恩橋 (ENB) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Enbridge Inc. First Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Brent, and I will be your operator today. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this call is being recorded.

女士們，先生們，歡迎來到 Enbridge Inc. 2023 年第一季度財務業績電話會議。我叫布倫特，今天我將是你的接線員。 （操作員說明）請注意，此通話正在錄音中。

I will now turn the call over to Rebecca Morley Director, Investor Relations. Rebecca, you may begin.

我現在將把電話轉給投資者關係部主任 Rebecca Morley。麗貝卡，你可以開始了。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to the Enbridge First Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. My name is Rebecca Morley, and I'm the Director of the Investor Relations team. Joining me this morning are Greg Ebel, President and CEO; Vern Yu, Chief Financial Officer and President of New Energy Technologies, and the heads of each of our business units: Colin Gruending, Liquids Pipelines, Cynthia Hansen, Gas Transmission and Midstream; Michele Harradence, Gas Distribution and Storage and Matthew Akman, Renewable Power.

謝謝。早上好，歡迎來到 Enbridge 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。我叫 Rebecca Morley，是投資者關係團隊的主管。今天早上和我一起的是總裁兼首席執行官 Greg Ebel； New Energy Technologies 首席財務官兼總裁 Vern Yu，以及我們每個業務部門的負責人：Colin Gruending、Liquids Pipelines、Cynthia Hansen、Gas Transmission 和 Midstream； Michele Harradence，天然氣分配和儲存和 Matthew Akman，可再生能源。

As per usual, this call is being webcast, and I encourage those listening on the phone to follow along with the supporting slides. We'll try to keep the call to roughly 1 hour and in order to answer as many questions as possible, we will be limiting the questions to one plus a single follow-up if necessary. We'll be prioritizing questions from the investment community. So if you're a member of the media, please direct your inquiries to our communications team, who will be happy to respond.

與往常一樣，此電話會議正在網絡廣播中，我鼓勵那些在電話中收聽的人觀看支持幻燈片。我們會盡量將通話時間控制在大約 1 小時內，並且為了盡可能多地回答問題，我們會將問題限制為一小時加一次跟進（如有必要）。我們將優先考慮來自投資界的問題。因此，如果您是媒體的一員，請將您的問題直接發送給我們的溝通團隊，他們將很樂意回复。

As always, our Investor Relations team will be available following the call for any follow-up questions. On to Slide 2, where I will remind you that we'll be referring to forward-looking information on today's presentation and Q&A. By its nature, this information contains forecast assumptions and expectations about future outcomes, which are subject to the risks and uncertainties outlined here and discussed more fully in our public disclosure filings. We'll also be referring to non-GAAP measures summarized below.

一如既往，我們的投資者關係團隊將在接到任何後續問題的電話後隨時待命。在幻燈片 2 上，我會提醒您，我們將參考今天的演示和問答中的前瞻性信息。就其性質而言，此信息包含對未來結果的預測假設和期望，這些假設和預期受此處概述的風險和不確定性的影響，並在我們的公開披露文件中進行了更全面的討論。我們還將參考下面總結的非 GAAP 措施。

With that, I'll turn it over to Greg Ebel.

有了這個，我會把它交給 Greg Ebel。

Thank you, Rebecca, and good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. I'm excited to be here today to review our first quarter results and provide an update on our business. It was another great quarter. So I'll start off by recapping some key highlights that underpinned our strong performance. I'll then take you through some strategic advancements we made in our core franchises. Vern will walk you through the financial performance and outlook. And lastly, I'll close with a few key takeaways. And as always, the management team is here to address any questions you may have.

謝謝你，麗貝卡，大家早上好，感謝你加入我們。我很高興今天能來這裡回顧我們第一季度的業績並提供我們業務的最新情況。這是另一個很棒的季度。因此，我將首先回顧一些支撐我們強勁表現的關鍵亮點。然後，我將向您介紹我們在核心特許經營權方面取得的一些戰略進展。 Vern 將帶您了解財務業績和前景。最後，我將以一些要點作為結束。和往常一樣，管理團隊會在這裡解決您可能遇到的任何問題。

First quarter saw strong financial performance, a little ahead of our expectations and we are on track to meet our full year guidance. And our balance sheet continues to be in great shape, too. We exited the quarter at 4.6x debt-to-EBITDA, near the bottom of our range all of which supports our BBB+ credit ratings.

第一季度的財務表現強勁，略高於我們的預期，我們有望實現全年指引。我們的資產負債表也繼續處於良好狀態。我們以 4.6 倍的債務與 EBITDA 比率結束了本季度，接近我們範圍的底部，所有這些都支持我們的 BBB+ 信用評級。

In addition, we were extremely pleased to announce yesterday that we have reached a settlement in principle with our customers on the mainline toll framework. This is great news for us and our customers, and we will comment more on that in a moment.

此外，我們昨天非常高興地宣布，我們已就主線收費框架與客戶達成原則和解。這對我們和我們的客戶來說是個好消息，我們稍後會對此發表更多評論。

On the asset acquisition front, we signed an agreement to acquire Aitken Creek Gas Storage in British Columbia, which enhances our LNG export strategy in Canada. And we completed the acquisition of Tres Palacios, further improving our competitive position in natural gas storage along the Gulf Coast. We also signed an LOI with Yara to construct a blue ammonia production facility at our Ingleside Energy Center, which is a great example of how our existing conventional asset base is leading to exciting low-carbon opportunities.

在資產收購方面，我們簽署了收購不列顛哥倫比亞省 Aitken Creek Gas Storage 的協議，這加強了我們在加拿大的液化天然氣出口戰略。我們完成了對 Tres Palacios 的收購，進一步提升了我們在墨西哥灣沿岸天然氣儲存領域的競爭地位。我們還與 Yara 簽署了一份意向書，在我們的 Ingleside 能源中心建造一個藍色氨生產設施，這是一個很好的例子，說明我們現有的傳統資產基礎如何帶來令人興奮的低碳機會。

In Renewables, we were awarded the 1-gigawatt Normandy offshore wind farm, along with our partners, EDF and CPPIB, which adds to our visible growth profile. We saw strong utilization across all of our systems and delivered our second consecutive quarter of record mainline volumes. And of course, we remain committed to delivering excellent safety performance. Across the corporation, we continually target lowering our total recordable incident frequency every year and have a great track record of doing so.

在可再生能源領域，我們與我們的合作夥伴 EDF 和 CPPIB 一起獲得了 1 吉瓦的諾曼底海上風電場，這增加了我們可見的增長前景。我們看到所有系統的利用率都很高，並連續第二個季度實現了創紀錄的主線交易量。當然，我們仍然致力於提供出色的安全性能。在整個公司，我們每年都不斷以降低可記錄事故的總頻率為目標，並且在這方面取得了良好的成績。

Vern will touch on our progress towards our ESG goals and highlight a few new areas we're focusing on. But I would note that you can expect to see our sustainability report out later this month. All in all, another strong quarter. The new mainline tolling settlement and growth initiatives all support our near-term guidance and our strong multiyear outlook.

Vern 將介紹我們在實現 ESG 目標方面取得的進展，並重點介紹我們關注的幾個新領域。但我要指出的是，您可以期待在本月晚些時候看到我們的可持續發展報告。總而言之，又是一個強勁的季度。新的干線收費結算和增長舉措都支持我們的近期指導和我們強勁的多年前景。

So let's touch quickly on the financial highlights. First quarter EBITDA is up 8% and DCF is up 3%. These results speak to our strong operational performance and the resilient low-risk nature of our business model in all economic circumstances. Our strong balance sheet leaves us plenty of room to execute the tuck-in M&A deals you've seen us announce recently and still leaves ample space to continue to grow further.

因此，讓我們快速談談財務亮點。第一季度 EBITDA 增長 8%，DCF 增長 3%。這些結果說明了我們強大的運營績效以及我們的業務模式在所有經濟環境下都具有彈性的低風險特性。我們強大的資產負債表使我們有足夠的空間來執行您最近看到我們宣布的合併併購交易，並且仍然有足夠的空間繼續進一步增長。

Now let's take a closer look at the mainline tolling settlement. I'm very pleased with yesterday's announcement that we have reached a settlement in principle with our customers on the mainline. This really is a win-win-win. Our customers will receive First Choice service standards at a competitive toll. Enbridge will earn attractive risk-adjusted returns and society will have access to safe, secure and affordable energy for years to come. From a scheduling standpoint, it's status quo. The mainline will continue as a common carrier system, available to all customers on a monthly nomination basis. Year-to-date, mainline volume performance has been strong and Q2 is shaping up to be another solid quarter. Going forward, our incentive to maximize barrels on the system, combined with our new more competitive toll and our unparalleled market access increases the attractiveness of our pipeline compared to others and ensures the mainline will be well utilized by our customers for decades to come.

現在讓我們仔細看看主線收費結算。我很高興昨天宣布我們已經與主線上的客戶達成原則上的和解。這真的是雙贏。我們的客戶將以具有競爭力的價格獲得 First Choice 服務標準。 Enbridge 將獲得有吸引力的風險調整後回報，社會將在未來幾年獲得安全、可靠和負擔得起的能源。從調度的角度來看，這是現狀。主線將繼續作為一個公共運營商系統，按月向所有客戶提供服務。年初至今，主線銷量表現強勁，第二季度將成為另一個穩健的季度。展望未來，我們最大限度地增加系統桶的動力，加上我們新的更具競爭力的通行費和我們無與倫比的市場准入，與其他管道相比，增加了我們管道的吸引力，並確保我們的客戶在未來幾十年內充分利用乾線。

The new mainline toll will be stable and components of the toll will be indexed to inflation and will earn an attractive return similar to the one earned during the CTS agreement. Overall, this is a good deal for everyone and as a result of thoughtful inclusive and constructive negotiations. So I'd like to thank our customers and the Enbridge team for working so diligently and constructively on this positive deal framework.

新幹線通行費將保持穩定，通行費的組成部分將與通貨膨脹掛鉤，並將獲得與 CTS 協議期間類似的有吸引力的回報。總的來說，這對每個人來說都是一筆好交易，是深思熟慮的包容性和建設性談判的結果。因此，我要感謝我們的客戶和 Enbridge 團隊在這個積極的交易框架上如此勤奮和建設性地工作。

On the right-hand side of the page, you can see some of the specifics of the new settlement. We can appreciate that there's a lot to digest with this deal, and we're here to answer all your questions. But the bottom line that I want everyone to take away from today is that this is a good outcome for all parties involved. The new toll is in line with our expectations and the provision we've been recording in our financial results. And looking ahead, our financial guidance and outlook are maintained under the new deal. And finally, we're filing a settlement application with the CER and FERC and hope to have final approval before the end of the year.

