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More than 3,000 people in McLean without power due to storm

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) A thunderstorm that has reportedly dropped hail in nearby Arlington County and D.C. has also knocked out power for more than 3,000 McLean residents.

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for northeastern Fairfax County, though it was scheduled to end at 4:45 p.m.

According to Dominion Energy’s outage map , power outages attributed to failed circuits were affecting 1,638 customers around Ingleside and Langley as well as 839 customers in the area around the Route 123 and George Washington Memorial Parkway interchange.

Another 703 customers in downtown McLean are also without power, though a cause is still under investigation.

Crews are awaiting assignment, and an estimated time of restoration for the power outages is pending investigation, according to Dominion.

In addition, traffic delays may be coming after a downed tree was reported on the southbound GW Parkway after Route 123.

[8/26 at 4:13 PM] A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued until 4:45 PM for Northeastern Fairfax County. Significant lightning is associated with these storms. Please move indoors immediately. #VaWx pic.twitter.com/8EmcwGPhyE — Ready Fairfax (@ReadyFairfax) August 26, 2021

#McLean SB George Washington Pkwy after RT-123, tree down. Follow authority direction #vatraffic #dtcraffic Listen live to WTOP's latest traffic reports every 10 minutes on the 8s. https://t.co/k7ONQAzTiR or on the WTOP app — WTOP Traffic (@WTOPtraffic) August 26, 2021

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Q4 2023 dominion energy inc earnings call, participants.

David McFarland; VP of IR; Dominion Energy, Inc.

Diane G. Leopold; Executive VP & COO; Dominion Energy, Inc.

Robert M. Blue; President, CEO & Chairman of the Board; Dominion Energy, Inc.

Steven D. Ridge; Executive VP & CFO; Dominion Energy, Inc.

Durgesh Chopra; MD and Head of Power & Utilities Research; Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division

Jeremy Bryan Tonet; Senior Analyst; JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division

Nicholas Joseph Campanella; Research Analyst; Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division

Ross A. Fowler; Executive Director & Equity Research Analyst of Utilities; UBS Investment Bank, Research Division

Shahriar Pourreza; Senior MD & Equity Research Analyst; Guggenheim Securities, LLC, Research Division

Steven Isaac Fleishman; MD & Senior Analyst; Wolfe Research, LLC

Presentation

Welcome to the Dominion Energy Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). I would now like to turn the call over to David McFarland, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer.

David McFarland

Good morning, and thank you for joining today's call. Earnings materials, including today's prepared remarks, contain forward-looking statements and estimates that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our SEC filings, including our most recent annual reports on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for a discussion of factors that may cause results to differ from management's estimates and expectations. This morning, we will discuss some measures of our company's performance that differ from those recognized by GAAP. Reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, which we can calculate, are contained in the earnings release kit. I encourage you to visit our Investor Relations website to review webcast slides as well as the earnings release kit. Joining today's call are Bob Blue, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer; Steven Ridge, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Diane Leopold, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. I will now turn the call over to Bob.

Robert M. Blue

Thank you, David. Good morning, everyone. As always, let me begin with safety, as shown on Slide 3. In 2023, our employee OSHA recordable incident rate was 0.45, a significant improvement to already strong historical performance. We also achieved a record low lost time restricted duty injury rate. We're pleased but not satisfied with these results. I strongly believe that exemplary safety performance unlocks our ability to execute optimally across the 3 pillars of our mission, as shown on Slide 4. We maintained outstanding reliability in 2023 as our electric customers in Virginia and South Carolina had power 99.9% of the time, excluding major storms. Our residential rates continue to be well below the national and regional averages. From 2005 through 2022, we've reduced Scope 1 carbon emissions from our electric operations by nearly 50%, even as annual energy generated over that period has increased 9%. Going forward, you'll continue to hear how we're executing against our mission because an exceptional customer experience positions our company to deliver the best results for our shareholders. I'm very pleased to share several important updates with you this morning as it relates to our business review in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project. Let me begin by reiterating my previous commentary regarding the review. Our guiding priorities and commitments are unchanged, as is my conviction around both the decision to undertake the review and the quality of the result I expect us to deliver. The review will comprehensively and finally address foundational concerns that have eroded investor confidence in our company over the last several years. We will not pursue a series of partial solutions that leave key elements and risks unaddressed. Instead, we'll deliver a comprehensive result that will provide a durable and high-quality strategic and financial profile that optimally positions Dominion Energy to provide compelling long-term value for shareholders, customers and employees. This morning, we announced a key part of that result with the execution of an agreement to add a noncontrolling equity partner in the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. This arrangement with Stonepeak, a global leader in infrastructure investing, represents the final strategic step in the business review and delivers an exciting result for our customers and our shareholders. Before I walk through the transaction specifics, let me update you on the continued successful development of the project across all phases. The project is proceeding on time and on budget, consistent with the time lines and estimates previously provided. We continue to achieve significant project milestones, as shown on Slide 5. On permitting. Last month, BOEM provided final approval of our construction and operation plan, which allows us to begin offshore construction in the second quarter. And the Army Corps of Engineers issued its permit, which has allowed us to ramp up onshore construction. On materials and equipment. We're on track and making excellent progress. One of the keys to our success has been that from the beginning of the project, we insisted that our equipment be sourced from mature facilities under dedicated production allocations that are specific to our components. We've received 24 monopiles from our supplier, EEW, at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal, with more on the way in the coming weeks. These monopiles will begin to be installed by DEME during the second quarter. Recall that we've scheduled monopile installation across 2 seasons, 2024 and 2025, which allows us to better mitigate any potential delays or disruptions without impacting final schedule. The first of 3 offshore substation topside structures is complete and has been delivered to Bladt/SEMco to be outfitted. We expect first delivery of transition pieces to Virginia during the second quarter. All 161 miles of onshore underground cable has been manufactured, and approximately 200 out of 600 miles of offshore cable has been produced. Schedule for the manufacturing of our turbines remains on track. It's worth noting that even though we won't begin turbine installation until 2025, per our schedule, DEME is currently supporting an installation campaign for a project off the coast of Scotland that's using the same Siemens Gamesa wind turbine model that CVOW will use. The lessons learned from that project will benefit our project installation in the future. Moving onshore. Construction activities have begun, including civil work, horizontal directional drills and the bores where the export cables come ashore. On regulatory. Last November, we made our 2023 rider filing, representing $486 million of annual revenue. We're currently in the testimony phase and expect the final order by August. Turning to Slide 6. There have been no changes to the project's expected LCOE of $77 per megawatt hour. We've again provided sensitivities to show how the average lifetime cost to our customers is impacted by capital costs, capacity factor and interest rates. We remain well below the legislative prudency cap on this metric. Project-to-date, we've invested approximately $3 billion, and we expect to spend an additional $3 billion by year-end 2024. A little more than 92% of project costs are now fixed. We'll gradually increase that percentage over the remainder of the project construction time line. At this stage of project completion, the current unused contingency at $351 million benchmarks competitively as a percentage of total budgeted costs when compared to other large infrastructure projects we've studied. It also compares favorably to the current level of unfixed costs. We've been very clear with our team and with our suppliers and partners that delivery of an on-budget project is the expectation. Along those lines, this morning, we posted an important video update to our Investor Relations website that features representatives from the senior executive management teams of all of our primary CVOW commercial partners, including Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, EEW, Bladt Industries, Semco Maritime, DEME and Prysmian, as well as the CEO of Seatrium, the constructor of our Jones Act-compliant installation vessel. I strongly encourage our investors, government and regulatory partners, employees and other stakeholders to watch the short video. You'll hear, in their own words, a course of unwavering enthusiasm for and commitment to an on-time and on-budget in-service for the project. We're fortunate to enjoy such extraordinary support from our key suppliers and, together, we will deliver this exciting project. Moving to Slide 8, a couple of final points here on Charybdis. The vessel is currently 82% complete, up from 77% as of our last update. No change to our expected delivery time frame of late 2024 or early 2025. A few highlights. Labor levels have increased to over 1,200 and are continuing to be augmented as compared to approximately 1,000 last October and 800 last August. Recent construction milestones have been met, including installation of the remaining jack-up legs. Jack-up system commissioning is underway. All major subcomponents are on-site and awaiting installation. We expect the vessel to be floated in coming weeks. And there's been no change to project costs of $625 million, including financing costs. In summary, there is no change to the vessel's expected availability to support the current CVOW construction schedule, including its availability to support any third-party charter agreements in 2025. As you can see, we feel very good about the progress we're making with the support of our project partners towards an on-time and on-budget completion of this very important project. Throughout our robust and competitive offshore wind process, we had multiple high-quality strategic and financial potential partners deploy significant operational, regulatory, commercial, financial and legal resources to thoroughly diligence every aspect of the project. And the consensus independent feedback was that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project is optimally positioned to be delivered on time and on budget and is supported by enthusiastic and committed suppliers and partners. With that, let me walk through the CVOW transaction, starting with Slide 9. We're excited to be partnering with Stonepeak, one of the world's largest energy infrastructure investors with over $61 billion in assets under management. Stonepeak has a track record of investment in large and complex energy infrastructure projects, including offshore wind. Their significant financial participation will benefit both our project and our customers. On transaction structure. Stonepeak will invest in a newly formed subsidiary of Dominion Energy Virginia. It will be a public utility in Virginia and be entitled to recover its prudently incurred cost of constructing and operating the project under the existing offshore wind rider in Virginia. Dominion Energy will retain full operational control of the construction and operations of CVOW. And as a result, we expect to consolidate the partnership for accounting purposes. Stonepeak will own a noncontrolling equity interest and will have customary minority interest rights. On cost sharing. The agreement provides for robust cost sharing that significantly improves the company's credit profile and provides meaningful protection from any unforeseen project cost increases. Mandatory capital contributions, including an initial reimbursement, will be used to fund expenditures up to $11.3 billion on a 50-50 pro rata basis. This represents 50-50 cost sharing up to 15% or nearly $1.5 billion higher than the project's current budget, including unused contingency, and up to 20% or nearly $2 billion higher than the project's current pre-contingency budget. The agreement also provides for additional sharing of project costs, if any, between $11.3 billion and $13.7 billion. In that hypothetical case, Stonepeak would continue to share in project costs through a gradually increasing spectrum of dilution to Dominion's share of project ownership. Slide 10 shows how Dominion and Stonepeak will share project funding and ownership under a variety of hypothetical cost scenarios, and I stress hypothetical because we fully expect to deliver this project on time and on budget. Turning to Slide 11. At closing, Stonepeak will make a cash payment to Dominion to reimburse 50% of the capital spent to date, less $145 million. This nearly $3 billion project cost reimbursement will be used to reduce parent-level debt. Thereafter, Stonepeak will fund their pro rata share of capital calls during construction, consistent with the schedule included in the appendix of today's materials. At commercial operation, Stonepeak will make a payment to Dominion Energy, the amount of which will depend on the final construction cost, as shown on the slide. The transaction requires approvals from the Virginia SEC and North Carolina Utilities Commission as well as certain consents from BOEM and other regulatory agencies regarding the assignment of certain contracts and permits needed for the partnership post closing. We expect to obtain all necessary approvals and consents by the end of 2024. Continuing to Slide 12. I'm confident that this partnership is in the long-term best interest of our customers and our shareholders. The transaction achieved several key objectives. First, it adds an attractive, well-capitalized and high-quality partner who brings a track record of investment in large and complex infrastructure projects, including offshore wind, that will further derisk what is already a significantly derisked and well-developed project. Second, it provides for robust cost sharing and provides meaningful protection from any unforeseen project cost increases. And third, it improves our quantitative and qualitative business risk profile via a highly credit-positive partnership. The transaction will improve our credit profile, reduce project concentration risk, and lower our financing needs during construction. Further, the transaction is expected to improve our estimated 2024 consolidated FFO to debt by approximately 1%. Importantly, we reviewed the transaction with our credit rating agencies in advance of signing. And based on their feedback, we expect the transaction to be viewed as unambiguously credit positive, and that is a very key benefit for our customers. A financially healthy utility with a strong balance sheet is optimally positioned to attract the capital it needs to provide an exceptional customer experience and support the state's economic and environmental goals. In other words, this partnership will reduce our company's business and financial risk profile, which benefits our customers. Let me provide a few final updates on the business review to conclude my prepared remarks. Turning to Slide 13. We're working methodically towards regulatory approvals and timely closings for the sale of our gas utilities. No changes to our original expectations in any of these cases. We look forward to continuing to work with involved parties and expect regulatory proceedings to conclude and staggered transaction closings to occur during 2024. We intend to apply 100% of the estimated after-tax proceeds of nearly $9 billion to reduce parent-level debt, which, based on current rates, will result in a reduction of around $500 million of pretax interest expense annually. Next, Virginia regulation. As part of the business review, we supported reasonable regulatory reform that positions Dominion Energy Virginia to serve customers, support the state's goals and compete for investor capital in support of our customer beneficial investments. Last November, Dominion Energy Virginia, State Corporation Commission staff, the Office of the Attorney General and other key parties reached a comprehensive settlement in the current biennial review. No parties to the case opposed the settlement. And last month, these same key parties reiterated their support to the original comprehensive agreement. We expect the final order in early March. On a related topic, last month, the General Assembly unanimously elected Sam Towell and Kelsey Bagot to serve as members of the State Corporation Commission, filling the two outstanding vacancies on the commission. They have extensive experience in both government and the private sector, and we look forward to working cooperatively with these well-qualified new members. Turning now to Slide 14. There have been no changes to our original business review commitments and priorities. First, for the avoidance of doubt, we have been and continue to be 100% committed to our current dividend. Earnings growth, combined with a period of low to no dividend growth, will restore our payout ratio to a peer-appropriate range over time. Second, last year, the Board, in direct response to investor feedback, modified my compensation structure for 2023 to align my economic incentives more closely with the financial interests of our shareholders. As a result, 100% of my 2023 long-term incentive compensation was performance-based. Last month, the Board approved my 2024 long-term compensation plan, but like last year, it is 100% performance-based. 65% is premised solely on 3-year relative total shareholder return, with a 65th percentile relative performance required to achieve a 100% payout. This represents a high bar relative to industry practice, but I believe it appropriately aligns my financial interest with those of our shareholders. Additional details around the increasing alignment of my compensation with our owners' interest will be available in our proxy statement, which will be published in March. Certainly, this has been a difficult time for our investors, and I want them to understand how seriously I take that. Third, we continue to focus on costs and identify incremental savings, particularly in the area of corporate overhead. We are, have been and will continue to be one of the most efficient and most reliable electric utility companies in the country. Finally, we've been focused on evaluating investor feedback around perceived earnings quality and plan risks. In his prepared remarks, Steven will provide an update on our treatment of unregulated investment tax credits and assumptions around our retirement benefit plans. Turning to Slide 15. Today's announcement of an offshore wind partner marks the final strategic step of the business review. We're in the process of finalizing our financial plan, which will allow us to conclude the review. We've scheduled an investor meeting on March 1, at which time we will provide a comprehensive strategic and financial update for the company and participate in a question-and-answer session. We encourage our investors and other stakeholders to participate virtually as their schedule allows. Following the event, we plan to initiate a comprehensive investor engagement effort to meet with our existing and prospective investors. As we prepare to conclude the review, I am more optimistic than I have ever been about the future of our company. We recognize that we must consistently execute against the financial targets we provided at the conclusion of the review. As is always the case, I am accountable for and my entire leadership team has embraced our commitment to consistently deliver high-quality earnings growth that meets that plan. With that, I'll turn the call over to Steven.

