The CEO Power Forum: Not all utility CEOs are created equal...
Anthony F. Earley Jr.
Chairman and CEO, DTE Energy
"To enhance that natural utility growth of around 2 percent per year, we want to surround the utilities with a portfolio of non-utility businesses that have higher growth prospects. "
Fortnightly In your letter to shareholders, you speak of the company receiving 30 percent of its earnings from non-regulated businesses. Please explain.
Anthony F. Earley Jr. That is our target. Actually in 2004 it was just over 50 percent of our earnings. That was a bit of an anomaly. In 2004 we were working our way through both gas and electric rate cases, so our gas and electric businesses were under-earning. We're through the electric case, and once we get through the gas case and we get back to a more normal year, we expect that our non-utility businesses will be to 30 to 40 percent of our overall net income. Our strategy is really to have a diversified energy company that has a good solid utility base but is augmented by the higher-growth prospects from our non-utility businesses. And we've been successful over the last decade in building that business. It supplied $240 million in net income to us in 2004. And we expect that would grow to $300 million in 2005.
Fortnightly How do you believe your company distinguishes itself from its peers?