Enbridge Inc. (ENB) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. My name is Karen Uehara, Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Enbridge. Thank you for joining us at our Annual General Meeting today. Real-time captioning for the hearing impaired is also available today. There will be 3 parts to today's meeting. First, the formal business portion will address the matters to be voted on today, including questions specific to the resolutions, and will be conducted by our Chair Mr. Greg Ebel. In the unlikely event Mr. Ebel is unable to continue as Chair, Mr. Monaco, our President and CEO and a director will chair the meeting. Next after the formal business of the meeting, Al Monaco will deliver his remarks to our shareholders. And finally we will have the question and answer session. Before we begin with the formal business portion of the meeting, I will provide some comments on voting and questions at today's meeting. As a reminder, only registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders are able to vote or ask questions. Voting during this meeting can only be done through our virtual voting platform on the webcast. Once you are logged into the webcast with your control number or username and enbridge2022 with a lowercase E as your password, click the voting tab at the top of the webcast page. The polls are now open. Voting can be completed at any time from now until the end of the formal business of the meeting. Thank you to those of you who have already voted. If you have already voted in advance of the meeting and do not wish to change your vote. You do not need to vote again during the meeting. For those who have not yet voted. We encourage you to vote now. Questions during the meeting can also be submitted through our webcast platform. Once you're logged into the webcast with your control number or username and password, click the messaging tab at the top of the webcast page. Type your question in the text box at the top of the screen, and then click the send arrow. If your question relates to a specific motion, please start your question by identifying the specific motion so we can address your question at the appropriate time of the meeting. We will save all questions that do not identify which motion they relate to for the general question and answer session following the formal business and the CEOs remarks. If a question is personal in nature, we will follow up with you individually after the meeting. We will receive the questions and read them out or summarize them in order for everyone to be aware of the question being dealt with. If you have questions, we encourage you to submit them now. Questions can be submitted throughout the meeting. During the general question and answer session, our CEO will address your questions. If we have a number of questions that are the same or very similar on a topic we will group the questions just to avoid repetition. During the general question and answer session, we will endeavor to address all general questions from our registered shareholders, our proxy holders that are not specific to a motion. However, please note that due to time constraints, we may not be able to address all questions today. At Enbridge, we believe active engagement with our shareholders and stakeholders on an ongoing basis through a variety of avenues is key to transparency, open and informed dialogue, and sharing our story. Finally, we would like to remind you that our answers to your questions in our CEO's remarks may contain forward looking information. By its nature this information contains forecasts assumptions and expectations about future outcomes, which are subject to the risks and uncertainties discussed more fully in our public disclosure filings. We may also refer to non-GAAP or other financial measures. In the event of a technical malfunction or other significant problem that disrupts the meeting, the Chair of the meeting may adjourn, recess or expedite the meeting or take such other action that the Chair determines is appropriate in light of the circumstances. I now welcome, Mr. Greg Ebel, Chair of the Enbridge Board of Directors, to call the meeting to order.

