PSEG earnings jump on new transmission, high demand

Dive Brief:

Q1 2014 net income for Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) was $386 million, $0.76 per share, up almost 21% from its Q1 2013 net income of $320 million, $0.63 per share. For the same periods, operating earnings, which exclude non-recurring, adjusted, and discontinued budget items and are considered the most useful earnings measure, were up almost 19%, to $515 million, or $1.01 per share, from Q1 2013’s $433 million, or $0.85 per share.
PSEG Power and PSE&G, the company’s major subsidiaries, had dramatically increased earnings as the result of their ability to meet the increased demand from the severely cold winter, President/CEO/Chair Ralph Izzo reported.
PSEG Power, the wholesale energy supply business, used its more diverse fuel mix and dispatch flexibility from increased natural gas to meet the greater demand while PSE&G’s transmission infrastructure and operating system investments supported the system’s reliability, Izzo said.

Dive Insight:

PSEG has a $12 billion, five-year capital spending program aimed at new transmission infrastructure that includes five major new transmission lines scheduled to be operational in 2014- 2015, another major transmission project planned for June 2018, and an energy efficiency program.

PSE&G operating earnings, which were $214 million, $0.42 per share, in Q1 2014, are expected to be 50% of the year’s forecast operating earnings for PSEG.

PSEG announced it had reached a $1.22 billion settlement with New Jersey regulators on its Energy Strong program, which called for a $3.9 billion ten-year investment to renovate and harden transmission infrastructure against storms like Superstorm Sandy. "We're just pleased to get this thing going right now," Izzo said.

PSEG Power operating earnings, which were $293 million, $0.58 per share, benefited from natural gas contracts in place ahead of the severe winter that provided supply while markets struggled to keep up.

Through Power, PSEG has invested over $700 million in nearly 160 megawatts of solar and plans additional solar energy facilities on landfills and brownfields. PSEG also plans invest in solar installations beyond its utility service area.