Steven D. Ridge

Thank you, Bob, and good morning. Our fourth quarter 2023 operating earnings were $0.29 per share. Full year 2023 operating earnings were $1.99 per share. Full year GAAP net income was $2.29 per share. A summary of all adjustments between operating and reported results is included in Schedule 2 of the earnings release kit. As shown on Slide 16, we've provided a reconciliation of actual operating earnings relative to the guidance we provided on the last earnings call. There were 3 key drivers for the variance to guidance. First, during the fourth quarter, we experienced $0.02 of worse-than-normal weather in our utility service territories. Second, we incurred $0.03 of hurt related to certain outages at Millstone. Third, as part of the business review, and after we had given earnings guidance in November, we elected to change our accounting methodology for the way we recognize investment tax credits and earnings. This resulted in a $0.02 quarterly and $0.07 annual negative variance to guidance. I'll expand more on this accounting methodology change in a moment. A summary of all drivers for earnings relative to the prior year period is included in Schedule 4 of the earnings release kit. As we mentioned on our last earnings call, we view 2023 as a transition year for the company due to the pending results of actions we've taken as part of the business review to support our long-term objectives. With that in mind, let me refresh our housekeeping around 2023 results. In 2023, our operating earnings per share were $1.99. Similar to last quarter, we believe it warrants highlighting many of the same adjustments that investors may consider to more accurately assess 2023 results. First, we experienced historically mild weather during 2023, representing $0.18 of full year earnings headwinds, including $0.02 in the fourth quarter. Recall that the second quarter was the mildest quarter relative to 15-year normal in the last 50 years. We don't expect weather to deviate from historical normal in this manner going forward. Second, we continue to expect approximately $0.50 of annualized interest savings from parent-level debt repayment, driven by the sales of Cove Point and the gas utilities. Remember, the way discontinued operations is reflected in our 2023 results, 100% of the earnings from these assets are removed, but the benefit from use of sale proceeds is not captured. Third, 2023 results include approximately $0.11 of unexpected and unlikely-to-repeat hurt from extended planned or unplanned outages at Millstone, including $0.03 in the fourth quarter. We've continued to follow through on the steps discussed in previous earnings calls to ensure the plant performs consistent with its strong operating history. Note also that 2023 was a standard double-fueling outage year, which is an additional around $0.10 hurt in 2023 that we won't see in the next 2 years as double planned outages occur once every 3 years. Fourth, we expect approximately $0.15 of improvement as a result of the anticipated inclusion of market-based revenues from certain customers in the annual fuel factor as well as lower interest expense due to the securitization of $1.3 billion of deferred fuel balances that we financed with short-term debt during 2023. We closed on the fuel securitization transaction last week. The transaction was met with very strong demand, which allowed us to deliver a great result for our customers. Finally, and in the opposite direction, we expect approximately $0.18 of additional hurt related to the $350 million annual Virginia rider revenue reduction at DEV, given that rate reduction did not impact first half 2023 results. Taken together, these adjustments would result in an illustrative 2023 operating earnings per share of around $2.85. As we said last quarter, some of the transition we experienced in 2023 will continue into 2024, which is why we continue to view 2025 as the foundational year for the company's post-review financial performance. As part of the investor meeting, we will provide a comprehensive strategic and financial outlook that will run through 2029 and include operating earnings per share, EPS growth, credit, dividend, CapEx and financing guidance as well as other relevant financial information. We believe that this presentation will provide reference information and insights that will help investors to better understand Dominion Energy's updated profile as well as the key value drivers of each of our business segments. By way of reminder, the comments I made in the last call about drivers of 2025 earnings are unchanged and replicated on Slide 17. I'll turn now to the reference Bob made in his prepared remarks regarding our evaluation of investor feedback around perceived earnings quality and planned risks. By way of background, over the last several months, we've engaged directly and extensively with our shareholders and received valuable feedback, much of which has affirmed our business review commitments and priorities. One consistent theme we have heard is dissatisfaction with past earnings quality and plan assumption risk levels, and we've taken that feedback seriously. We've made specific commitments around not pursuing unregulated solar investments for the purposes of generating upfront operating earnings from tax credits or reflecting gains from certain asset sales and operating earnings. Those commitments are unchanged. Today, we're taking two additional steps. First, in December, we formally elected to change our accounting methodology for the way we recognize investment tax credits and earnings. Let me walk through the background and rationale for this accounting methodology change. Historically, Dominion Energy used what's called the flow-through accounting method, under which 100% of the income associated with nonregulated investment tax credit was recognized immediately upon the project entering service. Our past use of the flow-through method led to some very substantial operating earnings volatility associated with credits generated by unregulated solar investments. As a result of the Inflation Reduction Act, our previously committed investments in dairy and swine renewable natural gas projects are now eligible for investment tax credits. Absent a change in accounting method, these RNG credits would create operating earnings volatility identical to past unregulated solar credits. Therefore, we've made a change from the flow-through method to the deferral method. Under the deferral method, investment tax credit income is recognized over the expected life of the asset, which, in the case of renewable natural gas projects, is 30 years. Switching to the deferral method reduces ITC-related earnings volatility. In addition, the deferral method is considered the preferred method under GAAP and is the predominant practice amongst peer utility companies. This change in accounting method also aligns the treatment of our nonregulated ITCs with the treatment of our regulated ITCs, thereby creating additional consistency. So what does this change to a more preferable accounting method means for past, present and future results? Dominion Energy will recast, as reflected in the earnings materials released today, its financial results to apply the deferral method to ITC income that was historically recognized under the flow-through method. A summary of the affected line items will be presented in our upcoming Form 10-K, which we expect to file tomorrow. I've explained the impact on 2023 results. Our November guidance was based on the flow-through methodology. The adoption of the deferral method, combined with changes in RNG project completion dates, impacted actual results versus guidance. A number of projects that were originally expected to be completed in 2023 are now expected to achieve substantial completion in 2024. ITC income from those projects will now be recognized gradually over their estimated 30-year useful lives. As we look forward through 2029, we expect ITC income, including renewable natural gas generated credits, to account on average for approximately $0.03 to $0.04 of annual operating earnings per share. For the avoidance of doubt, there is no change to the underlying economics of RNG &D investments because there is no change in the underlying cash flows. While this change in accounting methodology impacts when an investment tax credit is recognized in book income, the cash value of the tax credits are the same under either methodology. Now let me share a few comments on our retirement benefit plans, as shown on Slide 19. We are evaluating a rebalancing of plan assets from return-seeking toward lower-risk classes. This is expected to reduce future funding risk and overall plan asset variability. This evaluation will take place during 2024, with the final reallocation of assets occurring in early 2025. Let me address what I expect maybe some questions related to this decision. First, the background. Dominion Energy was later than many other companies to move away from offering traditional defined benefit pension plans to new employees, and as a result, still has several thousand employees that are accruing final average pay retirement benefits under traditional pension plans. This results in a relatively long liability duration, which we estimate to be in the 75th percentile relative to a large sample of corporate plan sponsors. Dominion Energy's current expected return on assets or EROA assumption is based on an asset allocation, which reflects the long-dated nature of our liabilities. Next, why now? Given the robust funding levels across our retirement benefit plans, specifically 117% in aggregate at year-end, we believe that now is the time to evaluate ways to derisk plan assets by rebalancing toward lower-risk asset classes that reduce volatility and increase the portfolio's implied hedge ratio. Finally, what's the impact to our financial plan? The determination of EROA is subject to many factors, including equity returns and interest rates, and we cannot, at this time, predict precisely what our future assumptions will be. However, for illustrative purposes, we believe a rebalancing could result in a 100 basis point reduction in our EROA, which would put our assumption roughly in line with peers. Such a reduction in EROA would reduce operating earnings each year by $0.08 to $0.10 per share. Further, under a 100 basis point EROA reduction scenario, we expect retirement plan-related operating earnings per share to account, on average, between 2025 and 2029 for around $0.20 per share. With that, let me summarize our remarks on Slide 20. Our annual safety performance was the second best in our company's history. We continue to make the necessary investments to provide the reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy that powers our customers every day. Our offshore wind project is on time and on budget. We've taken significant steps to achieve the objectives of the business review, including adding a noncontrolling equity financing partner for CVOW. We are moving with urgency and care to complete the review. We recognize the importance of delivering a compelling result and executing flawlessly thereafter. And we look forward to concluding the review and discussing our strategic and financial update at our March 1 Investor Meeting. With that, we are ready for your questions.