Thank you Ms. Uehara. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Greg Ebel and I have the honor of serving as the Chair of the Enbridge Board. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Enbridge's 2022 annual meeting of shareholders. Before we begin the formal part of today's meeting, I would like to take a moment to recognize the heartbreaking invasion of Ukraine. Our thoughts and support are with the people of Ukraine and we are hopeful for a resolution soon. We are gathered today by technology from locations across North America where indigenous peoples have been and continue to be stewards of the land. I'd like to acknowledge and thank the people whose footsteps have marked these territories for centuries. I'd like to also acknowledge that Enbridge has assets span Turtle Island. And I am speaking to you today from our head office in Calgary, Alberta, which is located on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region. The City of Calgary is also home to the Metis Nation of Alberta Region 3. I now call the meeting to order as chair of the Enbridge Board, and in accordance with our bylaws, I will act as chair of today's meeting. Karen Uehara, Vice President and Corporate Secretary will act as secretary. Al Monaco, our President and Chief Executive Officer is also present at the meeting today. Our external auditors are also available to answer questions as appropriate. In order to ensure that the business of today's meeting proceed smoothly Ms. Uehara, who is a shareholder and duly appointed proxy holder will move and second, the proposals relating to the items of business identified in the notice of meeting, other than the shareholder proposal which will be moved and seconded by a representative of the shareholder proponent who filed the proposal. As in past years, we will have a general question and answer session after the formal business of the meeting is completed. As previously noted, during the formal portion of the meeting, we will also pause to address questions and comments submitted by shareholders and proxy holders that are specific to motions being presented during the meeting. If you are a shareholder or proxy holder with a question that you'd like addressed during the meeting, I ask that you submit your question now. This afternoon we'll deal with items of business indicated in the notice of meeting and management information circuit. Shareholders will first be asked to consider the minutes of the last meeting of shareholders held on May 5, 2021. They will then attend to the regular business of receiving the annual financial statements, together with the accompanying report of Enbridge's auditors. Shareholders will then be asked to elect the directors and vote on the appointment of the auditors for the next year, as well as authorize the directors to fix the auditor's renumeration. As has been the case in prior years shareholders will then be asked to cast a non-binding advisory vote on the corporation's approach to executive compensation, which is commonly referred to as say-on-pay. Finally, shareholders will be asked to consider and vote on the shareholder proposal as set out in Appendix A of the management information circuit. 10 of our 11 incumbent directors are standing for re-election today. In addition, Jason B. Few and Steve W. Williams, 2 new Board candidates, are nominated for election. The number of directors to be elected today has been determined by the Board to be 12. Herb England is not standing for reelection and will retire after today's meeting, having reached the age of 75. Mr. England has served as a director since 2007, and has served on the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee, the Governance Committee, the Sustainability Committee and the Human Resources and Compensation Committee. Mr. Englund chaired the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee from 2014 until 2020. We would sincerely like to thank him for his many years of dedicated service to the Board and to Enbridge. I would also like to thank the Enbridge management group for their fine leadership and also our shareholders for giving me the opportunity to serve as a director and the chair of the Board. Mr. Steven Bandola, representative of the corporation's Registrar and Transfer Agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, is in attendance today and I appoint him to act as scrutineer for the meeting. I will now ask Karen Uehara to confirm that proper notice of the meeting was given and that a quorum is present for the transaction of business.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The notice of meeting and notice of availability of meeting materials for this meeting were mailed on March 17 2022 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 9, 2022. Proof of mailing to registered shareholders will be filed with the records of this meeting. The scrutineer's report shows 8,101 proxies received representing a total of 1,298,637,188 shares, which is 64.1% of the shares outstanding on March 9, 2022. Based on the scrutineer's report, I confirm a quorum is present for the transaction of business at this meeting.

Thank you, Karen. I declare this meeting to be properly constituted for the transaction of business. Ms. Uehara, may I also have a -- may I please have a motion to approve the minutes of the annual meeting of shareholders held on May 5, 2021?

Mr. Chair, I move and second that the minutes of the annual meeting of shareholders held on May 5, 2021, as now submitted to this meeting be taken as read and approved.

Thank you. Can you please advise are there any questions specific to this motion that have been submitted?

No questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you. The next item of business is the placing before the shareholders of the financial statements and the auditor's report for the year that ended December 31, 2021. The financial statements and the auditor's report for the year ended December 31, 2021 are contained in the company's 2021 annual report. The financial statements have been approved by the Board of Directors and are available on the company's website. The Corporation's auditors are PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Mr. Paul Fitzsimmons PwC will be available during the general question and answer session following Mr. Monaco's remarks to answer any of your questions regarding the auditor's report. The next item on the agenda is the election of directors for the next year. 12 directors are to be elected at this meeting. Ms. Uehara, may I please have a nomination for the election of 12 directors to serve on the Enbridge Board for the coming year.

