Cuộc họp công bố kết quả kinh doanh quý 3/2026 của Chesapeake Utilities (CPK): EPS tăng 9%, Capex đúng tiến độ

Điểm nhấn chính

• Biên lợi nhuận gộp điều chỉnh quý 3/2026 tăng 9% so với cùng kỳ năm trước lên khoảng 149 triệu USD, trong khi lợi nhuận ròng điều chỉnh tăng 11% lên 21,6 triệu USD.
• EPS điều chỉnh đạt 0,89 USD, tăng 9% so với quý 3/2025. Các dự án truyền tải khí tự nhiên và việc tăng giá cước là những yếu tố đóng góp tích cực lớn nhất.
• Chesapeake Utilities đã đầu tư 151 triệu USD trong quý và 413 triệu USD lũy kế từ đầu năm. Ban lãnh đạo duy trì kế hoạch đầu tư vốn năm 2026 ở mức 550 triệu đến 600 triệu USD.
• Dự án Florida Energy Pathway trị giá 1,2 tỷ USD đã đảm bảo được ba đơn vị vận chuyển chủ chốt cho công suất 250.000 dekatherm mỗi ngày. Công ty tiếp tục đặt mục tiêu đưa dự án vào vận hành vào năm 2030.
• Ban lãnh đạo tái khẳng định kế hoạch EPS năm 2028 trong khoảng từ 7,75 đến 8,00 USD và tiếp tục kỳ vọng chi tiêu vốn sẽ vượt 2,2 tỷ USD theo chương trình 5 năm hiện tại.
• Biểu giá cước tạm thời của Florida City Gas đã đóng góp 2,7 triệu USD vào biên lợi nhuận quý 3. Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến ủy ban sẽ ban hành phán quyết cuối cùng vào đầu tháng 1/2027.

Dữ liệu tài chính quan trọng

Phân tích biến động EPS điều chỉnh quý 3 ghi nhận các đóng góp tích cực gồm: 0,09 USD từ các dự án mở rộng truyền tải khí tự nhiên, 0,09 USD từ biểu giá cước tạm thời của Florida City Gas cùng các đợt tăng giá cước khác, 0,08 USD từ các chương trình hạ tầng và 0,06 USD từ nhu cầu phân phối khí tự nhiên.

Các mức tăng này bị bù trừ một phần bởi 0,12 USD mỗi cổ phiếu do chi phí lương và phúc lợi tăng, 0,09 USD do chi phí vận hành và bảo dưỡng cao hơn, 0,06 USD do chi phí khấu hao và thuế tài sản tăng, cùng 0,05 USD từ hoạt động tài chính.

Hiệu quả kinh doanh và vận hành

Tăng trưởng khách hàng dùng khí tự nhiên tiếp tục là động lực lợi nhuận then chốt. Lũy kế từ đầu năm, mức tăng trưởng khách hàng dân cư đạt 2,7% tại Delmarva, 2,0% tại Florida Public Utilities và 1,7% tại Florida City Gas. Chesapeake Utilities cũng đã ký kết 18 dự án dân cư mới trên khắp các hạt Sussex, New Castle và Kent trong năm 2026.

Hệ thống truyền tải và phân phối đã mang lại thêm 4,8 triệu USD biên lợi nhuận trong quý 3, trong khi các chương trình hạ tầng đóng góp thêm 2,8 triệu USD. Ban lãnh đạo cho biết các dự án truyền tải khí dự kiến sẽ đóng góp gần 33 triệu USD vào biên lợi nhuận gộp điều chỉnh năm 2026 và hơn 50 triệu USD vào năm 2027.

Dự án Florida Energy Pathway trị giá 1,2 tỷ USD sẽ do Peninsula Pipeline Company sở hữu 51%, trong khi NextEra Energy Resources nắm giữ 49% cổ phần thiểu số. Florida Power & Light, Florida Public Utilities và Florida City Gas đã ký hợp đồng với tổng công suất 250.000 dekatherm mỗi ngày. Quy trình cấp phép dự kiến kéo dài 12 đến 18 tháng, công tác xây dựng sẽ bắt đầu sau đó và đặt mục tiêu vận hành vào năm 2030.