Question and Answer Session

(Operator Instructions) And we'll take our first question from the line of Shar Pourreza with Guggenheim Partners.

Shahriar Pourreza

Can you hear me, Bob?

Excellent. Excellent. Just, obviously, congrats on the sale and getting the review to this point. Just on the process itself, can you just maybe speak a little bit more in depth of the bidding interest and why you settled on this sharing structure in the agreement? And just to confirm, this is a true sort of 50-50 pro rata sharing through the $11.3 billion, right? So the 1% difference in Slide 10, this is just tied to the potential movement of the withholding amount. Is that correct?

You have that exactly right, Shar. So it is 50-50 through $11.3 billion, and then there's the adjustment that we described. So on the process, we attracted quite a bit of interest from financial and strategic counterparties. We talked a little bit about that on the last call that we were in late stages with several attractive parties. And they diligenced this project extensively. They came in with their own experts in offshore wind, obviously, teams related to regulation, finance and so forth. And what was really encouraging to me was to hear unanimously from parties who participated how well this project is going. So it was -- there was nobody who got in diligence who was concerned about the project at all, and that was really helpful. So then as we thought about how we were going to choose a partner, if you refer back to some of the things that we've said before, on the last call, we noted the importance of having pro rata sharing of costs. And we've achieved that here, and we feel very good about that. We said that we needed a transaction that made sense for our customers and our shareholders, and that was in keeping with the objectives that we set out in terms of the business review. And we believe this transaction with Stonepeak meets that extremely well. The cost sharing, with protection from any hypothetical or unforeseen project cost increases, but having a well-capitalized partner to help us there was critical. And improving our credit profile means that this is going to be extraordinarily beneficial for our customers and our capital providers, so this is a very good deal. We're very pleased with it. We're pleased with the way the process worked.

Got it. And then sorry, Bob, do you have an option to farm down a stake again in any sort of succeeding offshore wind projects, let's say, CVOW 2?

This legislation that permitted this partnership structure, I think, was designed for this project. And so we're focused very heavily on on-time, on-budget on offshore wind right now, and we've got a very good partner to work with to do that.

Got it. And then just lastly, not to get too far ahead of next week, I mean, you've obviously sought to minimize external equity through this whole process. I guess, how does this announcement today inform your views around this, especially as we're thinking about an ATM versus a block? And are there sort of any other efficient sources remaining we should be aware of, thinking particularly around the vessel here with RNG may be off the table?

Thanks, Shar. Steve. I'll take it. So what we've said is that the offshore wind is the final strategic step in our process. And that next week, we look forward to sharing our comprehensive strategic and financial plan. We're not going to comment today on any specifics with regard to financing plan. I'd reiterate what we've shared since the beginning of the review that we're seeking to meet and exceed our downgrade thresholds, while seeking also to minimize the amount of external equity need. We think that the transactions we've announced to date have been very supportive of our objective. But we'll provide a fulsome plan next week, and I think we're going to hold off on giving pieces and parts until we get there.

Fantastic, guys. Congrats, and we'll chat next week.

Thanks, sir.

And we'll take our next question from the line of Nick Campanella with Barclays.

Nicholas Joseph Campanella

So yes, congrats. So I guess, just -- you had this view in the slide out on 2025 considerations on the third quarter call, and the drivers are largely the same. But you've also kind of introduced this pension and ITC disclosure. So I guess, just as you kind of think through the $0.08 to $0.10 of detriment and then from pension and then the $0.03 to $0.04 of ITC, is that kind of incremental to that 2025 view?

Yes. Nick, this is Steve. So just to be clear, we have never given 2025 guidance, and we've been very careful not to do that. On the last call, we talked about sharing that list to emphasize the fact that, in order to create a view on 2025 as an external party, you need to be thoughtful about a variety of factors, many of which we haven't given any information on. And we went through that list just to highlight what some of those could be. We don't have insight into what folks have assumed around ITC or EROA in any of their internal models or estimates. So it's very difficult for us to be in a position to sort of describe how they ought to consider our updated information on those topics today in their view. And we're going to hold off from sort of providing anything like that. What I can say is, we look forward again to sharing what we think will be a very compelling result next week. And we've tried to be thorough in helping folks understand, again, what some of those drivers that they ought to be considering should be.

Okay. I appreciate that. And I guess, just -- it's great to hear the agency feedback does seem like it was positive, and you're highlighting 100 basis points increase to FFO to debt from this transaction. I guess, just from a numeric perspective versus where the agencies want you to be out of this review, where does that kind of put you holistically?

Yes. Nick, again, we're not going to disclose kind of where our pro forma credit metrics are going to be. We'll provide that next week. Certainly, from a qualitative and quantitative perspective, the agencies have been publicly forthcoming with regard to their support of the steps we've been taking in the review. And so we'll -- again, we'll -- not trying to be coy, but trying to be consistent with how we've approached the review for the last 15 months, we're not going to give you our sort of pro forma credit view. We'll provide that next week.

Understood. Understood. Looking forward to next week. And congrats again. Thank you.

Thanks, Nick.

And we'll take our next question from the line of Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan.

Jeremy Bryan Tonet

Just wanted to kind of follow up on that last line of questioning a bit. And I appreciate there's some things that won't be said today be said next week. But some of the agency communications that we had seen said that current FFO to debt with this type of arrangement would look very strong. But then over the construction cycle, that would soften and put pressure there. And was just wondering if you have any -- anything you can share there as far as thoughts on how that stacks up, if the agencies have previewed this transaction? Or just any other thoughts in general, I guess, over the time period, the pressures, that cash drag this project had.

Yes. Thanks, Jeremy. So what I would say on that topic is, generally, I think we agree with effectively how the agencies were describing it, which was some prefunding of some very heavy capital plans that we have in our plan, which we've talked about in previous calls. We haven't given specific numbers. Tomorrow, when the K comes out, you'll see our capital investment this year is $10 billion, which is relative to an average of $6 billion for our company. And so there was some -- effectively, some prefunding from asset sales, and I think that's what they were signaling. Just generally on our relationship with the agencies, we just -- we don't speak for them. And I will say that we have been very deliberate throughout the process and making sure that they understood, in some detail, some confidential detail, how we were thinking about the review and gathering their perspectives as it related to how they think about our company. And that has extended some -- I can share, it's extended to some formal engagements with rating agencies that have allowed us to make sure that we have a good sense of where they are relative to how we're thinking about our plan and our business risk profile. And with regard to this transaction, specifically, as I mentioned, and as we typically will do, we walked them through in some fairly detailed manner the terms of the offshore wind partnership transaction before we signed and made sure that we were comfortable indicating in our script today that we think that they'll view it as unambiguously credit positive.

Got it. That's very helpful. And I just wanted to pivot a little bit. Maybe I might have missed it here, but language around the dividend, dividend outlook here, is there any new messaging that we should take away? Or should we just be waiting for next week?

There is no new messaging. It's the same as it has been since we started, which is we are 100% committed to the current dividend.

And Jeremy, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that you won't hear something different next week, either on the dividend, sort of beat that like a drum this whole time period. So I don't want people to think that we're saying that today, and we'll change our tune next week. We're obviously aware of trends in the space around payout ratios. We're aware of that, but no change. And you shouldn't expect a change next week from what we've said publicly around our dividend and where we see the dividend going over time.

