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Text: The slides that accompany today's call are also available on our website.
We'll refer to those slides by number throughout the call.
This cautionary note is also included in more detail for your review in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
We also have other company representatives available to help answer any questions you may have after Steve, Lisa and Darrel provide updates.
On Slide 4, we present our quarterly and annual financial results.
IDACORP's 2019 fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share were $0.93, an increase of $0.41 per share over last year's fourth quarter.
IDACORP's earnings per diluted share for the full-year 2019 were $4.61, an increase of $0.12 per share over 2018.
These full-year results represent the 12th straight year of earnings growth for IDACORP and are the highest achieved in its history.
IDACORP's cumulative average growth rate in diluted earnings per share is 7.9% since 2007.
Today, we also initiated our full-year 2020 IDACORP earnings guidance estimate to be in the range of $4.45 to $4.65 per diluted share with our expectation that Idaho Power will not need to utilize any of the tax credits in 2020 that are available to support earnings in Idaho under its settlement stipulation with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.
Last week, we announced that after 24 years with the company that I would retire effective June 1 of this year.
In connection with this decision, our board of directors selected Lisa Grow to succeed me as president and CEO of IDACORP and Idaho Power effective June 1 and also appointed her to the boards of directors of both companies effective last week.
She's an electrical engineer by training and she's got over 32 years of experience at Idaho Power.
Not only does she have a long tenure at the company, she also has a long history with Idaho Power as her grandfather was a lineman with the company for 30 years prior to Lisa joining the company.
She has contributed significantly to the operational and financial success of Idaho Power since becoming an officer in 2005.
She has earned the opportunity to take over the reins as we move forward into 2020 and beyond.
I look forward to continuing to serve as a member of the board of directors once I step away from my executive roles.
With that short introduction, I will now turn the time over to Lisa for some updates on the company, as well as ongoing economic activities.
I am honored by the opportunity to succeed you, and I look forward to the exciting times ahead.
In addition to the financial success noted by Justin, Idaho Power set records across several of our important metrics: safety, customer satisfaction and reliability.
On Slide 5, we see details of the company's record employee safety results in 2019.
We are very excited and proud to see injuries at an all-time low as we continue to spend significant time on our safety culture and to emphasize the importance of safety at work and at home.
Our record-setting results in residential and business customer satisfaction are shown on Slide 6.
As the population within our service area continues to grow, Idaho Power is working hard to meet our customers' evolving needs.
Most Idaho Power customers experienced -- most Idaho customers experienced an overall price decrease for the second consecutive year in 2019 with business customers' rates going down by at least 5%.
Idaho Power's efforts to keep prices affordable, provide personal service and improve the customer experience are paying off as overall customer satisfaction metrics continue to rank near the top of the list among our peer utilities.
Reliability is a key piece of the customer satisfaction puzzle and is also included on Slide 6, which shows another outstanding year.
Idaho Power kept customers' lights on 99.975% of the time in 2019, and overall system reliability was among the best in company history, finishing very close to 2018's record results.
As noted on Slide 7, Idaho Power service area continues to experience substantial customer growth.
For the third year in a row, Idaho remains the fastest-growing state in the nation, and Idaho Power's customer base grew 2.5% in 2019, including a 2.7% growth rate for our residential customer segment.
Idaho Power now has more than 570,000 customers, and we view the reliable, affordable, clean energy that our company provides as a key driver for continuing to attract new customers.
The economy is thriving within Idaho Power's service area, and Moody's GDP forecast calls for sustained economic growth.
In 2019, Idaho Power experienced sales growth in its commercial and industrial sectors through a balanced mix of new business and expansion projects across the food processing, manufacturing, distribution and technology sectors.
Moody's current forecast of GDP in Idaho Power's service area predicts growth of 4.4% in 2020 and another 4.4% in 2021.
Meanwhile, employment increased 3.2%, and the unemployment rate was 2.8% at the end of 2019, compared with 3.5% nationally.
Turning to Slide 8.
Idaho Power's most recent integrated resource plan calls for continued work toward a unit-by-unit early exit from the Jim Bridger plant located in Wyoming by 2030.
