Canadian Utilities : Documents & Filings (2024 cul sustainability report)
CU.TO
Published on 05/07/2025 at 13:01
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Employee and contactor safety & well-being 23
(TCFD)/IFRS S2 index 51
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01
About Us
04
Energy Transition G Environment
Message from the Chair & CEO
3
Our role: net-zero ambition
26
Integrated solutions
5
Enabling the energy transition
27
Current operations & investments
6
Energy transition
28
Our approach to sustainability
7
GHG emissions performance
32
Materiality assessment
8
Land use & biodiversity
34
2024 highlights
9
2024 progress towards 2030 ESG targets
10
05
People G Partners
Indigenous relations
36
02 Governance G Responsible Business Community engagement & investment 39
Corporate governance
13
Customer experience & satisfaction
40
Business ethics
15
Employee attraction, retention & development
41
Responsible supply chain
16
Diversity, equity & inclusion
42
Government relations & political advocacy
16
06
ESG Datasheet
03 Resilience G Safety
Reporting boundaries
44
System reliability & availability
18
Key documents
45
Emergency preparedness & response
21
ATCO Ltd. performance summary
46
Public health & safety
23
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
Summary of climate-related risks & opportunities 52
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) index 57
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) index 60
Sustainability Report 2024 | 2
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Message from our Chair & CEO
I am pleased to present ATCOʼs 2024 Sustainability Report- a comprehensive reflection of our unwavering commitment to sustainability, transparency and long-term value creation.
Over the past year, in many parts of the world, geopolitical uncertainties and economic pressures have drawn some of the focus away from shared societal goals, such as decarbonization, even as material risks and opportunities endure. At the same time, and owing to these same uncertainties, concerns over supply chain disruptions, energy security and economic stability have intensified.
Companies that flourish over many decades are those that prioritize a long-term vision and look beyond the immediate horizon. For our group of companies, sustainable practices, strong governance, and operational excellence are not just moral obligations but long-term strategic imperatives. In that respect, they are safeguards against the volatility of todayʼs business and political environment.
To that end, the past year was marked by meaningful progress.
- governments, Indigenous communities, regulators, investors, partners, employees and customers.
Safety and resilience are at the core of our operations. In 2024, we enhanced our emergency preparedness and response capabilities, ensuring we can swiftly and effectively manage crises such as the wildfires that impacted Alberta and the Northwest Territories. I am particularly proud of the Herculean efforts of our team in response to the devastating wildfire in Jasper National Park, which necessitated the evacuation of 25,000 people and resulted in the destruction of over 350 buildings. As the wildfire surged, ATCO teams from across Alberta seamlessly coordinated their efforts, responding with remarkable efficiency and unwavering dedication to the safety of our people.
With respect to the energy transition, we continued to invest in cleaner fuels, renewable energy and innovative technologies that
are essential as we work towards our net-zero emissions ambition by 2050. We have made advancements in hydrogen production, utilization and storage, including the launch of North Americaʼs first building heated by 100 per cent hydrogen. Additionally, our renewable generation capacity has expanded, with wind and solar projects now accounting for 64 per cent of our power generation portfolio. These efforts not only contribute to reducing our carbon footprint but also support our customers to reduce their emissions.
We have also continued to invest in our electricity and natural gas systems to bolster reliability, energy security, and resilience- topics of growing importance to our customers and communities across the world. This includes investment in new smart grid
infrastructure, as well as connecting Indigenous communities to natural gas service to displace diesel.
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Our partnerships with Indigenous communities continue to be a cornerstone of our approach to business. We are committed to creating equitable economic opportunities and fostering long-term prosperity for these communities. In 2024, we delivered $123 million in net economic benefit to our Indigenous partners-an increase of 73 per cent from our 2020 baseline, reflecting our dedication to meaningful engagement and true partnerships.
As we navigate the complexities of todayʼs global landscape, we recognize that achieving our sustainability goals requires unprecedented cooperation from all stakeholders-governments, Indigenous communities, regulators, investors, partners, employees and customers. This collaboration is doubly essential in todayʼs environment, as it fosters innovation, leverages diverse perspectives, and builds the collective resilience needed to navigate and overcome global challenges.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the people of ATCO for their dedication and hard work. Their resilience and innovation inspire me every day as we strive to build a sustainable future for generations to come.
Sincerely yours,
Nancy Southern
Chair & CEO, ATCO Ltd.
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Integrated solutions
Creating prosperity and opportunity for generations to come
Working to meet the world's essential energy, housing, security and transportation needs. Sustainability disclosures reflect our business operations including:
ATCO Energy Systems
Delivers essential energy for an evolving world through its electricity and natural gas transmission and distribution.
ATCO Investments
Includes recycling and marketing of ash, retail food services, retail energy sales, real estate development and equity investments in ports and transportation.
ATCO EnPower
Creates sustainable energy solutions in the areas of electricity generation, energy storage, industrial water and alternative fuels.
ATCO Australia
Provides critical energy infrastructure, while supporting the transition through renewables, storage and alternative fuels.
ATCO Structures Designs, builds and delivers products to service the
essential need for housing and shelter around the globe.
