TC Energy Corporation

standing by this is the conference operator welcome to the TC energy second quarter 2021 results conference call as a reminder all participants are in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded after the presentation there will be an opportunity to ask questions to join the question queue you may press star then one on your telephone keypad should you need assistance during the conference call you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero I would now like to turn the conference over to David Mineta Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thanks very much and good morning, everyone. I'd like to welcome you to TC Energy's 2021 second quarter conference call. Joining me today are Francois Poirier, President and Chief Executive Officer, Don Marchand, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Tracy Robinson, President, Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines and President, Coastal GasLink, Stan Chapman, President, U.S. and Mexico, Natural Gas Pipelines. Bevan Worspa, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development, and President, Liquids Pipelines. Corey Hesson, President, Power and Storage, and Glenn Meneuz, Vice President and Controller. Francois and Dawn will begin today with some opening comments on our financial results and certain other company developments. A copy of the slide presentation that will accompany their remarks is available on our website It can be found in the investor section under events and presentations. Following their remarks, we will take questions from the investment community. If you are a member of the media, please contact Jamie Harding after this call. In order to provide everyone from the investment community with an equal opportunity to participate, we ask that you limit yourself to two questions. If you have additional questions, please re-enter the queue. Before Francois begins, I'd like to remind you that our remarks today will include forward-looking statements that are subject to important risks and uncertainties. For more information on these risks and uncertainties, please see the reports filed by TC Energy with Canadian securities regulators and with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. And finally, during this presentation, we'll refer to measures such as comparable earnings, comparable earnings per share, comparable EBITDA, and comparable funds generated from operations. These and certain other comparable measures are considered to be non-GAAP measures. As a result, they may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. These measures are used to provide additional information on TC Energy's operating performance, liquidity, and its ability to generate funds to finance its operations. With that, I'll turn the call over to Francois.

Thanks, David. And good morning, everyone. And I know it's a busy morning with lots of companies reporting. So thank you very much to all of you for joining us today. As outlined in our second quarter report to shareholders, our diversified portfolio of high quality, long life energy infrastructure assets continue to meet North America's growing demand for energy. Utilization levels across our network remain strong during this first half of 2021. And that despite energy market volatility, weather events, and the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. Of note, our U.S. natural gas pipeline network moved an average of 26 BCF per day, an increase of 5% over the same period in 2020, while field receipts on NGTL were 12.2 BCF per day. In our power and storage business, Bruce Power continued to produce solid operating results, while our Alberta cogens benefited from increased output due to increased availability and the return to service of our Mackay River facility. Once again, this highlights the essential role our infrastructure plays in the well-being of people across the continent and the functioning of the North American economy. We take this responsibility seriously. And as always, we conducted our business in a safe and reliable manner. Safety is one of our core values and is embedded in the culture of our organization. During the first half of the year, we invested $765 million in maintenance capital as part of our ongoing commitment to pipeline integrity. And our focus on operational excellence and the strong demand for our services is also reflected in our financial performance. Through the first six months of the year, Comparable EBITDA, comparable earnings per share, and comparable funds generated from operations all exceeded last year's record results. This is a very good outcome considering the significant decline in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the Canadian dollar, which negatively impacts our reported EBITDA, as well as the loss of one-time surtax fees in the first quarter of 2020, and the loss of capitalized interest during construction of KXL. And looking forward, we expect the solid operating and financial performance of our existing assets to continue. Contributing to our performance is Columbia Gas, which recently notified the FERC that it has reached a settlement in principle with its customers, addressing all remaining issues related to its Section 4 rate case. We're very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement. While more details will be available once the settlement is filed, we expect 2021 revenue on the system to be generally consistent with the estimates recorded to date. Turning to our capital program, where we remain focused on advancing our now $21 billion of secured growth projects that are expected to enter service by 2025. As is our custom, They are