Enbridge plans $10–20B in projects, cites $40B backlog

Enbridge reported a $40 billion secured project backlog and said it plans to approve $10–20 billion of new projects in the next 24 months to support growing natural gas demand and power needs from data centers. The company is targeting about 5% annual EBITDA growth beyond 2026 and is pursuing roughly $50 billion in additional opportunities.

Allen Capps, senior vice president of strategy and president, power, described Enbridge’s asset base in a brief interview ahead of the Energy Infrastructure CEO & Investor Conference. He highlighted the company’s large-diameter natural gas pipelines, significant storage capacity and local distribution companies in the U.S. and Canada as the bases for delivering integrated power solutions to industrial customers and data centers. Enbridge’s pipelines connect to major North American basins, which the company said makes its gas attractive to data-center operators.

Enbridge pointed to specific projects that reflect its approach. The Clear Fork solar project near San Antonio will provide 600 megawatts of capacity to Meta. The Ridgeline Expansion Project in Tennessee is expected to enter service later this year and is intended to support a power plant conversion from coal to natural gas. The company is also planning gas storage expansions on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Canada.

The secured capital program covers about 25 projects and was listed at $40 billion. Enbridge expects to place about $8 billion of projects into service this year, roughly $13 billion in 2027 and $9 billion in 2028. Management estimated the current backlog should support about 4% of the targeted EBITDA growth, with the remainder expected from asset optimization and other initiatives. Beyond the secured program, the firm is pursuing roughly $50 billion of opportunities and aims to greenlight $10–20 billion in projects over the next two years.

Planned spending is allocated by region and business line. Enbridge anticipates investing CAD 10 billion in British Columbia projects and about CAD 1 billion annually in its Ontario local distribution company. In the United States, the company plans about $1.5 billion a year for its U.S. local distribution companies. The firm has set aside about $6 billion each for liquids and for renewables; liquids spending focuses on Mainline optimization to move more Canadian crude into the U.S., while renewables spending emphasizes solar and some wind projects in Europe.

Capital allocation priorities include maintaining an investment-grade balance sheet with debt-to-EBITDA in the 4.5–5.0x range, continuing to return cash to shareholders and funding growth selectively. Enbridge reported 31 years of consecutive dividend growth and said it typically returns about 60–70% of distributable cash flow to shareholders. The company described its growth pipeline as weighted toward brownfield projects and enhancements to existing assets, which management said generally offer lower multiples and predictable returns.

On financing, Capps said the company seeks efficient funding for growth projects and will retain cash in the business to support spending. He added, “The current backlog should underwrite 4% growth, and the balance of growth comes from optimizing assets.” The remarks were made in a short interview ahead of the Energy Infrastructure CEO & Investor Conference.