WEC Energy Details a Surge in Planned Spending on Its Version of ESG

Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--WEC Energy Group Incorporated (WEC) (NYSE:WEC) (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) has boosted by $2.4 billion its planned five-year capital spending program, largely to accelerate decarbonizing its electricity supply. The company now aims to invest about $20.1 billion over the 2023-2027 period, up from the $17.7 billion it planned to spend over the 2022-2026 period.

Most of the incremental spending growth will be in WEC's electric generation business: for building new renewable generation, contracting for new electric generation, upgrading its aging gas-fired portfolio, ending its use of coal and upgrading the water-treatment system at one of its power stations.

In a December presentation for investors, WEC organized its spending plans under the banner of "ESG," but the term didn't refer to the oft-discussed principles of "environmental, social and governance" that increasingly drive energy company decision-making. Instead, for WEC, the term referred to its plan to pursue efficiency, sustainability and growth.

WEC is the holding company for 11 electricity and gas companies operating in the Upper Midwest--mainly Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. WEC also owns 60% of interstate transmission provider American Transmission Company LLC (ATC) (Pewaukee, Wisconsin), which owns and operates over 10,000 miles of electric transmission lines in the Upper Midwest.

To more rapidly decarbonize its generation portfolio, WEC plans to increase its investment in generation by $1.7 billion, to about $6.4 billion over the 2023-2027 period from approximately $4.7 billion over the 2022-2026 period. The surge in spending will go to renewable generation and battery energy storage systems (BESS) that WEC units either are building on their own or contracting for with developers.

The company also told investors it planned to modernize its gas-powered generation fleet.

To ensure WEC's Wisconsin customers have enough gas during the coldest days of the year, the company is investing about $370 million to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facilities in southeastern Wisconsin. Both are under construction. The Bluff Creek facility is expected to come online in 2023 while the Ixonia plant will be operating by 2024.

The company's new five-year capital spending plan includes increased investment in its ATC transmission unit.

WEC also plans to sharply reduce its use of coal by the end of 2030. WEC will end its use of coal altogether by the end of 2035.

As recently as 2005, 73% of WEC's electricity was generated from coal. That fell to 31% in 2021, and will be less than 5% by 2030, the company told investors.

WEC grouped its five-year capital spending plan spending into efficiency, sustainability and growth categories. "Efficiency" investments are expected to total $2.7 billion over the 2023-2027 period while "Sustainability" investments are projected to be $14.6 billion and "Growth" outlays total $2.8 billion.

The company also is doing well by doing good. WEC's third-quarter earnings rose to $302 million in revenue of slightly over $2 billion. Comparable year-earlier numbers were earnings of $290 million in about $1.7 billion of revenue.

In its November 1 third-quarter earnings release, WEC Executive Chairman Gale Klappa said, "We delivered another solid quarter, driven by positive results from our infrastructure and transmission segments and a warmer than normal end to the summer. Our focus on the fundamentals--reliability, customer satisfaction, environmental progress and financial discipline--continues to create value for our customers and our stockholders."

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