Canada's Enbridge plans C$38 billion in new investments through 2019

CALGARY (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline company, is planning C$38 billion ($29.09 billion) in new capital investments over the next four years, Chief Executive Al Monaco said on Wednesday. The Calgary-based energy company said it was taking a cautious approach in what Monaco described as a "challenging" environment for getting projects approved by regulators. The new investment plan would include expanding pipeline projects as well as power generation through 2019, Monaco said, explaining that the company strategy would also focus on "incremental expansion" with minimal risk to customers. "We've 16 projects under way now," Monaco told investors at a presentation in Toronto. "I think the takeaway here is that even though it is very tough out there, permitting and regulatory-wise, we are getting things done." Enbridge shares were up by about two percent by early afternoon on Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Enbridge previously anticipated spending C$44 billion from 2014 to 2018, but updated its numbers after bringing about C$10 billion of projects into service in 2014, said spokesman Graham White. Canada's energy regulator recently approved safety tests on Enbridge's long-awaited Line 9 reversal project, bringing it one step closer to resuming operations and giving Quebec refineries new access to cheap North American inland crude. (Reporting By Mike De Souza in Calgary and Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)