Got it. That's very helpful. I'll leave it there.

Thanks, Jeremy.

(Operator Instructions)

Operator, it sounds like there's a technical issue. I know there were some other folks in the queue before that. We apologize, of course.

We are getting people requeued now.

Okay. All right. Thanks.

Okay. We'll take the question from Jeremy Tonet next.

I figured I would take another shot here, if there was room. And just realizing all the news today is very fresh, but maybe if you could provide any more color with regards to stakeholder feedback at this point or from the regulators, I guess, just how you're expecting this transaction to move forward?

Yes. Jeremy, we just talked to the regulatory staff this morning after the announcement went out. But let me just talk sort of generally about how we expect this to be received. So just to start with the process. We need to get approval from the State Corporation Commission in Virginia, the North Carolina Utilities Commission. We need some administrative approvals from BOEM, but the primary approvals are at the state level. And as I mentioned earlier, and as I believe you know, legislation that was passed unanimously in Virginia last year enabled this partnership structure that we've put together. So it has to be approved by the SEC under the Utility Affiliates and Transfers Act. And the standard there is adequate service at reasonable rates have to be maintained and that the arrangements are otherwise in the public interest. And then we need Affiliates Act approval in North Carolina as well. In Virginia, that Affiliates Act approval has a statutory time line of 90 days. The other regulatory approvals don't have particular time lines on them, but we think it's reasonable to assume we'd get approval by the end of the year. So that's the process. But if you sort of step back for a moment, both Virginia and North Carolina policymakers both understand the value of a strong balance sheet. If you look at Virginia's general obligation bonds, they've been rated AAA by Moody's since 1938, by S&P since 1962 and by Fitch since 1991. And I can tell you that when you talk to policymakers in Virginia about the AAA bond rating, they usually use the adjective coveted. And that's because they realized that a strong balance sheet for the state allows them to provide the best service to their constituents. And the same is true for our company. If we have a healthy balance sheet, we're going to provide the best customer experience. We're going to be able to invest to meet the state's goals. That is a very compelling reason for regulators to approve this transaction, and I'm highly confident that they'll see the benefits and approve it.

Got it. That's very helpful there. And maybe if you might be able to talk a little bit more, I guess, on the emerging PJM transmission opportunity, with PJM recently increasing the 10-year low-growth CAGR and Domain's ability to capitalize the (inaudible).

Diane will talk a little bit about that. And Jeremy, we're quite impressed with your ability to navigate the technical issues here. So...

Diane G. Leopold

Yes. Jeremy, so yes, you're absolutely right. The latest PJM forecast was somewhat higher than last year. So we're at about 5.5% a year in Dom's zone. Some of that is with our neighboring co-ops that are within our zone. We continue to see a lot of transmission investment opportunities. In the last PJM open window, there were about $2.5 billion of additional projects that were awarded to us. Much of that supports growth in the data centers, and we fully expect there will be additional projects in future years to keep pace with that demand growth.

Got it. That's helpful. I'll leave it there.

And our next question, please state your name and company name before asking your questions.

Steven Isaac Fleishman

This is Steve Fleishman -- is that me?

Steve, we can hear you. Thank you for hanging in there.

Yes. That was interesting. The -- I guess, just -- I assume, can you -- you can't really comment on where the FFO to debt is laying out overall, but should we assume, based on kind of the downgrade threshold that we've seen in the past are likely to stay the same by the agencies from this review?

Okay. That's helpful. And also, just a side question on -- it was a quiet legislative session this year, as far as I can tell. I just want to make sure there was nothing going on in the legislative session that we should be aware of.

Steve, your characterization is accurate. Major issues that General Assembly was dealing with didn't have much to do with energy. They obviously elected the SEC judges. And there were legislative proposals related to energy, but they're none that are still active in the General Assembly at this point.

And we'll take our next question from the line of Ross Fowler with UBS.

Ross A. Fowler

So a couple of questions. Commercial load growth was up almost 9% in 2023. And I think you guys talked a little bit about data centers. But if I remember correctly, there were a lot of constraints in sort of putting data centers into Northern Virginia because of transmission. How do you think about that growth going forward into 2024, is there a constraint that limits that in 2024? Or should I be thinking about something of the same scale over the coming year?

So when you say Northern Virginia, it was one area of Loudoun County, Virginia, which is where there are a heavy concentration of data centers, and we did have some transmission constraints. We've undertaken several shorter-term projects that were -- we've either completed or about to complete. And then we have, ultimately, 2 transmission line -- 500 kV transmission line projects, one of which is underway. The other is in the regulatory process. Those, frankly, that first one of those 2 500 lines will relieve the constraint in Loudoun. And we've been able to start up connects on data centers. We had a brief period where we took a pause to make sure we understood exactly what we were doing, but we've restarted. But I think the broader question is we will absolutely be able to serve the data center growth that we expect is coming. It will require investment in transmission. Diane just talked about that, out of the most recent PJM open window. We've had a lot of data center growth in our company, in our service territory for some years. We have very good relationships with the data centers. And we expect to see that growth continue, and we expect to be able to serve it.

That's great, Bob. Thank you for that update. and then one more, if I may. I appreciate you can't answer a lot of questions around a lot of things today until we get to the Analyst Day next week. But hopefully, when you can discuss, fixed costs are now, I think, at 92 -- just north of 92% on this, and there's about 700 -- just south of $750 million on fixed costs. How are you thinking about your capabilities and time line to lock more of that on fixed costs in -- on this project?

Yes. It will come in sort of gradually as we move closer to the end of the project. The way it worked earlier, we would lock in a contract and you might get a pretty big chunk at one time or another. From here on out, it's some onshore transmission, it's fuel for vessels that will be doing the offshore construction. And that's just going to sort of come down over time.

And the only other is miscellaneous project management cost, just our own project management through time. So those are the largest factors.

And we'll take our last question from the line of Durgesh Chopra with Evercore ISI.

Durgesh Chopra

Two quick questions. Sorry, I just want to be absolutely clear. The -- with the announced offshore sale, this is the last asset sale that we should be expecting? Or are there portfolio optimizations we should be expecting heading into the Investor Day next week?

You're correct. That's the last one. As we signaled on the last call, the potential for an offshore wind equity partner was the last strategic step. We've taken that step.

Got it. And then just one small net, maybe this is for Steve. When we talk about the ITC accounting change and then the pension accounting change, Steve, can you just remind us what is embedded in your '23 representative number there, EPS number there? What is kind of baked into that number?

Yes. In 2023 -- you'll see in Footnote 22 of the 10-K tomorrow, you can actually calculate it. We disclose all this. You'll see that in 2023, we'll have generated about $0.40 of earnings associated with pension-related income. And so going forward, we've talked a little bit about EROA. There's another driver that I'll talk just briefly about that would bring us from $0.40 closer to that average of $0.20. We -- like the majority of corporate sponsors of pension plans, we calculate one of those key numbers, our expected return, which like interest cost and service cost, as a component of the net income or expense for pension. We effectively smooth the actual asset returns over a 4-year period and apply our expected return on asset to that sort of smooth asset value. And that's not only permissible, that's standard. Some people smooth, I think, over 5 years. We smooth over 4 years. Again, that's pretty standard. And because of 2022's performance, at least in our portfolio, where we experienced a very significant loss to value across, to be honest, both the equity and fixed income portions of our portfolio, which, again, I don't think is unusual for folks. What you'll see between '23,'24,'25 and '26 is you see that smoothing occur such that the impact of that loss is fully recognized by 2026. Now it's not just as simple as saying '22 was down, and I'm going to take a portion of that each year. Every year, we do that. So you effectively have the stacked Excel spreadsheet, where each year, you're adding a little more of that -- the prior year and some years are dropping off that schedule. So it kind of it's a net look of your asset value with this smoothing construct. Hopefully, I haven't just confused you. But as a result of 2022's hurt flowing through, that will be a driver. If you're asking -- if you're at $0.40 today and you're telling it needs to be closer to $0.20, and you've given us a sensitivity around 100 basis points, how would you get to the next? That's a big driver of that remaining amount. For ITC, in 2023 as a result of the switch to deferral method, I think we'll end up with something like $0.03 in our 2023 results. And again, what that's from is the recast of historical results. We go back and we say, hey, if we had not accounted for this as a flow-through, if we accounted for it as deferral, some of that value is over that 30-year period. So as I mentioned, $0.03 to $0.04 of expected operating EPS from ITC credit going forward, and that's about where we would be in 2023 as well.

Perfect. And Steve, just to be clear, I apologize, this is under the weeds. But -- so if I'm thinking about prospective EPS, net-net, we should be -- versus '23, [$2.85] in '23, we should be $0.20 lower net-net, right, ITC being just kind of the same and the pension being $0.20 lower.

Yes, it's not probably quite so precise. We're using -- we're giving you $0.20 as the average over '25 to '29, and there is some fluctuation in that. But generically, versus 2023, $0.40 would be moving something to closer $0.20 over the '25 to '29 period.

Thank you. This does conclude this morning's conference call. You may disconnect your lines, and enjoy your day. Thank you.

Mount Pleasant debates underground power lines as solution to tree trimming concerns

by Webb Wright

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) — It's an ongoing saga in the Lowcountry.

Dominion Energy's vegetation management around its powerlines continues leaving residents upset about the aftermath.

Mount Pleasant again took up the issue of burying powerlines at a committee meeting Monday. It's an issue that is costly and complicated.

Some residents in the Hobcaw neighborhood want to bury the issue of powerlines in Mount Pleasant.

READ MORE: "Dominion Energy's tree trimming stirs debate on safety and aesthetics."

"We lose power when the wind blows slightly," said Molly Mayer, a Mount Pleasant resident. "We are the last ones to get power: first ones to go out, last ones to get power. It would be wonderful to be able to not have the power go out like that and wait all that time."

It's an issue that the town sympathizes with, but placing power lines underground comes with its own problems.

"We paid $30,000 each for two studies for the two neighborhoods," said Will Haynie, the mayor of Mount Pleasant. "The price is looking like at least $3 million for each of those. The time to get the service turned back on is much longer than it is above ground. We all know it's a problem. But if it's underground and it goes you're gonna be without power much longer."

In addition, underground lines come with their own hardware that has to be placed somewhere.

"Neighbors have got to agree on who's gonna have the big transformer box in their yard," Haynie said. "Our history with that is one or two neighbors can be the place where that needs to go, and if they say no, the power lines stay above ground."