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Current operations & investments
$27B
$4.9B
4M+
544,000 m3
66,000 KM
12
106,000 KM
In assets
In revenues
Global customers
Natural gas liquids capacity
Natural gas pipelines
Modular building manufacturing facilities
Electric power lines
$481M
$1.8B
21,000
85,200 m3/D
117 PJ
27,600
771 MW
Adjusted earnings*
Capital expenditures
Employees (including
Water infrastructure capacity
Natural gas
Rental fleet units
Power generation operated
subsidiaries and affiliates)
storage capacity
'Adjusīєd єarnings is a "īoīal or sєgmєnīs mєasurє", as dєrinєd in Naīional Insīrumєnī 52-112 - Non-CAA7 and Oīhєr Financial Mєasurєs Disclosurє (NI 52-112). Thє mosī dirєcīly comparablє mєasurє rєporīєd in accordancє wiīh Inīєrnaīional Financial Rєporīing Sīandards (IFRS) is Earnings Aīīribuīablє īo Class I non-voīing and Class II voīing sharєs, which was $430 million ror īhє yєar єndєd Dєcєmbєr 31, 2024. For addiīional inrormaīion, sєє "Oīhєr Financial and Non-CAA7 Mєasurєs" and "Rєconciliaīion or Adjusīєd Earnings īo Earnings Aīīribuīablє īo Class I and Class II Sharєs" in ATCO Līd.'s Managєmєnī's Discussion and Analysis ror īhє yєar єndєd Dєcєmbєr 31, 2024, which is availablє on SEDAR" aī https://www.sєdarplus.ca, and which is incorporaīєd by rєrєrєncє hєrєin.
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Our approach to sustainability
At ATCO, we believe we have a responsibility to our customers, employees, share owners, and Indigenous and community partners to build prosperity for generations to come. Our essential products and services are delivered with a focus on safety, reliability,
About this report
In alignment with our core values, we recognize the importance of being transparent about our sustainability progress. This report
highlights qualitative and quantitative performance for the ATCO
In addition, as a provider of essential services, we contribute to the United Nationsʼ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the beginning of each section, we highlight the UN SDGs that are most connected to our material categories.
affordability and sustainability.
Sustainability is integrated into our governance framework,
Group of Companies, including subsidiary companies Canadian
Utilities Limited and CU Inc., as well as the risks, opportunities and
business strategy, risk management approach and day-to-day operations. Around the world, we create opportunities to innovate, advise and participate in the energy transition. We believe in building truly equitable partnerships with Indigenous communities. We collaborate with community partners to enhance economic and social development. And, we always champion a diverse and inclusive environment where inspired people can make a meaningful difference.
Our actions reflect our core values of safety, integrity, agility, caring and collaboration. These foundational principles guide us as we balance the short- and long-term economic, environmental and social considerations of our businesses.
Alongside our long-term ambition of supporting societyʼs goal of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, we have set environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets for 2030.
These targets measure our progress in achieving our strategic goals of enabling the energy transition, advancing Indigenous reconciliation and supporting the communities we serve, while supporting long-term growth.
challenges we manage through strategic sustainability initiatives. For detailed information on our performance, policies and
framework mapping, please see the ESG Datasheet at the end of this report. Separate performance summaries are available online
for Canadian Utilities Limited, CU Inc. and ATCO Australia.
Our Sustainability Report is guided by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation's International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Standards, which incorporate the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards and climate-related disclosure recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). It is also based on the internationally recognized Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards.
Reporting our annual progress is a key aspect of consistent reporting, supported by the continued improvement of our internal processes.
Colin Jacfison
Senior Vice President, Financial Operations
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Materiality assessment
Community engagement & investment
GHG emissions
Business ethics
Cybersecurity
System reliability & availability
Energy transition & climate change
Corporate governance
Indigenous relations, economic opportunities & reconciliation
We complete materiality assessments on a regular basis to ensure our sustainability reporting is focused on the ESG topics that are most important to our stakeholders and our business. In 2023, ATCO completed a "Double Materiality Assessment" that identified impacts, risks and opportunities (IROs) to help prioritize ESG topics. More insight to this process can be found on our Materiality Assessment webpage. In our 2024 Sustainability Report, we continue to disclose under these 17 material topics:
Governance G Responsible Business
Energy Transition G Environment
Resilience G Safety
People G Partners
Diversity, equity & inclusion
Employee safety & well-being
Human capital development
Public health & safety
Government relations & political advocacy
Customer experience & satisfaction
Land & biodiversity
Responsible supply chain
Emergency preparedness & response
While all of these topics are considered very important, five topics (outlined in light blue) were identified as being particularly dynamic and therefore will have relatively more coverage in the report.
Note that, while these topics have been prioritized for disclosure, further assessment is required to quantify their financial materiality in alignment with guidance provided by the ISSB.
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2024 highlights
Resilience G Safety
118,000
smart meters installed in Alberta
77,000
electrical poles fire-wrapped
for protection in 2024
Energy Transition G Environment
40%
reduction in emissions intensity from 2020 baseline
29%
reduction in methane emissions since 2020
64%
of power generation capacity are renewables
People G Partners
$123M
in Indigenous net economic benefit
$9.7M
invested in communities through gifts in-kind, sponsorships, donations and our matching contribution to the employee-led ATCO EPIC program
Women at ATCO
67
partnerships, MOUs and other arrangements with Indigenous groups
Top
ranked as one of Alberta's Top Employers for the fourth year in a row
5,000
gas customers were assisted with damage prevention practices
5,300
homes provided with hydrogen-blended natural gas
1,387KT
reduction in customer
GHG emissions cumulatively since 2020
33% Workforce
34% Senior management
38% Board
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2024 progress towards 2030 ESG targets
In January 2022, we announced an initial set of 2030 ESG targets focused on reducing our operational GHG intensity and customer emissions, growing our renewable energy footprint and transitional products and services, increasing economic benefits for Indigenous partners, continuing our focus on safety, and further promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.
Supporting the energy transition and reducing GHG emissions
In 2024, we made progress towards achieving our 2030 targets against a 2020 baseline. Each target is defined in this report or in our ESG Datasheet and is applicable at the ATCO level, including its subsidiaries Canadian Utilities Limited and CU Inc. We are proud to have achieved our targets around inclusive growth in our workforce and communities, signifying our ongoing commitment to inclusion practices. We also continue to evaluate additional potential ESG targets in each of our material categories.
