Jul 31, 2026 earnings call — Tilbury LNG expansion and capital plan update
Received an Order in Council approving a larger Tilbury 1B expansion allowing total investment of approximately $2 billion in regulated rate base.
Revenue $2.1B (est $1.8B) · EPS $0.56 (est $0.55)
Key quotes
"Last week, FortisBC received an Order in Council from the province of British Columbia, approving a larger Phase 1B expansion of the Tilbury LNG facility, allowing total investment of approximately $2 billion in regulated rate base."
"With our capital plan on track, we continue to expect average annual rate base growth of 7% through 2030."
"As we have noted in the past, ITC expects USD 3.3 billion to USD 3.8 billion of investment beyond 2030 for projects that have been awarded and are not subject to competitive bidding."
Analyst Q&A 6
Tilbury project timing and benefits
Q (Maurice Choy · RBC): Next steps and timing for Tilbury 1B and update on larger Tilbury Phase 2. Also asked whether Phase 2 gives extra customer benefits. Then asked about Arizona data center customer negotiation behavior.
A: Management said Tilbury 1B has three OIC-covered components and they are designing to meet environmental conditions while finalizing Musqueam equity terms; they hope to start Tilbury 1B construction in 2027. For Tilbury 2, the EA decision is expected later this year and, if approved, construction on the storage tank would follow; the added liquefaction component is further out and any rate benefits are too early to quantify. On data centers in Arizona, management said customers are aware they must cover their own costs and that sharing fixed system costs can lower other customers' rates.
"That's going to start in earnest with the hope that we'll be in construction for TLSE -- or sorry, for Tilbury 1B sometime in 2027." — Roger Dall’Antonia (CEO)
Capital plan length and funding
Q (Benjamin Pham · BMO): Will you extend the CapEx outlook beyond the 5-year plan? And for Tilbury, in scenarios you model, could funding include an ATM?
A: Management said they do plan and study longer-term items but avoid publishing detailed plans beyond five years because forecasts diverge and have wide error bars. For Tilbury funding, they will review all funding options in the fall with the aim of keeping credit metrics in check and will take a deeper dive on timing and funding then.
"We'll look at all funding options available to us with the aim is to keep our credit metrics in check." — Jocelyn Perry (CFO)
Tilbury spend timing and transmission talks
Q (Mark Jarvi · CIBC): Is the Tilbury CapEx mostly before 2030 or later? And any update on ITC/transmission conversations with large local utilities for big loads?
A: Management said large projects typically start slowly and ramp up, and Tilbury could be online as early as 2031; they still need to model the spend shape and AFUDC. On transmission and big loads, they said they remain optimistic, are having positive conversations with large customers, and are sticking to about 8 gigawatts in their queue while directing customers to locations needing fewer upgrades to meet fast timelines.
"At this point, we don't -- everything that we've announced publicly, we have, and we're just sticking to that approximately 8 gigawatts of additional load in our queue." — Krista Tanner
TEP rate case timing and next steps
Q (Michael Lonegan · Barclays): How do you feel about the TEP rate case schedule change around the November election and the case outcome after May hearings?
A: Management said they were not surprised by the schedule shift and are feeling good about the case. They expect a recommended opinion and order from the judge soon, are largely aligned with ACC staff on many issues, and expect a decision probably in November with implementation in December.
Arizona project pipeline beyond Project Blue
Q (Susan Gray): Beyond Project Blue, what is the pipeline in Arizona and what other large customers or projects do you expect?
A: Management said they still have 8 to 10 gigawatts of data center pipeline in their queue and also named other projects like the Hermosa Mine and Copper World, plus other manufacturing and growing existing customers. They emphasized the pipeline is diverse and not all announced projects will necessarily materialize.
Arizona politics and IRP outcomes
Q (Elias Jossen · JPMorgan): Does the recent Arizona primary surprise you and will it change your regulatory strategy? Also, what range of outcomes should we expect from the IRP filing in October?
A: Management said the primary result was not surprising and that election outcomes do not change their regulatory strategy; they work with whoever is in regulator roles and continue the same approach. On the IRP, they said they do not yet have a range of outcomes and are waiting for the results; they run multiple scenarios, will pick a recommended portfolio for filing, and will provide high-level data on investments and timing when released.
"We don't really have a range of outcome yet other than one from the old IRP that -- so we really are waiting for the results of this." — David Hutchens (CEO)