READ MORE: "Sullivan's Island grapples with tree-trimming concerns, debates underground powerlines."

As far as the cost of $3 million per neighborhood, some say they'd be willing to pay. But officials say that won't be easy either.

"I don't know what kind of money we're talking about," Mayer said. "I would agree to do that, but not foot the whole bill."

The town is looking at different ways the funding could occur from residents, said Eddie Bernard, an urban forester with Mount Pleasant.

News 4 reached out to Dominion Power, who sent the following statement:

" Placing power lines underground is considered a non-standard service, and this work is associated with additional costs when compared to overhead lines. Dominion Energy is always willing to consider underground lines as long as the engineering is technically feasible, system reliability is not compromised, and there is a mechanism in place to cover the additional cost.

At the request of the Town of Mount Pleasant, Dominion Energy completed engineering and feasibility studies regarding underground lines in two neighborhoods, Hobcaw and The Groves. We are awaiting direction from local officials and other stakeholders regarding the next steps in this process."

A Republican Election Clerk vs. Trump Die-Hards in a World of Lies

Cindy Elgan has overseen elections in rural Nevada without incident for 20 years, but now even her neighbors wonder if she’s part of “the deep state cabal.”

Cindy Elgan, the Esmeralda County clerk for two decades, faced a recall this spring. Credit...

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By Eli Saslow

Photographs by Erin Schaff

Reporting from Goldfield, Nev.

• June 6, 2024 Updated 11:29 a.m. ET

Cindy Elgan glanced into the lobby of her office and saw a sheriff’s deputy waiting at the front counter. “Let’s start a video recording, just in case this goes sideways,” Elgan, 65, told one of her employees in the Esmeralda County clerk’s office. She had come to expect skepticism, conspiracy theories and even threats related to her job as an election administrator. She grabbed her annotated booklet of Nevada state laws, said a prayer for patience and walked into the lobby to confront the latest challenge to America’s electoral process.

Listen to this article with reporter commentary

The deputy was standing alongside a woman that Elgan recognized as Mary Jane Zakas, 77, a longtime elementary schoolteacher and a leader in the local Republican Party. She often asked for a sheriff’s deputy to accompany her to the election’s office, in case her meetings became contentious.

“Hi, Mary Jane. What can I do for you today?” Elgan asked, as she slid a bowl of candy across the counter.

“I hope you’re having a blessed morning,” Zakas said. “Unfortunately, a lot of people are still very concerned about the security of their votes. They’ve lost all trust in the system.”

“I’d be happy to answer any questions and explain our process again,” Elgan said.

“We’re beyond that,” Zakas said. She reached into her purse and set a notarized form on the counter. Elgan recognized it as a recall petition, a collection of signatures from voters who wanted to remove an elected official from office. It had been more than 20 years since the county’s last successful recall, and Elgan leaned down to study the form.

“Name of public officer for whom recall is sought: Cindy Elgan.”

“Reasons why: Cindy Elgan has run interference in our elections.”

It was an outcome she’d feared for the last three and a half years, ever since former President Donald J. Trump lost the 2020 election, and his denials and distortions spread outward from the White House to even the country’s most remote places, like Esmeralda County. It had neither a stoplight nor a high school, and Elgan knew most of the 620 voters on sight. Trump won the county with 82 percent of the vote despite losing Nevada. In the days after the election, some residents began to suspect that he should have won by even more, and they parroted Trump’s talking points and brought their complaints to the county’s monthly commissioner meetings.

They falsely claimed the election was stolen by voting software designed in Venezuela, or by election machines made in China. They accused George Soros of manipulating Nevada’s voter rolls. They blamed “undercover activists” for stealing ballots out of machines with hot dog tongs. They blamed the Dominion voting machines that the county had been using without incident for two decades, saying they could be hacked with a ballpoint pen to “flip the vote and swing an entire election in five minutes.” They demanded a future in which every vote in Esmeralda County was cast on paper and then counted by hand.

And when Elgan continued to stand up at each meeting to dispute and disprove those accusations by citing election laws and facts, they began to blame her, too — the most unlikely scapegoat of all. She had served as the clerk without controversy for two decades as an elected Republican, and she flew a flag at her own home that read: “Trump 2024 — Take America Back.” But lately some local Republicans had begun referring to her as “Luciferinda” or as the “clerk of the deep state cabal.” They accused her of being paid off by Dominion and skimming votes away from Trump, and even though their allegations came with no evidence, they wanted her recalled from office before the next presidential election in November.

“Prophecy says stand your ground and start in your own backyard,” Zakas said. “I’m sorry it had to come to this.”

“So am I,” Elgan said. She took the recall petition back into her office, and over the next several days she continued to flip through the pages in disbelief. She counted at least 130 signatures, which at first glance appeared to be enough to force a recall election if the signatures and corresponding addresses proved legitimate. Nevada allowed a period of 20 days for voters to reconsider and remove their names from the petition. After that, Elgan’s office would work with the secretary of state to confirm signatures and determine if the petition was successful and whether Elgan still had a job.

“This is actually insane,” said Angela Jewell, the deputy clerk. “This is how democracies end. There must be some way to reason with a few of these people.”

“It’s like talking to that wall right there,” Elgan said. “I’ve given them every fact and document known to mankind, and none of it matters. They’re too busy chanting their mantras to stop and listen.”

She wasn’t necessarily surprised by the extent of denial about the presidential election. According to polls, a third of U.S. congressional representatives and more than 60 percent of all registered Republican voters continue to believe President Biden was falsely elected, and even Elgan had wondered about the potential for fraud in other swing states like Georgia or Ohio. She understood how conspiracy theories could grow in places of ignorance — how people could come to doubt or even distrust faraway systems and strangers — but many of the names on the petition were ones she recognized as her friends. “A lot of these people really know me,” Elgan told Jewell, as she scanned again through the list.

One was a woman she played cribbage with on Saturday nights. Another was a friend of her husband’s who had voted to re-elect Elgan several times. Another was the county sheriff. Another was her next-door neighbor of nearly 30 years. And then there was Zakas, who had come to several of Elgan’s annual Thanksgiving dinners, asked for her pecan pie recipe and offered to give her a children’s book that Zakas wrote about “21 Great Demonstrations of Kindness.”

“What in the world happened to these people?” Elgan asked. “What kind of person could actually believe this nonsense?”

A few days later, Zakas grabbed her folder of voter registration lists and property maps and began another long trip on the two-lane roads of Esmeralda County. She had traveled more than 10,000 miles in the last three months to promote the recall, driving through dust storms and herds of wild horses to visit hundreds of voters and ask for their signatures. The county had an average of one resident for every four square miles, and some of them had moved to the rugged desert of western Nevada because they didn’t want to be found. A few of her trips ended at no trespassing signs riddled with bullet holes, or on roads that disappeared under snowbanks in the high Sierras. Other times, she found residents living in abandoned mining camps or trailers hidden down unmarked roads.

Now she turned toward Goldfield, a self-proclaimed “living ghost town” where the mine was shuttered and the historic hotel was open only for ghost tours by flashlight. She pulled to the side of the road and checked her list of voter addresses. “I could swear this house is supposed to be just beyond the junkyard,” she said.

She drove around for another minute and called a friend to ask for directions. “I don’t think that street exists,” she said. “But don’t worry. I’ll keep looking.”

She had tried finding easier ways to upend the county’s voting system after the 2020 election, when Trump lost Nevada by more than 33,000 votes and his campaign protested the result. “Donald Trump won after you account for fraud and irregularities,” one of his lawyers said at the time, and even though Nevada found no evidence of widespread fraud and the courts dismissed Trump’s lawsuits, Zakas decided to do her own digging. A career in public education had taught her to be skeptical of big government systems. She had taught seven different subjects to three separate grades while working at a country school — sometimes all at once in the same room — and when she didn’t trust the curriculum, she believed in writing her own. She was recently retired and widowed, and she started devoting more of her free time to learning about local politics as a rotating tour of election deniers came to speak in Esmeralda County.

She listened to a self-proclaimed cybersecurity expert from Colorado named Mark Cook, who claimed that voting machines could be hacked with a cellphone. She heard Jim Marchant, then the Republican nominee for Nevada’s secretary of state, say that Nevada’s election officials had been “installed by a deep state cabal.” She heard local Republican leaders say Dominion machines had stolen votes, even though Fox News had agreed to pay Dominion nearly $800 million to settle a lawsuit for spreading the same lies. And most of all she continued to listen to Trump as his election denialism intensified. “We will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, that lie and steal and cheat on elections,” he said during a Veterans Day speech in New Hampshire last year.

Zakas started sending emails to Esmeralda County commissioners about what she considered “potential vulnerabilities” for fraud heading into the 2024 election: fragile machines, faulty electronic counters, signatures that could be forged and poll workers who might be compromised. “We like it the old-fashioned way,” she said in one community meeting. “You should have to sign in, show your ID and vote on paper. Then it gets hand counted.”

“That process brings in all kinds of human error,” Elgan responded. “There’s tons of proof that machines are accurate and secure.”

The more Elgan defended the system, the more Zakas became convinced she was hiding something. Eventually, she decided to file recall petitions not just for Elgan but also for the county auditor and the district attorney. “What’s required is a complete and total house cleaning,” Zakas said.

Now she turned down a dirt road in Goldfield and stopped to visit a voter who was helping to support the recall, Sam Wise, one of the first doctors to live in Esmeralda County in decades. He’d worked at Stanford and then run a rehabilitation center in Las Vegas until he “got fed up with the bureaucratic takeover of medicine,” he said. He moved to Goldfield to distill whiskey and lost a close election for county commissioner in 2022 after running on what he called a “MEGA platform — to Make Esmeralda Great Again,” he said.

“We need to get rid of these criminals running our voting systems,” he told Zakas. “It’s like a slot machine that’s been rigged. We pull the lever, but they decide who wins.”

“I heard somewhere that Nevada’s a test case for manipulating the vote by 10 or 15 percent each year,” Zakas said.

“And it’s happening right under our noses,” Wise said.

“Who would have believed that Cindy — sweet Cindy, our Cindy — could be connected to the deep state umbilical cord?” Zakas asked.

She believed it only because she had experienced many similar revelations during the last few years, ever since she heeded Trump’s warnings about the “corrupt, lying mainstream media” and decided to disconnect her television. Her friends introduced her to far-right media platforms online like Mike Lindell’s Frank Speech and The Elijah List, where each day she listened to a rotation of self-proclaimed patriots, biblical prophets and also sometimes political figures like Lara Trump. They offered Zakas not only conspiratorial ideas but also the promise of a community that extended far beyond the loneliness of her house, with a grandfather clock ticking away in the living room and views out the window of an emptiness that stretched clear into California. Each day, something urgent was happening in the far corners of the internet — something big and dark and secret, and that knowledge fueled her days with both purpose and agency.

