Cuộc họp công bố kết quả kinh doanh Quý 3/2026 của OGE Energy (OGE): Nâng mức dự báo lên $2.62-$2.68

Điểm tin chính

• OGE Energy đã báo cáo lợi nhuận ròng hợp nhất quý 3/2026 đạt khoảng 316 triệu USD, tương đương 1,52 USD trên mỗi cổ phiếu pha loãng, so với 231 triệu USD, tương đương 1,14 USD trên mỗi cổ phiếu trong quý 3/2025.
• Ban lãnh đạo đã nâng dự báo lợi nhuận hợp nhất năm 2026 lên mức 2,62 - 2,68 USD trên mỗi cổ phiếu, với giả định thời tiết bình thường trong phần còn lại của năm.
• Hơn 45 ngày có nhiệt độ ở mức ba chữ số (trên 100 độ F) đã thúc đẩy mức tiêu thụ điện tăng cao. OGE đã bốn lần lập kỷ lục mới về phụ tải đỉnh, trong đó có 15 ngày vượt kỷ lục phụ tải đỉnh của năm 2024.
• Công ty đã nộp đơn xin phê duyệt trước để xây dựng Tổ máy 15 Horseshoe Lake công suất 755 megawatt. Dự án này đại diện cho khoản đầu tư khoảng 1,75 tỷ USD và dự kiến sẽ đi vào hoạt động vào năm 2031.
• OGE vẫn còn nhu cầu công suất khoảng 1,1 gigawatt sau Tổ máy 15. Ban lãnh đạo có kế hoạch sở hữu và vận hành hầu hết các nguồn bổ sung này, dự kiến chủ yếu là nhiệt điện khí, có thể kết hợp với điện mặt trời và hệ thống lưu trữ.
• OGE đã thiết lập một chương trình phát hành cổ phiếu phổ thông theo giá thị trường (ATM) cho phép phát hành tối đa 750 triệu USD cổ phiếu phổ thông. Kế hoạch vốn hiện tại giả định mức phát hành thêm khoảng 200 triệu USD vốn cổ phần trong thời gian lập kế hoạch.

Dữ liệu tài chính cốt lõi

Kết quả kinh doanh và hoạt động

Theo ban lãnh đạo, mùa hè này là mùa hè nóng nhất mà OGE từng trải qua trong 15 năm qua. Khu vực dịch vụ của công ty đã ghi nhận hơn 45 ngày có nhiệt độ trên 100 độ F, so với chỉ 1 ngày như vậy trong năm trước. Hệ thống đã vận hành mà không cần đưa ra yêu cầu tiết kiệm điện công cộng dù lập bốn kỷ lục mới về phụ tải đỉnh.

Giá điện sinh hoạt trên mỗi kilowatt-giờ trong tháng 8 và tháng 9 giảm 7% so với cùng kỳ năm ngoái, nhưng việc sử dụng điều hòa kéo dài đã làm tăng mức tiêu thụ của khách hàng. Tăng trưởng số lượng khách hàng và tăng trưởng phụ tải chuẩn hóa theo thời tiết đều đạt khoảng 1%.

Ban lãnh đạo cho biết sự biến động về tăng trưởng phụ tải chủ yếu phản ánh thời điểm tăng công suất tiêu thụ và các đợt tạm ngừng hoạt động để bảo trì của một số khách hàng lớn hơn. Các cam kết của khách hàng hiện tại vẫn giữ nguyên.

Các Tổ máy 11 và 12 Horseshoe Lake đã hoàn thành trước thời hạn và tiết kiệm 12 triệu USD so với ngân sách. Các tổ máy này đã bổ sung khoảng 448 megawatt công suất phát điện linh hoạt và nâng tổng công suất bổ sung năm 2026 của OGE lên 544 megawatt. Việc hoàn thành sớm dự kiến sẽ giúp tránh được khoản chi phí mua công suất lên tới 16 triệu USD trong mùa đông.

