巴菲特致股东的信（2008年）④受监管的公用事业业务

Regulated Utility Business

受监管的公用事业业务

Berkshire has an 87.4% (diluted) interest in MidAmerican Energy Holdings, which owns a wide variety of utility operations. The largest of these are (1) Yorkshire Electricity and Northern Electric, whose 3.8 million end users make it the U.K.’s third largest distributor of electricity; (2) MidAmerican Energy, which serves 723,000 electric customers, primarily in Iowa; (3) Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power, serving about 1.7 million electric customers in six western states; and (4) Kern River and Northern Natural pipelines, which carry about 9% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S.

在伯克希尔拥有 87.4%股权的中美能源控股公司旗下，包含许多不同种类的公用事业的营运。其中最大的分别为：(1)约克郡电力与北方电力公司(Yorkshire Electricity,Northern Electric)，拥有 380 万电力用户，为英国第三大的电力分销商；(2)中美能源(MidAmerican Energy)，在爱荷华州拥有 72.3 万电力用户；(3)太平洋电力与洛基山电力公司(Pacific Power,Rocky Mountain Power)，在美西 6 州拥有 170 万电力用户；(4)科恩河与北方天然管道公司(Kern River,Northern Natural pipelines)，供应全美 9%的天然气消耗量。

Our partners in ownership of MidAmerican are its two terrific managers, Dave Sokol and Greg Abel, and my long-time friend, Walter Scott. It’s unimportant how many votes each party has; we make major moves only when we are unanimous in thinking them wise. Nine years of working with Dave, Greg and Walter have reinforced my original belief: Berkshire couldn’t have better partners.

我们在中美能源控股的合伙人包括两位了不起的管理者 Dave Sokol 和 Greg Abel，以及我的老友 WalterScott。每个合伙人拥有多少投票权并不重要。因为只有我们达成一致时才会做出重大决定。同 Dave、Greg 和Walter 的 9 年合作让我深信，我们再找不到比他们更好的搭档了。

Somewhat incongruously, MidAmerican also owns the second largest real estate brokerage firm in the U.S., HomeServices of America. This company operates through 21 locally-branded firms that have 16,000 agents. Last year was a terrible year for home sales, and 2009 looks no better. We will continue, however, to acquire quality brokerage operations when they are available at sensible prices.

有些让人不协调的是，中美能源还拥有全美第二大房地产经纪商美国家庭服务公司 HomeServices。这家公司有 21 个地方品牌和 16000 个代理商。去年是房地产销售的恐怖之年，2009 年也好不到哪儿去。不过，我们会在合理价格水平上，继续收购一些优质经纪公司。

Here are some key figures on MidAmerican’s operations:

以下是中美能源公司关键运营数据：

MidAmerican’s record in operating its regulated electric utilities and natural gas pipelines is truly outstanding. Here’s some backup for that claim.

中美能源在政府管制的电气和天然气管道服务方面的运营非常出色。主要基于以下几点原因。

Our two pipelines, Kern River and Northern Natural, were both acquired in 2002. A firm called Mastio regularly ranks pipelines for customer satisfaction. Among the 44 rated, Kern River came in 9th when we purchased it and Northern Natural ranked 39th. There was work to do.

公司于 2002 年收购科恩河及北方天然管道公司。根据 Mastio 公司的客户满意度排名，当时在总计 44 家公司中，科恩河排名第 9，北方天然排名 39。我们有许多工作要做。

In Mastio’s 2009 report, Kern River ranked 1st and Northern Natural 3rd. Charlie and I couldn’t be more proud of this performance. It came about because hundreds of people at each operation committed themselves to a new culture and then delivered on their commitment.

在 Mastio 2009 年的报告中，科恩河排名升至第 1，而北方天然排名第 3。对于这样的业绩我们非常的骄傲。这主要得益于每个运营部门所有员工对新文化的认同以及全心全意的付出。

Achievements at our electric utilities have been equally impressive. In 1995, MidAmerican became the major provider of electricity in Iowa. By judicious planning and a zeal for efficiency, the company has kept electric prices unchanged since our purchase and has promised to hold them steady through 2013.

