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Dominion's "Strong Performance"? More Like a Masterclass in Corporate Gaslighting
Alright, Dominion Energy's Q3 earnings call? Let's dissect this "strong performance" narrative they're peddling, shall we? Because from where I'm sitting, it looks less like a success story and more like a carefully constructed illusion designed to keep investors from fleeing.
Offshore Wind Woes and Data Center Dreams
Two-thirds completion on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project? Sounds impressive, right? Except, oh yeah, the costs have ballooned to $11.2 billion. ELEVEN. POINT. TWO. BILLION. And they're casually dropping that they'll eat a measly $50 million in costs not recoverable from customers? Give me a break. That's like finding a twenty in your couch cushions after your house burns down.
Then there's the Charybdis vessel delays. "Remediation of punch list items before turbine installation." Translation: Some critical piece of equipment is probably busted, and they're scrambling to fix it before it becomes a full-blown PR disaster. You know, the kind where turbines are literally falling into the ocean.
But hey, data centers are booming! 47 gigawatts in various stages of contracting. So, we're ditching energy independence for more server farms? Great. Just great. It's like replacing your leaky roof with a giant, power-hungry supercomputer. What could go wrong?
Safety First (Unless It Impacts the Bottom Line)
Dominion is patting themselves on the back for their OSHA recordable rate of 0.28%. Okay, good for them. But let's be real: how much of that is genuine commitment to safety, and how much is just CYA to avoid lawsuits and bad press? And what kind of corners are being cut in order to maintain that rate? Are they investing in long-term safety measures, or just slapping band-aids on problems to make the numbers look good?
And the weather went from a tailwind to a headwind, knocking off $0.02 per share? Seriously? They're blaming the weather? That's like blaming gravity for tripping. Talk about grasping at straws.
The best part? They're narrowing their full-year earnings guidance range but "maintaining the original midpoint." So, basically, they're admitting they have no damn clue what's going to happen, but they're pretending everything is still on track. It's like saying "I'm not sure if I'll make it to work on time, but I'm still aiming for the same arrival time." Yeah, good luck with that.
What Are They *Really* Hiding?
What I want to know is, where's the real transparency? Where's the honest assessment of the risks and challenges they're facing? This whole earnings call feels like a carefully choreographed dance designed to avoid any real scrutiny. For more details, you can read Dominion Energy’s Earnings Call: Strong Performance Amid Challenges.
They're talking about "delivering shareholder value." But at what cost? Are they sacrificing long-term sustainability for short-term gains? Are they prioritizing profits over people? Are they betting the farm on data centers while ignoring the looming climate crisis?
These are the questions they aren't answering. And frankly, that's what worries me the most.