Các Tổ máy 13 và 14 đang trong quá trình xây dựng và dự kiến sẽ bổ sung thêm 440 megawatt. OGE cũng đã nộp đơn lên Ủy ban Công ty Oklahoma để xin phê duyệt trước cho Tổ máy 15 Horseshoe Lake công suất 755 megawatt và dự kiến sẽ nộp đơn lên Ủy ban Dịch vụ Công cộng Arkansas.

Tổ máy 15 dự kiến sẽ cần khoản đầu tư khoảng 1,75 tỷ USD và đi vào hoạt động vào năm 2031. Ban lãnh đạo ước tính rằng cơ chế thu hồi chi phí theo luật mới của Oklahoma có thể giúp khách hàng tiết kiệm hơn 900 triệu USD trong suốt vòng đời tài sản, đồng thời giảm sự biến động hóa đơn điện trong quá trình xây dựng.

Kế hoạch vốn 5 năm của OGE hiện bao gồm thêm 555 triệu USD sau khi dự án lưu trữ Frontier Energy được phê duyệt và các thông báo xây dựng gần đây. Khoản này bao gồm 160 triệu USD đầu tư vào lưới truyền tải điện được lên kế hoạch trong giai đoạn 2027-2030.

Dự báo của ban lãnh đạo

OGE đã nâng dự báo lợi nhuận hợp nhất năm 2026 lên 2,62 - 2,68 USD trên mỗi cổ phiếu. Khoảng dự báo này giả định thời tiết bình thường trong phần còn lại của năm 2026 và bao gồm các cơ hội để thực hiện các công việc vốn được lên kế hoạch cho những năm sau.

Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến sẽ cập nhật về các thông báo xây dựng được chấp nhận từ Southwest Power Pool cùng với kết quả kinh doanh quý 4. Thông tin cập nhật về việc xem xét biểu giá điện tại Oklahoma và hồ sơ xin phê duyệt trước Tổ máy 15 Horseshoe Lake dự kiến sẽ có cùng kết quả kinh doanh quý 1, sau đó là thông tin cập nhật về các phê duyệt nguồn phát điện bổ sung cùng kết quả kinh doanh quý 2.

Công ty cho biết sẽ đánh giá lại toàn diện triển vọng tăng trưởng EPS dài hạn hơn vào năm 2027 khi các quyết định pháp lý, phê duyệt dự án và kế hoạch tài trợ vốn phát triển.

Rủi ro và các yếu tố cần theo dõi

• Dự báo cập nhật năm 2026 giả định thời tiết bình thường trong phần còn lại của năm sau khi điều kiện mùa hè nóng nực bất thường làm tăng nhu cầu đáng kể.
• Tổ máy 15 Horseshoe Lake và các dự án phát điện bổ sung vẫn phải trải qua quá trình xem xét và phê duyệt của cơ quan quản lý ở Oklahoma và Arkansas.
• Công ty vẫn đang đàm phán các giải pháp cho khoảng 1,1 gigawatt nhu cầu công suất còn lại, khiến cơ cấu dự án, chi phí và thời gian thực hiện chưa được quyết định.
• Thời điểm tăng công suất tiêu thụ của khách hàng và các đợt tạm ngừng hoạt động để bảo trì đã ảnh hưởng đến tăng trưởng phụ tải chuẩn hóa theo thời tiết trong ngắn hạn.
• Ban lãnh đạo cho biết việc chuyển đổi phụ tải khai thác tiền mã hóa sang các tải công việc trí tuệ nhân tạo có thể làm thay đổi bản chất của nhu cầu và làm tăng công suất yêu cầu.
• Nhu cầu vốn cổ phần trong tương lai sẽ phụ thuộc vào các điều kiện cụ thể của từng dự án và mục tiêu duy trì các chỉ số tín dụng dài hạn của OGE.

Điểm nhấn phiên hỏi đáp với chuyên gia phân tích

Quyền sở hữu nguồn phát điện mới: Ban lãnh đạo cho biết OGE có kế hoạch sở hữu và vận hành hầu hết công suất phát điện còn lại. Công suất cầu nối ngắn hạn có thể được sử dụng trong khi các dự án đang được xây dựng. Cơ cấu nguồn cung dự kiến chủ yếu là khí đốt, có thể có thêm thành phần điện mặt trời và hệ thống lưu trữ.

