TC Energy offers a 4.0% Yield From a Regulated Infrastructure Franchise

TC Energy offers a 4.0% Yield From a Regulated Infrastructure Franchise

TC Energy represents one of the most reliable utility-like compounding opportunities in North American energy infrastructure. Roughly 98% of the company’s earnings are generated from regulated assets or long-term take-or-pay contracts. This provides unmatched cash flow predictability that shields the business from volatile commodity price swings. As North American natural gas demand accelerates (now driven by rising LNG export capacity and massive electricity demand from AI datacentres) the company’s irreplaceable pipeline network acts as an essential toll road for continental energy distribution.

The stock trades at 24.0 times the company’s forward earnings forecast. That’s a reasonable multiple in light of its high-quality, regulated operations and growth prospects

TC ENERGY INC. (Toronto symbol TRP; tcenergy.com) focuses on its 93,700-kilometre pipeline network, which pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. It also owns gas pipelines in Mexico, and owns or invests in seven power plants in Canada and the U.S. Gas pipelines account for 91% of TC’s earnings, with its power plants (including its 48.3% stake in the Bruce Power nuclear power plant in Ontario) supplying the remaining 9%.

What’s more, rate-regulated operations and long-term (including take-or-pay) contracts with shippers now supply a high 98% of TC’s earnings. That cuts your risk.

TC now plans to expand its Columbia Gas System, which pumps natural gas across 10 states in the east, Midwest and southeast regions of the U.S.

This new project, called Appalachia Supply Project, will help the Columbia system meet rising demand for gas to power artificial intelligence datacentres.

The primary customer will be PJM Interconnection, the U.S.'s largest power grid operator serving 13 states in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, including Appalachia.

The $1.5 billion U.S. project should begin operating in 2030. It will initially deliver 800 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, with plans to scale up to 2 billion cubic feet per day in future phases. A 20-year supply contract cuts the risk of this investment.

Meanwhile, the company recently started up its Valhalla North and Berland River projects in Alberta.

Valhalla North is a 33-kilometre pipeline that pumps natural gas from Grande Prairie, Alberta, to the company’s main NGTL pipeline system. The Berland River project is a 30-megawatt electric powered compressor station near Edson, Alberta.

Together, these projects increase capacity on the NGTL network by 400 million cubic feet per day, or roughly 3%.

That extra capacity will help TC profit from growing demand for gas to power new datacentres to run artificial intelligence programs. For example, Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq symbol META), the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, now plans to build a $13 billion datacentre north of Edmonton.
[ofie_ad]

TC Energy’s dividend hikes reward shareholders

Going forward, TC has targeted $28 billion worth of new projects and upgrades through 2030. That includes responding to growth in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and demand from expanding datacentres, and owns or invests in seven power plants in Canada and the U.S.

TC’s revenue in the quarter ended June 30, 2026, rose 5.7%, to $3.96 billion from $3.74 billion a year earlier. Earnings rose 16.0%, to $984 million, or $0.94 a share, from $848 million, or $0.82 a share.

TC’s shares have jumped over 24% in the past year. They now trade at 24.0 times the $3.66 a share that the company will probably earn in 2026. That’s a reasonable multiple in light of its high-quality, regulated operations.

TC raised your quarterly dividend by 3.2% with the April 2026 payment. The stock yields 4.0%. What’s more, new assets and rising earnings will let it increase that payment by between 3% and 5% annually.

Recommendation in Canadian Wealth Advisor: TC Energy Inc. is a buy.

Scott is an associate editor at TSI Network. He is the lead reporter and analyst for Dividend Advisor, Power Growth Investor and Canadian Wealth Advisor and a member of the Investment Planning Committee. Scott began his investment and financial career working with Pat McKeough at The Investment Reporter in the 1980s. Subsequently, he worked at the Financial Post Corporation Service for 10 years. He joined TSI Network in 1998. He is a Bachelor of Economics graduate of York University, and he also has an M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business.