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to nominate each of the following individuals, Mayank M. Ashar, Gaurdie E. Banister, Pamela L. Carter, Susan M. Cunningham, Gregory L. Ebel, Jason B. Few, Teresa S. Madden, Al Monaco, Stephen S. Poloz, S. Jane Rowe, Dan C. Tutcher and Stephen W. Williams for election as Directors of the Corporation to hold office until the close of the next annual meeting, or until the respective successors have been elected.

Thank you, as no other nominations for the directors were received in accordance with company's advanced notice by long, I hereby declare the nominations now closed. I will now entertain a motion respecting the election of directors.

Mr. Chair, I move and second that Mayank M. Ashar, Gaurdie E. Banister, Pamela L. Carter, Susan M. Cunningham, Gregory L. Ebel, Jason B. Few, Teresa S. Madden, Al Monaco, Stephen S. Poloz, S. Jane Rowe, Dan C. Tutcher and Stephen W. Williams be elected directors of the corporation to hold office until the close of the next annual meeting or until the respective successors have been elected.

Thank you. Can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you, we will now proceed. The next item of business is the appointment of the Corporation's auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers or its predecessor. Pricewaterhouse has been the auditors of Enbridge for the past 29 years. The Board of Directors on advice from the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee of the Board recommends their appointment. Ms. Uehara, may I please have a motion?

Mr. Chair, I move and second that PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP be appointed auditors of the corporation to hold office until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders at such remuneration as shall be fixed by the Board of Directors.

Thank you. Can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now remembering that if you've already voted in advance and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. [Voting]

The next item of business today is a non-binding advisory vote on the corporation's approach to executive compensation, commonly known as say-on-pay. Although this vote is optional and non-binding, it gives shareholders an opportunity to provide important input to the Board of Directors. Ms. Uehara, may I have a motion?

Mr. Chair I move and second that the resolution to accept the approach to executive compensation, the text of which is set forth on Page 31 of the management information circular for this meeting, be and is hereby approved.

Thank you. Can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

No questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you. So we will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now remembering that if you have already voted in advance and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. [Voting]

The final item of business today is the consideration of the shareholder proposal submitted by DI Foundation and represented by Investors for Paris Compliance as set out in Appendix A of the management information circular. The Board of Directors and management recommend that shareholders vote against the proposal. I now invite Mr. Duncan Kenyon of Investors for Paris Compliance to present the proposal on behalf of the DI Foundation. Mr. Kenyon, may you please present the motion and make your statement.

Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Duncan Kenyon of Investors for Paris Compliance. I'm a proxy holder representing DI Foundation, and I move and second that the shareholder proposal resolution as set out in the Appendix A through the management information circular be and is hereby approved. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kenyon. Do you have anything further to add?

Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And again, thank you all for participating in this meeting today. I represent Investors for Paris Compliance. We're an organization that tracks net 0 commitments by publicly and traded companies in Canada with a view to accountability. I would like to thank Enbridge for its engagement on this proposal. We learned a great deal from our dialogue with them. And we are encouraged that Canadian energy companies like Enbridge are beginning to adopt net 0 policies. This is good for long-term shareholder value because it's in alignment with where our society and economy are heading. But the content of these net 0 policy is critical as it obviously speaks to the credibility of the company's commitment to a business strategy that adapts to our climate realities. As a proxy for a shareholder who believes that Enbridge falls short in its net 0 policy in some fundamental ways. In net 0 guidance from several initiatives, such as the Science-Based Targets Initiative, The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change and the Climate Action 100, there are share key elements which apply to all companies, which are reflected in our shareholder proposal. These include: #1, full accountability for all emissions. Emissions can be categorized into 3 scopes. Scope 1 being direct emissions from the company's operations, scope 2 are indirect emissions from the generation of purchase energy and finally scope 3 are all the value chain emissions, upstream and downstream. Credible net 0 plans measure and include all 3 scopes in their reduction targets. For Enbridge, Scope 3 emissions constitute the lion's share about 4/5th of their emissions yet the company is failing to include these emissions in its reduction target. The second key criteria is the absolute 2030 emission targets must be a reduction. Climate science tells us that we need to roughly half our 2030 emissions on an absolute basis. Unfortunately, Enbridge has set a weak intensity based target that is reductions per unit of production that only includes scope 1 and 2 emissions, allows absolute emissions to continue to grow and thereby misses the 50% by 2030 emission target. #3 criteria is capital expenditure alignment. As always, investments will determine outcomes. CapEx is key in achieving or not, our 2030 and 2050 absolute reduction targets. Companies must have a plan to align investments accordingly or science-based targets will not be met. So far, Enbridge has yet to line as capital expenditure with net 0 targets and so we see almost 85% of its current planned CapEx are headed for new spending on oil and gas-related infrastructure that will result in increased emissions. We are not alone in our assessment of Enbridge, the CA 100+ group, which includes investors like BlackRock, JPMorgan, RBC Global Asset Management and Manulife Investment Management to name a few, have recently found the same deficiencies in Enbridge's climate commitments in its annual assessment. Pathway to credible science-based net 0 actions creates a business reality and challenge that Enbridge and other oil and gas peers are failing to address. As found by the IEA and others, our global pathway to net 0 means oil and gas production and usage will start shrinking now and end up at about 20% of our current demand by 2050. Yet almost every company in the North American oil and gas sector said the world will still need our oil and gas and points to that 20% as we lead them to expand oil and gas production and infrastructure. It is unfortunately a nonsensical position. It creates a real-world giant game of musical chairs that drives us towards climate disaster and puts every oil and gas -- every oil and gas company at even greater financial risk. This strategy puts billions of investor dollars at risk of becoming stranded assets, while at the same time causing these oil and gas companies to fall further behind in making those investments that are necessary for their transition to a low or 0 carbon economy. In sum, adopting our shareholder proposal would give Enbridge a more credible net 0 plan, we would create the foundation for the company to understand, communicate and act to manage the risks and opportunities it faces with this global energy transformation. We encourage shareholders to vote for this resolution. Again, thank you very much for your time.

Thank you very much, Mr. Kenyon. We appreciate your engagement on this matter. As set out in the management information circular, the Board of Directors opposes this proposal and is recommended to shareholders to go against. The reasons for this recommendation are explained in full on Pages 112 to 114 of the management information circular. Like the presenters of this proposal, we agree with the importance of applying scientifically based data to our tiers and in being transparent and accountable. Enbridge is net 0 by 2050 and interim 2030 targets are already based on science. Enbridge used the SBTi's target setting tool and methodology to develop our interim target. The only item at issue is that this shareholder proposal seeks to have the company agree to a framework for the midstream sector that is still evolving. We are actively monitoring this framework, development process and engaged with SBTi, Climate Action 100 and The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change. Once this new sector-based guidance is developed, we will fully evaluate and assess whether our current targets need amending. That said, our management has taken a strong approach to the energy transition and we are proud that our environmental reporting is viewed among the best in the energy industry. CDP formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project gave us an A minus grade for our climate change response and Sustainalytics ranked us in the top 5% of its industry group. With respect to capital allocation, all potential investments are evaluated in the context of energy transition to ensure they align with our emissions reduction targets and Enbridge has executed a disciplined and well-paid strategy to invest in low-carbon infrastructure. As we have set and demonstrated in multiple ways and Enbridge is committed to being a bridge to a cleaner energy future. Ms. Uehara, can you please advise if any questions specific to this motion were submitted?

Mr. Chair, no questions specific to this motion have been submitted.

Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote. Please record your vote now remembering that if you've already voted in advance and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is required. This concludes the resolutions to be presented at today's meeting and you have had an opportunity to vote on all of them. I therefore declare the polls to be formally closed. Thank you again to all our shareholders who voted in advance of or during today's meeting. We will now pause for a moment for the scrutineer to tabulate the preliminary results for the voting and provide those results to us. Ms. Uehara, do you have the preliminary results of the voting?

