“As we look ahead, we continue to expect load growth to accelerate in the latter years of the plan as large load projects come online and begin to ramp.”

In context

“ased with the results we've achieved so far this year, which continue to reflect the strength of the regulatory outcomes and the operational performance we have consistently delivered, and we are on track to achieve our targeted EPS and credit objectives for 2025. Turning to Slide 9. Population migration in the Southeast and Midwest continues to drive sustained customer growth, led by more than 2% in the Carolinas. As expected, rolling 12-month volumes moderated in the quarter, driven by a very strong second quarter of 2024, particularly in the residential class. First half results reflect a shift in mix across retail classes compared to our original assumptions. We are closely monitoring these trends, but continue progressing toward our 1.5% to 2% volume growth expectations for the year. As we look ahead, we continue to expect load growth to accelerate in the latter years of the plan as large load projects come online and begin to ramp. Our economic development pipeline remains robust, and we continue to take a risk-adjusted approach as we evaluate which projects to include in our forecast. As a reminder, our pipeline includes a diverse mix of customers, including advanced manufacturing projects across multiple sectors as well as data centers. I've talked about how we're streamlining our processes to accelerate economic development projects through the pipeline, and these efforts are yielding tangible results. The $10 billion AWS data center investment in North Carolina is an incredible economic development win for Richmond County and the entire state of North Carolina. The data center will support both cloud computing and AI infrastructure and is expected to create at least 500 new high-skilled jobs. This announcement i”