Lynn J. Good
Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer at Duke Energy
Jack, thank you and good morning everyone. Today we announced adjusted earnings per share of $1.30 for the quarter, delivering strong results to start the year driven by continued growth in electric volumes. That growth was partially offset by $0.07 of higher expense from severe winter storms. I'd like to take a moment to thank approximately 19,000 restoration workers who worked tirelessly to restore power to over 1 million customers across a series of winter storms, the most we've seen in eight years.
Despite the Q1 storms, we remained on track to deliver within our original guidance range and are reaffirming our full year earnings guidance range of $5.30 to $5.60 with a midpoint of $5.45. We're also reaffirming our long-term EPS growth rate of 5% to 7% through 2026 of the midpoint of our original 2021 guidance range, while monitoring economic trends and will take action, if necessary, as we continue to execute the important strategic work we have underway in the Carolinas, Indiana and Florida. I will touch on this more in just a moment.
Turning to slide 5, we published our first ESG report in late April that expands our historic sustainability themes and adds more insight on social and governance topics. We've included some highlights and key accomplishments on this slide. We've got a strong track record in each of these areas and have established ambitious targets for the future. Our work has been recognized across the ESG community, including by MSCI which upgraded our ESG rating to AA in February. We're also laying the groundwork for even more progress with our proposed carbon plant in North Carolina, our IRP in Indiana and our ongoing solar and grid investments in Florida. We look forward to sharing additional updates throughout the year and during our ESG Day on October 4.
Moving to slide 6, let me spend a few minutes on North Carolina. There is a meaningful progress in the state, implementing the framework set forth and House Bill 951. As a reminder, this landmark bipartisan legislation provides for a clean energy transition as well as a modernized performance-based rate making provision, including multiyear rate plans, performance incentive measures and residential decoupling. We've been working closely with stakeholders on the development of our proposed Carbon Plan which we will file with the Commission on May 16.
The plan will outline multiple portfolios to achieve the 70% carbon reduction target, including proposals around timing of coal plant retirements and resource additions. We expect substantial solar and battery additions, demand side management and energy efficiency opportunities in every pathway.
Onshore and offshore wind will be presented for consideration as well as small modular nuclear reactors. Each portfolio has been rigorously tested for reliability and affordability for our customers. Following the May 16 filing of our proposed Carbon Plan, the Commission will gather additional stakeholder input, make adjustments and approve a final plan by the end of the year.
The plan will be updated every two years thereafter. In February, the North Carolina Utilities Commission issued its order on rulemaking for performance-based regulation and in April, the Commission issued its order on rulemaking for coal plant securitization. This allows our North Carolina Utilities to securitize half of the remaining carrying value of certain coal plants upon their early retirement. Those orders were constructive, establishing processes that are fair, balanced and consistent with the policy objectives of HB 951.
Another strategic priority for 2022 was to file a rate case, introducing the modernized rate making tools approved in HB 951. The NCUC has established a process for these filings that includes technical conferences on the multi-year rate plans prior to filing. We currently expect to file a DEP in North Carolina rate case in the fourth quarter and likely a DEC North Carolina rate case early next year.
Turning to slide 7, I'd like to touch on the key initiatives across our service territories. In South Carolina, storm cost securitization legislation continues to move forward. The proposed legislation has passed in the Senate and is now being heard in the House. If enacted, this legislation will provide an additional tool to recover prior and future storm restoration costs, creating significant savings for our customers as compared to traditional recovery mechanisms.
Moving to Florida, we're making investments to harden the grid under our storm protection plan. We recently filed our updated plan, which includes $7 billion of capital investments over the next 10 years. In Indiana, we filed a request for proposals for upto 2,400 megawatts of new generation through 2027, which includes both intermittent and dispatchable resources to support our transition from coal. We're pleased with the response to our intermittent RFP, having received bids from 13 developers on more than 30 different projects totaling over 7,000 megawatts.
On May 2, we received the bids for the dispatchable portion of the RFP and are reviewing them now. We expect to file CPCNs with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission later this year. In November, we filed our second tier plan in Indiana. The six-year, $2 billion plan includes investments to improve customer reliability, harden the grid and prepare for distributed generation. A hearing was held in March and we expect to receive a decision from the Commission in July. If approved, the program will begin in 2023.
Shifting to the LDC, we continue to make investments to build needed infrastructure, improve reliability and to comply with federal regulation. In South Carolina, we filed a general rate case in April. If approved, we anticipate revised customer rates will be effective by October and in Tennessee legislation was recently passed that will allow natural gas utilities to invest in low-to-zero emission capital projects. This legislation will help enable our decarbonisation vision for our natural gas business unit and could serve as a blueprint for legislation in other states across the country.
In closing, we're making progress on all fronts across our jurisdictions, meeting our commitments and executing our clean energy strategy. We have a clear path forward for 2022 and believe our investment plan will deliver sustainable value to shareholders and 5% to 7% earnings growth over the next five years. And with that let me turn the call over to Steve.