Chương trình ATM: Hạn mức ủy quyền 750 triệu USD nhằm cung cấp sự linh hoạt trong tài trợ vốn và bản thân nó không phải là tín hiệu của các dự án bổ sung. OGE hiện dự kiến sẽ huy động khoảng 200 triệu USD thông qua chương trình này trong thời gian lập kế hoạch.

Tỷ suất lợi nhuận theo quy định: Ban lãnh đạo cho biết việc kiểm soát chi phí, phân bổ vốn, hạch toán tài sản cố định đưa vào sử dụng và tăng trưởng phụ tải trong lịch sử đã giúp OGE đạt được mức lợi nhuận trên vốn chủ sở hữu (ROE) gần với mức được phép. Công ty dự kiến tỷ suất lợi nhuận đạt được sẽ duy trì tương đối ổn định thay vì chỉ thay đổi khi các đợt điều chỉnh giá điện hoàn tất.

Đánh giá Tổ máy 15 Horseshoe Lake: Ban lãnh đạo chỉ ra quy trình yêu cầu chào thầu cạnh tranh, việc xem xét hồ sơ thầu độc lập, việc sử dụng địa điểm tái phát triển (brownfield) hiện có, hiệu quả kinh tế của dự án và thành tích xây dựng của OGE là các yếu tố hỗ trợ. Quy trình phê duyệt trước của Oklahoma quy định thời gian xem xét pháp lý là 180 ngày.

Đầu tư vào lưới truyền tải điện: Khoản 160 triệu USD được thêm vào kế hoạch vốn đến từ các dự án được giao theo Kế hoạch Truyền tải Tích hợp năm 2025 của Southwest Power Pool. Ban lãnh đạo cho biết quy trình lập kế hoạch truyền tải năm 2026 vẫn đang ở giai đoạn đầu.

Toàn văn Biên bản Cuộc họp Kết quả Kinh doanh

Toàn văn cuộc gọi công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Phần trình bày của ban lãnh đạo

Operator

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the OGE Energy Corp. 2026 Third Quarter Earnings and Business Update Call. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to your speaker for today, Casey Strange, Investor Relations senior management. Please go ahead.

Cassandra Strange

Thank you, Lisa, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to our call. With me today, I have Sean Trauschke, our Chairman, President and CEO; and Chuck Walworth, our CFO.

In terms of the call today, we will first hear from Sean, followed by an explanation from Chuck for financial results. And finally, as always, we will answer your questions. I would like to remind you that this conference is being webcast and you may follow along at oge.com.

In addition, the conference call and accompanying slides will be archived following the call on that same website. Before we begin the presentation, I would like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement regarding forward-looking statements. This is an SEC requirement for financial statements and simply states that we cannot guarantee forward-looking financial results, but this is our best estimate to date.

I will now turn the call over to Sean for his opening remarks. Sean?

R. Trauschke

Thank you, Casey. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. This morning, we reported consolidated earnings of $1.52 per share. And before Chuck provides more detail on our third quarter results, I'll highlight the team's outstanding performance during an unusually hot summer and outline the key milestones we anticipate over the coming quarters.

This summer underscored the importance of a reliable, resilient electric grid. Our service area experienced more than 45 days of triple-digit temperatures compared with just one last year. Through the prolonged heat, our system performed exceptionally well, and our team safely delivered our customers depend on. For context, we hit a new peak load 4 times this summer, with 15 days exceeding our 2024 peak record, but at no time where their calls for the public to conserve energy, our systems just built to withstand these extremes.

A note that's important. While our residential price per kilowatt hour was actually 7% lower in August and September than a year ago, extended air conditioning use drove higher electricity consumption. Weather impacts tend to balance out over time. And this summer's elevated cooling demand followed several quarters of milder temperatures and lower weather-driven usage.

Our reliability focus shapes the Oklahoma rate review, this is our first since December of 2023. The filing reflects investments to strengthen our system, support growth and meet evolving requirements while expanding assistance and payment flexibility for our customers. The review includes following expanded assistance and payment options to help customers manage their bills. We are expanding both the senior discount and low-income assistance program, we are launching an innovative pilot program to help customers with past due balances, get back on track with payments, and we're offering new [ choose-by ] due date prepayment options that give customers more flexibility to manage their household budgets.

