On September 24, 2012, NextEra Energy Canada, ULC (NYSE: NEE), Enbridge Inc. (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB) and Borealis Infrastructure announced that they had filed for regulatory approval to allow Enbridge and Borealis to acquire interests in NextEra Energy Canada's subsidiary, Upper Canada Transmission, Inc.
Upper Canada Transmission intends to bid for the opportunity to develop a new transmission line in Northern Ontario between Wawa and Thunder Bay as a joint venture through a limited partnership among affiliates of NextEra Energy Canada, Enbridge and Borealis. The venture plans to operate under the name NextBridge Infrastructure.
The proposed Ontario East-West Transmission Tie is expected to increase reliability, allow for the retirement or conversion of northern coal facilities and increase the ability to develop renewable generation in the region. An Ontario Power Authority report has identified the project as a 400km, 230kV transmission line with an estimated investment of $600 million.
NextEra Energy Canada is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc., a leading clean energy company with revenues of more than $15.3 billion, more than 41,000 megawatts of generating capacity, and approximately 15,000 employees in the US and Canada.
Enbridge operates, in Canada and the US, the world's longest crude oil and liquids transportation system. The company also has a significant and growing involvement in natural gas gathering, transmission and midstream businesses, and an increasing involvement in power transmission.
Borealis Infrastructure is the infrastructure investment arm of OMERS, one of Canada's largest pension plans with approximately $55 billion in net assets.
Gowlings is counsel to NextEra Energy Canada with a team led by David McFadden. Myron Dzulynsky and Jonathan Behar (energy/infrastructure) and Timothy Wach (tax) are advising with respect to the joint venture, shareholders and other agreements. Ian Mondrow and Mark Ledwell (energy), Paul Seaman (Aboriginal) and Gatlin Smeijers (environmental) are advising on related regulatory matters.