Đối với dự án Worcester Resiliency Upgrade, công tác xây lắp cơ khí và điện về cơ bản đã hoàn thành và quá trình tiền vận hành thử nghiệm đang được tiến hành. Vốn đầu tư ước tính đã tăng thêm 25 triệu USD lên khoảng 125 triệu USD. Sau khi FERC phê duyệt mức giá cước cập nhật, ban lãnh đạo dự kiến mức đóng góp biên lợi nhuận cả năm sẽ là 19,7 triệu USD và tiếp tục đặt mục tiêu đưa vào vận hành trong quý 1/2027, tùy thuộc vào việc hoàn tất công tác vận hành thử nghiệm theo yêu cầu của FERC.

Việc triển khai ERP của công ty đã bước vào giai đoạn thử nghiệm và tiếp tục đúng tiến độ để chính thức đi vào hoạt động trong quý 2/2027.

Kế hoạch định hướng của ban lãnh đạo

• Chesapeake Utilities duy trì kế hoạch đầu tư vốn năm 2026 ở mức từ 550 triệu đến 600 triệu USD.
• Chi tiêu vốn theo chương trình 5 năm hiện tại vẫn được kỳ vọng sẽ vượt 2,2 tỷ USD.
• Ban lãnh đạo tái khẳng định kế hoạch EPS năm 2028 trong khoảng từ 7,75 đến 8,00 USD.
• Biên lợi nhuận của dự án Worcester Resiliency Upgrade dự kiến đạt 17,2 triệu USD vào năm 2027.
• Công ty dự kiến công bố kế hoạch chi tiêu vốn năm 2027, kế hoạch chi tiêu vốn giai đoạn 2027–2031 và tốc độ tăng trưởng EPS giai đoạn 2027–2031 cùng với kết quả kinh doanh quý 4 và cả năm vào tháng 2/2027.
• Ban lãnh đạo dự kiến phát hành 250 triệu USD nợ dài hạn trong quý 4/2026, một phần để tái cấp vốn cho khoản nợ 100 triệu USD đáo hạn vào tháng 12.

Rủi ro và các yếu tố cần theo dõi

Các khoản yêu cầu bồi thường bảo hiểm y tế cao hơn đáng kể so với mức thông thường của công ty và đã làm tăng chi phí lương cùng phúc lợi. Ban lãnh đạo hiện xem mức tăng trong quý 3 nhiều khả năng là một hiện tượng bất thường, nhưng đang đánh giá xem liệu có cần đưa phần nào của chi phí này vào dự phóng chi phí tương lai hay không.

Chi phí ước tính của dự án Worcester Resiliency Upgrade đã tăng lên khoảng 125 triệu USD và việc đi vào vận hành vào quý 1/2027 vẫn phụ thuộc vào việc hoàn tất các yêu cầu vận hành thử nghiệm của FERC.

Florida City Gas vẫn đang trải qua quy trình xem xét pháp lý cuối cùng. Các khuyến nghị của ban chuyên viên Ủy ban Dịch vụ Công Florida dự kiến được đưa ra vào ngày 18 tháng 11, tiếp theo là các cuộc họp về yêu cầu doanh thu và giá cước trong tháng 12 cùng phán quyết cuối cùng vào đầu tháng 1/2027.

Thời điểm đưa ra cam kết đặt mua khối lượng thép lớn cho Dự án Florida Energy Pathway có thể rơi vào cuối năm 2026 hoặc quý 1/2027, tùy thuộc vào giá thép. Ban lãnh đạo cũng tiếp tục đánh giá các địa điểm ven bờ phù hợp cho một cơ sở LNG tiềm năng gần Port Canaveral, đồng thời lưu ý rằng khả năng tiếp cận đường thủy, diện tích lô đất và độ sâu luồng lạch làm thu hẹp đáng kể các phương án lựa chọn.

Điểm nhấn phiên hỏi đáp với chuyên gia phân tích

Ban lãnh đạo cho biết Dự án Florida Energy Pathway có thể hỗ trợ sự gia tăng phụ tải điện, nhu cầu dân cư và sản xuất bổ sung. Công suất cuối cùng có thể được mở rộng thông qua các trạm nén khí mà không cần xây dựng thêm nhiều đường ống. Các trung tâm dữ liệu không phải là phần trọng yếu trong thiết kế hiện tại hoặc trong các giả định phụ tải tương lai của dự án.

Về propan, ban lãnh đạo cho biết giá tăng cao không gây xói mòn đáng kể biên lợi nhuận. Khối lượng lưu trữ và các chương trình phòng ngừa rủi ro cho khách hàng đóng vai trò như một tấm đệm giảm thiểu phần nào biến động giá bán buôn.