Reduce GHG emissions to earnings intensity by 30 per cent (Scope 1 and 2).
2030 Target
40%
Maintaining
30%
Reduce our customersʼ GHG emissions by two million tonnes through continued participation in renewable energy, cleaner fuels, energy efficiency, and energy infrastructure and storage projects.
2030 Target
2M tCO2e
1,387,000
Own, develop or manage over 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy.
2030 Target
1,000 MW
Derive 20 per cent of revenues from transitional product categories (e.g., renewable natural gas and hydrogen).
2030 Target
20%
15%
0%
1M tCO2e
0 tCO2e
tCO2e
500 MW
0 MW
458 MW
10%
0%
2.9%
We reduced our GHG emissions to earnings intensity by 40 per cent from 2020 baseline.
We have reduced customersʼ emissions by 1,387,000 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) cumulatively since 2020.
By the end of 2024, we owned, managed or developed 458 MW of renewable energy.
We derived 2.9 per cent of our revenue from transitional product and service categories. We continue to work toward this target, developing additional renewable and fuel-switching projects aligned with policy and regulatory changes supporting investment.
For more information, see the Energy Transition G Environment section.
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2024 progress towards 2030 ESG targets
Promoting inclusive growth in our worfiforce and communities
Increase net economic benefits to our Indigenous partners by 40 per cent.
Achieve and maintain a minimum of
30 per cent female representation at the Board of Directors and senior leadership levels.
Achieve and maintain a minimum of
25 per cent minority representation within the worfiforce.
Maintain leading health and safety practices and performance.
2030 Target
75%
40%
0%
73%
Maintaining
2030 Target
50%
30%
0%
50%
reached in 2025
38%
Maintaining
2030 Target 34%
Maintaining
25%
15%
0%
The net economic benefits to our Indigenous partners increased 73 per cent from our baseline. While we exceeded this target again in 2024, we continue to look for opportunities with our Indigenous partners to increase economic benefits to their communities. For more information, see the People G Partners section.
Women represent 38 per cent of the Board of Directors and 34 per cent of senior management. Subsequent to year end, appointments to the Board of Directors announced in January 2025 increased women representation to 50 per cent. For more information, see the People G Partners section.
Minorities represent 34 per cent of our workforce. We exceeded our target again in 2024, signifying our ongoing commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce. For more information, see the People G Partners section.
As one of our core values, safety continues to be a focus area. We strive to maintain best practices in health and safety, and our safety rates compare favourably to industry benchmarks. For more information on our safety performance, see the Resilience G Safety section.
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02
In this section
Corporate governance
Business ethics
Responsible supply chain
Government relations G political advocacy
ATCOʼs businesses cover many sectors with operations in communities around the world. All our work is guided by our core values to support transparent, ethical and accountable operations. Strong and effective corporate governance is central to meeting the standards we set for ourselves and generating sustainable value over the long term.
Learn more
Governance G Responsible Business Modern Slavery Report
Doing Business with ATCO
The initiatives in this section align with the following UN SDGs:
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Corporate governance
ATCO has an effective, tailored system of corporate governance that recognizes the need to provide autonomy and flexibility to our different businesses and operating jurisdictions, while accommodating the needs of both our regulated and non-regulated businesses.
Effective corporate governance stewards the interests of our customers, share owners, employees, and Indigenous and community partners over the near-, medium- and long-term, providing review and oversight of corporate strategies. Our Board of Directors, board committees and executive management team provide oversight of our strategic initiatives, performance metrics and external disclosures related to sustainability.
We regularly evaluate our governance practices to ensure they are effective. We integrate sustainability and ESG into our Board of Directors and board committee governance structures, reflecting that they are core strategic components and not standalone issues. Board mandates explicitly include sustainability and ESG matters.
Dr. Robert Routs
Lead Director, ATCO Ltd. Board of Directors
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Board oversight
Key elements of our corporate governance system include the oversight and diligence provided by the Board of Directors, the Lead Director, our Corporate Governance, Nomination, Compensation and Succession Committee (GOCOM) and the Audit & Risk Committee.
While the Board provides oversight on strategy, risk management, sustainability, succession planning, corporate governance, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), each of the board committees has specific responsibilities assisting the Board in fulfilling this oversight.
The GOCOM oversees corporate governance practices including any change to Board and committee composition. This includes finding the most qualified individuals available with the diverse skills, experience and expertise to complement the Board and align with our strategic objectives. Please refer to the People G Partners section for more information on diversity at ATCO.
The GOCOM also oversees succession planning and senior executive officersʼ performance, compensation and remuneration. In addition to financial results, our executive compensation program is based on operational objectives (such as health and safety, service quality, management controls and environmental stewardship), people leadership (such as leadership development, attraction and retention), and long-term sustainable growth (growth strategies and strategic planning).
In 2024, a standing agenda item was added for GOCOM to receive updates on various strategic sustainability initiatives, such as decarbonization, safety, DEI and Indigenous relations. Additionally,
the Senior Vice President, Financial Operations provides an update on consolidated key sustainability metrics, including progress against our ESG targets.
The Audit & Risk Committee areas of oversight most relevant to sustainability are public reporting and enterprise risk management. In addition to reviewing our Sustainability Report prior to release, the committee semi-annually reviews risks and opportunities that could materially impact our ability to achieve strategic and operational objectives. This includes sustainability and ESG matters such as climate-related risks and opportunities, climate change
Strategy
Governance G Performance
Risfi G External Disclosure
Board
✓
GOCOM
✓
Audit & Risk
✓
Executive Management
✓ ✓ ✓
Integration of sustainability/ESG into existing oversight process
resilience and adaptation, and cybersecurity risks. Additional detail on business risks is included in ATCOʼs Management Proxy Circular, Managementʼs Discussion and Analysis (MDGA) and the Governance webpage.