all underpinned by cost of service regulation or long-term contracts, which gives us visibility to the earnings and cash flow they will generate. A substantial portion of this growth portfolio is linked to our irreplaceable natural gas pipeline network, which now includes the VR project on our Columbia gas system. This U.S. $700 million project, referenced earlier today in our quarterly report, includes the installation of electric compressions that will meet growing demand and reduce emissions. This is another great example of our vast network playing an important role in the transition to a lower carbon world by delivering natural gas that will be used to displace coal-fired power and provide a backstop to the intermittency of renewables. Now, a few words on Coastal GasLink. Following the macro events of the past 16 months, including the public health order that limited our project workforce at the beginning of 2021 construction activities have resumed and we are making good progress with close to 50 of the project completed however as we've shared previously costs are expected to increase and that has resulted in a dispute with lng canada while commercial discussions are ongoing and we remain committed to successfully completing the project, we are nearing a critical stage that requires resolution of the outstanding issues. Looking beyond our secured capital program, over the mid to longer term, we expect numerous other opportunities to come to fruition as the world both consumes more energy and transitions to a lower carbon energy future. We have significant additional initiatives that are aligned with our strategy, organizational capabilities, risk preferences, and return requirements in various stages of development. These include system expansions, extensions, and modernization programs across our North American natural gas pipeline footprint, electrification opportunities throughout our network, the refurbishment of another five reactors at Bruce Power, two pump storage projects in Alberta and Ontario, as well as the Alberta Carbon Grid. Now, our goal is to build on our long history of disciplined growth while being agnostic to the form of energy that will ultimately lead to a low-carbon energy future. Whether it's renewables and firming resources needed to manage their intermittency, electrifying our fleet, or other emerging technologies, our existing asset base technical capabilities, innovative approach, and financial strength all mean that we are well positioned to prosper irrespective of the pace or direction energy transition takes. As I've mentioned before, ultimately our goal is to sanction $5 to $6 billion annually to deliver on our long-term growth plans including $1.5 to $2 billion per year of maintenance capital across our extensive network. And based on the project sanctioned to date in 2021 and various other initiatives in late stages of development, we expect to achieve our goal this year. More specifically, in addition to Columbia's VR project and ongoing maintenance on our regulated businesses, we expect a continuation of Columbia Gas's modernization program, as well as the Bruce Power Unit 3 MCR project, which is under consideration to be added to our backlog by the end of this year. And through requests for information, we are identifying potential opportunities in wind, solar, and energy storage projects that could generate 1,000 megawatts of zero-carbon energy to meet the electricity needs for a portion of our U.S. pipeline assets. This is an important step in advancing our plans to leverage the power and storage business as a platform for sustainable future growth while lowering emissions across our North American footprint. And longer term, the opportunity set is also encouraging. We are engaging with various stakeholders in Ontario to advance the Meaford pump storage opportunity. The project is designed to store emission-free electricity and provide backstop to the intermittency associated with the energy provided by renewables. Earlier this week, we reached an agreement with the Department of National Defense that, subject to conditions and regulatory approval, allows for the development of the multibillion-dollar, 1,000-megawatt clean energy storage project on federal lands. Moving forward, we will continue to consult with the Saugeen Ojibwe Nation and other indigenous rights holders and communities. And we will engage with local communities and other interested stakeholders to assess the potential impacts and economic benefits of the project. And finally, we recently announced the partnership with Pembina to jointly develop the Alberta Carbon Grid, a carbon transportation and sequestration system. When fully constructed, it would be capable of transporting more than 20 million tons of CO2 annually, providing Alberta-based industries with an ability to manage their emissions and contribute to a lower carbon economy. In short, I expect we will be opportunity rich and have to allocate capital to those projects that are best aligned with our capabilities, risk preferences, and return requirements. Based on the continued strong performance of our base business and our organic growth plans, We expect to continue to grow our dividend at an average annual rate of 5% to 7%. As always, the growth in dividends is expected to be supported by sustainable growth in earnings and cash flow per share and strong coverage ratios. I am confident that the future opportunity set combined with our capabilities will continue to deliver superior risk-adjusted total shareholder returns well into the future. I'll now turn the call over to Don, who will provide more details on our second quarter financial results. Don?