Liên quan đến SpaceX, Chesapeake Utilities cho biết công ty này không phải là giả định khách hàng chính cho các kế hoạch tại sân bay vũ trụ và Port Canaveral. Chesapeake đang nâng cấp đường ống hiện hữu và theo đuổi các yêu cầu về công suất không phụ thuộc vào nhu cầu của SpaceX.

Ban lãnh đạo ước tính rằng một cơ sở LNG tiềm năng phục vụ nhu cầu ngành hàng không vũ trụ hoặc tàu du lịch có thể mất khoảng hai đến ba năm từ quyết định đầu tư cuối cùng đến khi đi vào vận hành thương mại. Công ty không đưa ra con số sản lượng cụ thể.

Đối với chương trình ERP, ban lãnh đạo dự kiến các lợi ích bổ sung về vận hành và bảo dưỡng sẽ chưa thể hiện rõ cho đến năm 2028, sau khi hệ thống dự kiến chính thức đi vào hoạt động trong quý 2/2027 và trải qua giai đoạn hỗ trợ sau triển khai trong phần còn lại của năm 2027.

Toàn văn biên bản cuộc họp công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Toàn văn cuộc gọi công bố kết quả kinh doanh

Phần trình bày của ban lãnh đạo

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn the call over to Lucia Dempsey, Head of Investor Relations.

Lucia Dempsey

Thank you and good morning, everyone. Today's presentation can be accessed on our website under the Investors page and Events and Presentations subsection. After our prepared remarks, we will open up the call for questions. On slide 2, we show our typical disclaimers while I remind you that matters discussed on this conference call may include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements and projections could differ materially from our actual results. The Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements section of our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our third quarter Form 10-Q provide further information on the factors that could cause such statements to differ from our actual results. Additionally, the company evaluates its performance based on certain non-GAAP measures, including adjusted gross margin, adjusted net income, and adjusted earnings per share.

And the information presented today includes the appropriate disclosures in accordance with the SEC's Regulation G. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the related GAAP measures has been provided in the appendix of this presentation, our earnings release, and in our third quarter Form 10-Q. Here at Chesapeake Utilities, safety is our first priority. We start all meetings with a safety moment and we'll do so here as highlighted on slide 3. With colder weather approaching, today's moment focuses on winter preparedness. Taking a few simple steps now can help keep ourselves, our families, and our communities safe. Remember to test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, inspect heating equipment, clean fireplaces, prepare vehicles for winter conditions, and winterize your vehicle emergency kit.

These preparations can help reduce risk and ensure we're ready when winter weather arrives. I'll now introduce our presenters today. Jeff Householder, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, will provide an update on this quarter's key accomplishments and our capital growth program. Jim Moriarty, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Policy and Risk Officer, will discuss the Florida City Gas rate case and stakeholder engagement. Finally, Jeff Sylvester, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will then discuss our business transformation efforts and financial results in more detail. With that, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to Jeff Householder.

Jeffrey Householder

Thank you, Lucia, and good morning, everyone. I'll start with slide 5. I'm pleased that our growth trajectory has continued through the third quarter, enabling us to report a 12% increase in adjusted net income and an 8% increase in adjusted earnings per share through the first 9 months of this year relative to the same period last year. Our system growth and reliability investments continue to drive returns. In the third quarter, we generated an incremental $4.8 million from our transmission and distribution systems and an incremental $2.8 million of margin related to our infrastructure programs that strengthen the safety and resilience of our systems. We recognized $2.7 million of interim rates for our FCG rate case in the third quarter and look forward to a final rate decision by the end of this year. We also invested $151 million of capital in the third quarter, bringing our year-to-date investment to $413 million, on track to meet our full-year guidance of $550 million to $600 million of capital investment. Moving to slide 6, customer demand for natural gas remains core to our long-term growth strategy.

We've had another quarter of solid customer growth across all customer classes, including year-to-date residential customer growth of 2.7% in Delmarva, 2% for Florida Public Utilities, and 1.7% for Florida City Gas. To highlight our Delmarva region in particular this quarter, we continue to execute developer and builder agreements for new residential communities. Thus far in 2026, our sales teams have signed 18 new projects across Sussex, New Castle, and Kent Counties expected to receive service over the next several years. We're also seeing opportunities to support larger community projects that are choosing natural gas. As one example, in Sussex County, Delaware, we were selected to serve the Sussex Technical High School, the largest local school project in the state's history. We're converting the campus from oil and propane to natural gas, which will reduce emissions while providing a cost-effective and reliable energy solution. This project is a great example of how our natural gas infrastructure investments can support the growing needs of the communities we serve.

