Businessweek

Enbridge Inc. operates crude oil and liquids transportation system in North America. The company also involves in natural gas gathering, transmission and midstream businesses, and power transmission activities. As a distributor of energy, the company owns and operates a natural gas distribution company and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. As a generator of energy, the company has interests in close to 1,300 MW of renewable and alternative energy generating capacity and is expanding its interests in wind, solar and geothermal. LIQUIDS PIPELINES The company’s liquids pipelines activities comprise the ownership and operation of crude oil and liquids hydrocarbons pipelines and terminals in Canada and the United States. The principal assets in this business segment include the Canadian Mainline, a common carrier system through which the company, in partnership with Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (EEP), transports various grades of crude and diluted bitumen from western Canada to the Midwest region of the United States and eastern Canada; Regional Oil Sands, a series of contract pipelines that transport crude oil and diluted bitumen from production sites in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (the WCSB) to connection points in central Alberta to the Canadian Mainline and other long-haul systems; Southern Lights, which transports hydrocarbon diluent from markets in the U.S. Midwest to producers in the WCSB; Spearhead Pipeline, a contract pipeline, which transports various grades of crude from the U.S. Midwest to hub terminals in Cushing, Oklahoma; and an interest in the Seaway pipeline, which, under committed and uncommitted tolling agreements, transports various grades of crude from Cushing, Oklahoma to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Liquids Pipelines has a combined transportation capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd). GAS DISTRIBUTION Gas Distribution consists of the company’s natural gas utility operations, the core of which is Enbridge Gas Distribution (EGD), which serves residential, commercial and industrial customers, primarily in central and eastern Ontario, as well as northern New York State. This business segment also includes natural gas distribution activities in Quebec and New Brunswick. Enbridge Gas Distribution: EGD is a natural gas distribution company. It serves approximately 2 million customers in central and eastern Ontario and parts of northern New York State. EGD’s utility operations are regulated by the Ontario Energy Board and by the New York State Public Service Commission. There are four principal interrelated aspects of the natural gas distribution business in which EGD is directly involved: Distribution Service, Gas Supply, Transportation and Storage. Distribution Service: The services provided to residential, small commercial and industrial heating customers are primarily on a general service basis (without a specific fixed term or fixed price contract). The services provided to larger commercial and industrial customers are usually on an annual contract basis under firm or interruptible service contracts. Gas Supply: To acquire the necessary volume of gas to serve its customers, EGD maintains a diversified gas supply portfolio. Transportation: TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. (TransCanada) transports approximately 60% or 237 billion cubic feet (bcf) of the annual natural gas supply requirements of the company’s customers. EGD has firm transportation service contracts with TransCanada for a portion of this requirement. EGD relies on its long-term contracts with Union Gas Limited (Union) for transportation of natural gas from Dawn, Ontario to EGD’s major market in the Greater Toronto Area. These contracts also provide transportation for natural gas received at Dawn via the Vector Pipeline, as well as natural gas stored at EGD’s and Union’s storage pools in the Sarnia, Ontario area to the market area. Storage: The business of EGD is highly seasonal as daily market demand for gas fluctuates with changes in weather, with peak consumption occurring in the winter months. Utilization of storage facilities permits EGD to take deliver