The Ultimate CEOs: Anthony F. Earley Jr., DTE Energy

Deck: 

The CEO Power Forum: Not all utility CEOs are created equal...

Fortnightly Magazine - June 2005
This full article is only accessible by current license holders. Please login to view the full content.
Don't have a license yet? Click here to sign up for Public Utilities Fortnightly, and gain access to the entire Fortnightly article database online.

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?

This full article is only accessible by current license holders. Please login to view the full content.
Don't have a license yet? Click here to sign up for Public Utilities Fortnightly, and gain access to the entire Fortnightly article database online.