CALGARY, March 16, 2018 /CNW/ - Enbridge Inc.
(Enbridge or the Company) (TSX:ENB) (NYSE:ENB) today stated that it
does not expect a material impact to its previously disclosed
financial guidance over the 2018-2020 horizon as a result of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) revised policy
statement on interstate pipeline tax allowance recovery in Master
Limited Partnerships (MLPs) nor from FERC's Notice of Proposed
Rule-Making (NOPR).
Spectra Energy Partners LP (SEP) does not expect any material
impact to its financial guidance from the FERC policy actions.
Roughly 60% of SEP's gas pipeline revenue comes from negotiated or
market-based tariffs and therefore not directly affected by the
FERC policy revisions. The remaining 40% of gas pipeline revenue is
from cost of service based tariffs which could be subject to tax
recovery disallowance. The liquids assets within SEP are
predominantly negotiated tariffs and also not materially affected
by the policy revisions. SEP anticipates no immediate impact to its
current gas pipeline cost of service rates as a result of the
revised policy, and therefore, no impact is expected to its
previously provided 2018 financial guidance. Any future
impacts would only take effect upon the execution and settlement of
a rate case. In the event of a rate case, all cost of service
framework components would be taken into consideration, which is
expected to offset a significant portion of any impacts related to
the new FERC policy. Any unmitigated impacts are not anticipated to
materially change SEP's distributable cash flow outlook beyond
2018.
Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (EEP) derives a portion of its
revenue from a Facility Surcharge Mechanism that applies cost of
service tariffs which would be impacted by this policy
change. As a result of lower tax rates under US Tax Reform,
EEP previously guided to a decrease in distributable cash flow
(DCF) of $55 million for 2018. This
new FERC policy would cause a further decrease to DCF of roughly
$80 million on an annual basis, or
roughly $60 million on a prorated
basis in 2018.
Under the International Joint Toll mechanism, reductions in the
EEP tariff will create an offsetting revenue increase on the
Canadian Mainline system owned by Enbridge Income Fund Holdings
Inc. (ENF). Financial guidance at ENF remains unchanged; however,
this could provide a further tailwind for financial results. The
combined impact at both EEP and ENF are offsetting for Enbridge on
a consolidated basis.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Forward-looking information, or forward-looking statements,
have been included in this news release to provide information
about the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including
management's assessment of Enbridge and its subsidiaries' future
plans and operations. This information may not be appropriate for
other purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified
by words such as ''anticipate'', ''expect'', ''project'',
''estimate'', ''forecast'', ''plan'', ''intend'', ''target'',
''believe'', "likely" and similar words suggesting future outcomes
or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or
statements included or incorporated by reference in this document
include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the
following: expected EBITDA or expected adjusted EBITDA; expected
earnings/(loss) or adjusted earnings/(loss); expected
earnings/(loss) or adjusted earnings/(loss) per share; expected DCF
or DCF per share; expected future cash flows; expected performance
of the Company's businesses; financial strength and flexibility;
expectations on sources of liquidity and sufficiency of financial
resources; expected credit metrics and debt to EBITDA levels;
expected costs related to announced projects and projects under
construction; expected in-service dates for announced
projects and projects under construction; expected capital
expenditures; expected impact on cash flows of the Company's
commercially secured growth program; expected future growth and
expansion opportunities; expectations about the Company's
joint venture partners' ability to complete and finance projects
under construction; expected closing of acquisitions and
dispositions; estimated future dividends; expected outcome
of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission review of the Line 3
Replacement Project; expected future actions of regulators;
expectations regarding commodity prices; supply forecasts;
expectations regarding the impact of the Merger Transaction
including the combined Company's scale, financial flexibility,
growth program, future business prospects and performance and
streamlining opportunities; expected impact of U.S. Tax Reform;
dividend payout policy; and dividend growth and dividend payout
expectation.
