in law; (c) uncertainties associated with (1) realizing the benefits of its resilience plan, including impacts of the frequency and intensity of future storms and storm paths, as well as the pace of project completion and (2) efforts to remediate the effects of major storms and recover related restoration costs; (d) risks associated with operating nuclear facilities, including plant relicensing, operating, and regulatory costs and risks; (e) changes in decommissioning trust fund values or earnings or in the timing or cost of decommissioning Entergy's nuclear plant sites; (f) legislative and regulatory actions and risks and uncertainties associated with claims or litigation by or against Entergy and its subsidiaries; (g) risks and uncertainties associated with executing on business strategies, including strategic transactions that Entergy or its subsidiaries may undertake and the risk that any such transaction may not be completed as and when expected and the risk that the anticipated benefits of the transaction may not be realized; (h) direct and indirect impacts to Entergy or its customers from pandemics, terrorist attacks, geopolitical conflicts, cybersecurity threats, data security breaches, or other attempts to disrupt Entergy's business or operations, and/or other catastrophic events; and (i) effects on Entergy or its customers of (1) changes in federal, state, or local laws and regulations and other governmental actions or policies, including changes in monetary, fiscal, tax, environmental, or energy policies; (2) the effects of changes in commodity markets, capital markets, or economic conditions; and (3) the effects of technological change, including the costs, pace of development, and commercialization of new and emerging technologies.

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SOURCE Entergy Corporation

FAQ

What were some of Entergy's achievements in 2023?

Entergy achieved milestones in 2023, including a focus on safety, customer growth, renewable energy investments, and approvals for major resilience projects.

What significant investment is planned by Amazon Web Services in Mississippi?

Amazon Web Services plans to invest $10 billion in Mississippi, bringing new jobs and economic development opportunities.

What recent approvals signal progress in meeting customer expectations for reliability and resilience?

Approvals by the New Orleans City Council and the Louisiana Public Service Commission show progress in resilience investments to meet customer expectations.

How did Entergy perform in terms of financial stability in 2023?

Entergy demonstrated steady growth in adjusted earnings per share, dividend per share, and met credit metric targets, showcasing financial stability and growth.