As the regulatory process moves forward, we remain focused on balancing reliability and affordability and considering the impacts of inflation and interest rates and creating long-term value for customers and shareholders. Looking ahead, we are advancing additional generation resources to serve growing demand and maintain reliability. We filed yesterday with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission seeking preapproval to construct a new 755-megawatt combined cycle plant at our Horseshoe Lake site, and we'll file in the coming weeks with the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

We're finalizing valuations and negotiations from our competitive request for proposals and expect to submit projects to both commissions as agreements are completed. We remain committed to delivering capacity customers' need responsibly and cost effectively and we anticipate submitting additional preapproval filings before year-end. Meanwhile, that broader generation strategy is taking shape. Horseshoe Lake units 11 to 12 were completed ahead of schedule and $12 million under budget, bringing the units online early allowed us to avoid up to $16 million in capacity purchase this winter.

These units add approximately 448 megawatts of flexible generation capacity, bringing the total additions this year to 544 megawatts. Units 13 and 14 are under construction and will add another 440 megawatts and the Horseshoe Lake projects build on more than 100-year legacy at that site while supporting reliable, efficient generation for the future. As we build and invest in our system, we are also strengthening support for our communities.

We refreshed our lend to hand bill assistance program with a broader network of trusted nonprofit partners and a financial commitment from the OGE Energy Corporation Foundation to match customer donations and we'll continue to support our vulnerable customers and assist communities as we deliver reliable electricity and low cost for everyone.

As we move forward, we'll continue our disciplined approach to securing generation resources needed to serve growing demand, advancing projects through the regulatory process and delivering investments that maintain our competitive low-rate advantage. Our progress to date positions us for several milestones over the coming quarters. So on our fourth quarter earnings call, we will provide an update on the [ SPP ] notices to construct that we accept. On the first quarter call, we will provide an update on the Oklahoma rate review and the Horseshoe Lake 15 pre-approval case.

And then on our second quarter call, we'll provide an update on the regulatory approval for the additional generation filings we're making in this year. Together, these regulatory generation and community initiatives position the company for long-term success while preserving the reliable low-cost service our customers enjoy. In doing so, they established the foundation for the investments needed to meet growing demand across our service area.

So with that, thank you, and I'll turn the call over to Chuck. Chuck?

Charles Walworth

Thank you, Sean, and thank you, Casey. Good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to review 2026 3rd quarter results with you today. Let's start on Slide 5. Consolidated net income was approximately $316 million or $1.52 per diluted share compared to $231 million or $1.14 per share in the same period of 2025. In our core business, the electric company achieved net income of approximately $321 million or $1.54 per diluted share compared to $243 million or $1.20 per share in the same period of 2025.

The increase in net income was primarily driven by significantly warmer third quarter weather partially offset by increased income tax expense. The holding company reported a loss of approximately $5 million or $0.02 per diluted share compared to a loss of $12 million or $0.06 per share in the same period of 2025. These results were driven by higher income from energy-related investments and lower interest expense.

Turning to our 2026 outlook. Weather through the third quarter was significantly warmer than normal, with summer temperatures reaching levels we haven't experienced in 15 years. As a result, we are raising our 2026 consolidated earnings guidance range to $2.62 to $2.68 per share. This updated range assumes normal weather for the remainder of the year and reflects opportunities to execute work planned for future years. Demand across our service area remains healthy, with both customer growth and weather-normalized load growth at approximately 1%.

The variance on load is largely timing related, reflecting customer ramps as well as maintenance outages that have reduced usage among some of our larger customers. customer commitments remain firmly in place, giving us continued confidence in the stronger longer-term growth ahead.

That growth is translating into important investment opportunities across our system and Horseshoe Lake Unit 15 is a great example. As Sean discussed, the project was selected through our 2026 all-source RFP and was the highest rank project in that process. Unit 15 will add efficient, dispatchable generation while leveraging the existing infrastructure at Horseshoe Lake. The project represents approximately $1.75 billion of investment with an expected in-service date in 2031.