Although Enbridge believes these forward-looking statements
are reasonable based on the information available on the date such
statements are made and processes used to prepare the information,
such statements are not guarantees of future performance and
readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements
involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results,
levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such statements. Material assumptions
include assumptions about the following: the expected supply of and
demand for crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL) and
renewable energy; prices of crude oil, natural gas, NGL and
renewable energy; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates;
availability and price of labour and construction materials;
operational reliability; customer and regulatory approvals;
maintenance of support and regulatory approvals for the Company's
projects; anticipated in-service dates; weather; the
realization of anticipated benefits and synergies of the Merger
Transaction; governmental legislation; acquisitions and the timing
thereof; the success of integration plans; impact of capital
project execution on the Company's future cash flows; credit
ratings; capital project funding; expected EBITDA or expected
adjusted EBITDA; expected earnings/(loss) or adjusted
earnings/(loss); expected earnings/(loss) or adjusted
earnings/(loss) per share; expected future cash flows and expected
future DCF and DCF per share; and estimated future dividends.
Assumptions regarding the expected supply of and demand for crude
oil, natural gas, NGL and renewable energy, and the prices of these
commodities, are material to and underlie all forward-looking
statements, as they may impact current and future levels of demand
for the Company's services. Similarly, exchange rates, inflation
and interest rates impact the economies and business environments
in which the Company operates and may impact levels of demand for
the Company's services and cost of inputs, and are therefore
inherent in all forward-looking statements. Due to the
interdependencies and correlation of these macroeconomic factors,
the impact of any one assumption on a forward-looking statement
cannot be determined with certainty, particularly with
respect to the impact of the Merger Transaction on the Company,
expected EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, earnings/(loss), adjusted
earnings/(loss) and associated per share amounts, or estimated
future dividends. The most relevant assumptions associated with
forward-looking statements on announced projects and projects under
construction, including estimated completion dates and expected
capital expenditures, include the following: the availability and
price of labour and construction materials; the effects of
inflation and foreign exchange rates on labour and material
costs; the effects of interest rates on borrowing costs; the impact
of weather and customer, government and regulatory approvals on
construction and in-service schedules and cost recovery
regimes.
Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties pertaining to the impact of the Merger
Transaction, operating performance, regulatory parameters, dividend
policy, project approval and support, renewals of rights of way,
weather, economic and competitive conditions, public opinion,
changes in tax laws and tax rates, changes in trade agreements,
exchange rates, interest rates, commodity prices, political
decisions and supply of and demand for commodities,
including but not limited to those risks and uncertainties
discussed in this news release and in the Company's other filings
with Canadian and United States
securities regulators. The impact of any one risk, uncertainty or
factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not
determinable with certainty as these are interdependent and
Enbridge's future course of action depends on management's
assessment of all information available at the relevant time.
Except to the extent required by applicable law, Enbridge assumes
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements made in this news release or otherwise, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. All
subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral,
attributable to Enbridge or persons acting on the Company's behalf,
are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary
statements.
About Enbridge Inc.
Enbridge Inc. is
North America's premier energy
infrastructure company with strategic business platforms that
include an extensive network of crude oil, liquids and natural gas
pipelines, regulated natural gas distribution utilities and
renewable power generation. The Company safely delivers an average
of 2.8 million barrels of crude oil each day through its Mainline
and Express Pipeline; accounts for approximately 65% of U.S.-bound
Canadian crude oil exports; and moves approximately 20% of all
natural gas consumed in the U.S., serving key supply basins and
demand markets. The Company's regulated utilities serve
approximately 3.7 million retail customers in Ontario, Quebec, and New
Brunswick. Enbridge also has interests in more than 2,500 MW
of net renewable generating capacity in North America and Europe. The Company has ranked on the Global
100 Most Sustainable Corporations index for the past nine years;
its common shares trade on the Toronto and New
York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB.
Life takes energy and Enbridge exists to fuel people's
quality of life. For more information, visit
www.enbridge.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
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Jonathan
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Toll Free: (888)
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Toll Free: (800)
481-2804
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Email:
suzanne.wilton@enbridge.com
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Email:
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SOURCE Enbridge Inc.