在頁面的右側，您可以看到新定居點的一些細節。我們明白這筆交易有很多需要消化的地方，我們會在這裡回答您的所有問題。但我希望大家今天要記住的底線是，這對所有相關方來說都是一個好結果。新通行費符合我們的預期以及我們在財務業績中記錄的準備金。展望未來，我們的財務指導和展望在新協議下保持不變。最後，我們正在向 CER 和 FERC 提交和解申請，希望在年底前獲得最終批准。

So now let's take a closer look at the other parts of our liquids business. In Liquids Pipelines, we continue to advance our U.S. Gulf Coast export strategy. FID the initial phase of EHOT and expect to see operations begin in late 2025. We're about to launch a binding open season for Flanagan South to leverage available capacity of up to 95,000 barrels per day and provide additional market access to our customers.

那麼現在讓我們仔細看看我們液體業務的其他部分。在液體管道方面，我們繼續推進我們的美國墨西哥灣沿岸出口戰略。 FID 是 EHOT 的初始階段，預計將於 2025 年底開始運營。我們即將為 Flanagan South 推出具有約束力的開放季節，以利用每天高達 95,000 桶的可用產能，並為我們的客戶提供更多的市場准入。

In addition to securing throughput on Flanagan South, the volumes would also secure long-haul demand on the entire Enbridge network. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we took operatorship of the Gray Oak pipeline, and we will look for opportunities to optimize that system. Equally exciting is our low carbon opportunity set, which continues to grow. In March, we signed an LOI with Yara to jointly construct a blue ammonia production facility at the Ingleside Energy Center. This facility is expected to produce up to 1.4 million tons per year of blue ammonia, backed by a long-term 100% offtake agreement.

除了確保 Flanagan South 的吞吐量外，這些流量還將確保整個 Enbridge 網絡的長途需求。本季度末，我們接管了 Gray Oak 管道，我們將尋找機會優化該系統。同樣令人興奮的是我們的低碳機會集，它繼續增長。 3 月，我們與 Yara 簽署了一份意向書，在 Ingleside Energy Center 共同建設藍色氨生產設施。在長期 100% 承購協議的支持下，該設施預計每年可生產高達 140 萬噸的藍色氨。

We're also planning to construct a carbon capture and sequestration hub near Ingleside as part of our previously announced partnership with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures. So Ingleside is shaping up to be a one-of-a-kind Swiss Army Knife terminal with its world-class oil loading capacity, on-site storage and a suite of lower carbon development and renewable power. We're also continuing to advance our low-carbon plans north of the border, where we are partnering with Capital Power and Heidelberg materials to construct a carbon capture hub near Edmonton with phased in-service dates starting as early as 2026.

作為我們之前宣布的與 Oxy Low Carbon Ventures 合作的一部分，我們還計劃在 Ingleside 附近建造一個碳捕獲和封存中心。因此，Ingleside 正在塑造成為一個獨一無二的瑞士軍刀碼頭，擁有世界一流的石油裝載能力、現場儲存和一套低碳開發和可再生能源。我們還在繼續推進邊界以北的低碳計劃，在那裡我們與 Capital Power 和 Heidelberg materials 合作，在埃德蒙頓附近建造一個碳捕獲中心，最早將於 2026 年開始分階段投入使用。

And last but definitely not least, we also have 7 solar self-power projects operating or under construction along the mainline that reduces emissions and power cost exposure along our liquids lines. So let's move on to some of the exciting developments in our gas transmission business.

最後但並非最不重要的一點是，我們還有 7 個太陽能自供電項目沿幹線運行或在建，以減少我們液體管線沿線的排放和電力成本風險。因此，讓我們繼續討論我們的天然氣輸送業務中一些令人興奮的發展。

Last week, we announced that we're acquiring Aitken Creek Gas Storage from Fortis. This asset is well positioned and will enhance our service offering to our customers and support our LNG export strategy. Also in Canada, we're looking to relaunch a binding open season for a second expansion of BC Pipelines T-North in the second half of this year. The engineering work on wood fiber LNG is progressing on schedule. And of note, by using renewable hydroelectric power, wood fiber will be the lowest emission LNG export facility in the world. In the U.S., we've just closed a successful open season on Texas Eastern in the Appalachia region and are pleased with customer interest.

上週，我們宣布將從 Fortis 手中收購 Aitken Creek Gas Storage。該資產定位良好，將加強我們為客戶提供的服務，並支持我們的液化天然氣出口戰略。同樣在加拿大，我們希望在今年下半年為 BC Pipelines T-North 的第二次擴建重新啟動具有約束力的開放季節。木纖維液化天然氣工程正在按計劃進行。值得注意的是，通過使用可再生水力發電，木纖維將成為世界上排放量最低的液化天然氣出口設施。在美國，我們剛剛結束了阿巴拉契亞地區德克薩斯東部的一個成功的開放季節，並對客戶的興趣感到滿意。

So we'll look to sanction this expansion by the end of the year. And as mentioned earlier, we've recently closed our previously announced acquisition of Tres Palacios gas storage, adding 35 Bcf of gas storage, which will support LNG along the Gulf Coast. Lastly, we're ready to proceed with the construction of the Rio Bravo Pipeline once next decade, reaches FID on its Rio Grande LNG, which should be by the end of June.

因此，我們將在今年年底前批准這一擴張。如前所述，我們最近結束了之前宣布的對 Tres Palacios 儲氣庫的收購，增加了 35 Bcf 的儲氣庫，這將支持墨西哥灣沿岸的液化天然氣。最後，我們準備在下個十年繼續建設 Rio Bravo 管道，並在 6 月底完成 Rio Grande LNG 的 FID。

So now let's take a closer look at Aitken Creek Gas Storage. Aitken Creek is the only storage facility in BC that has connections to all the key egress pipelines, including Enbridge's West Coast and Alliance pipelines. The facility is uniquely positioned to support BC gas production in a volatile price environment. And with Western Canadian gas production, expected to outpace demand and egress bottlenecks for the foreseeable future, Aitken Creek is well positioned to create long-term value for Enbridge.

那麼現在讓我們仔細看看 Aitken Creek Gas Storage。 Aitken Creek 是 BC 唯一一個與所有主要出口管道相連的儲存設施，包括 Enbridge 的西海岸和 Alliance 管道。該設施具有獨特的優勢，可以在價格波動的環境中支持 BC 天然氣生產。由於加拿大西部的天然氣產量預計在可預見的未來將超過需求和出口瓶頸，Aitken Creek 已準備好為 Enbridge 創造長期價值。

We are acquiring the facility from Fortis for $400 million plus customary closing adjustments. And we expect to earn a typical Enbridge return on the asset. Said another way, this is another strategic transaction with a single-digit acquisition multiple that should produce double-digit returns.

我們以 4 億美元加上慣例收盤調整的價格從 Fortis 手中收購了該設施。我們希望獲得典型的 Enbridge 資產回報。換句話說，這是另一項具有個位數收購倍數的戰略交易，應該會產生兩位數的回報。

Now let's move on to our latest announcement in our French offshore wind portfolio. In March, we were selected to develop France's largest offshore wind farm to date with installed capacity of 1 gigawatt. Similar to our other French offshore wind farms, we've been awarded a long-term fixed-price CFD index to inflation. We continue to demonstrate how we can grow the business with the same capital discipline and low-risk model that applies to our three other core businesses. This project will mark the sixth offshore wind project with our partners EDF Renewables and CPP investments and plan to continue pursuing future awards in the region.

現在讓我們繼續我們在法國海上風電產品組合中的最新公告。 3 月，我們被選中開發法國迄今為止最大的海上風電場，裝機容量為 1 吉瓦。與我們在法國的其他海上風電場類似，我們獲得了針對通貨膨脹的長期固定價格 CFD 指數。我們將繼續展示如何利用適用於我們其他三項核心業務的相同資本紀律和低風險模式來發展業務。該項目將標誌著我們與合作夥伴 EDF Renewables 和 CPP 投資的第六個海上風電項目，併計劃繼續在該地區尋求未來的獎勵。

Once complete, Centre Manche 1 will be located 32 kilometers off the coast of Normandy and is expected to supply electricity equivalent to the annual energy need of 1.5 million people. Next steps for this project are planning, engineering and permitting. Ahead of FID, and we expect the project to be in operation around the end of the decade.

完工後，Centre Manche 1 將位於諾曼底海岸 32 公里處，預計可提供相當於 150 萬人每年能源需求的電力。該項目的後續步驟是規劃、工程和許可。在 FID 之前，我們預計該項目將在本世紀末投入運營。

Now that we've reviewed the updates across our business, I would like to share our First Choice business model and how it's positioned in the current macro environment. During the first quarter, there was extreme volatility in interest rates and foreign exchange markets, but our results demonstrate how our low-risk model delivers in all cycles. As you can see from the chart on the right, we have hit guidance through challenging times in the past, and we expect that to continue.

現在我們已經回顧了整個業務的更新，我想分享我們的 First Choice 業務模型及其在當前宏觀環境中的定位。第一季度，利率和外匯市場波動劇烈，但我們的結果證明了我們的低風險模型在所有周期中的表現如何。正如您從右側圖表中看到的那樣，我們在過去充滿挑戰的時期達到了指導，我們希望這種情況能夠繼續下去。

Our earnings are protected with 98% of the cash flows being generated from either cost of service or contracted throughput. 95% of our customer base is investment grade, and 80% of our EBITDA comes from assets with built-in inflation protection against rising costs. As discussed earlier, our balance sheet is in great shape, and all of the agencies have reaffirmed our BBB high credit ratings. We actively manage our interest rate exposure and less than 5% of our debt portfolio is exposed to floating rates.

我們的收入受到保護，98% 的現金流來自服務成本或合同吞吐量。我們 95% 的客戶群是投資級別的，我們 80% 的 EBITDA 來自具有針對成本上升的內置通脹保護的資產。如前所述，我們的資產負債表狀況良好，所有機構都重申了我們的 BBB 高信用評級。我們積極管理我們的利率風險，我們的債務組合中只有不到 5% 是浮動利率風險。

Lastly, we borrow from more than 25 different lenders and have no exposure to any U.S. regional banks. When you add all that up, we are able to deliver predictable returns through all market cycles and deliver a first choice value proposition to our investors.