Yes, Mr. Chair, I have received confirmation from the scrutineer that each of the 12 Directors have been elected by at least 85% of the votes cast for the election of Directors. The motion to appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the corporation's auditors and have the Director's fixed renumeration has also been approved by at least 91% of the votes cast on that resolution. The advisory vote on the approach to executive compensation has been approved by at least 90% of the votes cast on that resolution. And the shareholder proposal submitted by DI Foundation and represented by Investors for Paris Compliance has been defeated by at least 74% of the votes cast against that resolution.

Thank you very much. I declare each of the resolutions considered at today's meeting in respect of those matters as carried with the exception of the shareholder proposal, which has been defeated. The exact number of cast in respect of each matter will be filed on Edgar and SEDAR and made available on our website. Thank you again for your strong show of support, interest and continued loyalty by attending today's meeting. As all matters of business have been addressed, I now declare the meeting closed. I now call upon Al Monaco, your company's President and Chief Executive Officer, to deliver his remarks and conduct the general question and answer.

Thanks, Greg. Good afternoon, everybody. I'm really excited to talk about our business today, the progress we've made and where we're headed in the future. But first, the situation in Ukraine is deeply troubling. We're all concerned for the people and we hope for a resolution soon. Many of our staff have connections to the region and they share their sorrow and worries for family and friends, and we're supporting them. What's happening is also revealing a lot about global energy markets. There is no doubt that we're in an energy crisis today. High home heating costs, global supply shortages, inflation and pain at the pump. We're truly at an inflection point in global energy markets today. Along with the ongoing need to reduce global emissions, energy security, affordability and reliability are back in focus. Thankfully, North America's energy advantage is a big part of the solution to the crisis. We have the resources, skills and technology to provide that energy affordably and reliably. As you can see here on this chart, if you look at the ESG scores for the top 10 largest global producers, Canada and United States provide that energy more sustainably than anyone else. Enbridge is the largest infrastructure company in North America for energy. We had a critical role to play in energy markets before the crisis. That's even more important right now. And more so going forward. I'm going to talk about that role in how we're building a bridge to a cleaner, more affordable and secure energy future. Before I do that, let's spend a minute on last year's results. It was truly a catalyst here for Enbridge on many fronts: a record year safety wise, strong operating performance, and we generated excellent financial results exceeding our target. We delivered our 27 consecutive annual dividend increases, including another 3% bump for 2022. We put $10 billion of new projects into the ground last year, in a tough permitting, and construction environment. We're not swaying at all from our low risk business model. And our balance sheet is the strongest that it's ever been. All of this translated into total shareholder return last year of 30%. A big part of execution last year was replacing Line 3, the largest project in this company's history. Line 3 uses state of the art technology and it modernized our system. It also provides almost 400,000 barrels per day of capacity and that's critical to our customers and downstream consumers. Now, this doesn't come out in the headlines, but we built excellent relationships with indigenous communities. And that was critical to being able to build this project. Our mindset going in was to protect the water and land and taking advice from indigenous communities to make the project better, including the first of its kind tribal monitoring, and cultural survey program. The team did an amazing job of putting that together. Building trust through environmental stewardship first helped us then establish economic partnerships. Indigenous business and job opportunities totaled some $900 million. We're extremely proud of that outcome. Another big deal for us last year was acquiring the Ingleside export terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas, for $4 billion. As you can see here, Ingleside is the premier crude oil export facility in North America. Now opportunities to bootstrap his strategy like that don't come around often. The terminal also comes with a lot of optionality to capitalize on growing energy exports and low carbon investments. It also aligns with our net 0 goal. In fact, this facility will be net negative emissions because of the solar project that we're building just west of the tanks that you see here. And we're really glad to be welcoming Ingleside staff to