我们在电力事业的成就同样令人瞩目。1995 年，中美能源成为爱荷华州的主要电力供应者。通过精确规划和效率提升，从我们进入以来，公司就一直维系着电价不变，并且会继续保持价格稳定到 2013 年。

MidAmerican has maintained this extraordinary price stability while making Iowa number one among all states in the percentage of its generation capacity that comes from wind. Since our purchase, MidAmerican’s wind-based facilities have grown from zero to almost 20% of total capacity.

除了维持电价的稳定，中美能源还让爱荷华成为全美使用风力发电比率最高的州。自我们买下这家公司起，中美能源风力发电占总发电量的比率已经从 0 上升到了 20%。

Similarly, when we purchased PacifiCorp in 2006, we moved aggressively to expand wind generation. Wind capacity was then 33 megawatts. It’s now 794, with more coming. (Arriving at PacifiCorp, we found “wind” of a different sort: The company had 98 committees that met frequently. Now there are 28. Meanwhile, we generate and deliver considerably more electricity, doing so with 2% fewer employees.)

类似的还有我们在 2006 年购买了太平洋电力公司之后，我们积极的扩张风电设施。风电装机容量从 33 兆瓦上升到 794 兆瓦，未来将进一步上升。(在太平洋电力公司，我们发现另外一股"风"潮：以前该公司经常碰面的有98 个委员会。现在仅剩下 28 个。同时，我们的发电量和输电量大幅增加，而员工却减少了 2%)。

In 2008 alone, MidAmerican spent $1.8 billion on wind generation at our two operations, and today the company is number one in the nation among regulated utilities in ownership of wind capacity. By the way, compare that $1.8 billion to the $1.1 billion of pre-tax earnings of PacifiCorp (shown in the table as “Western”) and Iowa. In our utility business, we spend all we earn, and then some, in order to fulfill the needs of our service areas. Indeed, MidAmerican has not paid a dividend since Berkshire bought into the company in early 2000. Its earnings have instead been reinvested to develop the utility systems our customers require and deserve. In exchange, we have been allowed to earn a fair return on the huge sums we have invested. It’s a great partnership for all concerned.

在 2008 年，中美能源旗下两家子公司在风力发电领域投入 18 亿美元，现在我们的风电装机容量在全美受监管的公用事业中排名第一。顺便提一下，将这 18 亿美元与太平洋电力(表中的"西部公用事业")和爱荷华州电力 11亿美元的税前收益相比。在公共事业领域，我们将经营收益全部再投入，以满足电力服务领域的投资需求。自从伯克希尔 2000 年初购买公司之后，公司从未分红，所有收益被再投资到公用事业领域以满足客户需求上。作为回报，我们的巨额投资被允许获得合理的回报。这对所有相关方来说，均是一次伟大的合作。

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Our long-avowed goal is to be the “buyer of choice” for businesses – particularly those built and owned by families. The way to achieve this goal is to deserve it. That means we must keep our promises; avoid leveraging up acquired businesses; grant unusual autonomy to our managers; and hold the purchased companies through thick and thin (though we prefer thick and thicker).

在商业上，我们长期以来的公开目标就是成为"最佳买家"，尤其是对那些由家族创立和拥有的生意。想拥有这个称号，就必须配得上这个称号。这意味着我们必须坚守承诺：避免杠杆收购；给予经理人极大的自主权；和被收购公司同甘共苦，好坏共度(尽管我们更喜欢公司越来越好)。

Our record matches our rhetoric. Most buyers competing against us, however, follow a different path. For them, acquisitions are “merchandise.” Before the ink dries on their purchase contracts, these operators are contemplating “exit strategies.” We have a decided advantage, therefore, when we encounter sellers who truly care about the future of their businesses.