She came to believe, along with millions of others, that Covid was a creation of the federal government used to manipulate the public and steal elections; that two doses of the vaccine would make men infertile; that Trump had been anointed to lead a “government cleansing”; that fighting had already begun in underground military tunnels; that Trump’s election in 2024 was preordained by God; that he would return to power with loads of gold collected from other countries that had capitulated to his power; that, during his next term, Americans would have free electricity, zero income tax and “medbeds” powered by a secret technology that could harness natural energy to heal diseases and extend human life; and that the only thing standing in the way of this future was a deep state so malicious and vast that its roots extended all the way into tiny Esmeralda County.

“The whole idea for Cindy and the rest of them is to cripple Trump,” Zakas said.

“That little tyrant,” Wise said. “We have no idea how many votes they’re skimming.”

“But Cindy sure does,” Zakas said.

When their allegations weren’t forcing her out of bed with nausea late at night, or inducing another panic attack, or prompting her husband to search for real estate in California, Elgan sometimes found herself laughing at the sheer absurdity of the county’s transformation. For as long as she could remember, nobody had been interested in her job. She sometimes ran for re-election unopposed. “What does a clerk even do?” her friends sometimes asked. The county had such a nonchalant, trusting relationship with elections that once, after two candidates tied for commissioner in 2002, they settled the race by drawing from a deck of cards. But now two decades later, Elgan was being flooded by emails asking about the license plate numbers of her poll workers and the temperature data of her equipment storage room.

“MAJOR VIOLATION CONCERNS,” read the subject line of one recent email, which listed dozens of obscure legal statutes and codes. “NRS 293B.063, NRS 1960.264, NRS 1977.246,” and on and on it went.

“Thank you for your thoughtful request,” Elgan often replied. She kept her emails concise and factual, and increasingly she saved her unfiltered reactions for her phone calls with Nevada’s other election clerks, many of whom were navigating their own crises in the continued fallout of the 2020 election. Lander County commissioners had tried to seize the county’s own election equipment. Nye County had voted to count ballots partially by hand. Lyon, Elko and Lincoln Counties had put forward proposals to remove their Dominion machines. The election office in Clark County had been sent a threat letter with traces of fentanyl powder.

About half of the state’s election officials had quit or resigned since 2020, and several had been replaced by vocal election deniers. Jim Hindle, the new clerk in Storey County, was awaiting a felony trial for allegedly trying to sign over Nevada’s six electoral votes to Trump in 2020, and now he oversaw election integrity in 2024.

“Welcome to another day at the center of the circus,” Elgan said one afternoon in May, on a phone call to Amy Burgans, the clerk in Douglas County.

“Are they still calling for your head on a stick?” Burgans asked. “What’s the latest with the recall petition?”

“We’ll confirm signatures at the courthouse next week and then make a ruling,” Elgan said. “The conspiracy theorists are coming out of the woodwork with their tinfoil hats.”

“I call them my Kool-Aid drinkers,” Burgans said.

She estimated that more than half of the 50,000 people in Douglas County belonged to that category. They believed that elections were rigged and that Biden had been fraudulently elected — and for a while Burgans had thought that, too. She had been working in an administrative job for the county during the 2020 election, and she listened to her family members spread conspiracy theories about Dominion machines and read a friend’s false Facebook posts about the thousands of dead people voting in Nevada.

Then the county clerk abruptly resigned, and the commissioners appointed Burgans to lead a voting system she didn’t trust. She devoted her first several months to learning about the state’s mandatory election safeguards: machine inspections, signature verifications and the certified canvass to confirm each vote. “The reality is Trump lost,” she eventually concluded. “I did a complete 180. Our elections are more accurate and secure than ever before in American history.”

The challenge was convincing anyone else. She offered public tours of the county’s voting machines and live-streamed the counting of each mail-in-ballot, but almost nobody bothered to watch. Her best friend continued to send her videos of people lambasting Dominion machines. Her father and two of her adult children said they still didn’t entirely trust elections. In the 2022 midterm, one voter sent in his ballot with a death threat written to Burgans, and now the county sheriff was keeping an eye on her house.

“This job is hard enough without everyone throwing us under the bus,” Burgans said. “The responsibility to get it right, the scrutiny — we already feel the weight of our entire democracy.”

“And meanwhile they just repeat the same lies over and over,” Elgan said. “Eventually people go: ‘Oh, I think I heard that somewhere before. I guess it must be true.’”

“The only thing we have to give in return are facts,” Burgans said.

Elgan had also tried to offer her constituents a series of concessions. She updated the county’s Dominion system so that all voters were given a verifiable printed ballot and four chances to double-check their vote before it was cast. The county commissioners asked to confirm the electronic results in 2022 by recounting all ballots by hand, and she reluctantly agreed. They asked her to swear that her recount was accurate, and she swore. They decided they still didn’t trust her results and voted to recount a third time, a seven-hour process that confirmed the exact tallies and brought the county within minutes of missing the state’s deadline to certify elections.

Voters had pushed for her dismissal based on term limits that didn’t apply to her position. They had asked all three women who worked in her office to replace her as the clerk, but none felt qualified.

“Some days, I drive home after work and I wonder why I’m still doing this,” she said. Her job was one of the lowest-paid elected positions in Nevada. Her husband was already retired, and they had grandchildren in California. “I believe in my bones that we have to protect the integrity of our process, but if I’m recalled because of all this, I’ll survive,” she said.

“Of course you will,” Burgans said. “But if the whole system gives way to disinformation and lies, what’s left to protect?”

On the morning of the recall verification, Zakas came to the courthouse with her friend Theresa Moller, chair of the local Republican Party. They sat in the galley and said a prayer: “Let today be earth moving,” Zakas said. “Let the ripples stretch far and wide.”

A representative from the secretary of state’s office and the clerk from neighboring Nye County arrived to help run the process, and Elgan carried the recall petitions to a table at the front of the courtroom.

“Let’s go over some basic ground rules first,” said Cori Freidhof, the Nye County clerk.

The petition against Elgan required at least 114 signatures to force a recall election, because that number represented a quarter of Esmeralda County residents who voted in 2022. The petition had been submitted with 142 names, but each person’s information needed to be verified against the signature and address that the county had on file.

“So today, we’re checking those signatures, and you’re here just to witness,” Elgan told Zakas and Moller. “You’re not here to debate or interject. There’s an official process that needs to be followed, and we have to trust that process.”

“There’s more to it than trust,” Zakas said. “Will I get to know which signatures you are accepting and which ones you are tossing off?”

“Not today,” Elgan said.

“I don’t like the secret part. Why don’t I get my basic right to know what is happening with the recall?”

“You are just here to witness,” Elgan said again.

They started checking the petitions, first for the district attorney and then for the auditor. When they started working on Elgan’s petition, she volunteered to walk away from the table and sit in the galley. “Seeing all those names again, I think I’ll just go back there and pray,” she said. She walked past Zakas and Moller, sat in the far corner of the courtroom with her husband and pulled up Psalm 86 on her cellphone. “Oh God, the proud have risen against me,” she read, as Freidhof began to check the names on her petition one by one.

“Number 13, the address doesn’t match,” Freidhof said. “We need to verify.”

“Number 18, no,” she said. “We need to verify the signature.”

They paused at one point for a bathroom break, and Freidhof instructed everyone to clear the room except for one administrator from the clerk’s office who would guard the petitions. “Something fishy is happening,” Zakas said, as she walked into the hallway. “That woman could be tampering with signatures right now and we’d never know.” She turned back into the courtroom to watch, which made the employee feel uncomfortable.

“I’d like to remind everyone that it’s now considered a felony in Nevada to intimidate election workers,” Freidhof said a few minutes later as people filtered back into the room, and then she returned her attention to the signatures.

“Number 28, we need to verify the address.”

“Number 32, signature.”

“Number 38, address.”

Zakas wrote notes in case she needed evidence for a future appeal and rubbed essential oils on her wrists to stay calm. Maybe the addresses were wrong because people had gotten confused and written down their P.O. boxes instead of their physical street address, she thought. Maybe some of the signatures didn’t match because people’s handwriting deteriorated with age, or because younger voters had never learned how to sign their names in cursive.

“We knew they weren’t going to make it easy,” Zakas whispered to Moller. “God might have a different plan. You don’t have to knock the bull off its feet all at once. He might want this to go all the way up through appeals to the first district court.”

By the time Freidhof finished examining the petition, she had questions about 67 of the 142 signatures. One petition contained a potential fact error on the affidavit, and a notary had signed on the wrong line of the form. It was clear the recall petition would be ruled insufficient.

“That concludes our process,” Freidhof said.

“Well, not quite,” Zakas said.

She sorted through the papers in her lap, looking up laws and state statutes and then writing down the numbers of obscure legal codes. There were still six months left until the next presidential election was held in Esmeralda County, and already she was thinking of new ways to dismantle a process she didn’t trust.

“I know my rights,” she said.

“There are procedures in place you can still pursue,” Elgan said. “If you don’t like what’s happening, you have the right to appeal.”

“I’m aware,” Zakas said. “And I will.”

Read by Eli Saslow

Erin Schaff contributed reporting.

Audio produced by Tally Abecassis .

Eli Saslow is a Pulitzer Prize winner and a writer at large for The Times. He travels the country to write in-depth stories about the impact of major national issues on individual lives. More about Eli Saslow

Erin Schaff is a photojournalist for The Times, covering stories across the country. More about Erin Schaff

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Engineer II / III - Charleston Electric Distribution Operations

At Dominion Energy we love our jobs.  That’s right.  Love.  Every day we go to work filled with passion to be excellent, to creatively problem solve and to innovate.  These are exciting days for energy companies, and Dominion Energy aims to shape the future of energy in America. We are looking at all of our work with fresh eyes, retooling everything we do, in every part of the company, to operate more sustainably and to deliver energy more reliably than ever.  We are looking for interesting, independent thinkers and doers who can help shape the culture of a forward-looking company that’s proud of its rich legacy. Are you a change agent?  Do you think differently?  Do you want to fall in love with your job? If you answered “yes,” then read on!