最後，我們從超過 25 家不同的貸方借款，並且沒有接觸任何美國地區性銀行。當您將所有這些加起來時，我們能夠在所有市場週期中提供可預測的回報，並為我們的投資者提供首選價值主張。

So now let me turn it over to Vern to walk you through our quarterly financial results, our outlook and update you on our ESG efforts.

所以現在讓我把它轉交給 Vern，向您介紹我們的季度財務業績、我們的展望，並向您介紹我們在 ESG 方面所做的最新工作。

Thanks, Greg, and good morning, everyone. 2023 is off to a great start. Strong operational performance resulted in an 8% increase in EBITDA and a 3% increase in DCF per share year-over-year. For the second quarter in a row, mainline volumes averaged over 3 million barrels per day and with the new tolling settlement, we are confident our system will remain highly utilized well into the future. Gas transmission utilization remained high, and Q1 included higher Texas Season revenues from our recent FERC approved rate case settlement.

謝謝，格雷格，大家早上好。 2023 年是一個良好的開端。強勁的運營業績導致 EBITDA 同比增長 8%，每股 DCF 同比增長 3%。連續第二個季度，幹線運輸量平均每天超過 300 萬桶，並且隨著新的收費結算，我們相信我們的系統將在未來保持高利用率。天然氣傳輸利用率仍然很高，第一季度包括來自我們最近的 FERC 批准費率案件和解的更高德克薩斯季節收入。

Our utility business was also up in the quarter, but the outperformance was mostly due to a change in the timing of storage and transportation margin, which will reverse over the balance of the year. We'll talk in a little bit more about the seasonality in our business. Our renewals business benefited from extremely high European power prices last year. These prices have returned to more normal levels this year. At Energy Services, our transportation commitments expired during Q1 and market backwardation has softened compared to the same period in 2022.

我們的公用事業業務在本季度也有所增長，但表現出色主要是由於儲運利潤率的時間發生變化，這將在今年餘下時間逆轉。我們將更多地討論我們業務的季節性。我們的續訂業務受益於去年歐洲極高的電價。今年這些價格已恢復到更正常的水平。在 Energy Services，我們的運輸承諾在第一季度到期，與 2022 年同期相比，市場現貨溢價有所緩和。

The quarter also benefited from a stronger U.S. dollar, which contributed to higher EBITDA. Below the line, higher interest rates on flooding rate debt, the timing of maintenance capital and higher NCI distributions from our Athabasca indigenous investment partnership, partially offset the strong operational performance coming from our businesses. Enbridge continues to be well positioned to navigate market volatility as we saw in the first quarter.

該季度還受益於美元走強，這導致 EBITDA 增加。總而言之，更高的洪水率債務利率、維護資本的時機以及我們阿薩巴斯卡本土投資合夥企業的更高 NCI 分配，部分抵消了我們業務的強勁運營業績。正如我們在第一季度看到的那樣，Enbridge 繼續處於有利地位以應對市場波動。

Our results demonstrate the low-risk nature of our business model and also demonstrate the predictability of our financial and operational performance. So let's take a moment and talk about the seasonality of our business. Q1 and Q4 are typically our strongest financial quarters into winter, more gas flows on our gas transmission system, and there are more peaking days. Similarly, at the utility, the majority of heating degree days are weighted towards the colder months.

我們的結果證明了我們商業模式的低風險性質，也證明了我們財務和運營績效的可預測性。因此，讓我們花點時間談談我們業務的季節性。第一季度和第四季度通常是進入冬季後我們最強勁的財務季度，我們的輸氣系統中的天然氣流量增加，高峰日也更多。同樣，在公用事業公司，大部分采暖度數天數都偏向於較冷的月份。

In our liquids business, refinery turnarounds typically take place in the spring and the fall, which means their deliveries are lower during this period. All of this is built into our annual guidance, and we're on track to meet that guidance this year. So let's talk about that now. As Greg mentioned, we're reaffirming our 2023 guidance that we provided last November. The mainline settlement is in line with our expectations and the toll provision that was baked into our plan.

在我們的液體業務中，煉油廠的檢修通常發生在春季和秋季，這意味著他們在此期間的交付量較低。所有這些都包含在我們的年度指南中，我們有望在今年實現該指南。現在讓我們談談這個。正如 Greg 所提到的，我們重申我們去年 11 月提供的 2023 年指南。主線結算符合我們的預期和納入我們計劃的通行費規定。

We're expecting continued strong operating performance across all of our businesses and the stronger U.S. dollar provides a slight tailwind for our results. However, warmer weather, rising interest rates, modest inflationary pressure on operating costs, and commodity price backwardation in our Energy Services business unit, our hurdles were looking to offset.

我們預計我們所有業務的經營業績將持續強勁，而美元走強為我們的業績提供了輕微的推動力。然而，天氣變暖、利率上升、運營成本溫和的通脹壓力以及我們能源服務業務部門的商品價格現貨溢價，我們的障礙正在尋求抵消。

On the risk management front, substantially all of our U.S. dollar DCF exposure has been hedged for the year at approximately $1.37. And since our last update, we've reduced our floating rate debt exposure for the remainder of the year, it's now below 5%. So all in all, we're in good shape here.

在風險管理方面，我們今年幾乎所有的美元 DCF 敞口都在大約 1.37 美元的水平上進行了對沖。自上次更新以來，我們已經降低了今年剩餘時間的浮動利率債務風險，現在低於 5%。所以總而言之，我們在這裡的狀態很好。

Let's move to our medium-term financial outlook, which we're also reaffirming today. There's no change to what we shared with you at our Investor Day in March. In the first bucket, we've made good progress on rate cases and the new mainline settlement allows us to continue to optimize our Liquids Pipelines business. In the second bucket, we're advancing opportunities to build out our secured organic growth projects with the Normandy offshore wind project and the Yara blue ammonia JV.

讓我們轉向我們的中期財務展望，我們今天也重申了這一點。我們在三月份的投資者日與您分享的內容沒有變化。在第一個桶中，我們在費率案例上取得了良好進展，新的主線結算使我們能夠繼續優化我們的液體管道業務。在第二個桶中，我們正在推進機會，通過諾曼底海上風電項目和 Yara 藍氨合資企業建立我們有保障的有機增長項目。

We're also advancing a number of open seasons on our systems. We will be launching our Flanagan South open season soon, and we've closed our Appalachian region, Texas Eastern open season, and we're still planning a T-North open season for later this year.

我們還在我們的系統上推進了一些開放季節。我們將很快啟動我們的弗拉納根南部開放季，我們已經關閉了阿巴拉契亞地區、德克薩斯州東部的開放季，我們仍在計劃今年晚些時候的 T-North 開放季。

Last but not least, we're judiciously deploying our investment capacity. During the quarter, we announced the acquisition of Tres Palacios, our joint venture with Divert and this week, we announced the acquisition of Aitken Creek Gas Storage. We continue to execute our strategy and effectively allocate capital to deliver the growth that we're committed to. We view prudent capital allocation as being a big part of our investment thesis, and we continue to strive to maximize shareholder returns.

最後但同樣重要的是，我們正在明智地部署我們的投資能力。本季度，我們宣布收購我們與 Divert 的合資企業 Tres Palacios，本週，我們宣布收購 Aitken Creek Gas Storage。我們繼續執行我們的戰略並有效地分配資本以實現我們承諾的增長。我們將審慎的資本配置視為我們投資理念的重要組成部分，我們將繼續努力實現股東回報最大化。

Let's move on to that now. Our capital allocation priorities are unchanged. Our #1 priority is maintaining a strong, flexible balance sheet. Q1 debt-to-EBITDA was 4.6x, leaving us plenty of room to execute our secured capital program. We'll continue to return capital to shareholders through a sustainable and growing dividend, while maintaining the dividend within our 60% to 70% payout range. In addition, we'll look for opportunities to selectively repurchase shares at regional coal prices and you'll have seen we did a little bit of that earlier in April.

現在讓我們繼續。我們的資本配置優先順序沒有改變。我們的第一要務是保持強大、靈活的資產負債表。第一季度債務與 EBITDA 之比為 4.6 倍，這讓我們有足夠的空間來執行我們的擔保資本計劃。我們將繼續通過可持續且不斷增長的股息向股東返還資本，同時將股息維持在我們 60% 至 70% 的派息範圍內。此外，我們將尋找機會以區域煤炭價格有選擇地回購股票，您會看到我們在 4 月初做了一些這方面的工作。

Our free cash flow and financial flexibility provides us with roughly $6 billion a year of investment capacity, and we will allocate capital only to the best of the many opportunities that we have in front of us. Let's now turn to our secured growth program. Today, our secured growth program sits at about $17 billion. It's diversified across our businesses and will be deployed over a number of years, which mitigates today's cost pressures, which are coming from tight supply chain and tight labor pools.

我們的自由現金流和財務靈活性為我們提供了每年大約 60 億美元的投資能力，我們只會將資金分配給我們面前的眾多機會中的最佳機會。現在讓我們轉向我們的安全增長計劃。今天，我們的安全增長計劃約為 170 億美元。它在我們的業務中多樣化，並將在數年內部署，這減輕了當今來自緊張的供應鍊和緊張的勞動力池的成本壓力。

Since Enbridge Day, we've added the Enbridge Houston oil terminal to the secured growth program as that project has now reached FID. As I said earlier, our equity self-financing model provides us with approximately $6 billion of annual investment capacity, where we have plenty of room for more organic growth, asset acquisitions, debt repayments and share buybacks.

自 Enbridge Day 以來，我們已將 Enbridge Houston 石油碼頭添加到安全增長計劃中，因為該項目現已達到 FID。正如我之前所說，我們的股權自籌資金模式為我們提供了大約 60 億美元的年度投資能力，我們有足夠的空間進行更多的有機增長、資產收購、債務償還和股票回購。

Let's finish up with ESG. I want to echo what Greg said earlier about ESG. We remain committed to being an industry leader, not only because it's the right thing to do, but it's a fundamental enabler of our business. As an example, every investment opportunity that we evaluate must have its own net zero emissions plan built into its project economics. As you've already heard, we've announced our JV with Yara to build a blue ammonia production facility and we plan to sequester approximately 95% of the facility's CO2 emissions using carbon capture and storage. This quarter, we issued the largest sustainably-linked bond in U.S. history at about $2.3 billion. This brings our total sustainably linked financings to over $7 billion.

