Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 2016 Emera Annual Shareholders Meeting. I will take a moment to remind you that this meeting may contain forward-looking information which involves certain assumptions and known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those that are expressed or implied by the comments. Those risks include, but are not limited to, weather, commodity prices, interest rates, foreign exchange, regulatory requirements, and general economic conditions. In addition, please note that this meeting is being widely disseminated by a live webcast. Now, please welcome the chair of the board of directors, Jackie Sheppard.
Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Emera's 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. This is our first annual meeting in Toronto and our second ever held outside Nova Scotia. Thank you all very much for being here with us today, and it's great to see you. Actually, we've talked to a number of shareholders. It's wonderful you made the trip to downtown Toronto to see us. As we often say in the energy business, energy is essential to all of us. It is integral to almost everything we do in all of our daily lives. Although it is an assumed part of our lives, bringing clean, reliable, and affordable energy to customers has its challenges. We are seeing rapid changes in technologies, dramatic commodity price fluctuations, continued market volatility, and evolving energy policies, to mention just a few of the foundational shifts.
The role of Emera, your board, and management team is to navigate through these uncertainties. By any measure, Emera has actually navigated very well. 10 years ago, Emera's enterprise value was CAD 4.2 billion, and on March 31st of this year, it was CAD 11.6 billion. Over that period, Emera's share price has risen from approximately CAD 19 per share to just over CAD 47. Well, actually quite a bit over CAD 47. Over the past five years, Emera's total shareholder return has outpaced the S&P/TSX Utilities Index, the S&P/TSX Composite, and the TSX 60 by a wide margin in each case. Our most important challenge, though, is to build your company so that these kinds of results can be delivered into the future. We have several platforms that we believe can provide this foundation. In September last year, we announced the definitive agreement to bring TECO Energy into the Emera family.
As Chris Huskison and Greg Blundin will discuss in more detail later in this meeting, the addition of TECO brings important capacity and scope to Emera and provides us with a new platform from which to advance Emera's strategy into new markets. I would also like to say how pleased we all are that your company has once again ranked in the top 10 of the Globe and Mail's Board Games. Emera's second-place ranking highlights the focus we place on governance. We believe that good governance goes hand in hand with good business, and I assure you it is not a box-checking exercise at Emera.
Before we get started with the formal business of the meeting, I would like to take a moment to think about the devastating fire and the horror faced by the citizens of Fort McMurray in northeastern Alberta. I know I speak for all of us here when I say that our hearts go out to everyone affected. The evacuation effort and the public response, as well as the courage and ongoing resilience of those affected, continues to be absolutely amazing. I'd like to take a moment also and speak about safety. Safety is critical to our businesses, and it is at the forefront of everything we do. We are very proud of the commitment by all our employees right across Emera. Should there be a medical problem during our meeting today, we have employees trained in first aid on-hand to assist.
In the event of an emergency, unless you are otherwise instructed, please proceed to the main entrance, and Emera volunteers will direct you to the closest exit. Please take a moment now to look at the exits around you. For today's meeting, we have technology to allow people to join by webcast and telephone. Today, I would like to acknowledge that a number of people have chosen to join the meeting using this technology. Throughout the meeting, all participants joining by telephone are in listen-only mode, and instructions on commenting on a motion over the conference bridge will be provided when we get to the voting process. You can also comment on a motion by email to AGM2016@emera.com. Please ensure that you submit your comment on a motion only when we are discussing that motion.
Instructions on posing a question over the conference bridge will be provided when we get to the question and answer portion of the meeting. You may also forward questions by email, again, to agm2016@emera.com. On the stage with me today is Chris Huskison, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Emera, and Steven F. Tannis, our Corporate Secretary. I would also like to introduce the Emera leadership team. Scott Balfour, Chief Operating Officer, Northeast and Caribbean. Rob Bennett, President, Emera U.S. Inc. Greg Blundin, Chief Financial Officer. Bob Hanf, President and CEO of Nova Scotia Power. Sarah MacDonald, President and CEO, Emera Caribbean Holdings Limited. Bruce Marchand, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer. Dan Muldoon, Executive Vice President, Major Renewable and Alternative Energy. Wayne O'Connor, Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Planning. Mike Roberts, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Nancy Tower, Chief Development Officer.
In addition to Chris and myself, I would like to introduce the other director nominees. The career and background particulars of each director nominee are provided in the information circular, and I hope you've had the opportunity to review the experience and diverse skills represented in our nominees. The director nominees are Sylvia Chrominska, Toronto, Ontario. Henry Demone, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Al Edgeworth, Calgary, Alberta. Jim Eisenhauer, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Wayne Leonard, New Orleans, Louisiana. Lynn Loewen, Westmount, Quebec. John MacLennan, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. Don Pether, Dundas, Ontario. Andrea Rosen, Toronto, Ontario, and Rick Sergel, Wellesley, Massachusetts. The meeting will now come to order. In accordance with the company's bylaws, I will chair the meeting, and Steven Aftanas will act as secretary of the meeting. Representatives of CST Trust, the company's registrar and transfer agent, will act as scrutineers for this meeting.
