TC Energy positioning to capitalize on rising natural gas demand

TC Energy headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, July 30, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol

TC Energy Corp. says it sees rising demand for natural gas pipelines in the future as it reported an increase in second-quarter profit from a year earlier, despite a complex macroeconomic backdrop.

The Calgary-based pipeline operator said Thursday that as earnings grow in the short-term, it’s also positioning itself for rising demand for natural gas.

“Electrification, coal-to-gas conversions, and the rise of AI and data centres are accelerating the need for reliable, low emission base load power,” chief executive François Poirier said on a conference call with analysts.

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The company is now forecasting North American demand of 45 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by 2035, up from its previous forecast of 40 bcf, driven by liquid natural gas exports, power generation and industrial demand.

TC Energy is already in talks with more than 30 potential customers across the data centre value chain, said Poirier.

“These developments reinforce our confidence in a rising cadence of project announcements through the second half of the year and into 2026.”

The passing of Bill C-5, enacting the Building Canada Act that’s meant to help fast-track major projects, is also a boon for the company, said Poirier.

“It’s nice to see a federal government that understands the sense of urgency around deploying capital to help make Canada an energy superpower. In our interactions with the federal government, we believe very much that that is a sincere objective on their part.”

Existing demand, meanwhile, helped lead TC Energy to a net income of $862 million, or 83 cents per share in the quarter, up from $804 million or 78 cents per share last year.

What TC Energy calls comparable earnings per common share from continuing operations worked out to 82 cents per share, up from 79 cents per share last year.

The mean analyst estimate had been for earnings of 78 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

Revenues totalled $3.74 billion, up from $3.33 billion last year.

The company says that despite volatility in commodity markets, the company is raising its expected earnings before certain deductions this year.

It says it now expects between $10.8 billion and $11 billion in comparable earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, up by $100 million from its earlier guidance.

The company also increased its expected capital spending for the year to between $6.1 billion and $6.6 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.