讓我們結束 ESG。我想重複 Greg 之前關於 ESG 所說的話。我們始終致力於成為行業領導者，不僅因為這是正確的做法，而且是我們業務的根本推動力。例如，我們評估的每個投資機會都必須在其項目經濟學中納入自己的淨零排放計劃。正如您已經聽說的那樣，我們已經宣布與 Yara 建立合資企業來建造一個藍色氨生產設施，我們計劃使用碳捕獲和儲存來封存該設施約 95% 的二氧化碳排放量。本季度，我們發行了美國歷史上規模最大的可持續發展相關債券，規模約為 23 億美元。這使我們與可持續發展相關的融資總額超過 70 億美元。

On diversity and inclusion, we've set ambitious workplace representation goals for ourselves, and we're tracking well against these goals. At Enbridge, we are dedicated to creating an inclusive work environment for all of our employees. Our strong Board refreshment practices bring in new perspectives and expertise, including directors with experience and indigenous engagement, new energy technologies and energy transition.

在多樣性和包容性方面，我們為自己設定了雄心勃勃的工作場所代表目標，並且我們正在很好地跟踪這些目標。在 Enbridge，我們致力於為所有員工創造一個包容的工作環境。我們強大的董事會更新實踐帶來了新的視角和專業知識，包括具有經驗和本土參與、新能源技術和能源轉型的董事。

Since 2021, we've added five new directors and effective January 1 of this year, Pamela L. Carter, was appointed Chair of our Board and she is a first female and our first black chair.

自 2021 年以來，我們增加了五名新董事，並於今年 1 月 1 日生效，Pamela L. Carter 被任命為我們的董事會主席，她是第一位女性，也是我們的第一位黑人主席。

With that, I'll pass it back to Greg.

有了這個，我會把它傳回給格雷格。

Well, thanks very much, Vern. And as we wrap up here for questions, let me leave you with a few key takeaways. With the mainline tolling settlement moving toward approval, our guidance and outlook remain unchanged, and we are now even better positioned to serve our customers' growth plans. Enbridge's low-risk commercial model positions us to withstand market volatility and deliver predictable results and consistent growth on your behalf. We're still laser-focused on balance sheet strength and executing on our growth program within our equity self-funding model. And at Enbridge ESG leadership in the industry is not only good practice but also a key component of our license to operate and continue growing.

好吧，非常感謝，弗恩。當我們在這裡結束提問時，讓我給你留下一些要點。隨著幹線收費結算走向批准，我們的指導和前景保持不變，我們現在可以更好地服務於客戶的增長計劃。 Enbridge 的低風險商業模式使我們能夠承受市場波動，並代表您提供可預測的結果和持續增長。我們仍然專注於資產負債表的實力，並在我們的股權自籌資金模式下執行我們的增長計劃。在 Enbridge，ESG 在行業中的領導地位不僅是良好實踐，也是我們運營和持續增長許可的關鍵組成部分。

Thank you. And now let's open up the lines for your questions.

謝謝。現在讓我們打開你的問題線。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Jeremy Tonet with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 JPMorgan 的 Jeremy Tonet。

Just wanted to see if you could go to yesterday's big announcement with regards to the mainline agreement. And if I look at the waterfall chart, just a few points I want to clarify there, if it's scale proportional to actual number? If this is the net toll impact of 2023? Or is it just a half year impact? And if it's a full year impact, is it still $5 billion EBITDA next year? Just trying to gauge those items.

只是想看看你是否可以去看昨天關於主線協議的重大公告。如果我看一下瀑布圖，我想澄清幾點，它是否與實際數字成比例？如果這是 2023 年的淨通行費影響？還是只是半年的影響？如果是全年影響，明年的 EBITDA 還會是 50 億美元嗎？只是想衡量這些項目。

Yes. Good question. I think maybe we'll start with Vern and maybe Colin will have something add too. We're shocked that the first question is on the mainline.

是的。好問題。我想也許我們將從 Vern 開始，也許 Colin 也會添加一些內容。我們很震驚，第一個問題是在主線上。

Jeremy, I think I think you're referring to the supplementary material that we provided yesterday as part of our announcement. I think the key thing to think about is the provision that we've been booking is based on a whole host of factors, and we went to a lot more granularity than we normally would to give -- the street a better sense of what's actually happening. So there are -- there's obviously a downward revision of the toll, offset by another bunch of other factors. All that being said, the provision is in line, 100% what we've been booking through the interim period and what we expect to see in 2023. Obviously, our auditors have signed off on that. And as we look forward to 2024 and beyond, obviously, the EBITDA from the mainline is going to go up and down a little bit with volumes, the level of toll foreign exchange rates on the Lakehead portion of the tool. And now we have this inflation escalator at CPI and the power price escalator at the basket of power prices that we're going to see across all the regions that we pump crude in.

傑里米，我認為你指的是我們昨天在公告中提供的補充材料。我認為要考慮的關鍵是我們一直在預訂的規定是基於一系列因素的，而且我們比通常提供的要細化得多——街道對實際情況有更好的了解發生。所以有 - 顯然有一個通行費的下調，被另一組其他因素抵消。話雖如此，該條款符合我們在過渡期間預訂的內容以及我們預計在 2023 年看到的內容的 100%。顯然，我們的審計師已經簽署了該條款。當我們展望 2024 年及以後時，顯然，主線的 EBITDA 將隨著交易量、工具湖首部分的通行費外匯匯率水平而略有上升和下降。現在我們在消費物價指數上有了這個通貨膨脹自動扶梯，在一籃子電價上有了電價自動扶梯，我們將在我們抽取原油的所有地區看到。

So I think the long and the short of it is 2023 guidance is intact, and our medium-term outlook remains unchanged.

因此，我認為 2023 年的多頭和空頭指導是完整的，我們的中期前景保持不變。

Got it. That's very helpful there. And then the follow-up is just the knock-on effects. Downstream there is -- it seems like there could be some very nice leverage to what this does for your systems. So wondering if you could just walk us through a bit on that plan again South expansion, what have you. Just how do you think about new opportunities unlocked with this agreement?

知道了。這在那裡非常有幫助。然後後續只是連鎖反應。下游有 - 似乎可以很好地利用它對您的系統所做的事情。所以想知道您是否可以再次向我們介紹一下該計劃 South expansion，您有什麼。您如何看待該協議帶來的新機遇？

Jeremy, it's Colin. Yes. it's all part of the singular path, right? So we think about it holistically and from a competitiveness and attractiveness perspective. So we'll be -- well, we're sounding market right now on planting itself, and we're confident we'll move to an open season here this summer shortly. There is interest in further egress south. And I think the order of operation here helps with having a mainline settlement in principle underpin a good chunk of the distance-based toll. So that's now coming into focus on Flanagan South and EHOT is exciting, too. We're going to have a big heavy oil terminal down in Houston for customers to work with either for local Houston distribution, right, displacing what was former imported crude, which is declining.

傑里米，是科林。是的。這都是單一路徑的一部分，對吧？因此，我們從競爭力和吸引力的角度進行整體考慮。所以我們會 - 好吧，我們現在正在試探市場本身的種植情況，我們有信心我們很快就會在今年夏天進入開放季節。有興趣進一步向南出口。而且我認為這裡的操作順序有助於在原則上有一個主線解決方案，以支持很大一部分基於距離的通行費。因此，現在人們開始關注 Flanagan South，EHOT 也很令人興奮。我們將在休斯敦建立一個大型重油碼頭，供客戶與休斯頓當地的分銷商合作，取代以前進口的原油，這種原油正在下降。

But then also optionality for future export of heavy out of the Houston market. So that whole path is coming into better focus. It's already well used, right? We're already moving on a monthly basis here, 500,000 to 600,000 a day down that path. So -- and there's 40-plus refineries connected directly or indirectly on that path. So lots of optionality, which should, I think, be very competitive.

但隨後也可選擇將未來重磅出口到休斯頓市場。因此，整個路徑正在變得更好。已經很好用了吧？我們已經在這裡按月移動，每天有 500,000 到 600,000 人沿著這條路前進。所以——有 40 多家煉油廠直接或間接地連接在這條路上。如此多的可選性，我認為這應該是非常有競爭力的。

Your next question is from the line of Linda Ezergailis with TD Securities.

你的下一個問題來自道明證券的 Linda Ezergailis。

Looking beyond this year, and thank you for reiterating the guidance. Just want to get an updated philosophy on your earnings at risk approach and where you are at for next year and beyond? Historically, you've limited to your earnings at risk to below 5% from market-based exposures, whether it was FX, interest rates, residual commodity exposure. And I'm just wondering if you could give us a sense of how much of your 2024 plus EBITDA and earnings are hedged from an (inaudible) perspective, how much interest rate floating exposure you might have? And any other commentary you can provide on that front would be appreciated.

展望今年，感謝您重申指導意見。只是想了解有關風險收益方法的最新理念以及明年及以後的進展情況？從歷史上看，您將基於市場的敞口（無論是外匯、利率、剩餘商品敞口）的風險收益限制在 5% 以下。我只是想知道您是否可以讓我們了解您的 2024 年加上 EBITDA 和收益中有多少從（聽不清）的角度進行了對沖，您可能有多少利率浮動敞口？如果您能在這方面提供任何其他評論，我們將不勝感激。

Linda, it's Vern. So we look at earnings at risk on a 12-month rolling basis, so 12 months forward. On that metric, we're something around 2% to 2.5% today. So we're well managed out through this year in the first half of next year. I think for our floating rate book, we've started hedging 2024. We have about 20% hedged now, and we'll continue to hedge through the year, just to decrease volatility both in our cash flows and earnings. So our philosophy hasn't changed where we want to be highly predictable, and we'll take out that unpredictability as we go through the year.