过去的历史表明我们言行一致。同我们竞争的大多数买家都不走我们这条路。对他们而言，收购就像买卖萝卜白菜，合约墨迹未干，收购者已经在考虑"退出策略"，寻找下家。因此，当我们碰到那些真正关心自己生意未来的出售者时，我们拥有压倒性优势。

Some years back our competitors were known as “leveraged-buyout operators.” But LBO became a bad name. So in Orwellian fashion, the buyout firms decided to change their moniker. What they did not change, though, were the essential ingredients of their previous operations, including their cherished fee structures and love of leverage.

几年前，我们的竞争对手被称为"杠杆收购者"(LBO)。但是杠杆收购后来声名狼藉。因此，以 Orwellian 式的方式收购者决定改头换面。但是他们的所作所为全都未变，比如他们深爱的收费结构和对杠杆资金的热爱。

Their new label became “private equity,” a name that turns the facts upside-down: A purchase of a business by these firms almost invariably results in dramatic reductions in the equity portion of the acquiree’s capital structure compared to that previously existing. A number of these acquirees, purchased only two to three years ago, are now in mortal danger because of the debt piled on them by their private-equity buyers. Much of the bank debt is selling below 70¢ on the dollar, and the public debt has taken a far greater beating. The private-equity firms, it should be noted, are not rushing in to inject the equity their wards now desperately need. Instead, they’re keeping their remaining funds very private.

它们的新马甲是"私募股权基金"(PE)。这个称号颇具颠倒事实的误导性。这些公司收购一项业务，几乎总是导致被收购方资本结构中的股权资本，相比收购之前大幅减少。一些才被收购了两三年的公司，发现自己被 PE 加给它们的债务推到命悬一线的境地。今天，银行债券大都在以低于票面价值七折的价格出售，政府公债价格更低。尽管如此，应注意的是，PE 公司并没有对它们的监护公司注入它们急需的股权投资，相反，它们把自己还剩下的资金牢牢掌控在自己手里，相当"自私"。

In the regulated utility field there are no large family-owned businesses. Here, Berkshire hopes to be the “buyer of choice” of regulators. It is they, rather than selling shareholders, who judge the fitness of purchasers when transactions are proposed.

在受监管的公用事业领域内没什么大的家族企业。因此，伯克希尔希望成为监管者眼中的"最佳买家"。当收购计划提出时，是监管者来判断买家是否合适，而不是出售股权的股东。

There is no hiding your history when you stand before these regulators. They can – and do – call their counterparts in other states where you operate and ask how you have behaved in respect to all aspects of the business, including a willingness to commit adequate equity capital.

当你站在监管者面前时，你的历史是无法掩盖的。他们能——而且也会——打电话给你所在各州的合作机构，调查你之前在业务各方面的表现，包括你是否愿意投入足够的资本。

When MidAmerican proposed its purchase of PacifiCorp in 2005, regulators in the six new states we would be serving immediately checked our record in Iowa. They also carefully evaluated our financing plans and capabilities. We passed this examination, just as we expect to pass future ones.

在 2005 年中美能源提出收购 PacifiCorp 时，六个州的监管机构迅速检查了我们在爱荷华州的纪录。他们还仔细评估了我们的财务计划和融资能力。我们通过了检验。我们希望我们能一如既往地通过未来的各种检验。

There are two reasons for our confidence. First, Dave Sokol and Greg Abel are going to run any businesses with which they are associated in a first-class manner. They don’t know of any other way to operate. Beyond that is the fact that we hope to buy more regulated utilities in the future – and we know that our business behavior in jurisdictions where we are operating today will determine how we are welcomed by new jurisdictions tomorrow.

我们的信心来自两个方面。首先，DaveSokol 和 GregAbel 会始终以一流的水准来管理与他们相关的任何业务，他们根本不知道任何其它的方式。其次，我们希望在未来能购买更多受管制的公用事业业务，我们知道，明天是否受监管机构的欢迎，取决于今天我们如何表现。