Now, let's shift to slide 7, which summarizes our 2026 capital program. Last quarter, we increased our full-year 2026 capital guidance by $100 million, resulting in an updated range of $550 million to $600 million. Our year-to-date investment of $413 million keeps us firmly on track to achieve our annual capital guidance as we continue to execute with discipline, strategically deploying capital to strengthen the business and support our long-term growth objectives. Slide 8 highlights the Florida Energy Pathway Project, or FEP, our $1.2 billion gas transmission project in South Florida. The project represents a significant regulated infrastructure investment designed to address supply constraints, expand natural gas transportation capacity, and enhance energy reliability as we serve growing demand across the South Florida region. We most recently announced NextEra Energy Resources, or NEER, as our strategic joint venture partner. Under the agreement, Peninsula Pipeline Company will retain a 51% ownership with NEER acquiring the remaining 49% minority interest.

We believe their project execution expertise and strong local relationships will drive value through the design, permitting, and construction phases of the project. Three anchor shippers—Florida Power & Light and our natural gas distribution businesses, Florida Public Utilities and Florida City Gas—have contracted for capacity quantities of 250,000 dekatherms per day. The opportunity exists to explore further expansion beyond the current contract quantities to meet any additional shipper demand that may arise. We've made substantial progress on the engineering and design work for the project to date and have begun preparations for the permitting phase. We expect permitting to take 12 to 18 months with construction to begin directly after. We continue to expect the project to come online in 2030 and will provide incremental updates each quarter. Slide 9 summarizes the latest updates on Worcester Resiliency Upgrade, our LNG storage facility on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Mechanical and electrical systems construction is now essentially complete and pre-commissioning work is underway. Recent FERC inspections have gone well and we're preparing to file for the first of a series of commissioning-related notice-to-proceed permits. Based on the updates of the project timeline during this year, we now expect total capital investment to be approximately $125 million, an increase of $25 million over prior estimates. To address our updated capital expectations, we requested FERC approval of updated rates and are pleased to receive approval just this week. Therefore, we now expect WRU's full-year margin contribution to be $19.7 million. We continue to expect WRU to come online within the first quarter of next year, subject to the completion of all FERC commissioning work. Our margin expectation for 2027 remains relatively consistent at $17.2 million.

Turning to slide 10, we provide our summarization of gas transmission projects. Collectively, these projects represent nearly $33 million of adjusted gross margin this year and over $50 million in 2027, demonstrating the growing transmission-related earnings contribution, resulting in large part from the continued demand increases in our distribution businesses. I'll now shift to slide 11, which addresses our longer-term capital program. For our current 5-year capital guidance program, we continue to expect capital expenditures to exceed $2.2 billion. We also intend to provide the following metrics on our fourth quarter and full-year earnings call in February of next year: 2027 capital guidance, 2027 through 2031 capital guidance, and a 2027 through 2031 EPS growth rate. With that, I'll turn it to Jim.

James Moriarty

Thank you, Jeff, and good to be with all of you today. I'll start with slide 12. We are in the final stages of our rate case for Florida City Gas, which seeks recovery of our investments in infrastructure and technology that are enhancing safety, reliability, and service for customers. Interim rates were approved in July and became effective in August, contributing $2.7 million of margin in the third quarter. We continue to work through the remaining steps in the regulatory process. Florida PSC staff recommendations are expected on November 18, followed by revenue requirement and rate conferences in early to mid-December. We remain focused on achieving a constructive outcome and expect a final commission order in early January 2027. I'll now turn to slide 13 to provide an update on our stakeholder engagement initiatives.

