Enbridge, TC Energy Investing in Opportunities to Tap Rising Energy Demand, Boom in Data Centers — Update

By Robb M. Stewart

Big Canadian pipeline operators are investing heavily in anticipation that North American energy demand will continue to grow, driven in large part by the boom in data centers.

Enbridge, which last year gave the go-ahead to invest about 14 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of roughly US$10.3 billion, forecasts about C$50 billion worth of opportunities to grow through 2030. In the next 24 months, it projects the potential to make final investment decisions on projects for between C$10 billion and C$20 billion, including on natural gas transmission, liquids pipelines, as well as gas distribution and storage and renewable power.

TC Energy envisages putting into service in 2026 about C$4 billion invested in projects, building on the C$8.3 billion worth of projects that came online last year.

Both companies on Friday reported stronger-than-expected growth in underlying earnings for the final quarter of 2025 and affirmed guidance for profits to expand again this year.

Enbridge, which moves roughly 30% of the crude oil produced in North America and nearly 20% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S., said it is evaluating more than C$10 billion in near-term opportunities to meet growth in natural gas demand, buoyed by industrial use and data centers, as well as an expansion in liquefied natural gas capacity for exports.

"We're advancing over 50 potential data center opportunities that could require up to 10 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. And we expect to begin sanctioning these additional projects throughout 2026 and more in 2027," Chief Executive Greg Ebel said.

On top of that in the Permian Basin, Enbridge's joint venture investments in natural gas infrastructure are set to offer over 11 billion cubic feet a day of long-haul capacity and are supported by over 2 billion cubic feet of storage capacity, Ebel said.

TC Energy predicts North American natural gas demand to increase by 45 billion cubic feet a day from 2025 to 2035, the equivalent of adding the entirety of the European gas market over 10 years. CEO François Poirier said the company's operations are proximate to 60% of projected U.S. data center growth.

"Wide-scale electrification, ongoing coal retirements and the rapidly growing energy needs of AI and data centers are driving a significant and sustained increase in North American electricity demand," Poirier said, adding the company's strategy is to capture this growth without increasing risk exposure. That means a focus on building out existing operations and expanding transportation corridors expansions on the existing footprint serving utility customers.

Enbridge recorded earnings of 1.95 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.43 billion), or C$0.89 a share, in the last three months of 2025, up sharply from C$493 million, or C$0.23 a share, in the year-ago period. The jump was thanks largely to unrealized changes in the value of derivative financial instruments used to manage foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity price risks.

On an adjusted basis, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to C$5.21 billion from C$5.13 billion a year earlier. That beat the C$5.14 billion that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

The company said it has secured a project backlog worth about C$39 billion, up C$4 billion on a quarter earlier, with roughly C$8 billion of work expected to come into service this year.

Enbridge reiterated its forecast for adjusted Ebitda in the new year to rise to between C$20.2 billion and C$20.8 billion, after it increased about 7% in 2025 to C$19.95 billion.

TC Energy, which operates almost 58,000 miles of natural has pipelines in North America, plus seven power-generation facilities, said it will lift its quarterly dividend 3.2% after its fourth-quarter comparable Ebitda increased to C$2.96 billion in the fourth quarter from C$2.62 billion previously. That beat the C$2.89 billion mean forecast of analysts.

Most of TC Energy's earnings are underpinned by rate-regulated or long-term "take-or-pay" contracts, offering stability in cash flows and limited exposure to commodity price moves. The company said its profit rose in the latest quarter despite 2025 being marked by heightened geopolitical risks, trade policy uncertainty and market volatility.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

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February 13, 2026 11:32 ET (16:32 GMT)