Enbridge. We also made strides on our low carbon strategy by establishing a new energy technologies group, and landing important renewable natural gas, hydrogen and carbon capture lines. This is just one part of how we're building a bridge to a cleaner energy future as well on ESG, we continue to lead the pack, and that's where we want to stay. We've reduced emissions intensity by 21%, and absolute emissions by 14% from our baseline. As you can see here, we've also made good headway on workforce diversity, including our Board of Directors, and I encourage everybody to look carefully at the Board's bios to get a feel for their expertise and business judgment they bring to the table. We're not just talking a good game here, our ESG targets are being operationalized in our business, and our compensation is tied to achieving those targets. So we're set up to succeed. Those are some of the '21 highlights, but the results are not just a one year thing. Over the last 15 years, we've invested some $65 billion in organic growth projects at great returns that drove EBITDA at an annual clip of about 15%. And at the same time, we transformed our asset mix by acquiring Spectra Energy, a premier natural gas franchise. We did that, because we have a strong point of view on the future of natural gas. If you look at the growth this franchise has generated so far, and the future opportunity, particularly in the LNG market, right now, we were right. Finally, annual total shareholder return including dividends over that time was about 12%, exceeding that of our peers and the market. And by the way, dividends will continue to be core to our shareholder value proposition, always has, always will be and will grow it sustainably going forward. So that's the rearview mirror. Now let's talk more about how we're building a bridge to a cleaner energy future. It starts with our view of where energy markets are headed, which in turn drives our approach to the energy transition. There's not a lot of debate that demand for energy is headed up as populations grow, and developing nations improve living standards. That plus refocusing on energy security means we'll need even more energy than we thought. We'll need both conventional and renewable resources of supply to provide the energy buffer and diversity of supply the world needs today and going forward. But to meet our climate goals, it's also clear we're moving to a lower carbon economy. So the strategic issue for energy infrastructure companies like ours, is bouncing these dual challenges and getting the pace of transition, right. If we're too slow, we may not be able to catch up. If we're too fast, we may make the wrong bets. Now, the good news is that in any transition scenario that we can imagine, lower carbon energy will require transportation and storage. That happens to be right down the middle of our fairway and we've got the best assets and markets to capitalize on that. Our approach to the transition is to be ahead of the curve with a 2 prong strategy. Prong one is to continue to invest in conventional energy projects that grow our business by expanding and modernizing our assets, building new export infrastructure, both in Canada and the US, and accelerating investment in natural gas. Prong 2 is to steadily ramp up low carbon growth, which we've been doing already for a long time. This is really exciting stuff. We're blending and transporting renewable natural gas and hydrogen, working on moving and storing carbon. And we're expanding natural gas investments to serve LNG. Now on the latter point, remember that the largest source of emissions reductions has been and will continue to be natural gas. We believe that policy wise governments have simply got to focus more attention on the need to reduce global emissions with natural gas. More good news, Canada and the US are very well positioned for natural gas to play a much larger role in global energy markets. Now on renewables, we've been building a great platform for over 20 years, developing our capabilities and skill and accelerating growth at the same time. So let me illustrate the progress on this 2 prong strategy. We have a huge inventory of conventional and low carbon opportunities in the order of $6 billion a year. On the conventional side, we're expanding and modernizing our gas systems, which will displace coal and support renewables growth, while significantly lowering emissions. Our Texas Eastern system is positioned well in the US northeast, to address the supply bottlenecks and high energy prices that consumers experience every year. And we're working on expanding LNG export capacity on the US Gulf Coast, and the west coast of Canada. We currently feed 4 LNG export facilities in the Gulf Coast. And we've locked down 3 more projects that will supply future LNG plants. We will continue to grow our gas utility business in Ontario, an absolute gem of an asset and we're optimizing our liquids pipelines business. And now given the capital we've invested in liquids in the past, it's set to throw off a lot of free cash flow that can be reinvested in natural