The senior executive of each operating division reports on operating results and risks to the Audit & Risk Committee. In addition, each division prepares stewardship reports, which are presented to the Audit & Risk Committee on a bi-annual basis, and include topics such as safety, environment and Code of Ethics compliance.
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Managementʼs role
Our executive management team is kept informed through quarterly, internal sustainability dashboards that report consolidated key performance indicators, including environmental, safety and Indigenous relations metrics. They also receive periodic updates from the Senior Vice President, Financial Operations on progress towards our ESG targets and strategically significant ESG developments.
ATCOʼs corporate sustainability and ESG team reports through the Senior Vice President, Financial Operations to the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial & Investment Officer. The team is responsible for engaging with stakeholders to report global consolidated sustainability and ESG performance internally and externally, facilitating integration into existing strategy and risk processes, and preparing for emerging requirements. In 2024, an internal Sustainability and ESG Council was created with operating company experts in our energy businesses to facilitate information sharing, alignment and prioritization of initiatives.
We continue to progress our multi-year preparation for upcoming and expected mandatory sustainability disclosure requirements by evolving sustainability and ESG reporting processes to more closely align with financial reporting. This is guided by a Mandatory Disclosure Steering Committee, acknowledging the cross-functional requirement across Finance, Accounting, Risk, Audit, Internal Controls and Sustainability.
The daily management of sustainability-related risks and opportunities is guided by divisional leadership and corporate subject matter experts through topic-specific policies, training, monitoring and other management considerations. Sustainability is managed collaboratively across numerous groups, including Health and Safety, Environment, Human Resources, Corporate Affairs, Indigenous Relations, Marketing and Communications, Legal, Corporate Governance, Compliance, Internal Audit, and Supply Chain, among others. These groups monitor best practices, develop and implement policies and standards, and support our various divisions.
Our established Enterprise Risk Management program outlines the process for regularly identifying, assessing, responding to, monitoring and reporting operational and strategic risk in the execution of day-to-day business objectives, as well as our long-term strategic goals. Through the program, we anticipate market and societal shifts and identify obstacles to strategic objectives, followed by clear accountability for managing and mitigating risks.
Business ethics
Our Code of Ethics is reviewed and updated on a regular basis, with employees required to complete annual training - available in English, French and Spanish - and certification. In 2024, we further enhanced our employee disclosure process so employees can proactively identify and complete formal documentation about potential conflicts of interest, promoting transparency and reducing the incidence of conflicts.
Our Code of Ethics, How We Do Business sets out the behaviours and standards of conduct we expect of anyone who works for, or represents, ATCO. This includes topics related to bribery and corruption, for which we engaged external experts to assess our governance processes in 2024.
Our ATCO Integrity Line provides employees and external parties with a confidential venue to speak up, ask questions and express concerns regarding any of our activities or operations.
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Responsible Government relations & political advocacy
supply chain
We take a big-picture approach to managing our supply chain, as the risks associated with the global supply chain are more complex and interconnected than ever before. We regularly evaluate our supply chain governance and focus on building resiliency against supply chain disruptions.
Our vendor onboarding program is designed to address risks, such as labour conditions, and opportunities, including Indigenous procurement and inventory modernization. Vendors are expected to comply with equivalent standards of conduct that apply to ATCO internally through our Vendor Conduct Requirements. We conduct additional due diligence prior to engaging vendors that operate in some regions where risk has been assessed to be higher.
We released our second Modern Slavery Report in Canada on February 27, 2025, while our Australia team will release their annual report in June 2025. These reports provide a summary of our actions to eliminate different forms of modern slavery, including forced labour, child labour and human trafficking.
ATCOʼs political advocacy centres on energy-related policies and regulations, alongside other pertinent interests across our operating companies such as the provision of community infrastructure, modular structures and logistical services. We work collaboratively with all levels of government, regulators and institutions to develop policy solutions that address the needs of our customers, communities and share owners.
With respect to the energy transition, the pace and scale of change necessary for advancing our net-zero ambition requires a bold, coordinated effort. Among other factors, this effort must be backed by targeted, long-term government support, evidence-based policymaking and a conducive regulatory environment to drive investment and innovation by the private sector.
To that end, we engage in public policy discussions covering a broad range of initiatives, including affordability and reliability, international competitiveness, progressing opportunities related to hydrogen and renewable electricity, and advancing regulatory pathways that will enable investment in large energy infrastructure projects. We are also actively engaged in discussions with governments and Indigenous communities in Canada to advance various cleaner fuels projects such as, transitioning from diesel to renewables or natural gas as an alternate fuel for heating.
We advocate directly to governments and policymakers by providing relevant research, expert perspectives and informed recommendations on policy and regulatory proposals. At the request of governments, we may participate in technical and advisory working groups. Our involvement extends to industry
associations, chambers of commerce and business councils. In all our advocacy efforts and interactions with government officials, both domestically and internationally, we uphold the highest standards of integrity and transparency. We strictly follow all relevant laws, regulations and conventions.
Dale Friesen
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Chief Government Affairs Officer
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In this section
System reliability G availability
Cybersecurity
Emergency preparedness G response
Public health G safety
Employee and contactor safety G well-being
We are proactively investing in our ability to provide reliable and affordable essential services, with safety as our top priority. We leverage technology and best practices, with a focus on innovation, to create more resilient systems for the services our customers and communities depend on.
