Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Unitil's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. At this time all participant are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker’s presentation there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Todd Diggins, Chief Accounting Officer. Please go ahead.

Good morning and thank you for joining us to discuss Unitil Corporation's second quarter 2023 financial results. Speaking on the call today will be Tom Meissner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Dan Hurstak, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Also with us today is Bob Hevert, President and Chief Administrative Officer. We will discuss financial and other information on this call. As we mentioned in the press release announcing today's call, we have posted information including a presentation to the Investors section of our website at unitil.com. We will refer to that information during this call. Moving to Slide 2, the comments made today about future operating results or events are forward-looking statements under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted. Statements made on this call should be considered together with cautionary statements and other information contained in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other documents we have filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of today, and we assume no obligation to update them. This presentation contains non-GAAP financial measures. The accompanying supplemental information more fully describes these non-GAAP financial measures and includes a reconciliation to the nearest GAAP financial measures. The company believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating its performance. With that, I will now turn the call over to Chairman and CEO, Tom Meissner.

Thanks, Todd. And good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. Beginning on Slide four, today we announced net income of $4.2 million or $0.25 per share for the second quarter of 2023. Through the first half of 2023, net income was $28.3 million or $1.76 per share, representing an increase of $0.11 or approximately 7% over the same period in 2022. Earnings growth was achieved through execution of our regulatory agenda and are focused on cost control. Decoupled rate structures, which now apply to the majority of our customers help support and stabilize revenue through the first six months of the year. Our disciplined approach to cost management has resulted in lower operation and maintenance expenses relative to the first half of 2022, a noteworthy accomplishment considering the current inflationary environment. We believe that for the balance of the year O&M expenses will remain consistent with 2022 levels. As we'll discuss in greater detail, our regulatory agenda remains active with the base rate case for Northern utilities main division currently underway. Rate cases are also being prepared for a Massachusetts Electric and Gas divisions. We continue to see strong financial and operational performance through the first half of 2023, which is consistent with our investor value proposition of low risk, sustainable growth, and we again reaffirm our long term earnings guidance of 5% to 7%. Turning to Slide five, I'd like to touch on the underlying economic strength in our service areas. In May, New Hampshire's unemployment rate was tied for the lowest in the nation, at a record low of 1.9%. In addition, both Maine and Massachusetts have lower unemployment rates in the national average. Strong labor markets are likely one of the reasons that the areas we serve are consistently cited as some of the most desirable…

Thank you, Tom. Good morning, everyone. I'll begin on Slide six. As Tom mentioned, today, we announced second quarter earnings per share of $0.25. For the first six months of the year, net income increased $1.9 million or $0.11 per share, compared to the same period in 2022. This earnings per share growth is the result of higher sales margins, and lower operational maintenance expense, partially offset by higher other operating expenses. As a reminder, the second quarter and first half results for 2022 included the recognition of recruitment amounts related to the company's New Hampshire rate case orders, which positively affected margin by approximately $2.4 million. Recoupment refers to the regulatory practice in Hampshire, whereby permanent rate case awards are reconciled back to the effective date of the temporary rate award. Through the first six months of 2023, our decoupled rate structures in Massachusetts and New Hampshire have provided revenue stability, and supported earnings by approximately $0.25 per share. Our results for the first half of 2023 are consistent with the quarterly earnings per share distribution chart that we provided earlier this year. And we expect the results for the remainder of 2023 will also be consistent with this chart. Turning to Slide seven, I will discuss our electric and gas adjusted gross margins. I will start with our electric operations. Electric adjusted gross margin was $50.9 million for the six months ended June 30 2023, an increase of $2.7 million compared to the corresponding period in 2022. This increase in electric margin reflects higher distribution rates and customer growth. Electric unit sales were down for both residential and commercial industrial classes, as a result of warmer than normal winter weather and lower average usage partially offset by customer growth. The company's electric distribution revenues are substantially decoupled, which…

Great. Thanks, Dan. Ending on Slide 13, halfway through the year, we continue to deliver solid results we're focused on operational and financial excellence. Our dividend yield coupled with strong earnings growth offers an attractive total return for our shareholders. We believe the continued execution of our strategic plan, including investments related to the Clean Energy Transition, will position us to deliver sustainable value for all stakeholders for many years to come. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Todd.

Thanks, Tom. That wraps up the material for this call. I will now turn the call over to the operator who will coordinate questions.

[Operator Instructions] And I'm currently showing no questions at this time. This does conclude today's conference call. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect. : :