CALGARY, ALBERTA (Marketwired – May 6, 2016) – As Alberta’s electricity system begins to move toward a renewable energy future, AltaLink’s transmission grid will be critical to maintaining reliable service while enabling the many green energy opportunities the province has to offer.
“We’ve heard loud and clear from our customers that they want reliable, affordable and green energy,” said Scott Thon, AltaLink President and CEO. “Our transmission grid is the critical link to growing Alberta’s renewable energy portfolio and reducing the CO2 emissions generated from electricity today.”
During the last 10 years, AltaLink has invested into Alberta’s transmission grid to complete the much-needed reinforcement of the transmission system, responding to Alberta’s rapid growth in demand and providing essential capacity to enable our province to move to a renewable energy future.
“Prior to these investments, the transmission system would not have been able to support a significant move to renewable energy,” said Mr. Thon. “Today, we’re largely ready to enable a new generation future in Alberta without significant additional investment in new transmission lines or substations.”
AltaLink believes that new wind generation should be constructed close to existing transmission facilities located near potential renewable resources to take advantage of the available transmission capacity before the construction of new transmission facilities is required.
“By building new green energy generation near existing transmission, we can minimize the cost of new energy delivered to customers and ensure that we all have access to reliable and affordable energy in our homes and businesses,” said Mr. Thon.
AltaLink announces 2016 first quarter financial results
Today, AltaLink, L.P. announced comprehensive income for the first quarter of 2016 was $67.7 million. During the same three month period in 2015, AltaLink earned $51.5 million of normalized comprehensive income. Normalized comprehensive income in the three months ending March 31, 2015, is calculated by removing the 2013 and 2014 $27.2 million impact of the Alberta Utilities Commission’s (AUC) Generic Cost of Capital decision.
Revenue for the first quarter of 2016 was $229.0 million compared to $153.7 million during the same period in 2015. Compared to the same period in 2015, our revenue from operations increased by $49.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016, primarily due to the $27.2 million revenue reduction for the 2013 and 2014 impact of the AUC’s Generic Cost of Capital decision and our continued investments in capital assets.
As a partnership, AltaLink, L.P. reports its net income before income taxes; therefore its results are not directly comparable with net income reported by corporations that recognize income taxes in their financial statements.
AltaLink’s full financial results and management’s discussion and analysis can be found on AltaLink’s website at www.altalink.ca or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Headquartered in Calgary, with offices in Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge, AltaLink is Alberta’s largest electricity transmission provider. We are committed to meeting the province’s demand for electricity, providing innovative solutions, and partnering with our stakeholders and communities in doing so. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, AltaLink is part of a global group of companies delivering electricity and utility services to customers worldwide.
Significant Q1 2016 highlights
- AltaLink maintained its excellent safety results in the quarter, and is on track to meet or exceed its safety targets for the year;
- AltaLink continues to deliver reliable service to its customers, with its performance during the first quarter being significantly better than its results over the past several years;
- The Western Alberta Transmission Line (WATL), Alberta’s first high voltage direct current transmission line, completed its first three months of commercial operation, moving up to 1,000 MW of energy more efficiently between Alberta’s two largest cities and supporting the delivery of green energy to the Capital Region;
- AltaLink invested $149.1 million (three months ended March 31, 2015 – $336.1 million) in capital assets to expand the capacity of the power grid, ensure a reliable electricity network and help prepare Alberta for a renewable energy future;
- AltaLink filed its 2017-2018 General Tariff Application with the AUC on February 16, 2016, which included rate relief of $210 million for customers and increases the total rate relief to more than $600 million from the 2015 to 2018 time period.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy AltaLink’s securities in any jurisdiction, including but not limited to, the United States. AltaLink’s securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.
Except for the historical and present factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, including words such as “expects”, “intends”, “projects”, “plans”, “anticipates” and similar expressions, are forward looking information that represents management of AltaLink’s Internal projections, expectations or beliefs concerning, among other things, future operating results and various components thereof or the economic performance of AltaLink. The projections, estimates and beliefs contained in such forward looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause AltaLink’s actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, those described in AltaLink’s filings with the Canadian securities authorities. Accordingly, holders of AltaLink securities and potential investors are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted. AltaLink disclaims any responsibility to update these forward looking statements.
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For more information please contact:
Investor Relations
Chris Lomore
Vice President, Treasurer
AltaLink Management Ltd.
Phone: 403.267.3446
E-mail: Chris.Lomore@AltaLink.ca
Media Relations
Scott Schreiner
Vice President, Communications
AltaLink Management Ltd.
Phone: 403.267.2176
E-mail: Scott.Schreiner@AltaLink.ca