The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Andrew Marc Weisel - Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Research Division - Analyst
: My first question on the new CapEx plan, I see that excludes the $1 billion from the voluntary renewables program. My question is, you've been
using that $1 billion number for a little while now, shouldn't that be higher given the new customers you signed up? And I kind of see -- understanding
might be in kind of the later years of the plan. But should that number be a bigger one?
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FEBRUARY 03, 2022 / 2:30PM, CMS.N - Q4 2021 CMS Energy Corp Earnings Call
Question: Andrew Marc Weisel - Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Research Division - Analyst
: And remind me for how many megawatts are you up to sign that now?
Question: Andrew Marc Weisel - Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Research Division - Analyst
: Okay. Got it. So you still got a little ways to get to that $1 billion. Okay. Great. My next question is, if I compare the old CapEx plan to the new one,
it seems -- I understand there's a roll forward, but it seems like your electric spending is down by about $0.5 billion and gas spending is up by about
$1 billion. Is that a conscious shift in strategy? Or is that just the output of a bottoms-up budget building process?
Question: Andrew Marc Weisel - Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets, Research Division - Analyst
: Okay. Great. That's helpful. Then just one last one, if I could squeeze it in. On the relative growth between the earnings and the dividend, you're
targeting the high end of 6% to 8% for earnings. And I know your targeted dividend payout ratio is 60% versus about 64% in 2022. You just
announced a 5.7% dividend increase. Is that a pace that we should expect for the next couple of years until you get to that 60% ratio?
Question: Paul Patterson - Glenrock Associates LLC - Analyst
: Just -- and I apologize if I missed this, but the normalized storm impact for 2021 that you guys -- and I guess the delta that you guys are thinking,
I see that you're combining it with customer initiatives. How much was this still -- what do you think about in terms of -- how should we think about
storms this year? I mean, in 2021 versus in 2022?
Question: Paul Patterson - Glenrock Associates LLC - Analyst
: Very helpful. And then just with respect to COVID, I mean it looks like you guys have done very well during it and it looks -- you gave a lot of
information on the usage and everything. But I'm just wondering, is it kind of -- are we sort of -- is COVID kind of a nonissue at this point, should
we think about in terms of 2022 and going forward? I mean, obviously, you can't predict the pandemic. But I mean, I'm sort of saying, I mean -- how
do you think of COVID impacting stuff, I guess, in 2022?
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