Military service members and veterans with ranks from E3-E5, W1-W2, or O1-O3, plus appropriate equivalent combination of education and years of experience as outlined below will be considered for this opportunity.  At this time, Dominion Energy cannot transfer nor sponsor a work visa for this position.

Dominion Energy South Carolina (DESC) is looking for an engineer II or III to join the Charleston District Electric Operations team.  The position will support many aspects of the district including project management of multiple complex projects, support of other project designers/engineers, afterhours callout support, working knowledge and understanding of electrical codes, support of field personnel, provide other technical support as needed, and perform other duties as requested or assigned. There is one position which will be filled at the level commensurate with the successful candidate’s education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities. This role is fully competent in all conventional aspects of the subject matter.  

Engineer II - Second level position in the engineering series provides engineering support in designated company area, or specific engineering discipline.

• Performs and/or reviews engineering calculations, analysis, research and design.
• Provides cost analysis as needed and develops recommendation based on calculations (e.g. cost for equipment upgrade) for management review.
•  Distinguished from Engineer I by increased complexity in application of engineering skills required.  
• Under direction of supervisor or work leader, exercises independence in evaluating, selecting and applying standard or well defined engineering techniques, procedures and criteria.  
• Uses independent judgment in prioritizing and making moderately complex adaptations and modifications.  
• Assignments have clear and specified objectives and require investigation of a limited number of variables.

Engineer III - This role is the top progression level position in the Engineer series, and includes senior to technical expert engineers, able to perform difficult and complex work requiring thorough knowledge of the subject matter and significant experience within functional assignment area.

• Schedules and coordinates major segments of complex projects to meet cost and time objectives.
• Plans and conducts work requiring judgment in the independent evaluation, selection, adaptation and modification of standard techniques, procedures and criteria.
• Devises new approaches to problems encountered and develops engineering criteria ensuring compliance with design criteria and standards.
• At higher levels of proficiency within this classification, incumbents are expected to provide technical expertise and/or team leadership as needed.
• Provides guidance to less experienced Engineers.  
• May be required to apply intensive and diversified knowledge of engineering principles and practices to major projects that have significant impact on programs in varied areas and related fields.
• May serve as a technical expert on engineering related legal and regulatory issues to outside entities.

Minimum Requirements (Note: A partial year of related work experience of 6 months or greater will be considered one year towards the qualifications):  

Engineer II:

• 3+ years of relevant engineering experience with a Bachelor's degree

Engineer III

• 5-6+ years of relevant engineering experience with a Bachelor's degree 

Additional Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Engineer II:

• Knowledge and application of engineering theories and principles, concepts, and fundamentals;
• Requires developmental experience in a professional engineering position;
• Competency in applying engineering principles, fundamental concepts, practices and procedures requiring some evaluation, originality and/or ingenuity to achieve project objectives;
• Understands and can apply knowledge of configuration management;
• Ability to perform engineering calculations using applicable software programs (e.g. Matlab, Excel, etc.);
• Planning, organizational and project management skills;
• Ability to develop and exercise leadership skills;
• Effective decision making skills;
• Effective oral and written communication skills (includes technical writing);
• Ability to think analytically and solve complex problems;
• Ability to interpret codes, regulations and practices;
• Equally effective working independently or in a team environment;
• Ability to process information quickly and effectively manage multiple tasks.   

Additional Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Engineer III: 

• Full knowledge of engineering theories and principles;
• Skilled in use of advanced techniques and modification and extension of theories, precepts and practices of the field and related sciences and disciplines;
• Strong leadership skills with proven ability to serve as team project lead;
• Strong oral and written communication skills (includes technical writing);
• Strong personal computer skills;
• In depth knowledge of various computer applications, with the ability to manipulate personal computer applications and perform engineering calculations using applicable software programs (e.g. Matlab, Excel, etc.);
• Equally effective working independently or in team environment;
• Proven decision making skills;
• Ability to process information quickly and effectively manage multiple tasks;
• Strong planning, organizational and project management skills. 

Preferred Qualifications for both Engineer II and III:

• Related Mechanical and Electrical engineering experience is preferred

Required degree (equivalency not accepted in lieu of required degree): Bachelor

Required discipline(s): Engineering, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering preferred

REQUIRED ENGINEERING CRITERIA:    For placement of a candidate in the Engineer job series, the following criteria must be met:   

• Possess a 4-year Engineering degree from an ABET accredited Engineering program based on the year that the Engineering program was accredited by ABET, or 
• Possess a 4-year Engineering degree from an institution outside of the U.S. which is accredited through the country's own Engineering accrediting body under the Washington Accord as a full signatory, and is a degree that was recognized by the country's accrediting body on or after the date that full signatory status was achieved, or 
• Possess a 4-year degree in Engineering (non-ABET accredited), Physics, Chemistry, Math or Engineering Technology and a post-graduate Engineering degree from an institution where the undergraduate degree in the same Engineering discipline is ABET-accredited based on the year the Engineering program was accredited by ABET, or
• Holds or has previously held a valid U.S. Professional Engineer license.
• Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) certification required at Engineer II level
• Professional Engineer (PE) license required at Engineer III level

Export Control

Certain positions at Dominion Energy may involve access to information and technology subject to export controls under U.S. law.  Compliance with these export controls may result in Dominion Energy limiting its consideration of certain applicants.

Other Information

We offer excellent plans and programs for employees. Employees are rewarded with a competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package which may include: health benefits with coverage for families and domestic partners, vacation, retirement plans, paid holidays, tuition reimbursement, and much more.   To learn more about our benefits, click here dombenefits.com.

Dominion Energy is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workforce. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their protected veteran or disabled status.  

You can experience the excitement of our company – it's the difference between taking a job and starting a career.

Top 3 Reasons to Work at Dominion Energy

There are many reasons to work at dominion energy, but below are the top three reasons employees have shared with us. click on each of the links to learn more, 1. safety centric work environment 2. generous pay and benefits 3. collaborative & inclusive culture , about dominion energy, i am your warm cup of coffee in the morning and i light your home at night. i am the cool breeze from your a/c on the hottest day in summer, and the red coil that heats your soup pot on a frigid winter’s day. i am sustainable, reliable and affordable.   i am not just any energy… i am dominion energy.   we're transforming the way we do business to build a more sustainable future for the planet, our customers, our team and our industry.  we're shaping the future of energy in america.   join us  .

Facts: ·17,000 employees ·Headquarters: Richmond, VA ·16 states in the US ·$100 billion of assets ·Nearly $35 million in charitable contributions ·100,000+ volunteer hours recorded in the community

Our Commitment to NetZero by 2050

We’ve cut carbon emissions from our electric generation business by approximately 46% (since 2005) and methane emissions from our natural gas business by 38% (since 2010) — and we're just getting started . By growing wind, solar, and renewable natural gas and pursuing innovative technologies, we expect to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. We’ve also committed to reducing the emissions of our suppliers and customers — so we can all move forward together.

Nearest Major Market: Charleston South Carolina Nearest Secondary Market: South Carolina Job Segment: Testing, Project Manager, Technical Writer, Mechanical Engineer, Operations Manager, Technology, Engineering, Operations

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THE WIDER IMAGE

Washington state pioneers program to turn inmates into wildland firefighters.

Travis Roberts (left) and Kenyatta Bridges dig through dirt and ash during fire mop up activities at the Oregon fire near Deer Park, Washington, U.S., August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

By Matt Mills McKnight

Filed June 6, 2024, 10 a.m. GMT

Photography, reporting and video by Matt Mills McKnight

Filed June 06, 2024, 10:00 a.m. GMT

The inmates of Washington state’s prison system tramp through the forest, their yellow uniforms and helmets bright against the brown branches and green leaves.

They are Arcadia 20, or ARC 20, an elite group of firefighters based in Spokane who have been recruited from existing firefighting prison camps.

The aim? Teach the inmates the skills needed to help prevent forest fires - and in the process, give them an opportunity to start on a path to a new career.

Recruited by the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Department of Corrections, the program seeks to provide the dozen or so inmates with enough training to prepare them for jobs as civilian firefighters once they have completed their sentences.

“I do believe one thing for sure, that people deserve a second chance,” said Kenyatta Bridges, 34, who joined the ARC 20 team for training in the middle of last year while serving a 10-year sentence for manslaughter in a 2014 gang-affiliated shooting in Pasco, Washington.

Bridges started a job in a civilian fire crew on June 3, following his release.

Reuters was granted exclusive access to ARC 20 over three months, including a visit last August to the Tonasket Rodeo Grounds, a rural community in northeast Washington near the Canadian border. Bridges and the ARC 20 crew were setting up their tents after a day of helping contain a fire.

Crew members learn how to conduct prescribed burns, how to handle dangerous equipment, and how to ensure fires that have been contained stay that way. And when necessary, they are on the front lines of a fire, digging lines to help reduce the chance a fire will continue to spread.

“Team work, communications skills, an accountability for one’s actions and others as it relates to duties and providing for safety” are an integral part of their mindset, according to ARC 20 management.

“The fellas that I’ve worked shoulder to shoulder with, they’re amazing,” Bridges said. “We all made bad decisions in our life. Some of us got caught, some of us didn’t. But we learn from our mistakes.”

Earning ability

While states across the American West have inmate firefighting crews, Washington’s ARC 20 program is the only one of its kind in the U.S., recruiting incarcerated individuals from full confinement into a reentry center where they continue to build skills in firefighting and prepare for life after release.

They also earn more. Inmates in Washington state’s regular prison firefighting camps, who number around 230, are paid up to $1.50 per hour, based on experience, for their daily duties. When dispatched to an active fire zone, they are paid the state’s minimum wage of $16.28 per hour plus overtime.

Elite crew members who have joined the ARC 20 team are paid a base salary of up to $3,796 per month with potential overtime pay on fire assignments. This year-round crew has a maximum of 20 team members.

It had 13 people on the team during its first full year in 2023 and expects to have 12 as Washington state’s fire season ramps up at the end of June.

The Pacific Northwest is struggling with the effects of climate change, with higher-than-normal chances of wildfires and a longer season this year, according to meteorologists at the DNR, the state agency charged with wildfire prevention and management.

According to DNR officials who manage both fully incarcerated camp crews and the ARC 20 team, a high-earning member of the camp crew received approximately $11,000 in 2023, whereas an ARC 20 crew member earned up to $60,000.