Through the first 9 months of the year, over 600 team members have participated in a volunteer event, and the company has contributed nearly $1.2 million in charitable donations, community partnerships, and sponsorships. For the 7th consecutive year, Sharp Energy has been recognized by the Stars of Delaware Awards. This recognition is especially meaningful because it comes directly from the communities we serve and reflects our teammates' continued commitment to providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy while delivering exceptional service to our communities and customers every day. As our people remain at the heart of who we are, we are thrilled to recognize four teammates as the inaugural recipients of the Spirit of Chesapeake Award, our highest recognition for values-driven excellence. Amy Shea, Juan Roman, Rick Shelby, and Eddie McGowan were honored for demonstrating our values of care, integrity, and excellence, and for putting these values into action through their commitment to customers, colleagues, and communities. This recognition celebrates not only their individual contributions, but also the culture we continue to build across Chesapeake Utilities as one company. We are also very proud that Cheryl Martin, Senior Vice President of Regulatory and External Affairs, was recently honored as a Distinguished Woman in Florida at the 2026 Above and Beyond Awards.

Throughout her 4 decades of service, Cheryl has demonstrated outstanding leadership across our business and the energy industry, while remaining deeply committed to mentoring and developing teammates and supporting the communities we serve. Her recognition reflects the impact of her leadership and the values that continue to define who we are at Chesapeake Utilities. With that, I am pleased to turn the call to Jeff Sylvester, who will discuss our business transformation progress and financial results in more detail.

Jeffrey S. Sylvester

Thanks, Jim, and good morning, everyone. Slide 14 provides an overview of our business transformation. We are building a stronger foundation for growth with our ERP implementation serving as a critical enabler of that strategy. Last month, we successfully transitioned into the testing phase, and we remain on track for our planned Q2 2027 go-live. I'm proud of what the team has accomplished to reach this important milestone and look forward to their commitment to transforming our operating processes as we enter the final stages of the project. Now shifting to slide 15 to discuss our financial results for the quarter, we continue to demonstrate strong performance and growth across all metrics. Adjusted gross margin was approximately $149 million, up 9%, and adjusted net income was $21.6 million, up 11% from the third quarter of 2025.

Adjusted earnings per share were $0.89 this quarter, representing a strong 9% increase over the third quarter of 2025. Slide 16 provides additional detail on the key drivers of our third quarter performance. Our natural gas transmission expansion projects contributed an additional $0.09 of adjusted earnings per share this quarter. The Florida City Gas interim rates that went into effect in August, along with minor increases from last year's rate cases, added $0.09 per share this quarter. Margin from our infrastructure program investments accounted for an additional $0.08 per share this quarter. Continued demand for natural gas distribution drove $0.06 of incremental earnings per share and we benefited from an additional $0.03 of improved propane margins and fees. Changes in consumption and other miscellaneous items contributed $0.02, along with another $0.02 of increased other unregulated performance. These gains were partially offset by a few factors, including $0.12 of increased payroll and benefit costs, and $0.09 of higher O&M expenses. We also had $0.06 of increased depreciation, amortization, and property tax expenses driven by increased levels of capital investment. Lastly, financing activity, including debt and equity issuances over the last 12 months, reduced adjusted earnings per share by $0.05.

Shifting to slide 17, adjusted gross margin for our regulated segment was approximately $127 million this quarter, up 10% from the third quarter of last year. Regulated operating income saw similar growth, up 13% to approximately $56 million in the third quarter of 2026. Our unregulated energy segment also demonstrated strong performance with adjusted gross margin of approximately $22 million in the third quarter of 2026. Our overall growth is supported by our sustained focus on managing expenses. Although we encountered costs associated with healthcare claims that were much higher than we had typically experienced, we remain focused on managing our costs across the business to drive sustained bottom-line growth.

I'll now move to slide 18 to review our capital structure and financing activities. As of September 30, we have maintained equity capitalization of 49% and have issued nearly $37 million of equity through the first 9 months of the year. We also continue to maintain financial flexibility to support our capital growth program with 67% of our total funding capacity available as of September 30, 2026. In August, we amended our revolving credit agreement, bringing the total borrowing capacity under the revolver to $650 million, an increase of $200 million. This includes $250 million available under a 364-day tranche and $400 million available under a 5-year tranche expiring August 2031. In the fourth quarter, we expect to issue $250 million in long-term debt, with a portion of the proceeds being used to refinance $100 million of debt maturing this December.

Moving to slide 19, alongside our equity and debt plans, our dividend policy continues to be a key component of our capital allocation strategy as we fund growth investments to drive overall total shareholder return. Our most recent annual dividend increase of 7.3% and our next dividend payment of $0.74 per share align with our dividend payout target range of 45% to 50%. This enables us to retain 50% to 55% of earnings to support our robust capital program and reduce external financing needs. Slide 20 demonstrates our track record of strong and consistent earnings growth over the last 19 years. We remain committed to delivering industry-leading long-term earnings per share growth by reaffirming our 2028 earnings per share guidance of $7.75 to $8.00 per share. I'd like to end by summarizing our value proposition, which is shown on slide 21. Our history of consistent performance demonstrates our ability to execute with discipline, navigate changing conditions, and deliver on our commitments. That track record provides a strong foundation for the future and reinforces our confidence in our ability to continue creating long-term value.

