AltaLink continues to shorten outage times for customers

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Nov. 4, 2016) -

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Through the first nine months of 2016, AltaLink has reduced the length of outages by almost one-third over 2015 results.

"Making sure energy is there when needed is the most important way we deliver value to our customers," said Scott Thon, AltaLink President & CEO. "This year, through a number of new restoration strategies, we have made a significant improvement in how fast we're able to get the lights back on without increasing costs to our customers."

The average AltaLink customer outage duration during the past 12 months has been reduced by 30 per cent from the previous year, driven largely by restoring power remotely from our control centre or through our field responders. These approaches to restoring energy supply improve the overall reliability of the system and help shorten the length of outages, reducing costly downtime for our customers. It also ensures AltaLink crews can safely perform any maintenance or repairs to damaged equipment.

The frequency of outages on AltaLink's system has also been reduced 15 per cent over 2015 levels.

"We're focused on continuing to improve our service without increasing costs so that reliable, affordable power is always there when you need it," said Thon. "Whether it's homes, farms, businesses or industrial sites, the one constant needs to be cost-effective reliability of the electricity that powers our lives."

AltaLink announces 2016 third quarter financial results

Today, AltaLink, L.P. announced comprehensive income for the third quarter of 2016 was $78.7 million. During the same three month period in 2015, AltaLink earned $61.5 million of comprehensive income. Revenue for the third quarter of 2016 was $244.1 million compared to $224.0 million during the same period in 2015. Compared to the same periods in 2015, our comprehensive income for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 increased mainly due to the negative impact of the Alberta Utilities Commission's (AUC) Generic Cost of Capital (GCOC) decision related to 2014 and 2013 ($27.2 million) recorded in the first quarter of 2015, combined with an increased return from our investment in electricity transmission infrastructure.

As a partnership, AltaLink, L.P. reports its net income before income taxes; therefore its results are not directly comparable with net income reported by corporations that recognize income taxes in their financial statements.

AltaLink's full financial results and management's discussion and analysis can be found on AltaLink's website at www.altalink.ca or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Headquartered in Calgary, with offices in Edmonton, Red Deer and Lethbridge, AltaLink is Alberta's largest electricity transmission provider. We are committed to meeting the province's demand for electricity, providing innovative solutions, and partnering with our stakeholders and communities in doing so. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, AltaLink is part of a global group of companies delivering electricity and utility services to customers worldwide.

Significant Q3 2016 highlights

During the three months ended September 30, 2016:

• We had excellent safety results, exceeding our safety targets for the quarter;
• Customer satisfaction for direct customers was 84.5% based on survey results;
• We earned net income of $78.7 million compared to $61.5 million for the same period in 2015;
• We reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the United Utility Workers' Association, which is effective January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019;
• Reliability of service provided to customers in the third quarter continued to be better than our average past performance;
• We announced a new partnership with ONEXONE, launching a breakfast program for hundreds of school children on the Ermineskin and Paul Band First Nations;
• We announced major sponsorship agreements with SAIT and the University of Alberta, creating valuable new learning opportunities for post-secondary students across the province;
• We received AUC approval for equity returns of 8.3% for 2016 and 8.5% for 2017 and an equity ratio of 37% for both 2016 and 2017;
• Customers supported our request to obtain approval to attempt a negotiated settlement of the AltaLink 2017-2018 General Tariff Application;
• We invested $147.9 million (three months ended September 30, 2015 - $284.6 million) in capital assets to ensure continued reliability of the electricity network and help prepare Alberta for a renewable energy future;
• We energized the final portion of the Edmonton Debottlenecking project, the 1043L transmission line, improving reliability and reducing costly congestion on the transmission grid in the Edmonton area;
• We received confirmation from DBRS for an "A" rating on our Medium-Term Notes along with an "R-1 (low)" rating on our commercial paper.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy AltaLink's securities in any jurisdiction, including but not limited to, the United States. AltaLink's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

Except for the historical and present factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, including words such as "expects", "intends", "projects", "plans", "anticipates" and similar expressions, are forward looking information that represents management of AltaLink's Internal projections, expectations or beliefs concerning, among other things, future operating results and various components thereof or the economic performance of AltaLink. The projections, estimates and beliefs contained in such forward looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause AltaLink's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, those described in AltaLink's filings with the Canadian securities authorities. Accordingly, holders of AltaLink securities and potential investors are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted. AltaLink disclaims any responsibility to update these forward looking statements.