The ARC 20 team is trained to join “hand crews” — teams of 18 to 25 firefighters who work and camp near the front lines of active wildfires, often hiking long distances and carrying their own gear to reach remote areas. They also conduct prescribed burns and chainsaw trees to the ground as part of the state’s fire mitigation and forest management efforts.

ARC 20’s crew superintendent Ben Hood is on the team that selects participants.

“We call it getting bit with the fire bug... Once you get bit with it, you’re hooked in,” said Hood. “It becomes part of, kind of who you are, becomes more than just a job. It kind of becomes a lifestyle.”

When the team isn’t traveling the state fighting fires, they are housed at Brownstone Reentry Center, a minimum security facility in downtown Spokane. Residents participate in work or training programs and are granted additional freedoms like wearing normal clothes or owning a cellphone.

ARC 20 crew members are paid higher wages than some staff in the state’s correctional system, including the facility where they live, according to Brownstone’s manager.

Running a kitchen

Reuters visited another crew of fully incarcerated individuals in September at a Department of Natural Resources facility at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, southwest of the state’s capital city, Olympia.

They had just returned from a weeks-long assignment running a mobile kitchen for almost 1,000 wildland firefighters per day, who were fighting two of the 2023 season’s biggest fires in the state.

Timothy Bullock, 32, an electrician jailed for second-degree assault stemming from a domestic dispute, said he has changed his life goals and wants to become a wildland firefighter.

“I used to drink quite a bit... it was a terrible mistake on my part that affected other people, people I cared about. So it’s hard dealing with that,” said Bullock, acknowledging a prison sentence may have been needed for him to change his path. “I just know that I’m never going to make those types of mistakes ever again.”

Bullock has been a standout member of the Cedar Creek Corrections Center camp crew, according to his bosses at DNR. He has submitted his application for ARC 20 and is being considered for a spot in late 2024.

“I’m getting real close to getting out. It’s kind of working out for the better, you know, to get back on my feet and then have an opportunity when I get out,” said Bullock.

Washington’s model could be a ‘stepping stone’ for state agencies across the U.S., according to transition crew liaison Roy Hardin, who helped form the crew with Hood.

“If a person is employed, has a really good job right when they get out of prison, they’re not homeless, they’re probably not going to come back,” said Hardin. He said four crew members from ARC 20 have gone on to take jobs as members of the state firefighting agency – one engine leader and three engine crew members.

Kenyatta Bridges is one of those crew members.

On June 3, he started fighting fires with DNR’s Arcadia Engine 7405 near Spokane, in one of the most wildfire prone areas of Washington state.

“He’s hard working. He’s motivated,” said superintendent Hood, who recruited Bridges. “He’s becoming one of those leaders. He’s good with the chainsaw. He doesn’t know how to quit working; he’s physically capable of the job. He’s what you want in a firefighter.”

Bridges is elated for this new chapter of his life. Since his release from Brownstone he has been living in transitional housing with other formerly incarcerated individuals in Spokane, and on May 20 his partner gave birth to their son.

“I feel like I couldn’t ask for nothing better,” Bridges said, discussing his life post-release. “To have everything so quickly, it feels like every gear is rotating and spinning just on point.”

An inmate feeds a deer outside of the Department of Natural Resources shop at Cedar Creek Corrections Center near Olympia, Washington, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Incarcerated members of the DNR crew from Cedar Creek Corrections Center prepare for forest thinning near Olympia, Washington, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Incarcerated members of the DNR crew from Cedar Creek Corrections Center hike in the Capitol State Forest during work near Olympia, Washington, U.S., October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

A crew member of Arcadia 20 holds gas cans used during prescribed fire operations on an assignment near Northport, Washington, U.S., October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Crew members belonging to Arcadia 20 fill gas cans during prescribed fire operations on a deployment near Northport, Washington, U.S., October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

An incarcerated member of the DNR crew conducts forest thinning in Capitol State Forest near Olympia, Washington, U.S., October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Bridges (center), and other crew members belonging to Arcadia 20, board a transport vehicle in Tonasket, Washington, U.S., August, 29, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Bullock operates a forklift for the DNR at Cedar Creek Corrections Center near Olympia, Washington, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Bridges sits on a bed and drinks water in his shared room within the residential quarters at Brownstone Reentry Center in Spokane, Washington, U.S., October 26, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Bridges plays pool on his day off at the recreation area of Brownstone Reentry Center in Spokane, Washington, U.S., October 26, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Bridges shops for groceries for the team during a pit stop on the road in the eastern part of Washington state, U.S., August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Inmates return after breakfast to their confinement unit for morning roll call at Cedar Creek Corrections Center near Olympia, Washington, U.S., October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Joseph Boyd sits in an Arcadia 20 crew transport vehicle while preparing to travel to a fire assignment near Northport, Washington, U.S., October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

Tucker-Jonas (right) marches on a forest road during fire mop up activities on deployment at the Oregon fire near Deer Park, Washington, U.S., August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

A drone view shows crew members belonging to Arcadia 20 during fire mop up activities on deployment at the Oregon fire near Deer Park, Washington, U.S., August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

A doe is stands outside of Cedar Creek Corrections Center in the Capitol State Forest near Olympia, Washington, U.S., October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

The Wider Image

Photography, reporting and video: Matt Mills McKnight

Photo editing and design: Maye-E Wong and Eve Watling

Text editing: Mary Milliken and Claudia Parsons

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Energy: The tie that binds Beijing and Moscow

President Vladimir Putin (left) and President Xi Jinping (right) at a May 21, 2014 signing ceremony inking a long-sought deal between Russia’s natural gas giant, Gazprom, and the CNPC for China (Photo: AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service)

Russia and China last month agreed to a landmark natural gas deal nearly a decade in the making that will put the two in partnership for the next 30 years.

Russia’s energy giant, Gazprom, and the China National Petroleum Corp. signed the much-anticipated $400 billion natural gas deal on May 21. The exact pricing remains a secret, but what has been reported so far is this: 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year will flow from two fields in Siberia, 2,500 miles south to China’s energy-hungry industrial region. Through tough negotiations and urgency from Russia, predictions are the Chinese secured a $350 per thousand cubic meter price tag, cheaper than the $380 rate Gazprom sells to Europe. In exchange, part of the deal has China financing $50 billion of pipeline infrastructure to transport gas to its borders.

As of today, the deal would meet a quarter of China’s natural gas demand — only 10 percent when the pipelines are flowing in 2020 — but there is the possibility of expanding to 60 billion cubic meters a year.

Beijing and Moscow both had their reasons for seeing the deal through, but it’s also possible to see a convergence of interests in developing a partnership through energy. China uses natural gas for five percent of its energy production, according to the EIA, but is looking to move away from dirtier fossil fuels. Its well-known pollution problem stems from widespread burning of coal and petroleum and leaves 95 percent of its country shrouded in haze. Fueling its industrial region with cleaner-burning natural gas is a promising option for the Chinese government, which has seen protests and declining tourism numbers in reaction to its year round smog. It’s also made places like Beijing, once a desirable assignment for expatriates, more of a hardship post .

The deal was also a matter of convenience for China. It has enjoyed a cheaper price for natural gas from fields in Turkmenistan for years, and the Asian natural gas market continues to bloom. The route the natural gas must travel — precarious sea-lanes and a volatile central Asia — makes a supply disruption more likely than getting it directly from the north.

The deal was more of necessity for Moscow. Russia’s economy, dependent on natural gas exports for 50 percent of government revenue, needed a quick boost to its long-sputtering economy. The International Monetary Fund predicted a meager .2 percent increase in Russia’s economy for 2014, and, due to the Ukrainian crisis, investments from the West are likely to be scarce. The deal struck with Beijing is only a quarter of what Russia makes selling natural gas to Europe. Using energy as a political football and cutting that supply would only hurt the Russian economy more.

Morena Skalamera, a fellow at the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard, told The New York Times, “The rapid rise of U.S. natural gas is giving Europeans genuine market options. Many are opting out of the grip of Gazprom. The result? Russia is looking for a new cash cow, turning its gaze east.”

Though the deal between Beijing and Moscow is energy related , it’s not too difficult to draw lines to a mutual interest in challenging the U.S. and Europe.

China is wary of the U.S. for its support of Japan, criticism of Chinese actions in the South China Sea, and its hard stance on cyber theft. Russia is at odds with the U.S. over sanctions implemented in reaction to Russia annexing Crimea, and it feels the U.S. took advantage of their Security Council vote to aid Libyans in their recent revolution by implementing a regime change.

Aurelia Condrat wrote in a blog for the Huffington Post that she sees the conclusion of the energy deal as Russia’s way of “pushing back against the U.S.”

“With this deal, Russia wants to make a point of showing that the U.S. and its N.A.T.O. partners are in decline,” she said.

As the U.S. watches Beijing-Moscow relations warm over natural gas from afar, many are say Washington has only one real option: export its own.

The recent discovery of massive fields of natural gas throughout the country led President Obama in 2012 to predict the U.S. as becoming the “the Saudi Arabia of natural gas.” It’s been a slow start out of the gate, however, with only seven of 31 liquefied natural gas export (LNG) licenses approved since 2011, six conditionally.

U.S. lawmakers from across the aisle have been ratcheting up support for getting U.S. natural gas on the global market, especially since the China-Russia deal was announced.

Republican Senator from North Dakota John Hoeven told The Hill the natural gas deal gives Russia leverage in upcoming discussions this week with President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the continuing crisis in Ukraine.

“This gives Russia another option. It strengthens their hand vis-à-vis what they decide to do in Eastern Europe,” Hoeven said. “And it makes it even more imperative that we advance our legislation to allow exports of LNG to Europe so that they have alternative sources.”

Senator Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said the energy deal should make the U.S. react quickly to selling its supply overseas. He’s introduced legislation to speed up the lengthy process for approving LNG export terminals.

Now that Beijing and Moscow are bound through energy cooperation, will this lead to greater partnership between the two biggest contenders able to challenge the West? Some analysts believe this is only the beginning.

“From the perspective of international relations, this deal also signals a deepening of energy ties between Russia and China,” Wood Meckenzie’s consultant group told the Natural Gas Intelligence . “They now cooperate across a range of different commodities and have established a broad base for further increases in trade in oil, gas, LNG, coal and electricity.”

Jordan Stutts is a finance reporter for business journal PEI Media covering global infrastructure transactions, private investments in energy and transportation funding. He previously worked as an associate producer for FPA’s Great Decisions television series and covered local news in Charlotte, NC. You can follow him on Twitter @jwstuttered or check out his portfolio at www.jordanstutts.com

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