Enbridge’s 2025 guidance keeps the cash flow story intact, with management targeting distributable cash flow of 5.50 to 5.90 dollars per share and an annualized dividend of 3.77 dollars, both set out on December 3, 2024 as the company reaffirmed near term growth and leverage guardrails. Predictability still commands a premium in volatile markets. Enbridge announced 2025 guidance and a 3 percent dividend increase.
Integrate Three U.S. Gas Utilities
By closing East Ohio in March 2024, Questar in June 2024, and PSNC on October 1, 2024, Enbridge reshaped its mix toward regulated distribution, now the largest gas utility platform in North America by volume and customer count, with rate base growth underpinning multi year capital deployment. Scale matters here. The PSNC transaction disclosure confirms about 600 thousand customers, roughly 13 thousand miles of pipe, and a liquefied natural gas storage project in build that should bolster system reliability and earnings base through the decade, while the broader utility trio drives the Gas Distribution and Storage segment toward a larger share of consolidated EBITDA. Enbridge completed the PSNC acquisition on October 1, 2024. Management’s stated payout policy remains a 60 to 70 percent DCF payout and a 4.5 to 5.0 times Debt to EBITDA target, anchoring dividend capacity to cash generation rather than headline earnings, an important distinction for income investors navigating rate cycles. “We are pleased to announce a 3 percent increase to the common share dividend, marking the 30th consecutive annual increase,” said Greg Ebel, President and CEO. Greg Ebel.
Lock Mainline Tolls To 2028
With the Canada Energy Regulator approving the Mainline Tolling Settlement effective to December 31, 2028, liquids tolls on the Canadian Mainline are now governed by a negotiated framework that reduces tariff uncertainty and aligns with shippers and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, while U.S. local tolls continue under existing agreements. Contract certainty supports planning. The settlement, retroactive to July 1, 2021 on the Canadian leg, helps stabilize revenue per barrel through escalators and known parameters, while utilization and differentials drive volumes that flow through the tolling model, thereby supporting the liquids EBITDA outlook embedded in 2025 guidance.
“The settlement received unanimous approval from industry,” said Colin Gruending, President, Liquids Pipelines, highlighting broad customer alignment that reduces adversarial filings risk and legal overhangs typical of contested toll cases.
Mainline settlement approval and comment. For planning purposes, a weaker Canadian dollar near 1.40 per U.S. dollar lifts translated U.S. dollar segment contributions, though it also nudges translated interest costs, a dual edge that is generally managed through Enbridge’s established hedging program. That balance merits watching as volumes, tariffs, and FX all feed EBITDA.
Fund Growth With Mixed Instruments
On funding, Enbridge paired equity and debt to close the utilities and maintain credit metrics, launching a 4.0 billion dollar bought deal common share offering on September 5, 2023, led by RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Stanley, and layering in hybrid capital through U.S. dollar fixed to fixed subordinated notes priced in June 2024, which preserve equity credit treatment at rating agencies and help keep the payout ratio inside the 60 to 70 percent band over the cycle. Instruments matter. The SEC exhibits detail the 7.375 percent 2055 and 7.200 percent 2054 subordinated notes, plus multiple senior and medium term notes across Enbridge and operating subsidiaries through 2024 and 2025, evidencing a laddered approach to duration and coupons. Enbridge SEC financing disclosures list these notes. The Bank of Canada’s policy rate at 2.50 percent as of September 17, 2025 lowers the domestic cost of floating debt and future CAD issuance, while still leaving absolute yields high enough to keep hybrid coupons meaningful against regulated returns. Policy sets the tape. The Bank of Canada lowered the overnight rate to 2.5 percent on September 17, 2025.
Investor takeaways is to concentrate on cash flow durability. Toll certainty to 2028, rate based utility growth, and pragmatic funding keep the dividend math tied to DCF, not sentiment, though execution on project in service dates and regulatory files remains the gating factor. Quiet balance sheet work often matters most.