They will report on shareholder attendance and will count the votes. The scrutineers have already reported that a quorum is present at this meeting. The secretary has confirmed to me that proper notice of the meeting has been given and that the materials for the meeting were mailed to common shareholders. I now declare the meeting duly called and properly constituted for the transaction of business. I'd like to welcome Greg Blundin, Emera's Chief Financial Officer, to give his financial report.
Thank you, Jackie, and good afternoon, everyone. This is my first AGM as CFO of Emera, and I look forward to working with all of you as Emera continues to grow. I would like to start this afternoon with a look at Emera's accomplishments in 2015. Emera delivered record earnings of CAD 382.8 million in 2015, up 20% from 2014. Our strong results were throughout the company, with improved financial performance in every business segment. In September, we announced the definitive agreement to acquire TECO Energy for $10.4 billion, including the assumption of approximately $3.9 billion of debt. We continue to move through the milestones for the acquisition, and we expect the acquisition to be accretive by 5% in the first full year, growing to greater than 10% in the third year. We are also building on our record of dividend growth.
We increased our dividend by a total of 22.6% in 2015, bringing the annualized dividend rate to CAD 1.90. We also raised our dividend growth target to 8% annually through the end of 2019. The new target is supported by the strength of our earnings and cash flow and reflects our confidence in the growth of our company. I am pleased to be presenting a strong financial picture that gives us confidence in the growth targets that we have established for ourselves going forward. In 2015, Emera's adjusted net income was CAD 330 million or CAD 2.26 per share. Excluding the CAD 52.8 million or 36 cents per share in costs related to the pending TECO acquisition, adjusted net income was CAD 382.8 million or CAD 2.63 per share.
These record results have provided a 9.1% compound annual growth rate in our EPS over the last five years, and it's our growing earnings and cash flow that underpin our dividend growth target. Operating cash flows in 2015 were CAD 674 million. After adjusting the operating cash flow to remove the related TECO acquisition cost of CAD 52 million, operating cash flow was CAD 726 million, resulting in a five-year annualized growth rate of 11.6%. As you can see from this chart, Emera's operating cash flows had a step change from the roughly CAD 400 million-CAD 500 million range to well over CAD 700 million annually. We expect another step change in our operating cash flows after we close the TECO acquisition. This cash flow is the most efficient way for us to finance our capital plan and provides us secure cash coverage on our dividend.
In 2015, the board of directors increased the dividend by a total of 22.6% to CAD 1.90 per share annually. This included a 5-cent increase in February and a 30-cent increase in September. We continue to target a payout ratio in the range of 70%-75% of net earnings, leaving room for cash to grow our business. We also target having 75%-85% of our earnings from regulated sources, and it is the predictability and stability of the regulated earnings that provides a coverage for our growing dividend. Over the years, we have demonstrated that we deliver value to our shareholders, and in 2015, we were able to beat our 8% annual target by more than double. This chart shows Emera's annualized total shareholder return for one, three, and five years.
We have consistently outperformed the S&P TSX Composite Index and the S&P TSX Capped Utilities Index over these periods. As you can see from the chart, in 2015, Emera outperformed the indices, providing a 16.4% total shareholder return compared to a negative return of 3.5% for the Capped Utilities Index and a negative return of 8.3% for the Composite Index. In fact, Emera was in the top decile of all regulated utilities in North America for total shareholder return in 2015. Emera has also outperformed over the long term. Over the last three years, Emera has almost doubled the Composite Index and was multiples above the Capped Utilities Index. Over a five-year period, Emera's annualized total shareholder return was 11.1%, again, well above the Capped Utilities Index of 3.5% and the Composite Index of 2.3%.
I'd like to note that as at the end of March, our five-year annualized growth rate has increased to 13%. Emera has ranked in the top quartile for utility companies across North America over the past 10 years. These are very positive results for shareholders, and they demonstrate the long-term success of our strategy. Our focus continues to be on delivering strong total shareholder return, which is influenced by our continued growth in earnings, cash flow, and dividends. Our pending acquisition of TECO will also help us with that growth and provide additional benefits for you. TECO provides Emera with opportunities for additional regulatory diversification, new robust economic environments, and further diversification of our business into local natural gas distribution through Peoples Gas and New Mexico Gas. Florida and New Mexico will be two new geographic growth platforms for our company.
There are many complementary attributes to these regions, including seasonality. For example, Tampa Electric has peak electricity sales in the summer months, which is complementary to our current winter-peaking utilities. We will also be entering the natural gas LDC market with two strong distribution platforms, an objective that we've had for quite some time. It is the geographic, regulatory, and business mix diversification that will help provide stability to our earnings and new opportunities for growth for our company. As previously mentioned, Emera has a target to generate 75%-85% of its earnings from regulated sources. Emera was built on a strong foundation of regulated utilities, and that will continue. In 2015, Emera's earnings were below the 75% regulated target, and we pursued opportunities to increase our regulated earnings. TECO is a purely regulated utility, and pro forma, the acquisition brings our regulated earnings to greater than 80%.