Recent legislation in Oklahoma provides significant benefits for customers as we make these investments. It provides SWIP recovery, which we estimate will save customers more than $900 million over the life of the asset, while smoothing the impact on customer bills during construction. The legislation also established a timely 180-day regulatory review process for preapproval filings providing greater certainty as we work to bring needed resources online.

With the addition of Unit 15, we have approximately 1.1 gigawatts of remaining capacity need as we continue to finalize solutions to meet that remaining need you should expect to see additional preapproval filings. The bottom line is that our growing service area is creating a clear need for additional infrastructure, and we are moving quickly to advance investments that support reliability, serve that growth and deliver long-term value for customers.

With that growth and investment need in mind, let me turn to a financing update. We are establishing an inaugural at-the-market equity program, which authorizes up to $750 million of common equity issuances. The ATM gives us a flexible and efficient way to access equity as our capital needs grow. While its forward sale feature allows us to align issuance with the timing of our investments. That flexibility supports our growing capital plan while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

With the approval of Frontier and the recent NTCs, our 5-year capital plan now includes an incremental $555 million of investment. This includes million related to the Frontier Energy storage project, which received regulatory approval during the third quarter and $160 million of transmission investments playing between 2027 and 2030. As we've consistently communicated, projects are incorporated into our capital plan once we have received the appropriate approvals, at which point we will also provide our associated financing assumptions.

With these investments now reflected in the plan, we expect approximately $200 million of incremental equity over the planning horizon, which we expect to raise through the ATM program. This balanced financing approach allows us to fund these investments while supporting strong credit metrics.

In closing, our momentum continues to build. We remain focused on executing with discipline, maintaining affordability and a strong balance sheet and making investments needed to serve growing demand. That focus positions us to deliver long-term value for both customers and shareholders.

With that, I'll turn it back to Sean, and we'll be happy to take your questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Our first question will be coming from the line of Aidan Kelly of JPMorgan.

Phần hỏi đáp

Aidan Kelly

Just maybe I want to follow up on the Horseshoe Lake 15 filing, if I could. Maybe how are you thinking about the likelihood of utility ownership versus third-party procurement for the remaining 1.1 gigawatt of capacity needs as you kind of think through that?

R. Trauschke

Yes. Yes. Thanks for the question, Aidan. I think it is our intent to own and operate the majority of that. It's we think we've proven that. And when we have weather extremes, we want the ball, so to speak, to kind of operate those plants and make sure we keep the lights on. So it's our intent to own and operate this, we will utilize obviously some short-term bridge capacity and things like that as things are going under construction, but it's our expectation to own it.

Aidan Kelly

Great. Appreciate that. And then just going to the financing side. I know you mentioned the ATM program there. So kind of with up to $200 million of equity supporting that expanded capital plan, I guess how should we interpret the decision to establish a larger $750 million facility. Is that kind of a read-through to the incremental financing into the next plan update? Or kind of how do you address the sizing of that?

Charles Walworth

Yes. Aidan, great question. This is Chuck. Really, I would say it's not tied to future opportunities. It's really frankly, we're one of the few utilities that didn't have an ATM. And given the vast opportunities in front of us, we thought it was time to establish one. So we did the usual routine of benchmarking the size and just did something that we thought was appropriate for our company.

So again, it's not the only way to finance projects. We'll continue to evaluate all avenues of financing in the future, but it's definitely something we wanted to have at our disposal. So I wouldn't read into the numbers any. It's just us making sure we've got all the tools available.

Operator

One moment for the next question. And our next question will be coming from the line of Shar Pourreza of Wells Fargo.

Whitney Mutalemwa

This is Whitney Mutalemwa on for Shar. Congrats on the quarter. So with rate base growing at 9.6% CAGR against the long-term earnings growth rate, could you help us bridge that gap, specifically what I'm looking for is how many basis points of regulatory lag you're running today versus your authorized return. And then how much of that you'd expect the rate review in Oklahoma as well as the Quip rider to close over the plan?