gas, renewables and low carbon opportunities. We're in the middle of a large wind construction program, right now offshore France with 4 wind farms underway. What you see here is the first turbine installed 3 weeks ago on our 480 megawatt project at Saint-Nazaire. Back in North America. We're also using the skills we've developed in renewables to reduce emissions in our conventional business. We have 3 solar self-power projects operating right now, and 10 more in construction. These plants generate clean energy to run our pipeline and pumps and compressors. And they're part of how we'll reach our net 0 commitment. We're also making great progress on hydrogen. Our green hydrogen project in Ontario is operational and blending into our gas distribution system. And we're developing a second larger pilot in Quebec. So we're making zero emissions energy from renewables and using it to heat homes. A key part of reaching society's global emissions goals as well, is carbon capture and storage. We're leading the way on this as well and we just received some exciting news. We've been awarded the right to further develop our Wabamun Carbon Hub in Alberta, working with great partners here, including 5 indigenous groups, and we hope they'll become owners in the project with us. We're developing carbon capture and hydrogen opportunities in the Gulf Coast, and Ontario as well. And finally, we have 7 renewable natural gas projects in operation or construction right now, and another 50 or so in development. So you can see we have a lot of low carbon potential ahead all in, we see roughly $4 billion of investment through 2025 and then ramping up after that but we're also going to be very careful and disciplined in how we invest capital and allocate it to the best opportunities. Our investment guardrails are very straightforward. Number one, maintain our very strong balance sheet, because that gives us flexibility. 2 provide shareholders with dividend growth that they can rely on, and 3, put capital to work to generate good return. Of the $5 to $6 billion of annual investable capacity the $3 to $4 billion is slated for our gas transmission, gas utility, and liquids franchises. We'll put the remaining $2 billion to work where we see the most value, whether that's organic growth, share repurchases or other opportunities or a combination of those. Another part of our investment discipline relates to our net 0 commitment. As I've mentioned, we have plans in place to achieve net 0 on existing assets. But new assets will also need to achieve net 0. And finally, here's our 3 year outlook. This year, we expect EBITDA and distributable cash flow to grow by roughly 8%. By optimizing our existing assets, executing our capital program, and deploying excess financing capacity that I mentioned, we expect to deliver compound annual growth and DCF per share a 5% to 7% through 2024. That's off for 2021 base, and dividend growth should follow up to the level of DCF per share growth. I'll close by saying this. The success we've had to this point in our enviable position going forward stems entirely from the commitment of our people. They make it happen from Houston to Toronto, from Duluth to Edmonton, from Ottawa to Western Europe and from Waltham to here in Calgary, and many points in between. What we do every day, it comes down to earning the public's trust. Our team is so dedicated to our number one priority to be a safe, reliable and responsible operator. They're focused on our purpose to deliver the energy people want and need every day. That is a big job. They also support communities with their time and resources. It's amazing and rewarding for me to watch how they pull together in tough situations. They've seen it all, fire, floods, hurricanes, and the current energy crisis. While we're adapting to a constantly changing environment, they never wavered from serving customers and stakeholders. Our people truly live our values of safety, integrity, respect and inclusion. And I'm very proud of them and our organization. To sum up, Enbridge is about a lot of things. But here's how I think about who we are and what we do. North American energy and what we do every day at Enbridge is vital to global energy security. Recent events are highlighting that. We're blessed with assets that can't be replicated and we serve the very best markets. We've got a strong financial position. We're careful about how we invest capital. We're in good shape to continue our track record of solid growth, both on the conventional and low carbon front. We're moving at the right pace on the energy transition and our proven ESG leadership differentiates us in our sector. Final point. Yes, we're in a challenging environment. And the global energy landscape is always shifting and moving. But we're ready because we've got great people, terrific assets, and the right strategies and that makes me, our Board of Directors and the rest of our team very optimistic, and we're excited about building that bridge to a cleaner energy future. Thank you for listening and you're support of Enbridge. We'll now take your questions.