In 2019, the company ended its participation in Unit 1 of the North Valmy plant in Nevada, which was a significant milestone in our path away from coal.
We also have an agreement to exit Unit 2 by 2025.
The Boardman plant in Oregon is also scheduled to cease operations this year.
In both cases, Idaho Power has State Public Utility Commission's support for a cost recovery framework to be applied through the end of their useful life, which we believe could provide a blueprint for a similar approach for Bridger.
We are continuing to explore options with PacifiCorp, the co-owner of Bridger, as we plan the end-of-life for the entire Jim Bridger plant.
PacifiCorp's IRP, as published last fall, showed early shutdown dates for two Bridger units as well.
Idaho Power's overall coal-fired generation has decreased for six consecutive years.
As recently as 2013, coal was our largest energy source at 47% of our total energy mix.
Today, that number is around 16%.
Our path away from coal, which is driven by the economics of the plant, aligns with our Clean Today, Cleaner Tomorrow plan to provide 100% clean energy by 2045.
Another key project in our Cleaner Tomorrow plan is the Boardman to Hemingway transmission project or B2H, which made solid progress in 2019.
The Oregon Department of Energy recommended approval of the 300-mile line.
The department is expected to release a proposed order, which is the next step in the permitting process, authorizing the transmission line this year.
If the permitting process remains on track, we expect the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council to issue a final order and site certificate in 2021.
Following preconstruction activities, construction is expected to begin as early as 2023, with the line expected to be in service in 2026 or sometime thereafter.
The IRP we amended and filed at the end of last month also plans for us to include 120 megawatts of solar from the Jackpot Solar power purchase agreement.
Idaho Power evaluated purchasing the project and elected not to pursue it.
We do not expect Idaho Power to file a general rate case in Idaho or Oregon in the next 12 months.
The influx of new customers, constructive regulatory outcomes and effective cost management all play significant roles in this decision.
With that, I will turn the time to Steve, who will go through the 2019 financial results.
We had excellent 2019 results.
Weather challenges through the year were more than offset by a very good final quarter.
I'll walk you through the drivers year over year on Slide 9.
Strong net customer growth of 2.5% added $18.8 million to operating income in 2019.
A decline in usage per customer, mostly related to lower irrigation sales, decreased operating income by $21.4 million.
Greater precipitation and more moderate spring and summer temperatures led to 11% less use per customer for those in the agricultural irrigation class this year.
Further down the table, net retail revenues per megawatt hour decreased operating income by $2.8 million.
As anticipated, the settlement stipulations associated with income tax reform reduced revenues more significantly in 2019.
Idaho Power's open access transmission tariff rates declined by 10% in October of 2018 and again by 13% in October 2019, lowering transmission wheeling-related revenues by $5.3 million.
These rates reset each year to align revenues with the cost of the transmission system.
To a lesser extent, lower transmission volumes also contributed to an overall reduced wheeling revenue this year.
Next on the table, other operating and maintenance expenses decreased $8.7 million as our team's continued focus on cost management resulted in lower expenses across several areas.
Contributing to this decrease was lower bad debt expense of $1.1 million due to a strong economy and the nonrecurrence of a 2018 O&M expense of $4 million for a noncash amortization of regulatory deferrals related to tax reform.
Idaho Power's 2019 return on year-end equity in Idaho landed between the 9.5% tax credit support level and the 10% customer sharing line under the Idaho regulatory settlement stipulation.
So we did not record any additional tax credit amortization or provision against revenues for sharing with Idaho customers this year.
Last year, we recorded a $5 million provision against revenues for sharing, which did not recur.
Idaho Power has the full $45 million of approved credits available to support earnings in future years.
As a reminder, the tax credit support line will be at 9.4% for 2020.
These items collectively resulted in a year-over-year increase to Idaho Power's operating income of $2.3 million.
Nonoperating income and expenses netted to a $9.9 million improvement to pre-tax earnings due to several items.
A $4.2 million charge in 2018 related to Idaho Power's post-retirement plan did not recur.
This was anticipated and reflected in our prior earnings guidance ranges.
Next, our allowance for equity funds used during construction increased $2.7 million as the average construction work in progress balance was higher throughout 2019.