Charles Walworth

Whitney, great to hear from you. I think a couple of things on that. One, historically, we've done a fairly good job through cost control and capital allocation to really earn close to our allowed ROE. So I guess that's point number one. And then in terms of the rate case impact, I mean, obviously, that's a key impact there. But also remember that with plant and service accounting and load growth, that's a pretty good bridge as well. between that.

So I guess what I'm trying to get to is that I would expect our earned ROE to continue to be smooth into the future rather than taking step function changes and resetting with rate cases. So hopefully, that helps paint a picture for you.

Whitney Mutalemwa

Yes, yes, I totally understand. And then just as a follow-up to Aidan's question on the new ATM. I saw that there's a lower 55% to 60% payout target, is the 35 to 40 equity share on today's additions or reasonable framework for Horseshoe like 15 and the 765 as they come in.

Charles Walworth

Whitney, we look at every project individually and not only on the project, but where other conditions are at the time that we finance and the length of it and the attributes and everything. So you've kind of seen 2 announcements from us now on equity raises, so you can kind of use that as a gauge. But at the end of the day, we're solving for our credit metrics over the long term. And that's going to dictate how we finance it.

Operator

One on me for the next question. Our next question is coming from the line of Nicholas Campanella of Barclays.

Nicholas Campanella

First question is, of the one point of the 14 winning bids, how many will be owned and how many are PPAs?

R. Trauschke

Are you talking about the remaining generation needs we have?

Nicholas Campanella

Yes.

R. Trauschke

I think it's our our intent with what we've demonstrated today to own this, we will utilize some rich capacity is obviously during construction and periods like that. But we've not finalized all those negotiations yet, but I want to reiterate one more time that it's our intent to own these. We think that's the better outcome for our service territory.

Operator

One moment for the next question, please. Our next question will be coming from the line of Julien Dumoulin-Smith of Jefferies.

Brian Russo

It's Brian Russo on for Julien. Could you just talk about OGE's positioning and our strategy with the upcoming SPP 2026 [ ITP ]. What can we expect from that Board meeting, I think, is planned for November?

Charles Walworth

Yes. Brian, obviously, it's something that we've been tracking and been involved in very closely. I think if you recall, the 2025 ITP kind of took a while to play out. And as we indicated in our remarks, we expect some closure on the in TCs later this year.

So I can't give specific dates, but I wouldn't think it'd be unreasonable that the '26 ITP follows kind of a similar cadence. So you're right, there is an SPP board meeting in November, and then there's another one in February. And so I believe the one in February will likely address which lines are direct to signed due to reliability reasons. And then the process will kind of go from there. So it's it's a little early still for the '26 [ ITP ], but again, the numbers that are out there publicly are pretty impressive and definitely a lot of good stuff out there.

Brian Russo

Okay. Great. And just to clarify, the $160 million you added to the base plan for transmission, that is not the [ report seminal line ]? Is that correct?

Charles Walworth

No, it's not. So it is out of the '25 ITP. There were a number of projects assigned to us out of the '25 ITP. The largest being the [ Seminole to Shreveport ], now long wood line and -- but there were a couple of other smaller ones. And so those are the ones that we've added today.

Brian Russo

Okay. Great. And then can you just comment on your existing cryptocurrency load? And any migration or conversion towards the proposed or pending XL PL, how might that change your resource plans in the future, I guess, excluding this 1.1 gigawatts that's remaining under the 2026 IRP RFP.

Charles Walworth

Brian, I think as we've indicated before, crypto load converting the AI is something that we continue to see an interest in. We don't have anything to announce on that other than that continues to be a theme. And I think the main thing to remember, as it pertains to the 1.1 gigawatts is really the nature of the load, right?

So and the requirements from the SPP. So to the extent that the load changes its nature and it increases our capacity needs, you're going to see that $1.1 billion go up.

Brian Russo

Okay. Great. And then just lastly, I assume you're reaffirming the top end of the 5% to 7% EPS CAGR even with now the 9.6% rate base growth versus 9% previously. When might we expect the next kind of update on CAGR? Would it be with the notice to construct on the SPP line or further into 2027 after we get approval of this Horseshoe Lake 15?

