Topic: How To Invest

Pat: I’m wondering what you think of Capital Power Corp. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Capital Power Corp., $18.02, symbol CPX on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 99.7 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; www.capitalpower.com), is one of Canada’s largest independent power producers, with interests in 3,500 megawatts of generation capacity. In 2013, the company sold its New England power plants to Emera for $541 million U.S. It now has the bulk of its generating capacity in Alberta. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley recently mandated that coal power be phased out in the province by 2030. Renewable energy will replace two-thirds of current coal-fired capacity, while natural gas will replace the remaining third. Capital Power gets almost 60% of its power from coal-fired plants in Alberta, so it will need to move away from the fuel. The timing of the shift and the compensation Capital Power will get from the Alberta government are still to be negotiated, and that uncertainty adds a lot of risk. But equally important right now is the fact that the near-term outlook for Alberta electricity prices…