琳達，我是弗恩。因此，我們在 12 個月的滾動基礎上查看風險收益，即未來 12 個月。根據該指標，我們今天大約在 2% 到 2.5% 之間。因此，我們在明年上半年對今年進行了很好的管理。我認為對於我們的浮動利率賬簿，我們已經開始對沖 2024 年。我們現在有大約 20% 的對沖，我們將在今年繼續對沖，只是為了減少現金流和收益的波動性。因此，我們的理念沒有改變，我們希望高度可預測，我們將在這一年中消除這種不可預測性。

And just as a quick follow-up. Just big picture in British Columbia. Might you be augmenting the service offerings you provide to shippers in the region? Or might you be maybe doing a little bit more yourself with the open capacity on Aitken Creek and some of your other physical transportation assets in the region. And can you comment as well how Aitken Creek kind of enhances what you might be doing on T-North and T-South, long term?

就像快速跟進一樣。不列顛哥倫比亞省的大局。您可能會增加向該地區的托運人提供的服務嗎？或者，您可能會利用 Aitken Creek 的開放容量和您在該地區的其他一些實體交通資產做更多的事情。你能評論一下 Aitken Creek 是如何增強你在 T-North 和 T-South 的長期工作的嗎？

Thanks for the question, Linda. Yes, Aitken Creek is obviously a great fit for us because of our existing infrastructure in that area. And there's going to be synergistic opportunities in how we operate those assets. Part of that we'll be looking at, as you say, what those opportunities are to work with our customers, to look at contracting in that space. Obviously, we're bullish on the fundamentals and we see that as a great opportunity to look at providing additional contracting opportunities to our customers in that space.

謝謝你的問題，琳達。是的，Aitken Creek 顯然非常適合我們，因為我們在該地區現有的基礎設施。在我們如何運營這些資產方面將會有協同的機會。正如您所說，其中一部分我們將研究與我們的客戶合作的機會，以研究該領域的合同。顯然，我們看好基本面，我們認為這是一個很好的機會，可以考慮為該領域的客戶提供額外的承包機會。

So more to come on that. But just with our assets, it does provide more flexibility for how we operate our other existing storage with (inaudible) and other synergistic opportunities for us like that.

所以還有更多的事情要做。但就我們的資產而言，它確實為我們如何使用（聽不清）和其他協同機會來運營我們的其他現有存儲提供了更大的靈活性。

Linda, the only thing I'd add is that consistent with Vern's comments, as you know, Aitken Creek had a little bit less contracted storage than what we usually look at. So don't be surprised to see us look to contract that up over 50%. And and may even be closer to 2/3. That's just -- I think that makes sense for us in our model. But as Cynthia says, that's the kind of asset that should give us a lot of flexibility to serve our customers on the LNG side and of course, focus on the lower mainline and beyond. So pretty excited about that asset.

Linda，我唯一要補充的是，與 Vern 的評論一致，如您所知，Aitken Creek 的合同存儲量比我們通常看到的要少一些。因此，看到我們希望收縮 50% 以上，請不要感到驚訝。甚至可能接近 2/3。那隻是 - 我認為這對我們的模型有意義。但正如辛西婭所說，這種資產應該給我們很大的靈活性來為我們的客戶提供液化天然氣方面的服務，當然，專注於較低的干線及其他地區。對這項資產感到非常興奮。

Your next question comes from the line of Theresa Chen with Barclays.

你的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Theresa Chen。

Turning to the U.S. Gulf Coast on the liquids front. Can you talk about the status of the potential [Gray Oak] expansion now that you've taken over operatorship of the system just given the backdrop of Permian to Corpus lines continuing to be full? And are you interested in owning potentially more of that corridor given the incremental interest that you've acquired so far?

轉向美國墨西哥灣沿岸的液體前沿。你能談談潛在的 [Gray Oak] 擴展的狀態嗎，既然你已經接管了系統的運營權，只是在二疊紀到 Corpus 線路繼續滿載的背景下？考慮到您迄今為止獲得的增量興趣，您是否有興趣擁有更多的走廊？

Theresa, it's Colin. Yes, generally, the answer more specifically -- yes, we just took over operation at Gray Oak in April, so last month. We've already with our partners unlocked 25,000 a day of extra capacity, which is indicative of demand, to your point, so a strong foreign bid for that crude. And of course, our Ingleside facility is a natural pull as well, which is very competitive. So again, we're in market sounding for shipper interest and preference, and that will inform our open season that will run this summer. We're looking ballpark up to another 200,000 barrels per day expansion there. Many or maybe even most customers are interested in dual service, including Ingleside capacity, that integrated path.

特蕾莎，是科林。是的，一般來說，答案更具體——是的，我們剛剛在 4 月份接管了 Grey Oak 的運營，所以上個月。我們已經與我們的合作夥伴一起釋放了每天 25,000 個額外產能，這表明需求，就您的觀點而言，因此外國對該原油的出價很高。當然，我們的 Ingleside 設施也很自然，非常有競爭力。因此，我們再次在市場上試探托運人的興趣和偏好，這將為我們將於今年夏天舉行的開放季節提供信息。我們希望在那裡每天再增加 200,000 桶。許多甚至大多數客戶都對雙重服務感興趣，包括集成路徑 Ingleside 容量。

So that's looking really good. And there's also the potential that we could extend Gray Oak over to EHOT over in Houston there, which would bring heavy down from Canada and light over from the Permian. And it's pretty exciting. So listen, we're really bullish on what's happening there. We're excited about our strategy and how it's been unfolding through acquisition selectively through some asset swaps to get into Gray Oak, picking up some of the minority interests and registered in other assets in the region.

所以這看起來真的很好。我們還有可能將 Gray Oak 延伸到休斯頓的 EHOT，這將帶來來自加拿大的沉重打擊和來自二疊紀的輕盈。這非常令人興奮。所以聽著，我們真的很看好那裡發生的事情。我們對我們的戰略感到興奮，以及它是如何通過一些資產交換有選擇地通過收購展開的，以進入 Gray Oak，獲得一些少數股權並在該地區的其他資產中註冊。

If you step back from the global supply-demand lens on this, the world cannot function without Western Canadian or Permian crude full stop. So we're following the fundamentals.

如果你從全球供需的角度退後一步，如果沒有加拿大西部或二疊紀原油的句號，世界就無法運轉。所以我們遵循基本原則。

Got it. And as a follow-up, just when we think about the broader Gulf Coast crude infrastructure assets, something that we've heard discussed repeatedly in the industry, is that importance of being able to deliver a neat barrel and quality segregation, especially if you are going to extend Gray Oak to EHOT and have a more comprehensive integrated system. So can you talk about your ability to do that and how that may lend itself to a competitive advantage when seeking commitments or dedications over time?

知道了。作為後續行動，當我們考慮更廣泛的墨西哥灣沿岸原油基礎設施資產時，我們聽到業內反复討論的事情是能夠提供整潔的桶和質量隔離的重要性，特別是如果你將把 Gray Oak 擴展到 EHOT，並擁有更全面的集成系統。那麼，您能否談談您這樣做的能力，以及隨著時間的推移尋求承諾或奉獻時，這如何使自己成為競爭優勢？

Yes. That's been a hallmark of Enbridge on all our systems, whether in Canada or in the Permian is that badge quality, that FedEx service, if you like, segregating quality. It's a valuable commodity. It needs to be protected and I think we have a track record of doing that relative to other business models. So that's a part of our competitive offering in addition to just outright cost-effective tools and some of the advantages at Ingleside that we've talked about many times to be competitive, $0.30, $0.40, $0.50 integrated export tools are material in the global scheme. So it's all part of the mix. I'm glad you mentioned that one.

是的。這是安橋在我們所有系統上的標誌，無論是在加拿大還是在二疊紀，都是徽章質量，聯邦快遞服務，如果你願意的話，隔離質量。這是一種有價值的商品。它需要受到保護，我認為相對於其他商業模式，我們在這方面有著良好的記錄。因此，除了完全具有成本效益的工具和 Ingleside 的一些優勢之外，這是我們具有競爭力的產品的一部分，我們多次談到這些優勢具有競爭力，0.30 美元、0.40 美元、0.50 美元的集成出口工具是全球計劃的重要組成部分.所以這都是混合的一部分。很高興你提到那個。

Yes. And when you think about it, even with the toll deal, right? I mean everything we're trying to do is designed to be that first choice supplier. And so sure, on the total deal, there's always a little give and take, but a good fair income that really incents us to give better service to our customers to use the main line. And obviously, that ultimately can get people down to the Gulf and PADD 3. And then just what we're doing out of the Permian, I think we really are trying to build that super system and really make sure that the shippers and the customers that we have actually have an opportunity to maximize their returns in the best markets. And that's what it's all about. And I think we're just getting more competitive every day.

是的。想想看，即使有通行費，對吧？我的意思是我們所做的一切都是為了成為首選供應商。可以肯定的是，在總交易中，總會有一些讓步，但公平的收入確實會激勵我們為使用主線的客戶提供更好的服務。顯然，這最終可以讓人們下到海灣和 PADD 3。然後就是我們在二疊紀所做的，我認為我們真的在努力建立那個超級系統，並真正確保托運人和客戶我們實際上有機會在最好的市場上最大化他們的回報。這就是它的全部意義所在。而且我認為我們每天都在變得更有競爭力。

Your next question is from the line of Robert Catellier with CIBC Capital Markets.

你的下一個問題來自 CIBC Capital Markets 的 Robert Catellier。

Congratulations on the mainline deal. I know that's a monumental task for everyone involved. I wondered if you could spend a minute on the risk sharing front. It looks to me like the setup here is for a lower dispersion of outcomes of less risk, it would seem. So I wonder if you could talk about what you see as the biggest wins on risk sharing. And in addition to that, what are the key leverage points to achieving the upper end of the ROE collar other than obviously just volumes?

祝賀主線交易。我知道這對所有相關人員來說都是一項艱鉅的任務。我想知道你是否可以花一分鐘時間來談談風險分擔方面的問題。在我看來，這裡的設置似乎是為了降低結果的分散度，降低風險。所以我想知道你是否可以談談你認為在風險分擔方面最大的勝利是什麼。除此之外，除了數量之外，實現 ROE 上限的關鍵槓桿點是什麼？

Sure, Robert. I can take it. So -- this is our seventh vintage of an incentive arrangement with customers. And I mean I should tell you something right away that customers want us to be aligned and house for them and win when they win. So we've got another version of it. Each time we renew or we negotiate it, we tweak a couple of things. I'd say thematically in this version of the incentive framework. We've added a risk package, I think, as you put it. There's a few different individual mini risk mitigants and then there's the overall performance collar, which acts as kind of a big risk package in itself, which is all-inclusive. So we've got a couple of layers of defense here. Will we need them? Maybe not, but it's the Enbridge preference to have them, right?