Charles Walworth

Yes, Brian, we'll definitely take a fresh look at it next year. And as Sean mentioned, we've got really a pretty busy calendar of quarterly events next year. So whatever decisions we make on that, we'll do it holistically with all of those events in mind.

Operator

One moment for the next question. And our next question will be coming from the line of [ Rui ] of [ Mizuho ].

Unknown Analyst

This is [ Rui ] for Anthony Crowdell. So just a follow-up on the Horseshoe Lake project. Following your preapproval filing and you mentioned the 180-day time line. And given the history of this project, can you just walk us through what are some of the key factors for the review? And which area would we expect to see some scrutinies on that?

R. Trauschke

In terms of -- yes, so I think it will just be the normal and customary discussions. We follow the commission process in terms of going through a robust RFP. The staff initiated an independent reviewer that evaluated all of the bids along with us.

And then it's -- I think it's duly noted or should be duly noted that being able to utilize brownfield sites and really to capture those benefits and really further reducing the cost in particular, for Horseshoe Lake 15, it's material it really moves the needle. So I think the last point would be our demonstrated excellence around bringing these projects in on time and on budget. We've been building gas plants for a while now. This isn't a new theme for us. And so we've got the track record.

So, normally, you'd have a discussion about need that's evident to all involved. Sometimes you'd have a discussion about if you [ follow ] the process. We've done that to [indiscernible]. Sometimes you have a discussion around, can you do this? Do you have the capabilities to do this. We've demonstrated that before. And then the last point is, is it economic and clearly on a price per [ KW ] it stacks up very, very well.

So nothing -- I don't want to suggest there won't be discussions. There's always going to be discussions. But I think the fact pattern around Horseshoe Lake 15 is very strong.

Operator

One moment for the next question. Our next question is coming from the line of [ Ian Rap ] of Scotiabank.

Unknown Analyst

Maybe going back to Horseshoe Lake again. As you work through the remaining RFP submission. And, obviously, I don't want to front run those negotiations in those announcements. But looking at capacity types and technologies, this was kind of framed as the #1 option in terms of the ranking in the RFP, both on cost and other attributes being responsive to SPP rules. But just curious how we should think about your plan around different technology types and whether this cost per KW is repeatable for the 1.1 gigawatts remaining.

R. Trauschke

Well, as Chuck mentioned, this was the #1 rated project. We are sensitive to the cost of the projects and the value it brings to our customers. I think we've been straightforward in terms of primarily, it's going to be gas, maybe some combination of solar and storage, but principally gas.

And I'll probably leave it there because we're still finalizing these negotiations. And just don't want to give anything away.

Unknown Analyst

Fair enough. That's helpful. And then maybe this has already been asked and answer to an extent, but just philosophically, as you guys kind of think about the the EPS CAGR updates and balancing sort of the seemingly increasing number of buckets of incremental CapEx versus your preference to be conservative with guidance and making sure that it's sustainable.

How are you thinking about kind of the cadence of step changes there? Is that something that you're going to kind of look at once for a year continue to at the EPS CAGR on a project-by-project basis as they roll in?

R. Trauschke

Yes. You came a little choppy there, but I think I got it, the cadence of EPS CAGR updates. Kind of similar to the question earlier, I mean it's not -- we don't necessarily look at it in tiny discrete areas, right? So like this project is this and so on. We'll take a holistic view of it next year. in light of kind of the timing of various projects and the opportunities that we see.

But again, kind of keep in mind what we've done in the past, right? It's we have the multistep process where we tell you about the projects we're working on. We get them approved. We have them with the plan. We tell you what that's doing in terms of rate base growth. We tell you how we're going to finance it. So there's there's a lot of keys to information along the way, right? And then when we think that there's kind of a critical mass and we'll we'll give the appropriate update at the time.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] One moment for the next question, please. Our next question is coming from the line of Stephen D’Ambrisi of RBC.

As there are no more questions in the queue. I would like to turn the call back over to Sean Trauschke. Please go ahead for closing remarks.

R. Trauschke

Well, thank you, Lisa, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks, and I hope everyone has a great day.

Operator

Thank you all for joining the program today. You may now disconnect.