XPLR Infrastructure, LP Q1 FY2026 earnings call

• Repowering program: Approximately 30% of repowering projects planned for 2026 completed, remaining on track to enhance fleet output and longevity. • Project financing: Completed final expected draw from 2025 project financing commitments, funding repowering investments with long-term and low-cost asset-level financing. • Storage co-investment: Completed evaluation and exercised options to co-invest in storage projects with 49% expected interest in each of four projects, adding ~200 net megawatts of battery storage capacity by year-end 2027. • Power market fundamentals: Improving, with recent recontracting of roughly 90 megawatts at an existing wind site at a higher rate, and team pursuing additional recontracting and optimization opportunities across multiple markets.

For the first quarter of 2026, Explore's portfolio generated approximately $435 million in adjusted EBITDA and $89 million in free cash flow before growth. First quarter results from existing projects were affected by lower wind resource, which came in at approximately 99% of the long-term average compared to 103% in the prior year period. This impact was partially offset by contributions from repowered assets. The results for both adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow before growth reflect the impact of asset dispositions completed in 2025. For 2026, the company continues to expect adjusted EBITDA of $1.75 to $1.95 billion and free cash flow before growth of $600 to $700 million.

• 2026 expected adjusted EBITDA: $1.75 to $1.95 billion. • 2026 expected free cash flow before growth: $600 to $700 million. • Next major corporate refinancing activity not expected until 2027.

• Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties; actual results could differ materially from forward-looking statements if key assumptions are incorrect or due to other factors discussed in the earnings news release, conference call comments, risk factors section of the presentation, or latest reports and filings with the SEC.

Q: Alan, you mentioned there was a small recontracting during the quarter with a $25 improvement in the power price. Are you able to provide the power price prior to the recontracting? I was just wondering what the percentage improvement was.

A: We didn't provide the prior contract price, just commercial sensitivity of where the ultimate PPA landed here. But I would say if you think about it, right, and we've given you some disclosure previously about on average kind of the uplift, This is in line or even slightly better than kind of the uplift that we would have expected for this market. The opportunities, obviously, we've highlighted before, right? They're generally in SPP, in ERCOT, in WAC. So it's a project in one of those markets and in line with where we expected, which is it's a multiple above where the previous price was.

Q: And then just on the battery storage fronts, I think you previously agreed to sell interconnection rights to raise 45 of the $80 million required for your equity contribution. Have you identified the rest of the projects that you're looking to sell? And then just to follow up on that, is there a timeline in terms of when there could be another batch of projects that Explorer could co-invest in?

A: We're certainly working through a list of potential opportunities with NEAR. As a reminder, construction for these projects aren't slated to begin until at the earliest end of this year, but most likely it's throughout 2027, and then they're CODing in late 2027. So we have some time, but with the list and the opportunities that we're looking at, we feel confident we will be able to fund those with additional asset sales. I think your question about will there be additional storage opportunities, I think the right way to think about it is across our 10-gigawatt portfolio, we certainly have multiple gigawatts of interconnection, surplus interconnection. Those represent potential opportunities. You know, we certainly feel out of that set, there are opportunities for additional co-located storage or other development opportunities. You know, but whether or not those projects are ultimately attractive to explore is site location specific. You know, it comes down to a lot of factors, including the demand and the pricing that can be achieved for those specific projects. And then ultimately, whether or not we participate or monetize the value of that interconnect is going to fall under our existing capital allocation framework, right? It's subject to what else can we do with our money, their better returning allocations, and then also it's subject to the balance sheet and our cost of financing. So long way of saying, yes, there's opportunity. We have not committed to any incremental investments at this time, but we'll keep you posted.

Q: You mentioned the balance sheet. So looking at the balance sheet, there's about $943 million of cash and equivalents. I presume a lot of that cash is at the project level, but roughly how much of that cash is readily available at the corporate level?

A: It's Jessica. So you can see in our SEC filings, we break out the amount of cash held in reserves at the projects. Our 10Q for this quarter will come out after market closed today, but looking back at the last quarter, there's roughly $300 million held in reserves at the projects.

Q: Just going back to the recontracting opportunity, can you comment at all in terms of like how big the funnel would be? Like how many megawatts costs your portfolio or something you're actively exploring and We're sort of, I assume it's more weighted to win just given the vintage of the contracts and assets. Is that right?

A: This is Alan. That is correct. I think that's the right way to think about it. The majority of the opportunity will exist in win projects and obviously in the specific markets. We've highlighted this before in prior presentations. In the near term, and we've given you a schedule, a rough kind of chart that shows There are increasing opportunities as we get closer to 2030, but there's definitely going to be tangible opportunities that we're working on as we speak. But the majority, I would say, you know, roughly 70% of the kind of opportunity exists beyond 2030. And, you know, we're hoping to continue to execute in the next few years leading up to that. And obviously the pricing you received was attractive. I think NextEra said around $20, no matter what hours, what they got. So that's a good uplift.

Q: Just I'm curious in terms of what the tenor of the contracts are out there and so that trade-off between price and duration. I believe it was a 15-year contract, but we'll confirm. But that's generally what the counterparties are looking for? Is that sort of that term at this point? Or is there a real range out there of shorter duration?

A: So just to confirm, it was a 15-year bus bar contract here. And as you know, there's always a trade-off between tenor right, whether it's hub-settled or bus bar. And ultimately, you know, for us, this made the most sense, right, between duration of the contract, like the fact that in this particular market, we prefer the bus bar over a potentially higher bus bar, but hub-settled contract here.

Q: And just on the battery projects, co-investment, are the costs all locked down for those projects? Like, you know, everything locked down in terms of Equipment, EPC, all that kind of stuff, just so that you know that the $80 million investment is more or less firm at this point?

A: This is a true equity co-investment alongside near energy resources. So as with any equity investment, if there are cost overruns, we, of course, would be as a partner funding that. But we feel good about this project. It's well, you know, well-advanced, you know, supply chain. We have the same benefits, right? I've had, you know, the benefit of having you as a co-investment partner here is that we have access to that supply chain and the equipment we feel very good about having secured.