當然，羅伯特。我可以接受。所以 - 這是我們與客戶的第七個獎勵安排。我的意思是我應該馬上告訴你一些事情，客戶希望我們保持一致並為他們提供住宿，並在他們獲勝時獲勝。所以我們有它的另一個版本。每次我們續訂或協商時，我們都會調整幾件事。我會在這個版本的激勵框架中從主題上說。我認為，正如您所說，我們已經添加了一個風險包。有一些不同的個人小風險緩解措施，然後是整體績效領子，它本身就是一種大風險包，包羅萬象。所以我們在這裡有幾層防禦。我們需要他們嗎？也許不是，但 Enbridge 偏愛擁有它們，對吧？

You've seen our commercial model. So if you think about the risks, we've been managing these risks for a long time. The one we can't control is volume, right? That's a shipper controlled risk. We have strong views on fundamentals and high conviction in the competitiveness of our system, and it's going to remain circa 95% to 100% full here through the piece. There's an improved foreign exchange outlook for us and that the Canadian portion of the toll will be toll in Canadian dollars, not U.S. dollars like it was. We've got the Line 3 toll ratchet, which isn't new, by the way, but I think it's relatively new. So I'd remind people of that $0.035 toll ratchet which is meant to temper volume volatility, right, for every 50,000 barrels, toll moves $0.035.

您已經看到了我們的商業模式。因此，如果您考慮風險，我們長期以來一直在管理這些風險。我們無法控制的是音量，對吧？這是托運人控制的風險。我們對基本面有強烈的看法，並且對我們系統的競爭力充滿信心，並且在整個過程中它將保持大約 95% 到 100% 的完整。我們的外匯前景有所改善，加拿大部分的通行費將以加元計價，而不是像以前那樣以美元計價。我們有 3 號線收費棘輪，順便說一句，這不是新的，但我認為它相對較新。所以我要提醒人們注意 0.035 美元的收費棘輪，這是為了緩和成交量波動，對，每 50,000 桶，收費 0.035 美元。

We've also -- I think it was implicit before, but now we have agreement in principle to recover on and of capital for Line 5 investments. So there's a few different, I would say, smaller risk mitigants and then there's the bigger collar risk mitigant. So you're right, all with the intention of kind of narrowing the dispersion of outcomes for all, right? Shipper and Enbridge so that it's a fair competitive solution. And as Greg was saying earlier that (inaudible) to win as well. Does that help? Is that where you're going with the question, Robert?

我們也 - 我認為它以前是隱含的，但現在我們原則上同意收回 5 號線投資的資本。所以有一些不同的，我會說，較小的風險緩解劑，然後是更大的衣領風險緩解劑。所以你是對的，所有這些都是為了縮小所有人的結果差異，對吧？ Shipper 和 Enbridge，這是一個公平競爭的解決方案。正如格雷格早些時候所說的那樣（聽不清）也要獲勝。這有幫助嗎？羅伯特，這就是你要問的問題嗎？

It was. And then the second piece of it is just what do you think other than volume is the biggest leverage point to hit the upper end of the ROE CAR?

它是。然後第二部分就是你認為除了交易量之外什麼是達到 ROE CAR 上限的最大槓桿點？

Yes. I think on that count, I think it's well understood that the first few years here, we're going to be in the upper half of that range, just given '21, '22 and '23 have strong volume throughputs already. And then over time, you've got pretty strong volumes, we think, through the term here and on a slightly declining rate base. So think about that as well. I think the other smaller drivers would be our ability to manage within the inflators and control our costs and power cost. That's what shippers want us to do, and we'll try to do that. FX as well, I think, will play a part in there, but Vern's team is on that and trying to manage that and lock it down as well.

是的。我認為在這一點上，我認為很好理解的是，在這裡的頭幾年，我們將處於該範圍的上半部分，只是考慮到 '21、'22 和 '23 已經有很強的吞吐量。然後隨著時間的推移，我們認為，通過這裡的術語和略有下降的利率基礎，你的交易量非常強勁。所以也要考慮一下。我認為其他較小的驅動因素是我們在充氣機內進行管理並控制我們的成本和電力成本的能力。這就是托運人希望我們做的，我們會努力做到這一點。我認為 FX 也會在其中發揮作用，但 Vern 的團隊正在努力解決這個問題並努力將其鎖定。

Your next question is from the line of Rob Hope with Scotiabank.

你的下一個問題來自加拿大豐業銀行的 Rob Hope。

A question on the mainline. It would seem since the -- or let's say, over the last 6 months, the commentary on the volume outlook for the Mainline has strengthened and Colin just noted that you're expecting 95% utilization there. Can you maybe talk to kind of what is driving this increased confidence on the mainline volume outlook? Is it potentially where the toll shook out for the Mainline? Is it where Trans Mountain tools potentially could move up? Or is it just kind of sharpening the pencil on the competitiveness of the system.

主線上的一個問題。自從——或者說，在過去 6 個月中，對 Mainline 容量前景的評論有所加強，Colin 剛剛指出您預計那裡的利用率為 95%。您能否談談是什麼推動了人們對主線銷量前景的信心增強？它可能是 Mainline 收費的地方嗎？它是 Trans Mountain 工具可能提升的地方嗎？或者它只是在某種程度上提高了系統的競爭力。

So yes, I think our conviction is, I think you're observing that correctly. Our conviction is strengthening in the strength of substantially fully utilized outlook? And I think even at Enbridge Day, I refined our point of view tighter on that. But even since then, let's just reflect on what's all happened here. TMX announced a delay, another delay and as TMX is delayed, it allows more time for the basin to increase supply, which is good for all point of [egress]. We understand TMX is likely to have higher tolls with cost increases. We've seen Keystone incident and subsequent pressure restrictions invoked by FIMSA's questionable if or when those will come off.

所以是的，我認為我們的信念是，我認為你觀察得正確。我們的信念是在充分利用前景的力量上加強？而且我認為即使在 Enbridge Day，我也更加嚴格地完善了我們的觀點。但即使從那時起，讓我們反思一下這裡發生的一切。 TMX 宣布延遲，又一次延遲，隨著 TMX 的延遲，流域有更多時間增加供應，這對所有 [出口] 點都有好處。我們理解 TMX 可能會隨著成本的增加而產生更高的通行費。我們已經看到 Keystone 事件和隨後由 FIMSA 調用的壓力限制是否或何時會出現問題。

We've advanced our FSP and EHOT solution. Refinery ads are occurring in the Gulf Coast and Mexico is now going to refine more of their own, creating a bigger bid out of the Gulf for Canadian crude. And to your point, we have a lower toll and rail economics are getting worse. So I think all of that leads to a strengthening conviction in our outlook that the main line will be well utilized and very competitive.

我們已經改進了 FSP 和 EHOT 解決方案。煉油廠的廣告正在墨西哥灣沿岸出現，墨西哥現在將煉製更多自己的煉油廠，從而使墨西哥灣對加拿大原油的出價更高。就你的觀點而言，我們的通行費較低，而鐵路經濟正在惡化。因此，我認為所有這些都會使我們更加堅信主線將得到很好的利用並且極具競爭力。

Maybe I can just add a comment. I think if you just go back to 100,000 feet and look at the fundamentals of crude oil, PADD 2 and PADD 3 are the strongest heavy crude markets in the world. Those refineries are globally competitive and will make very strong crack spread margin. So there's going to be a strong bid from those refineries forever for Canadian heavy crude. And as Colin mentioned, there's going to be less Mexican crude available. And global heavy crude production is declining elsewhere. So it lines up for very strong fundamentals for us and our customers.

也許我可以添加評論。我認為，如果你回到 100,000 英尺並觀察原油的基本面，就會發現 PADD 2 和 PADD 3 是世界上最強勁的重質原油市場。這些煉油廠具有全球競爭力，將獲得非常強勁的裂解價差利潤率。因此，這些煉油廠將永遠對加拿大重質原油提出強烈的出價。正如科林所提到的，墨西哥的原油供應將會減少。全球其他地方的重質原油產量也在下降。因此，它為我們和我們的客戶提供了非常強大的基礎。

I appreciate that. And then maybe on another note, just in terms of capital allocation, you've been quite active on, we'll call it kind of small to mid-sized M&A. Can you maybe update us on potentially what your pipeline looks on this? And given market conditions, are you seeing opportunities to invest in, we'll call it, small- to medium-sized assets that given your existing operations, you should be able to yield synergies on the revenue and cost side?

我很感激。然後也許在另一個方面，就資本配置而言，你一直非常活躍，我們稱之為中小型併購。您能否向我們更新您的管道在這方面的潛在情況？鑑於市場條件，您是否看到投資機會，我們稱之為，鑑於您現有的業務，您應該能夠在收入和成本方面產生協同效應的中小型資產？

Yes, for sure. Look, it starts with having that strong balance sheet, of course, right? Remember, we've got about $3 billion of capital a year based on our financial position that we can put to work discretionary. So beyond just our typical activities. And you've seen us do that in the first quarter. We look at everything. As you can imagine, the corporate development group here have a good list of assets that we're interested in. And I would say that covers everything from gas assets to liquids assets, even renewables as well. And as we look at those or if they come to market, we've already got a view on those. And if we can do those accretively and get what we think is a fair multiple, we're going to look at those. And if we haven't got a better alternative, I think we can execute and execute quickly.

是肯定的。看，這當然要從擁有強大的資產負債表開始，對吧？請記住，根據我們的財務狀況，我們每年有大約 30 億美元的資金可以酌情投入使用。因此，不僅僅是我們的典型活動。你已經看到我們在第一季度就這樣做了。我們看一切。你可以想像，這裡的企業發展小組有一份我們感興趣的資產清單。我想說的是，這涵蓋了從天然氣資產到液體資產的一切，甚至還包括可再生能源。當我們看那些或者如果他們進入市場時，我們已經對這些有了看法。如果我們能夠積極地做這些事情並得到我們認為公平的倍數，我們就會看看那些。如果我們沒有更好的選擇，我認為我們可以執行并快速執行。

So I think that's a real advantage. Not a lot of folks are in that position. The other thing I would say, the dynamics have changed, just like it has on the liquid side to promote greater volumes on our system and what's going on in the Gulf Coast, et cetera. The same is true from an M&A tuck-in perspective. The players that can participate are fewer. Higher interest rates, I would say, are probably most impactful on PE's ability to play and that creates opportunity for us. And so we're going to be ready on those fronts if they make sense, we'll do them. And of course, classic discussion of build versus buy multiple too, right?