We will now proceed with the general question and answer session. Mr. Swales, Enbridge's Director of Investor Relations, will read out the questions that have come in today for Mr. Monaco to respond to. Just a reminder that questions may only be submitted by registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders.

Thank you, Karen. Mr. Monaco. We have a question here from Jeff Carlson. On page 3 of Enbridge's 2021 annual report it states $1.5 billion share buyback program we recently introduced creates an additional avenue to return that value to shareholders. I disagree and I view using share buybacks as a way to create value for shareholders as a coin flip at best. At worst, when such purchases are made the shares may be purchased at overvalued market prices, which therefore destroy shareholder value. Further, using company earnings to repurchase its own shares, does not demonstrate a vision of long term growth for Enbridge. Doesn't it make more sense to deploy this capital in ways that will actually grow the company or to return these earnings directly to shareholders who have risked their own money in the form of higher and special dividends? With this in mind my question is, why has the Board adopted this narrow and foolish policy of repurchasing its own shares?

Okay, thanks, Mr. Carlson, we appreciate the question. Thank you for it. You know, when I read your question, and listen to it being replayed here, we're probably not that far apart in terms of how we see value, and I'll just say, you know, one thing, the Board gave this a lot of consideration and is given a lot of thought. So maybe I'll highlight 2 things. The first thing is with respect to how we return capital. And in our case, the majority of our capital has always been, as you know, returned through dividends. And we expect that to continue. In fact, in round numbers, today, we return about $7 billion in capital through dividends. That, right there has always been the value proposition of our company, we believe in steady and growing dividends over a long period of time. And I think we've delivered that well. And going forward, as we've mentioned, we believe that we'll continue up to the level of the distributable cash flow that we generate in the business. I think share buybacks can make sense in certain situation, situations that we see as an additional avenue to return capital, and can be opportunistic, as well as programmatic. And the focus of this program, Mr. Carlson is potentially to deliver more value to shareholders and optimize the value. And the buybacks is one way to do that. Now, I will say though, that the application of this buyback program will be disciplined, and it'll be very considered based on a number of factors. So the first factor we look at is the balance sheet, in ensuring that we have a strong financial position, before we would deploy capital to buying back shares. The second one is we'll evaluate what other opportunities we have for that capital reinvestment. So in broad terms, you would have seen this through our presentations, we've got roughly $5 to $6 billion of investable capacity per year. That's after the payment of dividends and maintenance capital. Right now, we think the lion's share of that, call it $3 to $4 billion will be deployed in exactly what you're referring to which is growing the business, long term value creation through the things we've all always done, as you know, investing in and new projects and so forth. The other options of course we'll look at as well. Certainly, we could deploy that capital to temporarily reduce debt on the balance sheet, we could certainly deploy it into more growth opportunities, there are opportunities to buy assets that come along as well. But having that lever there is helpful in cases where we believe our shares are undervalued in the market, which is where we think we are today. So in a nutshell, we'll be very disciplined about this. But we do feel it's an important lever for us to have to take the opportunity to invest in our shares. And remember, when we invest in our shares, it's like buying more of our own assets. And of course, as you heard in my remarks, we're very comfortable with our current assets and investing more capital. Hopefully that answers your question.

Thank you, Mr. Monaco. We have an additional question from Mr. Carlson. I must ask a difficult question related to the references Mr. Ebel and Mr. Monaco have made to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. I believe all wars are abhorrent and that all rational people should be opposed to it. But where was Enbridge's condemnation of the war in Syria, the destruction of Iraq, of Libya, the ongoing destruction of Yemen, the list could go on and on. In this light, Enbridge's, statements on the war in Ukraine seem opportunistic, and sound more like virtue signaling than anything else?

Okay, thanks again. Mr. Carlson, I think we might have to agree to disagree on this point and maybe I'll just explain why. First of all, you know, I agree with you 100%, that all wars are abhorrent. There's no disagreement on that. In fact, you know, over the time, and over the countries that you mentioned there that were under attack, is very difficult to watch those situations, Syria, Iran, Libya and as you pointed out, many more. You know, when we think about how we engage our stakeholders, we obviously look at the variety of stakeholders that we have as a company, and there are many. In this particular case, we have a large stakeholder group, which is our direct community and our employees. And we have a significant element of our employee and community base that that have strong affiliation, let me just say that we're family in this region. But that does not take away from the fact that we oppose all of the wars that you had mentioned.

Thank you, Mr. Monaco. We have no further questions.

Okay, well, thank you very much, Al. Great job and real pleasure as usual holding our meeting and the interests from all of our investors and interested parties. I want to thank everyone again for attending today's meeting. We do truly value your time and your commitment to our company. Please stay safe, stay healthy and you may now disconnect from the broadcast and thank you for your support once again.