Emera has strong investment-grade credit ratings that support our access to the capital markets. We have and will continue to have strong access to all capital markets. A positive indication of this access was the successful CAD 2.2 billion convertible debenture issue that we did last September to fulfill the equity requirements for the TECO acquisition, which at the time was one of the largest equity issuances in Canadian history. Since 2014, we've successfully raised a total of CAD 4.2 billion in the capital markets. We are moving through the government and regulatory process associated with the final approval required from the New Mexico regulator. The timing of close remains on track for mid-2016.
We will be raising $6.5 billion for the TECO acquisition, and the different components of the financing plan include common equity and available sources of between $1.7-$2.1 billion, which our CAD 2.2 billion convertible debenture is expected to fulfill. We also have $0.8-$1.2 billion in preferred equity or hybrid securities and $3.4-$3.8 billion in debt that we expect to issue around the time of closing. Our financing plan is progressing as planned, and we look forward to working through the important remaining steps to close the TECO acquisition. Emera has a CAD 4.2 billion capital plan over the next five years, a significant portion related to our Maritime Link and Labrador-Island Link projects.
We are also investing in other parts of our business, including renewable and reliability investments in Nova Scotia Power and in the Caribbean, plant upgrades at Tiverton, and transmission and distribution investments in Maine. Including planned investments of $4.1 billion at TECO over the next five years, pro forma Emera has $8.3 billion in capital investments planned. TECO is currently investing in a $700 million peak power upgrade at Tampa Electric, a 25-MW solar project at Big Bend, and conversion of customers to natural gas in Florida and in New Mexico. They're also investing in CNG infrastructure and conversion to fleet vehicles. I think it's important to understand that the $8.3 billion capital investment plan only includes planned or committed investments. It does not include any development opportunities.
We are focused on evolving a number of future developments, and with the benefit of the TECO acquisition, we expect to have more regions, skills, and knowledge to apply our strategy of moving from higher to lower carbon energy sources. Some of the areas of focus include the development of transmission in New England, tidal in the Bay of Fundy, additional solar generation in the Caribbean and Florida, and natural gas infrastructure investments in New Mexico. We released our Q1 2016 results last week. In Q1 2016, Emera's adjusted earnings were CAD 120.2 million, or CAD 0.81 per share. Adjusted net income removes mark-to-market impacts, which are recorded as gains or losses for accounting purposes, but do not reflect the operating performance of our business or underlying cash flows. Therefore, we normalize these impacts to provide a clearer picture of how the business is really performing.
You'll notice that this quarter's results are affected by a number of factors, including the TECO acquisition, which will continue throughout 2016. The acquisition cost and the timing of the close will continue to have an effect on our ongoing financial results for this year. In Q1 2016, we incurred TECO acquisition and financing costs of $17.5 million, or $0.12 per share. Adjusted EPS, when removing the TECO acquisition costs, were $0.93 per share. The decrease quarter-over-quarter was primarily due to warmer winter weather in the Northeastern United States and Canada. This created less demand for electricity at Nova Scotia Power and Emera Maine, as well as lower energy prices for Emera Energy's New England gas generating facilities. Other factors included the TECO Energy acquisition-related costs and the gain on the sale of Northeast Wind Partnership in Q1 of 2015.
Our earnings remain on track with expectations, and our underlying business performed as expected in the first quarter. I want to conclude my presentation by discussing what my priorities are going forward. As mentioned, the New Mexico PRC approval is the last remaining regulatory process for the TECO acquisition, and it remains on track to close mid-2016. As we approach this, we are focused on the $6.5 billion financing required to close the deal and are progressing as planned. As Emera doubles in size with TECO Energy, an important priority is to align and integrate the two companies, and we remain committed to providing you with clear, understandable, and accurate reporting in a timely manner. As you've heard throughout my presentation, our company is focused on growing our dividend with the benefit of a robust capital investment plan.
The most economic way for us to finance this growth is through our cash flow, and that will remain a priority for us. Finally, we will remain disciplined with our capital allocation. Preparing for the transaction of TECO is significant, and if it was not for our disciplined approach to capital, we would not have been positioned for such an opportunity to transform the company. We will continue to allocate capital in the most efficient manner to strengthen earnings and maintain a healthy balance sheet. A focus on priorities that drive growth in earnings and cash flows support the dividend growth for our shareholders. This has and will continue to be a strong suit for Emera. That's all for my financial overview, and thank you.
Thank you, Greg. Before I move on with the formal business, I'd actually like to introduce a couple of special guests we have with us today from TECO. First of all, Gordon Gillette, President of Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas. Did you stand up? Can you turn around? We don't have a picture yet. Ryan Shell, who is the President of New Mexico Gas Company. Welcome. The secretary has received the scrutineers' report on the number of shares to be voted at this meeting. Mr. Secretary, could you please read your report?
Yes, Madam Chair. The scrutineers have provided their preliminary report. There are present at the meeting in person or represented by proxy, more than 69 million shares of the company, and this represents over 47% of the outstanding shares. The final report will be kept on file with the record of this meeting.