所以我認為這是一個真正的優勢。沒有多少人處於那個位置。我要說的另一件事是，動態已經發生了變化，就像它在液體方面一樣，以促進我們系統的更大體積以及墨西哥灣沿岸正在發生的事情，等等。從併購整合的角度來看也是如此。能參與的玩家就更少了。我想說，更高的利率可能對 PE 的發揮能力影響最大，這為我們創造了機會。因此，如果它們有意義，我們將在這些方面做好準備，我們會去做。當然，還有關於構建與購買倍數的經典討論，對吧？

So we know how challenging it is to build anything these days if we can buy good existing assets that have both strategic and financial benefits to us, it actually behooves us to kind of play that role sometimes, then it does try to build the assets themselves. And if we can't find that stuff, let's remember, we've also got the ability and we did a little bit of that in the first quarter to buy back shares. So really comes down to that full suite of what's the best financial outcome and strategic outcome for us, and we're just fortunate to be in a good position to pull the trigger on any of those.

所以我們知道，如果我們可以購買對我們具有戰略和經濟利益的現有資產，那麼現在建造任何東西都是多麼具有挑戰性，實際上我們有時應該扮演這個角色，然後它會嘗試自己建造資產.如果我們找不到這些東西，請記住，我們也有能力，我們在第一季度做了一些回購股票的事情。因此，真正歸結為對我們來說最好的財務成果和戰略成果的全套，我們很幸運能夠處於有利地位來觸發其中任何一個。

Your next question is from Praneeth Satish with Wells Fargo.

你的下一個問題來自富國銀行的 Praneeth Satish。

Maybe if you could just give us a little insight into what the returns are looking like for the potential blue ammonia, the wind projects, I guess, especially in light of the higher interest rate environment, there's usually a lot of debt financing on these types of deals. Is it still competitive? Are the returns still competitive with the rest of your backlog?

也許你可以讓我們稍微了解一下潛在的藍色氨水、風能項目的回報情況，我想，尤其是在利率較高的環境下，這些類型通常有很多債務融資的交易。它還有競爭力嗎？與您的其他積壓訂單相比，回報是否仍然具有競爭力？

Yes, absolutely. I mean, look, we're early days still on the blue ammonia project. But I'd say we have -- and the way we structured that, remember, is 100% offtake. So fitting in the Enbridge model of utility-like returns and fortunately, we've got a partner there that likes that. I mean they're in the ammonia game day to day. So I would still expect to have nice double-digit returns there. We'll see how it all shakes out. And remember, that project has is Colin (inaudible) often say, you got 3 or 4 ways to play. We obviously have the Ingleside of that, where the ammonia would be exported from. We've got the carbon capture and sequestration, which is our joint venture on that front in that area with Oxy.

是的，一點沒錯。我的意思是，看，我們仍處於藍色氨項目的早期階段。但我想說我們有——記住，我們構建它的方式是 100% 的承購。因此符合類似公用事業回報的 Enbridge 模型，幸運的是，我們在那裡有一個喜歡這樣的合作夥伴。我的意思是他們每天都在玩氨遊戲。所以我仍然希望那裡有不錯的兩位數回報。我們將看看這一切是如何發生的。記住，那個項目是科林（聽不清）經常說的，你有 3 或 4 種玩法。我們顯然有 Ingleside，氨將從那裡出口。我們有碳捕獲和封存，這是我們在該領域與 Oxy 的合資企業。

And then, Cynthia, we would expect would build the gas line into that facility as well. So it's a real opportunity to augment the returns. But yes, we're still seeing the same thing. But Matt you might want to speak to offshore and onshore because it definitely depends on what market we're talking about there.

然後，辛西婭，我們預計也會在該設施中建造輸氣管線。因此，這是增加回報的真正機會。但是，是的，我們仍然看到同樣的事情。但是馬特，你可能想談談離岸和在岸，因為這絕對取決於我們在那裡談論的市場。

Yes, sure. Thanks. It's Matthew. So we did announce the Normandy project. We really like that project. I mean I think it's important to remember that these projects have long-term contracts with fuzzy government counterparties. And if we proceed to FID, they'll include full wrap EPC, so they can be very low risk. So you don't see blowout returns on these, but you'll see strong returns, especially in that risk profile and of course, there's lots of work to do between now and then to FID, and it will have to earn an Enbridge style return to achieve that milestone.

是的，當然。謝謝。是馬修。所以我們確實宣布了諾曼底計劃。我們真的很喜歡那個項目。我的意思是我認為重要的是要記住這些項目與模糊的政府交易對手簽訂了長期合同。如果我們繼續進行 FID，它們將包括完整的 EPC，因此它們的風險非常低。所以你看不到這些的井噴回報，但你會看到強勁的回報，尤其是在風險狀況中，當然，從現在到 FID，還有很多工作要做，而且它必須獲得 Enbridge 風格返回以實現該里程碑。

The other thing we just like about that is it extends our horizon of visible growth in our commercial model and Normandy also comes with a potential 1.5 gigawatt extension. So kind of 1 of these projects that has potential organic type growth associated with it. That will be competitive. But obviously, we'd have an inside track for the extension, too. So we really like these kinds of projects, and we do count on the earning over our hurdle rate, they all have to in renewables as well as the other areas.

我們喜歡的另一件事是，它擴展了我們商業模型可見增長的視野，諾曼底還具有 1.5 吉瓦的潛在擴展。因此，這些項目中的 1 個具有與之相關的潛在有機類型增長。那將是有競爭力的。但顯然，我們也有擴展的內部軌道。所以我們真的很喜歡這類項目，我們確實指望我們的最低迴報率的收益，它們都必須在可再生能源和其他領域。

You're seeing good returns on the solar front, too, right? I mean those projects continue to proceed and TGE's acquisition is really starting to heat up.

你也看到了太陽能方面的良好回報，對吧？我的意思是這些項目繼續進行，TGE 的收購真的開始升溫。

Yes, we're seeing great prospects, as I mentioned, at Enbridge Day. We do expect FIDs later this year on our organic onshore portfolio. We're getting tailwinds just from the quality of those projects we're seeing out of the TGE acquisition and also the tax benefits that was pretty apply time for us, too. So we're pretty optimistic on that front as well.

是的，正如我在 Enbridge Day 提到的，我們看到了廣闊的前景。我們確實希望今年晚些時候對我們的有機陸上投資組合進行 FID。我們從 TGE 收購中看到的那些項目的質量以及對我們來說非常適合時間的稅收優惠中獲得了順風。所以我們在這方面也非常樂觀。

That's helpful. And switching gears. You've done two acquisitions now in recent months of gas storage assets. And I think it's clear there's growing value for storage. I guess how do you think about the economics of buying gas storage versus building it organically are the market rates high enough to support greenfield expansions of storage? Or is it still cheaper to acquire storage? How wide is that gap?

這很有幫助。和換檔。最近幾個月你已經完成了兩次天然氣儲存資產的收購。而且我認為很明顯存儲的價值在不斷增長。我想你如何看待購買儲氣庫與有機建造儲氣庫的經濟性，市場利率是否高到足以支持儲氣庫的綠地擴張？還是購買存儲更便宜？這個差距有多大？

Yes. Thanks for the question. I think we continue to monitor that. So we're excited about the opportunities, as you noted, with storage with more LNG, as you look out in the next 5 to 10 years, we see that, that value is going to continue to increase. As we've noted, we have the capital discipline and when opportunities come up in this space for acquisitions, if it meets our investment thresholds, we're going to participate, particularly when it ties into our existing assets like the two we've done so far, but there, we think in the long run that there will be opportunities to build out some storage as you look at the economics. But that obviously takes a little bit more time and we'll be very prudent with where it makes sense to build out that storage.

是的。謝謝你的問題。我認為我們會繼續對此進行監控。因此，正如您所指出的，我們對未來 5 到 10 年內儲存更多液化天然氣的機會感到興奮，我們看到，該價值將繼續增加。正如我們所指出的，我們有資本紀律，當這個領域出現收購機會時，如果它符合我們的投資門檻，我們就會參與，特別是當它與我們現有的資產相關時，就像我們已經擁有的兩個到目前為止已經完成，但從長遠來看，我們認為從經濟角度來看，將有機會建立一些存儲空間。但這顯然需要更多時間，我們會非常謹慎地選擇在哪些地方構建存儲是有意義的。

And you have to remember that you have to have the right kind of geological formation area to allow you to do that. So as Greg noted earlier, you have to look at that buy versus build scenario and make sure you're positioned well. But I think there'll be opportunities in both spaces.

你必須記住，你必須擁有合適的地質構造區域才能做到這一點。因此，正如 Greg 之前指出的那樣，您必須查看購買與構建場景，並確保您處於有利位置。但我認為這兩個領域都會有機會。

Well, I like we have a huge basin storage. So sometimes I think people forget we're pushing 300 Bs of storage in the -- Great Lakes region. That becomes increasingly important as well. And then of course, the assets that Cynthia and the team just picked up, so critical on the LNG front. But for new storage, you still have to get permitting. And we know how challenging is permitting in even in the environment. So again, it goes back to -- if we can buy it single digit and earn it at double-digit returns, we're going to do that. That's what we've done in the first quarter.

好吧，我喜歡我們有一個巨大的盆地儲藏室。所以有時我認為人們忘記了我們正在推動 300 Bs 在五大湖地區的存儲。這也變得越來越重要。當然，還有辛西婭和團隊剛剛獲得的資產，這些資產在液化天然氣領域非常重要。但是對於新的存儲，您仍然需要獲得許可。而且我們知道，即使在環境中，允許也是多麼具有挑戰性。所以，它又回到了——如果我們能以個位數購買它並以兩位數的回報賺取它，我們就會這樣做。這就是我們在第一季度所做的。

(Operator Instructions) Your next question is from the line of Ben Pham with BMO.