Our strategy remains centered on 3 core growth pillars: disciplined capital investment, effective regulatory engagement, and continuous improvement. Together, these priorities strengthen our business, support our growth objectives, and position us to deliver sustainable results over the long term. As Jim highlighted, we are powered by our people. The dedication of our teammates drives the service we provide to our customers, the partnerships we build within our communities, and the value we deliver to our shareholders. With that, we'll take your questions. Operator, thank you.

Operator

[Operator Instructions]

Our first question today comes from Alexis Kania with BTIG. Please go ahead.

Phần hỏi đáp

Alexis Kania

I just have 1 question regarding what was talked about in the prepared remarks, just any opportunities for incremental contracting on the pipeline announced. Just kind of wondering, maybe where those demand centers might be. Would it just be with the existing shippers? Could it be a tie-in with some of the other projects that Chesapeake is working on in Florida? I'm just kind of curious where that direction might be.

Jeffrey Householder

Good morning, this is Jeff Householder. It's probably all those things. I mean, we built this pipe with the view that South Florida and that regional area is going to continue to grow. And I think you'll see that with manufacturers moving back in and the residential construction that continues to astound us in some respects down in that area. And I think there's always the opportunity long-term for additional electric load growth. So it's all of those things. So we, I think, are in good position, or will be when the pipe goes into service, to expand the capacity capabilities on that pipeline with compression. And so we could ultimately expand it without a substantial amount of additional capital and certainly not too much additional pipe.

So that's always, I think, a good thing. So again, we are putting this pipe in the ground with the idea that there will be additional upstream resources at some point and that we would be able to deliver those into South Florida as needed.

Alexis Kania

And then maybe just some thoughts on the propane markets and what impacts. I guess propane prices are up a little bit so far this fall, just what that might mean for kind of margin dynamics on your side.

Jeffrey Householder

You're right, they are up a little bit. We haven't seen any substantial margin erosion on our systems at this point. I mean, we watch, as you might imagine, the fluctuation in wholesale pricing pretty carefully. And we have, especially in our Delmarva operating regions, a substantial amount of storage, millions of gallons up there. And so we have a little bit of a natural hedge with our storage volumes on pricing fluctuations going into the winter. And we also have a significant amount of volumes that are hedged with customers, even our residential customers through the price cap programs that we offer. And so we're not completely insulated from volatility in the market, but we do our best to be marginally impacted by that, which I think we are at this point.

Alexis Kania

Great, thanks very much.

Operator

We'll go next to Juan Vidales with Ladenburg Thalmann. Please go ahead.

Juan Vidales

Just quick on kind of the further growth opportunities, could you give us sort of an update on SpaceX filings to construct the pipeline for their operations? And I guess what would be the path for you all to potentially either be included on a deal or sort of a joint developer on that project?

Jeffrey Householder

Well, as you know, SpaceX, or at least a subsidiary company, had filed for approval with the Public Service Commission and received that approval to construct an intrastate pipeline. I'll be blunt, we've never considered SpaceX to be a principal customer opportunity for us in moving into the spaceport in Florida and certainly doesn't have much of an impact on our interest in trying to serve cruise ships out of Port Canaveral. SpaceX is clearly capable of building a pipeline if they want to do that. They've done it in other places. But I don't think it has a lot of bearing on what we're trying to do over there. We have an existing pipeline, as you know, that runs into the spaceport. We're in the process of upgrading that pipeline and building a little bit of additional pipe on the front side of that pipe that would allow us to meet the capacity requirements that we think make sense without SpaceX.

And so if we can provide service to SpaceX somewhere along the way, that's great. We'd love to do it. But they weren't a principal part of our thinking going over toward either Port Canaveral certainly, but at the spaceport either.

Juan Vidales

All right. And I mean, is there any, I guess, that the Florida Commission would potentially look at you all's pipeline being relatively close, if not I believe almost parallel to the proposed one, given you already have rights-of-way?