Thank you. We will now deal with the matters which require shareholder approval, and I will explain the voting procedures. The mailing to shareholders provided notice that five matters would be placed before this meeting for approval. Most shareholders decided to take advantage of internet and telephone voting or mail their proxy in advance of this meeting. Shareholders here in the room who have not already voted and who want to vote at the meeting were given a ballot by CST Trust personnel at the registration desk today. Any shareholder in the room who has not already voted and did not receive a ballot at the desk, please raise your hand now, and we will give you a ballot. I think we have one here. In order for your ballot to count, please print your name on the ballot and mark whether you are a resident or non-resident of Canada.
Your ballot must be legible and must indicate your voting intention pertaining to each motion. If a box is not marked with your intention, your vote cannot be counted. The ballots will be collected after all motions have been presented to the meeting. Shareholders in the room who wish to comment on a motion may do so by coming to one of the two microphones in the room. For those of you on the conference call, our conference operator will provide direction on how to participate. For those of you on our webcast, please send your comment via email to AGM2016@emera.com. In order not to delay proceedings, certain employees who are shareholders or proxy holders have agreed to move and second the motion at today's meeting. As set out in the information circular, the number of directors to be elected at this meeting is 12.
May I have a motion to elect the persons listed in the information circular as directors?
Madam Chair, my name is Sandy Bowles, and I'm a shareholder of the company. I move that the nominees, as set out on the ballot and on pages 9-20 of the Management Information Circular, be elected as directors of the company until the next annual meeting or until their successors are elected or appointed.
Thank you, Sandy. Is there a seconder for the motion?
Madam Chair, my name is Jordan Davis, and I'm a Proxy Holder, and I second this motion.
Thank you, Jordan. This motion appears as motion number one on the ballot. Is there any discussion from our shareholders here in the room? Is there any discussion from our shareholders on the conference call?
In order to ask a question on the phone, hit star followed by the number one on your keypad.
Sorry, I didn't hear that. Did I hear anything? I couldn't hear that.
There are no audio questions.
No questions. Okay, thank you. Finally, have we received any email comments on this motion?
Madam Chair, we have received no email questions or comments on this motion.
Thank you. That was clearer. The next motion is the appointment of auditors for the current year. The firm of Ernst & Young are the current auditors of the company. May I have a motion to appoint auditors for the current year?
Madam Chair, my name is Jason McQuaid, and I'm a shareholder of the company. I move that Ernst & Young LLP Chartered Accountants be appointed auditors of the company to hold office until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are appointed.
Thank you, Jason. Is there a seconder for the motion?
Madam Chair, my name is Jordan Davis, and I'm a proxy holder, and I second this motion.
Thank you, Jordan. This motion appears as motion number two on the ballot. Is there any discussion from our shareholders here in the room? Is there any discussion from our shareholders on the conference call?
As a reminder, to ask a question, hit star followed by the number 1 on your keypad.
I think that was no. Can't hear that. That's no, I think.
There are no audio questions.
Finally, have we received any email comments on this motion?
Madam Chair, there are no email questions or comments on this motion.
Please take a moment to mark your ballot for motion number two. The next motion concerns the fee of the auditors for the current year. May I have a motion in this regard?
Madam Chair, my name is Jason McQuaid, and I am a shareholder of the company. I move that the directors of the company be authorized to establish the auditors' fees for the current year in such amounts as they may, in their discretion, determine.
Thank you, Jason. Is there a seconder for the motion, please?
Madam Chair, my name is Sandy Bowles. I'm a shareholder of the company, and I second this motion.
Thank you, Sandy. This motion appears as motion number three on the ballot. Is there any discussion from our shareholders here in the room? Is there any discussion from our shareholders on the conference call?
There are no questions at this time.
Finally, have we received any email comments on this motion?
Madam Chair, we have received no email questions or comments on this motion.
Thank you. Please take a moment to mark your ballot for motion number three. Next is the advisory vote on the company's approach to executive compensation. May I have a motion?
Madam Chair, my name is Jordan Davis, and I'm a proxy holder. I move that the resolution as set out on the ballot and on page 4 of the management information circular regarding the company's approach to executive compensation is approved.
Thank you, Jordan. Is there a seconder?
Madam Chair, my name is Jason McQuaid. I'm a shareholder of the company. I second the motion.
Thank you, Jason. This motion appears as motion number four on the ballot. Is there any discussion from our shareholders here in the room? Is there any discussion from our shareholders on the conference call?
There are no audio questions at this time.
Finally, have we received any email comments on this motion?
Madam Chair, we received no email questions or comments on this motion.
Thank you. Please take a moment to mark your ballot for motion number four. The next motion concerns the amendments to the company's articles of association. May I have a motion, please?
Madam Chair, my name is Sandy Bowles, and I'm a shareholder of the company. I move that the resolution as set out on the ballot and on page seven of the management information circular authorizing amendments to the company's articles of association be approved.
Thank you, Sandy. Is there a seconder, please?
Madam Chair, my name is Monique Peters. I am a shareholder of the company, and I second the motion.