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Resilience G Safety
The initiatives in this section align with the following UN SDGs:
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7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2022
2023
2024
SAIDI - System Average Interruption Duration Index
SAIFI - System Average Interruption Frequency Index AUC Maximum Service Standard
Outage measurement G management
A variety of metrics are used to measure direct impacts to the reliability of our electricity distribution systems, including system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) and system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI).
Electricity reliability in Alberta
Our Alberta electricity distribution business reported a SAIDI of
4.72 and SAIFI of 1.69 in 2024. SAIDI improvement in Alberta was related to reduced impact from wildfires, as well as a recommitment to reliability that included a monthly reliability committee that enhanced analytics and refocused on action planning for outages.
System reliability & availability
Investing in our systems
Delivering essential energy to our customers, including electricity and natural gas, has been core to our business for decades and will continue to be part of our future. We are looking forward and investing in current and new systems to position our businesses to meet the evolving needs of our customers over the long term. In a world that requires more energy, we are committed to delivering it safely, reliably and affordably.
Our customers must have energy available when they need it to turn on lights, heat homes, operate businesses and support critical industrial processes. As we participate in a responsible and equitable energy transition, the focus of our investment is to build systems that are better than before. Improving our resiliency, adapting to climate change and decreasing carbon emissions, often through innovative technology, can also lead to improvements in operational efficiency.
To uphold the reliability of our energy infrastructure and networks, we undertake proactive planning for route and site selection, asset hardening, and regular monitoring and maintenance. Proactive measures for our electricity infrastructure include vegetation management around power lines as well as burying power lines in select areas. For our natural gas infrastructure, we conduct regular leak surveys and aerial patrols. In addition, we conducted in-line inspections on 860 km or approximately 10 per cent of our natural gas transmission pipeline system in 2024. We replace or upgrade infrastructure to improve our systems, or when our monitoring
indicates that investment is necessary to maintain a safe and reliable system.
In addition, our energy storage supports a resilient system by holding a supply of energy so that it can be deployed when needed. Our businesses have regulated and unregulated energy storage facilities strategically located across central Alberta. For example, in addition to natural gas storage, our ATCO Heartland Energy Centre storage facility provides safe, efficient and cost-effective storage for natural gas liquids. Our Australian operations also include natural gas-powered generation to reliably provide energy when required to meet demand and stabilize the grid.
of natural gas transmission pipeline
in-line inspections in 2024
availability factor in our Australian
natural gas-powered generation
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Grid modernization
We are investing in a modern grid, which leads to improved energy efficiency and reliability, and better support for customer energy needs of the future. We are proactively advancing several innovative technology projects to evolve the grid from the traditional one-way flow of energy to multi-directional flow. A modern grid could also enable cost and emissions reductions through demand-side management (DSM), further described in the Energy efficiency section.
Leveraging data and digitalizing our utilities technology remains a priority. We are able to reduce outages and drive continued efficiencies as our systems become more capable of predicting and responding to customersʼ needs and system stressors.
We continue to replace traditional electricity meters with smart meters. Across our service territory, we have now installed 118,000 of a potential 220,000 electric smart meters, or over 50 per cent.
electric smart meters
installed in Alberta
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Climate adaptation
Our assets are exposed to the physical effects of climate change. Beyond our established, proactive and robust mitigation strategies to safeguard our infrastructure - such as those highlighted in the
Investing in our systems section - we are always looking for new approaches. Across our portfolio, we continually improve how we
assess and prioritize the physical risks of climate change across multiple hazards.
Our above-ground linear infrastructure has been identified as having the greatest exposure to extreme weather events. As part of our work, we are investigating innovative tools to monitor and prepare for extreme weather and address risks identified in our system.
We also take preventative action. For example, we installed interphase spacers on select powerlines to maintain a safe distance between powerlines and applied fire mesh to 15,000 transmission poles and 62,000 distribution poles to reduce the risk of burning, increasing the total number of poles covered to 35,000 transmission poles and 75,000 distribution poles.
Our global property insurer for all non-linear assets (i.e., production facilities and buildings) provides an annual global assessment which tests assets against multiple hazards and scenarios, helping us to assess and proactively manage and reduce risks. Our utility businesses are undertaking physical risk assessments in 2025 to prioritize appropriate long-term investment and adaption initiatives to protect our linear infrastructure and, where appropriate, submit regulatory applications for capital expenditures.
For more information on climate-related physical risks, see our MDGA and Summary of climate-related risfis and opportunities in the ESG Datasheet.
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electrical poles fire-wrapped
for protection
How we prepare for, and respond to, extreme weather events is summarized in our Emergency preparedness G response section.
Cybersecurity
As we rely more on information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) to support business objectives and drive efficiencies, we continue to increase our focus on cybersecurity to minimize the probability and impact of a cybersecurity incident. Our cybersecurity strategy is based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework and is integrated with our organization-wide enterprise risk management system. Our IT and OT environments are assessed regularly by an independent third party. We maintain a cybersecurity insurance policy, and our technology service providers submit independently audited reports for the infrastructure and procedures they operate on our behalf.
Cybersecurity is the responsibility of every employee, as each computer is a potential gateway to our systems. Employees are required to complete training modules on an annual and as-needed basis to ensure they are well-informed about how to keep our systems safe.
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Emergency preparedness & response
As extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity, emergency preparedness and response have never been more critical. Even with our investment in reliability and resilience, we must prepare for emergencies so that when they inevitably take place, we can respond quickly, efficiently and effectively. That means we are ready to deploy teams that are trained and equipped for whatever they will face. We are also able to deploy temporary dwelling units during emergencies and reconstruction.