（操作員說明）您的下一個問題來自 BMO 的 Ben Pham。

Okay. And maybe to start off with growth opportunities. I look at your secured backlog and maybe some of the projects that you've highlighted over the last quarter, it seems like you had towards the post 2025 time frame that capital -- your CapEx is going to accelerate dramatically. And maybe it looks like it's not going to be hard to fill up that $6 billion, the $3 billion. How do you think about managing that change in CapEx? And are you placing a constraint on CapEx each year. What's your high-level thought process on that?

好的。也許從增長機會開始。我查看了您的安全積壓工作，也許還有您在上個季度強調的一些項目，似乎您在 2025 年後的時間框架內擁有資本——您的資本支出將大幅加速。也許看起來填補那 60 億美元、30 億美元並不難。您如何看待管理資本支出的變化？您是否每年都對資本支出施加限制？您對此的高級思考過程是什麼？

Well, I'll let Vern chime in here. But I'll tell you from my perspective, it's great. I mean we've got -- remember, we've got 4 really great businesses that are all big businesses on their own, and that creates competition. And each one of the business units is tasked with getting the best risk adjusted returns possible. So when we sit down as a team and look at it, it's pretty easy. Where are the best returns with the lowest risk and that's where it will go.

好吧，我會讓 Vern 在這裡插話。但我會從我的角度告訴你，這很棒。我的意思是我們有——記住，我們有 4 家非常偉大的企業，它們都是獨立的大企業，這就產生了競爭。每個業務部門的任務是盡可能獲得最佳的風險調整回報。所以當我們作為一個團隊坐下來審視它時，這很容易。風險最低的最佳回報在哪裡，這就是它的去向。

And so it means we won't do everything, and I think that keeps the business development folks and the execution folks with a very sharp pencil and a keen focus on the future. And of course, every time we continue to build the stuff out, obviously, it adds to earnings. And don't forget, so I guess if we ran up against some of the $6 billion in capacity here. We've done a great job of recycling over the year, so we could do that as well. So I think whether you look at the self-equity financing model just as it is or you look at recycling, Look, if the folks bring projects that are accretive to our earnings and our growth, we're going to find a way to do them.

所以這意味著我們不會做所有事情，我認為這會讓業務開發人員和執行人員保持非常鋒利的鉛筆和對未來的敏銳關注。當然，每次我們繼續建造這些東西時，顯然都會增加收入。並且不要忘記，所以我想如果我們遇到這裡 60 億美元的產能中的一些。一年來，我們在回收方面做得很好，所以我們也可以這樣做。所以我認為，無論你是按原樣看自有股權融資模式，還是看回收，看，如果人們帶來的項目能夠增加我們的收入和增長，我們就會找到一種方法來做他們。

I think Greg covered most of the points, Ben. The key is our balance sheet, we're in great position right now. We're at 4.6x. And as we grow our EBITDA, our balance sheet capacity continues to grow. So post 2025, if we continue to grow at the rate that we're growing at today, we'll actually have more balance sheet capacity than we do today. And Greg is absolutely right. We continue to recycle capital. Don't forget, since 2018, we've recycled on an attractive basis over $11 billion. And we will continue to push forward with more of those opportunities, and I'm hoping we can do more deals like we did with Athabasca indigenous group because I think that's a win-win-win scenario for us and our stakeholders.

本，我認為格雷格涵蓋了大部分要點。關鍵是我們的資產負債表，我們現在處於有利地位。我們是 4.6 倍。隨著我們 EBITDA 的增長，我們的資產負債表容量也在持續增長。因此，到 2025 年之後，如果我們繼續以今天的速度增長，我們實際上將擁有比今天更多的資產負債表容量。格雷格是絕對正確的。我們繼續循環資本。不要忘記，自 2018 年以來，我們已經以極具吸引力的方式回收了超過 110 億美元。我們將繼續推動更多這樣的機會，我希望我們能像與阿薩巴斯卡土著群體那樣做更多的交易，因為我認為這對我們和我們的利益相關者來說是雙贏的。

Okay. And maybe to finish off on the mainline. The way that you've structured here the collar, is that effectively a utility asset for 7-plus years. And anything you can comment on credit rating agencies, their thoughts in this agreement?

好的。也許在主線上完成。你在這裡構建項圈的方式實際上是 7 年多的實用資產。您對信用評級機構以及他們對本協議的看法有何評論？

Yes, I think you got it, Ben, I think, as I mentioned earlier, it's the most utility light version of an incentive agreement. So we've got opportunities to outperform and we've got return floor. So it's potentially the best of both worlds, but we're going to hassle hard to serve our customers and perform the best we can. Vern on the credit rating [issue], do you want to cover that?

是的，我想你明白了，本，正如我之前提到的，我認為這是最實用的激勵協議版本。所以我們有機會跑贏大盤，我們有回報率。所以它可能是兩全其美的，但我們將努力為我們的客戶服務並儘我們所能。 Vern 關於信用評級[問題]，你想報導嗎？

Yes. We have currently the lowest business risk profile for major midstream pipeline companies in North America. And I think we've -- with this deal even lowered it further. So we're in active regular dialogue with the rating agencies, and this is -- will be definitely looked upon positively.

是的。目前，我們在北美主要中游管道公司中的業務風險狀況最低。而且我認為我們已經 - 通過這筆交易甚至進一步降低了它。因此，我們正在與評級機構進行積極的定期對話，這是 - 肯定會得到積極的看待。

Your next question is from the line of Andrew Kuske with Credit Suisse.

你的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Andrew Kuske。

If we could come back just to the natural gas storage business given some of your acquisition activities and just with the rise of renewables, maybe a greater call intraday on gas across North America. If you break down your existing asset base, a number of the storage assets are really within rate base constructs and then a number of really operational associated with pipelines. I guess how much of it is more merchants in orientation? And what kind of opportunities do you have on that?

考慮到您的一些收購活動以及可再生能源的興起，如果我們能回到天然氣儲存業務，可能會在盤中對整個北美地區的天然氣發出更大的呼聲。如果您分解現有的資產基礎，許多存儲資產實際上是在費率基礎結構中，然後是許多與管道相關的真正可操作的資產。我猜其中有多少是更多的商家在定位？你在這方面有什麼樣的機會？

Well, maybe it just -- I'll start and then Cynthia can jump in. So you're exactly right. I mean we're starting to see some of the needs for the storage. So I'm not sure merchant is the right word. So it's Aitken Creek on the side. But remember, our typical contracts run 1 or 2 years. So while we typically contract up our market-based storage, it is relatively short term. There are some longer deals in there. But that's been really positive because you've seen, and I think it's going to continue for a while, storage rates that have gone up 50% to 200% over the last year or so.

好吧，也許只是——我會開始，然後辛西婭可以加入。所以你是對的。我的意思是我們開始看到一些存儲需求。所以我不確定商人是正確的詞。所以旁邊是 Aitken Creek。但請記住，我們的典型合同期限為 1 或 2 年。因此，雖然我們通常會承包基於市場的存儲，但這是相對短期的。那裡有一些更長的交易。但這確實是積極的，因為你已經看到，而且我認為這將持續一段時間，存儲率在過去一年左右的時間裡上升了 50% 到 200%。

So that's been really great. And then you're right, a lot of it's in the utility as well, but there's about 80 -- 65 to 80 Bcf of storage there in the Great Lakes region today that is market-based, and we've been able to realize, including in this first quarter, good results there. Cynthia, if you want to add to that?

所以這真的很棒。然後你是對的，其中很多也在公用事業中，但今天五大湖地區有大約 80 - 65 到 80 Bcf 的存儲是基於市場的，我們已經能夠意識到，包括在今年第一季度，那裡有不錯的成績。辛西婭，如果你想補充一下？

Yes. I mean I'd only add that we've obviously seen some pretty strong opportunities when it comes to pricing. So as we've seen over the last little while, we're seeing increases in our pricing of 50% to 200% and even some pushing terms longer. So that is creating stronger economics. And I would note that we don't have any what you would call naked exposures in this space, right? We're always getting that match. So it does create that balanced exposure in that space as we contract with those.

是的。我的意思是我只想補充一點，在定價方面，我們顯然已經看到了一些非常強大的機會。因此，正如我們在過去一段時間所看到的那樣，我們看到我們的定價增加了 50% 到 200%，甚至還有一些推動條款更長。因此，這正在創造更強大的經濟。我要指出的是，我們在這個領域沒有任何所謂的裸露，對嗎？我們總是得到那場比賽。因此，當我們與那些人接觸時，它確實在那個空間中創造了平衡的曝光度。

Okay. That's very helpful. And then maybe just an extension. There are some that do have nice exposures in the space. Do you think just the sheer scale of your asset base, so the pipeline grid itself and then the balance sheet, it maybe gives you a bigger advantage in taking some opportunities from those who do have the naked exposure should assets come into the marketplace.

好的。這很有幫助。然後也許只是一個擴展。有些確實在空間中有很好的曝光。你是否認為僅僅是你的資產基礎的規模，所以管道網格本身，然後是資產負債表，如果資產進入市場，它可能會給你更大的優勢，從那些確實有裸露風險的人那裡抓住一些機會。

Yes. What I would say, as Greg mentioned earlier, we want to be the first choice for our customers. So we're always looking at how we can optimize that ability to leverage our full infrastructure. So Tres Palacios, in particular, is great because along with the storage, we got some really great interconnectivity of pipeline. So that is how we tie this together in making sure that we're building out for that stable long-term return for us but providing incremental value to our customers as well.

是的。正如 Greg 之前提到的，我想說的是，我們希望成為客戶的首選。因此，我們一直在研究如何優化利用我們完整基礎設施的能力。所以 Tres Palacios 特別棒，因為除了存儲之外，我們還獲得了一些非常好的管道互連性。因此，這就是我們如何將它們聯繫在一起，以確保我們正在為我們建立穩定的長期回報，同時也為我們的客戶提供增量價值。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call over to Rebecca Morley for final remarks.

女士們，先生們，問答環節到此結束。我現在將把電話轉給 Rebecca Morley 做最後的評論。

Great. Thank you, and we appreciate your ongoing interest in Enbridge. As always, our Investor Relations team is available following the call for any additional questions that you may have. Once again, thank you, and have a great day.

偉大的。謝謝，我們感謝您對 Enbridge 的持續關注。與往常一樣，我們的投資者關係團隊會在接到電話後隨時為您解答您可能有的任何其他問題。再次感謝您，祝您有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, we appreciate your participation. This concludes today's conference. You may now disconnect.

女士們，先生們，我們感謝您的參與。今天的會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。