Fortis Inc.

Welcome to the Fortis fourth quarter and annual 2021 results conference call and webcast. During the call, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. There will be a question and answer session following the presentation. At that time, those with questions should press star followed by the number one on their telephone. If at any time during the conference you need to reach an operator, please press star zero. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Stephanie Amimo. Please go ahead, Ms. Amaymo.

Thanks, April, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to Fortis' fourth quarter and annual 2021 results conference call. I'm joined by David Hutchins, President and CEO, Jocelyn Perry, Executive VP and CFO, other members of the senior management team, as well as CEOs from certain subsidiaries. Before we begin today's call, I want to remind you that the discussion will include forward-looking information, which is subject to the cautionary statement contained in the supporting slideshow. Actual results can differ materially from the forecast projections included in the forward-looking information presented today. All non-GAAP financial measures referenced in our prepared remarks are reconciled to the related U.S. GAAP financial measures in our annual 2021 MD&A. Also, unless otherwise specified, all financial information referenced is in Canadian dollars. With that, I will turn the call over to David.

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. In 2021, we delivered steady growth while progressing our cleaner energy goals. During the year, we invested $3.6 billion of capital to support the continued delivery of reliable electricity and natural gas to our customers, despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the ESG front, we advanced many of our priorities, including becoming a supporter of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, improving the diversity of our board, and enhancing our sustainability disclosures, all while continuing to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Financially, absent foreign exchange differences, we grew adjusted earnings per share by approximately 5%, supporting our 6% dividend growth and strong shareholder returns in 2021. 2021 was another year of extreme weather across North America, and a few of our service territories were impacted. British Columbia saw fires and record heat in the summer and a devastating flood in the fall, while ITC system experienced a derecho windstorm for the second year in a row. With our operating model, our utilities were able to respond to those events and restore service quickly and safely using their local system knowledge and the support of best practices and expertise shared from across the Fortis group. A strong reliability and safety culture continues to be the foundation of our utility operations. as evidenced by another year of outperformance relative to industry averages. I would like to thank all of our employees in our utilities whose dedication day in and day out allows us to provide exemplary service to our customers. Our long history of achieving strong shareholder returns continued in 2021 with a one-year total shareholder return of 21.8%. Looking back over a 20-year timeframe, Fortis has delivered average annual total shareholder returns of approximately 13% or 975% in total. Also shown on slide six, this far exceeds the returns generated by the benchmark indices. Since 2019, we have reduced Scope 1 emissions by 20%. This demonstrates significant progress towards reaching our target to reduce these emissions 75% by 2035. At UNS, closure of the coal-fired Navajo generating station in late 2019, as well as the recent additions of the 250-megawatt Oso Grande wind project, the 100-megawatt Wilmot solar project, and the 99-megawatt Borderlands wind project have driven our carbon emissions reduction to date. With a full year of these renewable generation projects, and the planned closure of San Juan Generating Station scheduled for mid-year, we expect further reductions in carbon emissions in 2022 and remain on track to achieve our 75% reduction target. In 2021, our utilities deployed $3.6 billion of capital focused on resiliency, modernization, and sustainable energy, including $600 million for cleaner energy projects. These investments supported rate-based growth of approximately 6% over 2020. Capital investments for the year were broadly in line with plan. However, a lower U.S. to Canadian dollar exchange rate and pandemic-related timing delays for both the Watanekinyap Transmission Project and planned spending at Caribbean utilities modestly tempered investments during the year. This was partially offset by higher capital spending at ITC, including restoration costs following the December derecho storm. While the pandemic has not had a material impact on our overall capital plan to date, we are continuing to monitor the supply chain in order to identify and mitigate issues promptly. For 2022, capital expenditures remain on track and are not expected to be significantly impacted. In the fourth quarter, we rolled out our $20 billion five-year capital plan through 2026, reflecting approximately $4 billion of annual investment in our utilities. The plan consists of virtually all regulated investments and a diverse mix of highly executable, low-risk projects supporting rate-based growth across our utilities. With investments spanning the entire energy delivery chain, $3.8 billion of the five-year capital plan is allocated to cleaner energy investments aimed at improving our already low carbon footprint. The plan is expected to increase rate base by over $10 billion from approximately $31 billion in 2021 to nearly $42 billion in 2026, supporting average annual rate base growth of approximately 6%. Above and beyond our base plan, we remain optimistic about incremental opportunities to enhance our growth strategy. Specifically, as it relates to our transmission business, we continue to see a supportive policy environment. At the state level, the Transmission Infrastructure Planning Act in Michigan was signed into law in December. With this legislation enacted, ITC now has a right of first refusal in Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota, providing ITC the first right to build and own regional projects located within its service territory. At the federal level, the White House released a fact sheet last month outlining various administrative actions it will take in 2022 to implement its clean energy goals and climate agenda, including a new initiative from the Department of Energy, Building a Better Grid. This initiative is expected to support the nationwide development of new and upgraded transmission lines, enhance resiliency, and provide additional access to clean energy. In addition to these positive policy advancements, ITC's geographic footprint puts them in a strong position to take advantage of the MISO Long Range Transmission Plan. MISO is identifying regional transmission required to support the evolving needs of the system as it transitions to cleaner energy. Visibility on the initial tranche of projects is expected in the second quarter, following the approval of the proposed cost allocation methodology that was filed earlier this month with FERC by MISO and a majority of its transmission owners. On the Lake Erie Connector project, the fully permitted shovel-ready project continues to progress. Last month, the Ontario Minister of Energy issued a letter to the province's Independent Electric System Operator, or ISO, acknowledging the many benefits of the project. In the letter, the Ontario government requested the ISO continue discussions with ITC to advance contract negotiations on a transmission service agreement and requested a report back from ISO in late March. Should ITC reach a finalized agreement with the ISO, construction of the project would take approximately four years. Our current five-year plan does not include investments associated with these projects. As these or other opportunities that we've highlighted in the past come to fruition, they would either be additive to our existing plan or extend growth beyond 2026. In 2021, we increased our dividends paid per common share to $2.05, an approximately 6% increase compared to 2020. marking 48 years of dividend increases. Looking ahead, we remain committed to building on this record through the execution of our growth strategy and a targeted 6% average annual dividend growth through 2025. Now, I will turn the call over to Jocelyn for an update on our fourth quarter and annual financial results.