Thank you, Monique. This motion appears as motion number five on the ballot. Is there any discussion from our shareholders here in the room? Is there any discussion from our shareholders on the conference call?
There are no audio questions.
Have we received any email comments on this motion?
Madam Chair, we received no email comments on this motion.
Thank you. Please take a moment to mark your ballot for motion number five. Now could you please pass your completed ballots to the end of the row, and they will be collected and counted by CST Trust, along with the votes submitted by proxy prior to the meeting. We'll now wait for a moment to allow the ballots to be collected. That's it. While the scrutineers are tabulating the votes, Emera's President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Huskerson, will say a few words.
Well, thank you, Jackie, and good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Emera's 2016 Annual General Meeting. It's great to see such a big turnout, and in fact, both in the room and by proxy. In fact, I believe the secretary informed me earlier that this is the largest turnout we've ever had for an annual general meeting in both counts. So thank you all for that. We're very pleased to be here at the Design Exchange, the former home of Toronto's original stock exchange, and today, a renowned design museum. It's an historic venue which symbolizes commercial achievement and celebrates innovations that spurred enduring value. For Emera, 2015 has embodied similar themes, a sense of accomplishment, of building new relationships, and of creating long-term value. A year in which our company took a transformative step.
In September, Emera announced an agreement to merge with Florida's TECO Energy, a significantly accretive move for both earnings and cash flow. One that won't just double this company's size, but also its human capacity. As you heard from Greg, Emera's financial results reflect significant progress on a number of fronts last year. The story behind those numbers remains consistent year after year. Three fundamental aspects define this simple yet durable approach. First of all, Emera delivers growth through transformative, affordable, clean energy solutions. Our developments are chosen and driven by strategic links between our assets, capabilities, and relationships. We execute with discipline and focus, combined with a healthy appetite for innovation. It's this effective time-tested strategy, which in 2015 allowed us to take the next step in growth. 2015 was a year of significant progress for Emera.
Our CAD 1.6 billion Maritime Link investment is making excellent progress with construction underway on all aspects, and it's on track for completion in 2017. We're gaining top-notch HVDC experience that we will aim to leverage in places like New England. Emera Energy achieved strong results all around. Our New England gas plants purchased in 2013 outperformed expectations, while the marketing business had another solid year. Emera Maine proposed the Maine Renewable Energy Interconnect. This is in partnership with Central Maine Power, and it's an excellent regional transmission solution to deliver new wind energy from northern Maine. We've increased our ownership stake to 100% in Emera Caribbean. That's the holding company that Emera invests in that region. Our Caribbean utilities have made significant operational progress.
Nova Scotia Power's rate stability plan will result in general rates remaining flat for 5 years and keeping the fuel portion also below inflation for that same period. At the same time, NSPI surpassed its renewable energy targets for 2015. Across Emera, our utility roots instill a customer-oriented focus, one that underscores operational excellence, safety, and service. Our businesses respond with a sense of urgency to customer needs, and continuous improvement is a way of life. This approach generates the right results for customers, helping us build a culture of tenacity, excellence, and innovation. Now, let's take a moment and hear from some of Emera's leaders on how this approach is driving results throughout the business.
From as far north in Newfoundland and Labrador to the Caribbean and Barbados, in New England, in Nova Scotia, in New Brunswick. Here are just some of the reasons that drive us to do the best job we can day in and day out. Emera is transforming energy through innovative solutions that are right for the environment and right for our customers.
Maritime Link will transform the way energy flows, providing access to clean, renewable energy for the entire region. At this very site, the two subsea cables will come ashore to create a new regional electricity loop. Maritime Link will create access to new markets, enable further renewable developments, and help the environment, not just here, but throughout northeastern North America. By having a commitment to health, safety, and the environment, our people strive for excellence. Through the Maritime Link project, we're creating economic benefits and increasing Emera's expertise in HVDC technologies.
Emera Maine, with our partners Central Maine Power, we plan to build 150 miles of new transmission lines that will deliver clean energy into the New England market. By helping clear transmission constraints on the system, the Maine Renewable Energy Interconnect will help tap into abundant wind resources. Our existing rights of way and infrastructure will play a strategic role in enabling this project. It's just the type of energy solution the market is looking for, one that will fill a long-term need and create economic value for customers throughout the region.
In the Caribbean, we are transforming the way we generate our electricity. Each of our sister companies is unique, but we share common goals to secure a cleaner energy future, to maintain operational excellence, and to do it safely. Whether it's solar, wind, geothermal, biodiesel, electric vehicles, we are breaking new ground, and we have built a solid foundation of success and results for customers and shareholders.
We have an eye for the right opportunity and the vision, skill, and relationships to create value.
This solar plant here will serve as a building block for the future goal of 100% renewable electrification for Barbados. It will reduce fossil fuel use and is good for the local economy. We are so excited to help deliver on Emera's vision.
Starting with our utility roots, Emera was created to spur innovation and entrepreneurial thinking, to drive growth and leverage market opportunities. As we look to the future, areas like solar generation, electricity storage, smarter grids present opportunities for innovative companies. Emera is not only anticipating them, but actively shaping them to benefit our customers and our shareholders.
