In the American Jobs Plan (commonly referred to
as Biden’s infrastructure plan), the administration has proposed massive funding for upgrading infrastructure in the U.S. With respect to the “green” agenda, the $2 trillion plan earmarks $100 billion for carbon capture and
sequestration, hydrogen demonstration projects, investment tax credits for transmission projects, and a ten-year extension of existing investment and production tax credits for renewable generation. Another $111 billion would be allocated to water
system improvements. Electric vehicle promotion is proposed to receive $174 billion, which includes aid to auto makers, tax incentives for electric vehicles, and grants to be used for vehicle chargers and to refit public transportation with electric
alternatives.
Initially, a great deal of
the impact of federal legislation would likely come from extended and expanded tax credits. Federal tax credits have helped lower the cost of renewable generation to the extent that, in many cases, replacing old coal plants with wind or solar
creates an economic benefit for both utilities and ratepayers. Tax credits for battery storage could have a similar effect. Electric transmission tax credits are also proposed, but the more immediate impact to transmission could come from efforts to
accelerate the permitting processes. In a similar vein, the administration has announced a goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind generation by the year 2030. However, states in the Northeast already have plans in place for nearly that amount of
generation by the 2034-2035 timeframe. Thus the greater federal impact on offshore wind could simply come from accelerating the environmental permitting process.
While clean energy goals from the Biden
administration are actively debated, U.S. utilities are mostly regulated at the state level, which means they have to incorporate into their plans the ambitious clean energy targets outlined by the individual states. As plans become reality, the
state regulators are keenly focused on balancing these targets with the desire to keep energy affordable (with rate increases generally at or below the rate of inflation). In addition, winter storm Uri, which wreaked havoc across Texas and other
parts of the Southwest in February, recently highlighted that, as renewables become a larger component of the generation mix, there is a greater need to plan, and pay, for system capacity and long-term storage.
The impact of these “clean and green”
plans on the utility and energy industries will be highly dependent on implementation at the country, state and company levels. We believe that the direction of policy announcements to date will lead to incremental investment opportunities for many
of the Fund’s utility and energy holdings in the U.S. and Europe, supporting the outlook for their long-term earnings and dividend growth.
New Executive Leadership: At the March 2021 meeting of the Board of Directors, the Board elected David D. Grumhaus, Jr., as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Fund in succession to Nathan I. Partain, who had served in that position
since the Fund’s inception. Mr. Partain retired as President and Chief Investment Officer of the Fund’s investment adviser, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co., on December 31, 2020, but continues to serve as a director of the
Fund. The Board and officers of the Fund express their sincere appreciation to Mr. Partain for his years of outstanding service to the Fund.
Board of Directors Meeting: Also at the regular March 2021 Board meeting, the Board declared a quarterly distribution of 35 cents per share to holders of record of common stock on June 14, 2021, with the distribution to be payable on June 30,
2021. At the regular June 2021 Board meeting, the Board declared a quarterly distribution of 35 cents per share to holders of record of common stock on September 15, 2021, with the distribution to be payable on September 30, 2021.
The Impact of Leverage on the Fund: The use of leverage enables the Fund to borrow at short-term rates and invest at higher yields on equity holdings. As of April 30, 2021, the Fund’s leverage consisted of $80 million of floating rate preferred
stock and $130 million of floating rate debt. On that date, the total amount of leverage