Our enterprise-wide Crisis Management Committee monitors incidents that could escalate into crises, allowing us to quickly ramp up and sustain a significant, coordinated response when an emergency arises. We use the Incident Command System (ICS), an internationally recognized and standardized management system, in operations across the ATCO Group of Companies. Our enterprise-wide approach supports a coordinated response, leveraging resources efficiently and effectively. In 2024, along with testing our systems, we trained 600 employees in ICS levels 100, 200 or 300 to improve our incident response readiness.
We regularly review and improve our corporate Crisis Management Plan, with 2024 updates including enhancements from lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and recent wildfire events. In addition, each of our operating companies have region-specific Incident Management Plans.
With many of our assets in potentially very cold climates, we proactively design and monitor our systems to prepare for cold weather, and we are ready to respond when needed.
During a cold snap in which temperatures approached -40oC across Alberta, we took quick action to protect our customers when gas service was disrupted in two communities southeast of Calgary. We conducted aerial meter readings by flying over the impacted communities to pinpoint which homes did not have gas service and needed help. At the same time, our storage facilities provided help across the province with a back-up supply of natural gas to support Alberta's energy needs. Augmenting our storage systems, compressed natural gas trailers were deployed to meet customer needs for short periods, providing further localized system support.
We also provide emergency preparedness and response services to others who are in difficult circumstances. When Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern United States in September 2024, we quickly mobilized a response team to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on the ground.
employees responded to wildfires
employees completed ICS levels 100, 200 or
300 training in 2024
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In less than 24 hours, we were able to support over 1,000 National Guard soldiers, as well as residents, with critical camp support services, including laundry facilities, washrooms and showers.
Spill prevention is built into our asset management process through training, monitoring, and maintenance as part of our efforts to protect the environment, despite hydrocarbon liquids being less than one per cent of our pipeline operations. The hydrocarbon liquids we manage are related to fuel management in northern communities, hydrocarbon storage in Alberta's Industrial Heartland, as well as electrical transmission and distribution equipment.
Feature story: Jasper wildfire response G recovery
In the summer of 2024, Jasper National Park faced a devastating wildfire that led to the evacuation of approximately 25,000 people, the destruction of over 350 structures and damage to 440 ATCO assets. Amidst this crisis, our Alberta utility teams worked tirelessly alongside multi-agency response teams to restore essential services.
As the wildfire surged, ATCO teams from across Alberta seamlessly worked together to efficiently respond to the crisis, while keeping our people safe. During recovery work, quick restoration time was always a priority. But our focus was also to "build back better" - not just to rebuild, but to improve our infrastructureʼs resilience. We re-installed a new, insulated steel cable known for its reliability and durability during extreme weather conditions. We buried overhead lines, used composite poles and
upgraded the legacy system.
Within just 16 construction days, power was restored to 100 per cent of undamaged residential properties in town. In less than three weeks, gas services were restored to 98 per cent of the undamaged properties, bringing gas back to over 1,000
customers.
Although power was restored quickly, we continued to support the Jasper community with ongoing recovery work. By the end of 2024, we upgraded a major Jasper electrical line, improving power quality and capacity, as well as the safety, reliability and
resilience of our infrastructure.
Vandalism of our electrical transmission and distribution equipment, as well as wildfires, are the cause of most of our spills. To reduce the risk of vandalism, in 2024, we removed inactive equipment from 51 per cent of high-risk, idle sites. In addition, to mitigate spill risks related to wildfires, we implemented new response procedures that incorporated learnings from our response to the 2023 wildfires in Alberta and the Northwest Territories, resulting in improved wildfire response times.
Our emergency response and recovery efforts during the 2023 wildfires in Alberta and the Northwest Territories were recognized with the prestigious Edison Electric Institute Emergency Response Award. This award recognizes companies directly impacted by a natural disaster who put forth outstanding efforts to restore service promptly to their customers.
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Public health & safety
Our commitment to safety includes our customers and the public. Whether it is contractors working near overhead power lines or underground natural gas pipelines, or homeowners landscaping their yards or using natural gas appliances in their homes, our goal is to maintain safety through monitoring, preventative measures and stakeholder education.
The more people know about how to stay safe around electricity and natural gas, the fewer incidents we can expect to see. In Australia, we continue to raise awareness through a winter gas program called "Now you know, youʼre good to go." Information focuses on what people should keep in mind to make sure they are using gas safely in their homes.
To assist excavating industries such as road and building construction, the Alternate Locate Provider (ALP) program was launched in Alberta in 2024. It provides a faster and more flexible option to locate and mark underground utilities using a vastly expanded pool of highly trained professionals. More than 100 new locators have been approved to meet the demands of Albertaʼs busy digging season. This not only increases capacity but also allows for more direct communication between the excavator and the locator, which is crucial for understanding the specifics of each project.
With the support of ALP, we had an annual average of 1.43 line hits per 1,000 locates of natural gas pipelines. While slightly higher than 2023, it is below the national average.
To discuss safe digging practices near natural gas lines, our Canadian natural gas division participated in over 900 industry meetings, 1,300 contractor meetings, 350 damage prevention meetings and helped over 5,000 customers who asked for assistance with damage prevention practices.
Employee and contractor safety & well-being
We have set a 2030 ESG target to maintain leading health and safety practices and performance. We are enhancing our safety leadership, encouraging proactive reporting behaviour, implementing prevention programs and ensuring people are aware of where safety incidents may occur, so risks can be mitigated in pursuit of our ultimate goal of zero incidents.
In addition to many leading indicators, we track safety performance with two key metrics - total recordable incident frequency (TRIF) and lost-time incident frequency (LTIF). In 2024, our employee and contractor TRIF decreased by one per cent and 22 per cent, respectively, from 2023. Over the same period, our contractor LTIF decreased 68 per cent; however, employee LTIF increased by 23 per cent. All incidents are analyzed to identify opportunities for improvement and to mitigate the likelihood of recurrence.