In the Maritimes, ocean has always been big business. Tidal energy is another aspect that Emera is working to develop. We're proud to be working with OpenHydro. Beginning with a 4-megawatt array in the Bay of Fundy, we're working to build a tidal industry. We'll tap into an enormous supply of clean energy while creating economic activity through jobs, manufacturing, and procurement.
Emera and its people invest in our communities to lend a helping hand, to make our neighborhoods more vibrant.
Across Emera, we proudly support the communities where we live and work, and we are making investments that will bring long-term benefit. Nova Scotia Power's Home Warming Program is a great example. We are helping low-income homeowners who heat with electricity by providing free energy-saving retrofits. It is a 10-year, CAD 37 million commitment, and it's improving the quality of life for our customers who need help the most.
From health and wellness to education, from recreational facilities to charitable giving, our investments are helping to build healthier and stronger communities. Emera employees give generously of their time, energy, and resources. Emera supports their efforts in many ways, including matching donations and employee recognition programs. Whether at town hall meetings, panel discussions, open houses, or kitchen tables, our employees are listening and sharing information so we can all be better informed about what really matters in our communities.
Emera has a strong focus on developing capacity of our assets and people. That's helping us break new ground and chart new heights.
Emera Energy has been building its knowledge base about the natural gas and power markets for almost 15 years now. That expertise was invaluable to us when we decided it was time to make an actual investment and steel in the ground in the northeast region. We're continuing to build that kind of capacity in our business. We're adding operational and commercial resources to our team. We're increasing the sophistication of our analytics, and we're investing in the IT infrastructure that's necessary to support the business we have today and to enable our continued growth.
Emera's investment in people is equally disciplined and thoughtful. I'm seeing that approach in action. This week, I'm here at the Emera Energy trading desk, just one of several similar assignments that I've had over the past year. It's provided me with very valuable insights on business development, commercial activity, and relationship building on a scale that really is quite remarkable. With this focus on developing capacity and leadership strength, Emera is preparing its people for the next step in its growth.
These are just some of the things that drive our success. It's what allowed us to take another step in our growth.
It's an exciting time for Emera. We're not just investing in assets, we're investing in Tampa, in the states of Florida and New Mexico, and above all, in a talented team of employees at TECO. This will open new doors for Emera in the areas of clean energy development and local gas distribution, and that will enable our continued growth and success.
At TECO Energy, we couldn't be more excited. The more we get to know Emera's business philosophy, its relationships, and its vision, the more opportunity we see in our combined future. As we like to say at Emera and TECO Energy, we found the perfect match.
Emera's talent and its people are at the heart of this transformation and growth, and we look forward to the new possibilities future innovation will bring.
Well, thank you, Gordon. It is the perfect match. I always love the opportunity to showcase our people through these videos and for you to be able to get a little bit more of a sense of the business. As you can see, at Emera, we're truly excited about where we stand today. Years of our patient approach and disciplined execution mean we're well-positioned for the sea of opportunity before us. South of the border, New England is looking for ways to meet evolving energy needs, and Emera is positioned to provide the right solutions. Along with our partners, we continue to work on options to enable large-scale clean energy imports. With our transmission experience, particularly through Maritime Link, our strategic partnerships, and market position, we believe we can play a very strong role in the region.
Our partnership with Open Hydro towards the deployment of the largest grid-connected tidal array in the world could prove to be transformative, generating tremendous economic activity in the long term. Advancements in areas such as electricity storage, smart grids, heat pumps and solar generation. They all provide innovative opportunities. Emera's working to ensure we're at the forefront of these changes in helping build tomorrow's electricity system. It's this eye for opportunity together with a focus on execution that drives Emera's financial results. Results that once again in 2015 spoke for themselves. Shareholders saw two dividend increases totaling 22.6%. The five-year annualized growth rate for adjusted EPS was 9.1%. $100 invested in Emera in December of 2010 was worth CAD 169 in December of 2015. None of this would be possible without the dedication of our employees and leaders. They champion Emera's vision. They model our values. They are the company.
Our thanks to our directors for their commitment. They help raise the bar in every aspect of Emera's performance. Their guidance is central to Emera's success. Thanks to our people, today Emera is a geographically diverse company with a portfolio of assets, the ingenuity to tap into the right opportunities, and capacity to turn them into shareholder and customer value. As we look ahead, along with TECO, Emera has over $8.3 billion in planned capital investments over the next five years. We're forging ahead with confidence and discipline. We're led by a conviction to do what's right for customers and what's right for the environment. It's what's driven our growth over the years, and it's what will propel Emera into the future. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Chris. The Secretary advises me that the voting results have been received. Mr. Secretary.