Finally, stronger asset returns this year led to $2.1 million of higher investment income from the Rabbi Trust associated with Idaho Power's nonqualified defined benefit pension plans.
On the next line, you will see income taxes were higher by $10.1 million.
Remember that 2018 included $5.7 million of benefits from remeasurement of deferred taxes at Idaho Power due to income tax reform, as well as $1.3 million of tax-deductible bond redemption costs incurred last year.
There was no such remeasurement or bond redemption in 2019.
Amortization of newly funded vintage investment tax credits helped lower tax expense in the current year, while higher pre-tax income primarily contributed to the remainder of the increases.
Finally, at IDACORP Financial Services, distributions from the sale of low-income housing properties led to approximately $3 million higher net income at that subsidiary.
While the nature, timing and amount of the underlying property sales at IFS are difficult to predict and are controlled by third parties, we do not expect them to be as significant in 2020.
Overall, Idaho Power's and IDACORP's net income were $2.1 million and $6.1 million higher than last year, respectively.
IDACORP and Idaho Power continue to maintain strong balance sheets, including investment-grade credit ratings and sound liquidity, which enable us to fund ongoing capital expenditures and dividend payments.
Regarding dividends, you'll note that in addition to the latest dividend increase of 6.3% announced by the board of directors last September, the board also increased IDACORP's target dividend payout ratio to 60% to 70% of sustainable earnings.
This reflects several years of our steady upward trajectory of dividend increases.
We expect to recommend an annual dividend increase of 5% or more to the board of directors in the coming year.
On Slide 10, we show IDACORP's operating cash flows along with our liquidity positions as of the end of 2019.
Cash flows from operations were $125 million lower than 2018.
These were mostly related to changes in regulatory assets and liabilities like those resulting from the power cost adjustment mechanism and the timing of working capital receipts and payments.
The liquidity available under IDACORP's and Idaho Power's credit facilities is shown on the bottom of Slide 10.
At this time, we do not anticipate issuing additional equity in 2020 other than relatively nominal amounts under the compensation plans.
Slide 11 shows our first look at full-year 2020 earnings guidance and our key financial and operating metrics estimates.
We are initiating IDACORP's 2020 earnings guidance in the range of $4.45 to $4.65 per diluted share, which is up roughly 4% over prior-year guidance range and assumes no use of additional tax credits under normal weather conditions.
Our record 12 years of earnings growth is something that sets us apart from our peers.
We expect O&M expenses to be in the range of $350 million to $360 million, which would keep O&M relatively flat for the ninth straight year.
We expect capital expenditures will lift somewhat to the range of $300 million to $310 million.
You'll note that our updated five-year forecast of capital expenditures is also higher than our previous plan, now forecasted to range from $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion over that time.
This forecast still does not include the majority of costs to build the major infrastructure projects, such as Boardman to Hemingway or increased compliance costs associated with the new Hells Canyon license due to the uncertainty and the exact timing of that spend.
Finally, our current reservoir storage and stream flow forecast suggests that hydropower generation should be in the range of 6.5 million to 8.5 million megawatt hours.
With that, I'll turn the time back to Darrel.
There is much to be proud of as we look back on the outstanding results of 2019.
While the energy industry is rapidly evolving, IDACORP continues to meet challenges and opportunities while delivering unparalleled results for customers and investors alike.
From meeting financial targets to striving for a cleaner energy future, we believe that our employees and our ongoing business strategy will help sustain our success into the future.
I will close with a look at weather on Slide 12.
The latest projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggests an equal chance of above or below normal precipitation levels and a 40% to 50% chance of above normal temperatures from March to May.
We have seen a lot of snow and rain in recent weeks.
As a reminder, our power cost adjustment mechanisms in Idaho and Oregon significantly reduced earnings volatility related to changes in our resource mix and associated power supply costs that can fluctuate greatly due to weather.
With that, Steve, Lisa and I and others here today will be happy to answer questions you may have.

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compname announces q4 earnings per share $0.93.
sees fy 2020 earnings per share $4.45 to $4.65.
q4 earnings per share $0.93.

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