Jeffrey Householder

Well, it is an interesting question. I think they probably at least considered that in the approval process. At this point, SpaceX is talking about serving SpaceX, which again is certainly possible, and there are other large industrial users in Florida that do the same thing with pipelines that they've constructed themselves. The right-of-way that you mentioned, especially coming across the causeway into the NASA property, is not a state issue, that's a federal right-of-way. And so that's a conversation for someone other than the Florida Public Service Commission. It's certainly potentially congested and there are not that many more pipes that are going to be able to go in that right-of-way. And maybe only SpaceX and us would be there ultimately. So yes, we're certainly aware of that and have looked at it and I think the regulators also understand that.

Juan Vidales

Awesome, great. And then kind of going off that region, in regards to the LNG project that you've sort of mentioned for both space exploration and cruise ships out of Cape Canaveral, if that project goes through, how many [ MCFPA ] are expected of production on an annual basis? I believe the really large ones are about 2 to 4 million. Would this be sort of in that range or would it be a much smaller project? And I guess, what would be the timeframe on construction for a facility like this to go from sort of an FID to commercial operation?

Jeffrey Householder

I'll probably hold off being specific on the volume projections. Probably a little smaller than the one that you just talked about. I think if we can gather together what we're trying to gather, which is the load from either space and/or the cruise ships, which is our principal interest here, we would hopefully be able to put a facility on the ground in the same kind of timeframe that we've been looking at with the WRU facility. And again, we're not liquefying at WRU and so there's a little bit of additional time required there, but I think somewhere in the 2-to-3-year time period is about right.

Juan Vidales

Great. And then just 1 quick follow-up. In regards to the WRU project, what's the O&M associated with an LNG storage facility like that?

Jeffrey Householder

Let me get back to you with that. I'm trying to think if I can even, let me get back to you on that. I'll check their number. I can spit out a number that's in my head, but it's probably pretty close, but I can tie that out for you specifically.

Juan Vidales

Great. And then just if I can, 1 last quick one. In regards to siting in Florida, where do you all stand? I believe before you had mentioned that there was 1 site that was looking promising and then I think there was probably something got derailed. But as of now, where do you stand?

Jeffrey Householder

This is on the LNG facility at Cape Canaveral.

Juan Vidales

Yes, correct.

Jeffrey Householder

Yes, we have. We've looked now, I think we're on site #15 that we've looked up and down the Intracoastal. There are a number of sites that are attractive if you're trucking the LNG or railing it. If you're doing a lot of trying to put it on a fueling barge and you need access to the Intracoastal, especially to get into Port Canaveral, then you've got to find a place on the water that's big enough and the water is deep enough to allow you to do that. And so that narrows the field quite significantly. There are some parcels of property actually on the very large NASA property area down there around the spaceport that would be quite useful, both for providing services to some of the rocket launches and to Port Canaveral. And so we're still quite interested in those. We had identified, as you mentioned, a parcel of land that we frankly didn't hold out a whole lot of hope for because Port Canaveral wanted to turn it into a cruise ship parking lot, which you can understand.

And it was literally within less than a mile on a barge canal to access the port. That would have been certainly an ideal low-cost project for us, but they wanted to use the property for something else. And so we continued to work with the port and with the space authority folks to try to identify appropriate places that we could locate the facility.

Juan Vidales

Great. Well, thank you. I'll see you guys in a couple days here.

Jeffrey Householder

Yes, good. Thank you.

Operator

We'll go next to Dylan Becker with Mizuho. Please go ahead.

Unknown Speaker

You guys called out $0.12 in increased payroll and benefits on the earnings waterfall. And you mentioned in the remarks, the cost of healthcare claims was higher than normal in the quarter. Is that more 1-time in nature, or can it bleed into 4Q and potentially into next year?

Jeffrey S. Sylvester

Yes, thank you, Dylan. As we indicated, there were some additional expenses that showed up that were not expected. And we're taking a hard look at those to see if there's either, 1, ways to deal with them, or, 2, are they something that we should be kind of baking into the go-forward case. I would probably lean towards this being an anomaly in that quarter, and we're always looking to manage our costs appropriately and certainly prudently. This one I think provides a little bit more interest in terms of thinking about the focus of ensuring and making sure that we're healthy and getting beyond sort of the cost elements. But, yes, it was a little bit of a surprise there in the third quarter that we're going to manage through that will give you.