Madam Chair. The scrutineers report that all motions voted upon at the meeting have received more than the number of votes required, and therefore, all motions are passed.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. In light of the results of the voting, I now declare all motions carried. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the formal business of the meeting. We will now take questions from shareholders. First, we will take comments and questions from shareholders here in the room. We will then take questions from shareholders on our conference call. Finally, we will respond to questions from shareholders received by email. We ask that all shareholders with questions to please give your full name and affirm to the meeting that you are a shareholder or proxy holder of the company. I would ask that each person limit their questions to just a few minutes. I'll ask that Chris to come forward to answer business questions, and Chris can call on his leaders as appropriate. We have a question here, sir.
Yes. My name is William Wazenthal. I'm from Montreal. It's the first time I'd be able to attend a meeting. The question I have is concerning the electrification of cars, and I'm just wondering, looking forward, do you see that as
A growth area and that you're attending to, or am I exaggerating by asking the question?
No, actually, I think it's a very important question and one that we're paying a lot of attention to. We're really just in the process now of developing a strategy around how the distributed grid, what's called today the smart grid, will actually affect customers. We think that electric vehicles will be a very important part of that. We're working today, especially in our Caribbean utilities, to help understand exactly how that might work. If you take Barbados as an example, the penetration of electric vehicles there is much higher than it is in most places, and we expect that for the future, that will be a great opportunity as well. What we want to do is work to integrate those electric vehicles into the power system.
As we develop more solar and more wind and other intermittent energy sources, we think that the storage capability of automobiles as EVs can be part of that. You're going to see us do more and more and more in that area over the next little while, because I think it is part of the future, and we have such a great platform in those Caribbean utilities to be able to work on that and to hit those kinds of objectives.
The last big comment is there any value with listing the shares on an American stock exchange? Would that sort of, because some, I don't know what percentage of the earnings are coming from the United States, but would that increase your float or enable you to raise more money? It's just a comment. I don't know.
Yeah. Well, certainly you're right. Once we close the transaction with TECO, we'll actually be almost 75% outside of Canada. I think it is really a question of access to capital. So far, the Canadian capital markets have been extremely supportive of the business, and we saw that in our latest issue of the CD. It's something we'll continue to consider. At the end of the day, for the time being, we'd say we have great access to capital here, but it's something that will be on our minds over time.
Thank you.
Thank you. Sir.
Hi there. My name is Peter Ross. I'm from Toronto, and I'm a shareholder. We've had very low interest rates for the last few years now, especially since the recession of 2008, 2009. My understanding is that there might be an inverse relationship between total shareholder return and interest rates. I'm wondering, has Emera factored in any potential rate increases over the next few years, or are you considering it to be static on interest rates in order to provide the earnings growth as well as the dividend growth that you've indicated this afternoon?
Thank you.
Certainly, interest rates are something that we always pay attention to, and it's something that is always on our mind. When you look at our current debt structure, it has quite a long life. I think on average, it's around 18 years. The maturity of our debt is in that kind of timeframe. That by itself creates a very stable situation for our debt. Certainly, one of the things that you have seen us doing over the last little while is terming out a lot of our debt and taking as much 30-year money as we possibly can because we do think that that's important into the future.
The one other thing I would say is when we look at projects today and we look at our businesses today, we have never changed the hurdle rates that we have put forward for the various assets that we would invest in. We think that that will hold us in good stead if and when interest rates begin to rise again because we've not changed those hurdle rates, and that really means that those assets are able to work in a much higher interest rate environment as well.
Okay. Sir.
I heard earlier a little on the wave, the funding and tidal wave. Now, I'm just curious as to the status of it, commercialization, and is there tidal wave anywhere in the world that has commercialized?
Well, certainly tidal energy is something that the company has been interested in for quite a long time, as far back as the 1980s, we built our first tidal facility. The type of tidal energy that we're investing in right now is a different technology. It's one that would be referred to as stream flow technology. To this point, I would say that no one has actually put a commercial facility in place. We believe that the facilities that we're about to put in place will actually create a return on investment. In fact, we've actually made a relatively modest investment in this at this point. The supplier, OpenHydro, has actually made the majority of the investment.
What our arrangement with OpenHydro in this case is that once the facility is in service and operating, has operated for a couple of years, then we would buy it back from them at a specifically agreed-upon return to us. We feel that we're very well protected from that perspective. Then that will lead us to understand whether there's a commercial business there or not. So far it looks very, very good. The equipment is now constructed, and it will be going to the Bay of Fundy in the early part of the summer, and we'll get to understand how that's going to work at that time. For now, we've taken relatively small risk, but we're looking forward to seeing how that works. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. Yes.
Thank you, Madam Chair. My name is Bruce Johansen. I'm a shareholder. Thank you for coming to Toronto. Great to be here. A couple of questions about the TECO acquisition, if I might. Looks great from a strategic perspective, good growth potential in those markets. Seems to me, though, that the financial success is going to depend in large part on how it's financed, and you've indicated that you've taken care of the common equity portion of that with your subscription rates offering. In terms of the remaining debt and preferred equity tranches, can you give us some idea as to if the acquisition were to close tomorrow, what percentage of that would be financed by TECO or its subsidiaries, and what sort of interest rates you're expecting to pay on that debt?
