MILWAUKEE, May 4, 2023
/PRNewswire/ -- At WEC Energy Group's (NYSE: WEC) annual meeting of
stockholders today, Gale Klappa,
executive chairman, and Scott
Lauber, president and CEO highlighted another strong year on
virtually every meaningful measure, from employee safety and
customer satisfaction to growth in earnings per share. They also
emphasized that the company remains committed to a mission that
matters — strengthening the fabric of communities across the
Midwest, leading by example, and delivering affordable, reliable
and clean energy to millions of customers.
Company highlights
- Reduced carbon emissions from electric generation by nearly 50
percent below 2005 levels.
- Developed the largest five-year capital plan in company history
— including nearly 3,300 megawatts of new renewable capacity to
serve We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service customers.
- Continued construction of the Badger Hollow II Solar Park and
Paris Solar-Battery Park and received regulatory approval to
purchase 90% of the Darien and Koshkonong Solar-Battery parks in
Wisconsin.
- Executed new renewable natural gas (RNG) contracts with
Wisconsin dairy farms. The RNG
will directly replace higher-emission methane from natural gas. As
of early 2023, the company plans to receive a total of 1 billion
cubic feet of RNG annually — supporting its aggressive goal to
significantly reduce methane emissions.
- Led a pilot program — the first of its kind in the world — to
test hydrogen as a fuel source for power generation, in partnership
with the Electric Power Research Institute.
- Continued to strengthen the diversity of company leadership,
ending 2022 with the most diverse senior leadership team in company
history.
- Spent $299 million with certified
minority-, women-, veteran- and service-disabled-owned
businesses.
- Returned $918 million to WEC
Energy Group stockholders through dividends.
- Increased the dividend level in January
2023 by 7.2% to an annual rate of $3.12 per share. This marks the 20th
consecutive year of higher dividends.
Stockholder actions
During the meeting, stockholders elected the following directors
to terms expiring at the 2024 annual meeting: Ave M. Bie,
Curt S. Culver, Danny L. Cunningham, William M. Farrow III, Cristina A. Garcia-Thomas, Maria C. Green, Gale E.
Klappa, Thomas K. Lane,
Scott J. Lauber, Ulice Payne, Jr., Mary
Ellen Stanek and Glen E.
Tellock.
As recommended by the board of directors, stockholders also
voted to:
- Ratify Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors for
2023.
- Continue the "say-on pay" vote annually.
- Approve the compensation of WEC Energy Group's named executive
officers (say-on-pay).
WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC), based in Milwaukee, is one of the nation's premier
energy companies, serving nearly 4.7 million customers in
Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
The company's principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin
Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas
Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources and Upper Michigan Energy
Resources. Another major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds
and owns electric generating plants. In addition, WEC
Infrastructure LLC owns a growing fleet of renewable generation
facilities in states ranging from South
Dakota to Texas.
WEC Energy Group (wecenergygroup.com) is a Fortune 500
company and a component of the S&P 500. The company has
approximately 37,000 stockholders of record, 7,000 employees and
more than $42 billion of
assets.
Forward-looking statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are based upon management's
current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those
contemplated in the statements. Readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements
include, among other things, statements concerning management's
expectations and projections regarding capital plans, construction
plans, emission reduction goals, and dividend payouts. In some
cases, forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to
a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates,"
"expects," "forecasts," "guidance," "intends," "may," "objectives,"
"plans," "possible," "potential," "projects," "should," "targets,"
"will" or similar terms or variations of these terms.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements include,
but are not limited to: general economic conditions, including
business and competitive conditions in the company's service
territories; timing, resolution and impact of rate cases and other
regulatory decisions; the company's ability to continue to
successfully integrate the operations of its subsidiaries;
availability of the company's generating facilities and/or
distribution systems; unanticipated changes in fuel and purchased
power costs; key personnel changes; unusual, varying or severe
weather conditions; continued industry restructuring and
consolidation; continued advances in, and adoption of, new
technologies that produce power or reduce power consumption; energy
and environmental conservation efforts; natural gas reduction or
electrification initiatives, mandates and other efforts to reduce
the use of natural gas; the company's ability to successfully
acquire and/or dispose of assets and projects and to execute on its
capital plan; cyber-security threats and data security breaches;
construction risks; equity and bond market fluctuations; changes in
the company's and its subsidiaries' ability to access the capital
markets; changes in tax legislation or our ability to use certain
tax benefits and carryforwards; federal, state, and local
legislative and regulatory changes, including changes to
environmental standards, the enforcement of these laws and
regulations and changes in the interpretation of regulations by
regulatory agencies; supply chain disruptions; inflation; political
or geopolitical developments, including impacts on the global
economy, supply chain and fuel prices, generally, from the ongoing
conflict between Russia and
Ukraine; the impact from any
health crises, including epidemics and pandemics; current and
future litigation and regulatory investigations, proceedings or
inquiries; changes in accounting standards; the financial
performance of American Transmission Company as well as projects in
which the company's energy infrastructure business invests; the
ability of the company to obtain additional generating capacity at
competitive prices; goodwill and its possible impairment; and other
factors described under the heading "Factors Affecting Results,
Liquidity and Capital Resources" in Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and under
the headings "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Information" and "Risk Factors" contained in the company's Form
10-K for the year ended December 31,
2022, and in subsequent reports filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Except as may be required by law, the
company expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking information.
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SOURCE WEC Energy Group