Unknown Speaker

Gotcha. Cool. And then just 1 quick one on the multi-year ERP project, just want to know how that's progressing, if we're going to see any more O&M as you go into 4Q and into 1Q as this plans to go live in Q2 '27.

Jeffrey S. Sylvester

Yes, if you're just thinking about O&M, you probably won't see any additional O&M until '28. We'll get through in-service there in the April-May timeframe and will be in some sort of hypercare for pretty much the rest of '27. And at that point in time, we'll be updating, obviously, the impacts to '28. But we've been making investments like this for the last few years. We haven't really talked a lot about the O&M benefits to those investments. And so there will be a time here in the not-too-distant future that we'll be able to give you a better view of what our O&M levels will look like really beyond ERP. But there are also things that I think are coming to fruition in terms of investments around our customer and obviously the ERP that are having impacts to how we're operating on a day-to-day basis.

So that's all in front of us. Again, probably a little bit more color beyond our February update.

Unknown Speaker

Gotcha. Cool. And then just 1 last one, if I could, for the FCG rate case, are prospects for settlements still on the table or just looking like it's going to be fully litigated through the end of December and new rates in January?

Jeffrey Householder

Well, I think we're always open to a discussion. I don't think that that's likely here. My expectations are that we'll see a staff recommendation coming out, I think, as Jeff indicated, on November 18 of this month, and then we'll move toward a final commission decision in early December. And so we'll see where that goes. We're still pretty optimistic that we'll get a reasonable result with that case and be able to move forward. I don't know that we'll see any activity relative to settling the case here.

Unknown Speaker

Great. I appreciate the color, guys. Thank you. Have a good one.

Operator

We'll go next to Christopher Ellinghaus with Siebert Williams Shank. Please go ahead.

Christopher Ellinghaus

Jeff, you referenced the FERC increase relative to the capital increase for Worcester. Was that what was filed yesterday? I didn't get to look at that yet.

Jeffrey Householder

That's what, yes, we filed it, but yesterday was the actual approval.

Christopher Ellinghaus

Okay. And Jeff, you sort of talked about upside to pathway in the future. There are some data centers sort of in the at least vague vicinity of the pipe. Is that 1 of the things that you're thinking about as potential?

Jeffrey Householder

Actually it's not. I certainly can't speak to the electric load requirements and how those will be met, but our relationship for that pipeline is with Florida Power & Light on the electric side, with our distribution businesses that are not actually chasing data center loads. If a data center came to us looking for a gas service, then we would evaluate that in the same way that we would do any other industrial customer. But that's not really been a key part of either the pipeline design for us at this point or our thoughts on future load.

Christopher Ellinghaus

Okay. And lastly, the CapEx slide for this year sort of suggests a pretty substantial fourth quarter, sort of almost unprecedented levels. What are some of the big items in there that leave you confident of making that implied fourth-quarter number?

Jeffrey S. Sylvester

Fourth quarter of this year?

Christopher Ellinghaus

Yes, yes.

Jeffrey S. Sylvester

Yes, I mean, obviously the in-service for WRU is 1 of those chunks. We've got a little bit of the FEP capital showing up there. We actually feel pretty good about the range that we're in.

Jeffrey Householder

Yes, just trying to get some additional potential pipeline, Miami Loop investments, fairly robust effort in the last quarter on the pipeline replacement programs at SafeGrid. You know, there's some electric storm protection investment. It's just an accumulation of a number of things that kind of add up to the number that we provided.

Christopher Ellinghaus

It kind of sounds like maybe that initial FEP piece might be fairly material.

Jeffrey Householder

It could be. I mean, to be perfectly blunt, we're tracking steel prices and thinking about when we commit to the first substantial obligation on steel for that pipeline, whether that's before the end of this year or sometime probably in Q1 of next year, I think it's still up in the air depending on where we see pricing going.

Christopher Ellinghaus

Okay, that helps. Appreciate it. See you next week.

Jeffrey Householder

Yes, okay.

Operator

At this time, there are no further questions in queue. I will now turn the call back to Jeff Householder for any additional or closing remarks.

Jeffrey Householder

Well, thanks. And thanks to all of you for joining us this morning. We hope to see many of you at the EEI Financial Forum out in Phoenix next week. And as always, we appreciate your continued interest in Chesapeake Utilities. Goodbye.

Operator

Thank you. This concludes Chesapeake Utilities Corporation's third quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Thank you for participating. You may disconnect your line at this time and have a wonderful day.

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