Yeah. All of the financing for that transaction will actually occur at the holding company or above the operating companies. I think we've said publicly that it will be a combination of common equity, which we now have in place, probably about $3.4 billion of debt, in that range, and then around $1 billion of either preferred or hybrid securities. That's the way that we've structured to finance that. The rates are very competitive right now. The rates that we see right now are very competitive with the business case that we put forward, and we would expect to finance that transaction very near to the closing. As we look at it, the closing should occur in mid-2016, and we'll be doing the financing right around that timeframe.
Quick follow-up questions, if I might. What percentage of that will be issued in US dollars, do you think?
Yeah, the majority of that additional will be issued in U.S. dollars and in the U.S. to be very close to the revenue.
Okay. One last question, if I might. Now that I think you said 75% of your business is going to be outside of Canada, are you considering reporting in US dollars and maybe paying your dividend in US dollars?
Again, that's one of those things that will get considered over time. For the time being, though being traded here in Canada and having mostly Canadian shareholders, we'll probably continue to lean in that direction for the short term.
Hi, I'm Marsha Redmond, and I want to say that I invested even before it was Emera because I was looking for alternative energy sources, and I love what you people are doing. I have a question, though, because as you go into other places, and I've looked on the net, what you do in Barbados, Saint Lucia, Florida, Maine. I don't get a really clear picture if as you attempt to produce more energy, which is environmentally safe and continues to provide jobs, but at the same time looks at the total picture of the countries that they are in and our country and the world. Are you having any conflict with the rules of those countries as to what you want to put in place as far as manufacturing, production, transmission, things like that?
Yeah. I think that's a very interesting question because one of the things that we do as an entity is really work hard to understand what each one of the jurisdictions wants, what kind of policy approach, what kind of pace of change, and how they want to see the energy systems evolve. We work hard to work in those environments. If you take Nova Scotia as an example, Nova Scotia wanted to move quite quickly from high carbon to lower carbon sources. We've made investments around that that fit, and have created a lot of stability and that's been a good way to go. In the Caribbean right now, they want to go as rapidly as possible to clean energy sources.
We're working with the government and stakeholders there to move that business much, much more quickly to those clean sources, and we're investing in solar and other things there, and that's also where we think electric vehicles may come in as a storage component. As we enter some new markets like New Mexico and Florida, we'll again understand what the policy objectives are, understand how we can play a role in that, and then move forward. I think in Florida right now, there's a big push towards more and more natural gas. TECO Energy is already beginning to put more natural gas in place. As well, they're starting to build solar.
All those opportunities will be there, and we will continue to reduce the carbon intensity and the carbon production of our facilities as a result of working with those policy makers to get to the right place.
Okay. By the way, I'm from Kitchener, Waterloo. Basically, I wanted to say that as you move into new areas, sometimes it's been said that as a North American company into another country, very often the bottom line is money, and second is employment, and the third, where a lot of people are devoid of land, whatever. Basically what I would never want to see is Emera being called on the line as far as not being friendly to the people in that particular country. It sounds like to me that you're on that road. However, when I go on the net and take a look at Emera Florida, things like that, there isn't a complete explanation of what's going on. Maybe it's because it's new. Okay? In a sense, I want to continue to have positive feelings about the company and why I initially invested in it.
Okay. Well, thank you for that, and as do we. Community is extremely important to our company. We always focus on ensuring that we work with the communities that we serve, and that we understand what those communities are looking for and how we can best serve them. I think that's why things work well that way.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. This madam.
My name is Adrienne McGinnis, and I'm a shareholder, long time. First of all, thank you so much for coming to Toronto. It's great. I've been a shareholder for a long time. It's really great to meet everybody and have this opportunity. What I'm really interested in, I think like a lot of people, are moving forward in the future. One thing I've always loved about Emera is your ability to look into the future and be there. With the green energy, I think that's a really smart move. My question is about the cars and the batteries. What kind of competition would you be looking at, and what kind of a moat would Emera have? The final part of that question is, do you ever plan to move into Europe? Thank you.
Okay. Well, first of all, thank you. I think electric vehicles really is just an emerging part of our strategy. Our strategy has always been about looking at the carbon intensity of the electricity and energy systems where we do business and working hard to find ways to, in affordable ways, to reduce that carbon intensity for customers. That's really been the essence of the strategy. At this point, electric vehicles are going to become more and more important to that. Especially as you think about intermittent energy like solar, we'll use electric vehicles as part of the storage systems, and that and other storage systems will be there. I think that that's really the way that we'll move. It's still early days, though.
There's still a lot of strategy work to be done, a lot of understanding what customers really want, and also understanding how these vehicles will best fit into the electricity system. That's the work to be done, and we'll be as close to the front of that as we can be.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. That looks like the questions from the room. Can I ask the conference operator, do we have any calls from people by telephone?
At this time, I'd like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, it is star followed by the number one on your keypads. There are no audio questions at this time.
Thank you. Lastly, have we any email questions?
Madam Chair, we have no email questions submitted at this time.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your interest in Emera and for being here with us today. It's been a pleasure. We have some refreshments at the back of the room, and please feel free to join us. Thank you again.