Growth
Over the next five years we are positioned to grow our three business segments and to expand our capabilities to provide clean and affordable energy to more customers.
As a diverse energy infrastructure company with a strong mix of gas, power, and utilities assets, AltaGas has strong opportunities for growth in each of its business segments.
AltaGas’ midstream business is positioned to offer producers more options for market access and the potential for higher netbacks. By investing in natural gas processing and export infrastructure, we are working with producers to unlock the value of world class natural gas reserves in Western Canada. We provide solutions from wellhead to tidewater to serve Asian markets with clean energy, while maintaining access to traditional markets to the east or south.
We are doing this through the creation of a new energy hub in northeast British Columbia. Our strategic alliance with Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd. and our 198 Mmcf/d Townsend shallow‑cut natural gas processing facility, under construction in the heart of the Montney natural gas play, are the first steps. We are also working on a liquids separation facility near Fort St. John, and the proposed Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal near Prince Rupert.
This terminal could export propane from Western Canada and be a game changer for the industry.
AltaGas also has opportunities to grow its power business. In 2015 we grew it by approximately 50 percent to 2,041 MW, through the addition of natural gas-fired facilities in the western United States. Power generation retirements, and the increasing demand and reliance on renewable power, are driving demand for flexible natural gas-fired generation across North America. AltaGas’ strategically-located power assets are in key areas where the demand for cleaner energy is increasing, and we are well positioned to capitalize on opportunities.
Our Blythe Energy Center in southern California can benefit from the ambitious climate initiatives that drive the state’s need for flexible generation. Through the development of Blythe II and Blythe III, we can provide fast-start, flexible facilities to meet the California Independent System Operator’s need for rapid starting units. The facilities could be paired with renewable opportunities that fit well with California’s desired energy future. From a transmission perspective, these facilities may be situated to operate in a larger, potential Desert Southwestern regional transmission organization.
AltaGas expects to grow its existing utility infrastructure through continued investment and capital improvements in franchise areas. This will result in rate base growth and continued customer growth, including converting users of alternative energy sources to natural gas. Driven by regulatory regimes that generally provide stable earnings and cash flows, AltaGas’ utilities expect to achieve rate base growth in the range of 6 to 7 percent over the next five years.
Committed projects fully contracted