Incident frequency rates
(Incidents per 200,000 hours worked)
2.0
1.5
1.0
gas customers were assisted with damage prevention practices
0.5
0.0
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
In 2024, we saw an improvement in three out of our four key metrics: employee TRIF, contractor TRIF and contractor LTIF.
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Similar to previous years, the majority of incidents in 2024 were related to individual slips, trips and falls or musculoskeletal injuries. While we have seen a consistent number of low-severity incidents, we are continuing to improve our management systems, engage our employees through a variety of preventative measures and implement training initiatives.
Our leaders are required to take safety training and conduct regular safety meetings to share information and learnings. They also conduct regular visits to operations and the field to improve safety engagement. We conduct regular safety orientations and audits, as well as annual health and safety training for employees and contractors, to reinforce industry-relevant operating guidelines and procedures.
Safety initiatives in 2024 included the implementation of standardized online training courses for our EnPower employees in Canada and Mexico. The courses - called Energy Based Safety Training and Life Saving Rules - were offered in both English and Spanish.
Our Alberta utilities businesses conducted a safety perception survey in late 2023. The results, shared with employees in early 2024, helped to identify areas for improvement. Leaders continue to engage with their teams to further identify focus areas going forward.
Our Alberta utilities businesses are enhancing safety for our employees and our communities with automated external defibrillators available in more than 1,500 fleet vehicles. These portable devices can be critical life-saving tools as our employees are in the community, at work and at home.
Health and well-being are an important part of our safety culture. Our Employee Family Assistance Program offers services to help keep staff healthy, boost their resilience, and foster a productive and happy workforce. We bundle our mental, social, psychological and financial wellness offerings into a cohesive and comprehensive program called Well-being @ ATCO.
Safety training in action
A new initiative engages our electrical businessʼs field and office employees in how to mitigate slip, trip and fall risks, with seminars and a mobile, trailer-based "slip simulator" to demonstrate risk assessment and good practice. The simulator uses a variety of surfaces and obstacles for participants to assess and navigate in a real-life, physical setting, while safely harnessed. Following its Edmonton launch in 2024, the training is being rolled out to field and office employees in other locations and regions.
For customer service representatives working on residential utilities, domestic dogs can present a specific risk. In Australia, regular dog-safety procedures have been supplemented by expert training from a canine specialist covering canine body language, breed-specific considerations, bite prevention and how to respond to attacks should they occur.
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04
In this section
Our role: net-zero ambition
Enabling the energy transition
Energy transition
GHG emissions performance
Land use G biodiversity
Central to our business strategy is supporting the transition to fuels that emit less carbon while maintaining access to safe, reliable and affordable energy for our customers. We are leveraging our expertise across our asset base to diversify and move forward with innovative technologies. Beyond GHG emissions, we are committed to protecting air, land, water and biodiversity throughout our operations.
Learn more
Energy Transition G Environment Hydrogen
The initiatives in this section align with the following UN SDGs:
Sustainability Report 2024 | 25
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Our role: net-zero ambition
When we launched our net-zero ambition in 2022, we recognized it would require unprecedented collaboration among industry participants, all levels of
government, Indigenous partners, investors, customers, regulators and employees.
We are constructively participating in discussions, advancing projects and evolving our portfolio with the understanding that optimal solutions to reduce emissions may be unique in different jurisdictions and for different customers.
We believe our energy transition initiatives, under the following five pillars, are where we can make the biggest impact to support societyʼs long-term goals of decarbonizing, while supporting safe, reliable, resilient and affordable essential services.
Cleaner fuels
Supporting lower-carbon options for our customers
Renewable energy
Developing and integrating renewable energy solutions
Energy infrastructure G storage
Modernizing our infrastructure to integrate more diverse fuels and sources of energy
Energy efficiency
Supporting more efficient energy usage
Carbon credits G offsets
Considering carbon credits generated and offsets
Sustainability Report 2024 | 26
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Enabling the energy transition
We integrate opportunities within the five pillars into our long-term strategic planning, demonstrating our commitment to tackle the complexities and challenges of the energy transition. We take our role seriously, leveraging expertise and innovation across our businesses to drive our ambition of net-zero. Looking ahead, as we execute our plans, we will continue to monitor and evaluate the evolution of key dependencies, which shape how we transition our portfolio of assets.
2020 2050
Net-zero ambition of scope 1, 2 and material scope 3 emissions
Cleaner fuels
Key dependencies
Long-term consideration of energy safety, reliability, resiliency and affordability.
Society's preference for pace of energy transition, considering potential impacts.
Constructive policy landscape to support investment, innovation and development within our businesses.
Supportive regulatory environment sustained over the long term to enable critical infrastructure investments.
Evolve customer decarbonization, including hydrogen
Renewable energy
Expand renewable
production, including wind and solar energy
Energy infrastructure G storage
Provide back-up to renewables and progress carbon storage
Energy efficiency
Progress demand-side
management and enable technology
Carbon credits G offsets
Participate in compliance and voluntary carbon markets
Access to commercially viable technology at scale to support emissions-reduction initiatives.
Positive marfiet dynamics along the value chain (e.g., pricing, demand), which support the advancement and adoption of lower-carbon energy choices.
More information on key
climate-related transition risks and opportunities can be found here.
Required worfiforce expertise and resourcing in place.
Sustainability Report 2024 | 27
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Energy transition
Our strategy to reduce emissions for our customers and our portfolio is focused on five pillars: cleaner fuels, renewable energy, energy infrastructure and storage, energy efficiency, and carbon credits and offsets. These pillars work together to meet the energy needs of today and the future, while supporting energy security and driving our continued growth.
We are committed to thoughtful development and engagement. We take the time in stewarding our innovative projects to allow for thoughtful planning and safe execution.
Each jurisdiction has its own optimal solution to reduce emissions given its climate, access to natural resources and local economy. Fit-for-purpose approaches will help support different regions to find the appropriate mix of lower-carbon options to drive forward our common energy transition ambitions.
We have worked hard to become a preferred partner in the regions where we operate as we continue to grow and pursue energy transition opportunities. Working together with customers and strategic partners can help us manage risks, while enabling us to diversify our asset portfolio.
Sustainability Report 2024 | 28
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Cleaner fuels
We are diversifying our cleaner fuels projects by tailoring them to the opportunities that exist in the different areas we operate. Hydrogen production is our focus where there is demand for it, including from industry for hydrogen as feedstock, from consumers for hydrogen-fuelled electricity, fuel for transportation, or blending hydrogen into natural gas systems.
In 2024, we signed a letter of intent with Linde Canada Inc. (Linde) for hydrogen development within Alberta's Industrial Heartland near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. ATCO EnPower and Linde are working alongside other parties to further the development and commercial success of the ATCO Heartland Hydrogen Hub project, with the objective to commence Front End Engineering Design in 2025. The project has the potential to supply hydrogen to domestic and international markets, including the Alberta gas grid, industrial and municipal customers, and commercial transport users.
In 2024, our Australian operations continued to work with partners to progress the South Australian Hydrogen Jobs Plan, which included a 250 MW hydrogen production facility, a 200 MW hydrogen-fuelled electricity generation facility and hydrogen storage. Subsequent to year end, the Australian Government announced this project would be deferred as they reallocate resources.
Our Energy Discovery Centre (EDC) in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta opened in 2024, showcasing hydrogen technologies and safety. As the first building in North America heated by 100 per cent hydrogen, the EDC demonstrates that hydrogen heating is no longer an idea; it is a reality. We have toured over 600 guests to show what the future of alternative energy may look like. With Qualico, an integrated real estate company, we also opened North Americaʼs first 100 per cent hydrogen-heated home, HomeOne, with a combination hydrogen-fuelled furnace and water heater developed by Calgary's Gradient Thermal.
In total, pilot projects in Alberta and Australia are supplying 5,300 homes with hydrogen blended through existing natural gas supply systems, with no impact on customersʼ end uses. This builds upon expertise developed at our Clean Energy Innovation Hub in Australia, which is also piloting hydrogen production and a refuelling station for passenger vehicles.
In 2024, we safely produced hydrogen from two electrolyzers, each with a one MW capacity, that we constructed and commissioned in Edmonton and Calgary. This is a significant milestone for our
partnership with Canadian Pacific Kansas City to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for hydrogen production and locomotive refuelling facilities in both cities.
To further support cleaner energy and reliability, we have taken an important step in our natural gas transmission business. The largest single investment in our history, the Yellowhead Mainline Project will build over 200 km of natural gas pipeline from central-western Alberta to the province's Industrial Heartland, and will help facilitate downstream investments in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors.
Hydrogen can play a significant role in decarbonizing our energy systems, with growing opportunities in production, storage, residential heat and power, industrial applications, power generation and transportation alternatives.
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Renewable energy
Many communities and customers in areas where we operate see value in shifting their energy use to renewable resources. We continue to look for opportunities to enable this broad transition to lower-emitting energy, while also transitioning our own power generation portfolio.
As of the end of 2024, ATCO owned, operated or developed
458 MW of renewable energy capacity and is positioned to achieve our ambition to own, develop or manage over 1,000 MW of renewable energy by 2030.
We continue to safely operate our wind and solar renewable projects and are developing additional production capacity. In 2024, we increased our wind-generation capacity at the Forty Mile wind Phase 1 facility from 202 MW to 225 MW.
Power generation capacity
owned, developed or managed
Energy infrastructure G storage
To support a reliable energy future, we must have infrastructure that stores energy until it is needed by customers. Albertaʼs Industrial Heartland gives us the ability to develop unique energy storage infrastructure that is not available in most regions, including storage for natural gas and natural gas liquids, and to advance carbon and hydrogen storage at scale. For decades, we have stored natural gas and natural gas liquids until they are needed.
Having energy in reserve, quickly available during peak demand, supports the reliability and affordability of the natural gas grid and natural gas-generated electricity in Alberta.
In partnership with Shell Canada Limited, in late June 2024, we made the final investment decision to proceed with the first phase of our Atlas Carbon Storage Hub, an open-access carbon sequestration project in Albertaʼs Industrial Heartland that will store industrial emissions from the region. The first phase of the project is expected to be operational in late 2028. Once all phases are complete, the facility is anticipated to have a total sequestration capacity of approximately 7 to 10 million tonnes of CO2per year.
Looking to the future, we are testing hydrogen storage in salt
64%
30%
6%
Renewables Natural Gas Diesel
renewable energy capacity
caverns in anticipation of developing Canadaʼs first large-scale commercial hydrogen storage facility.
Extensive charging infrastructure is vital for electric vehicles (EVs) to be reliable transportation. Our 20 Peaks to Prairies EV charging stations, powered by renewable energy, had 99.6 per cent uptime for fast chargers and enabled 1.9 million km of electric vehicle travel in 2024.
As of December 31, 2024, our total owned power generation capacity is 616 MW, including 396 MW of renewable power generation. Diesel power generation is predominantly provided to remote, off-grid communities.
electric vehicle travel provided
by Peaks to Prairies EV network
Disclaimer
Canadian Utilities Limited published this content on May 06, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 07, 2025 at 17:00 UTC.