2017 was an important transition year for Enbridge. The acquisition of Spectra Energy, which closed on February 27, 2017, significantly diversified our asset base and opportunity set, and repositioned Enbridge for the future, particularly with respect to natural gas, which we see as having excellent fundamentals and opportunities going forward.
Beyond the transaction, we put $12 billion of new assets into service in 2017, a record achievement in a single year. These projects are expected to provide strong cash flows and earnings for decades to come.
In our core businesses, we delivered strong operational performance including moving record volumes on our liquids Mainline System, which came from a combination of oil sands supply growth and capacity optimization initiatives that benefited our customers and industry. Our expanded gas transmission business operated very well and delivered the results we expected from the Spectra transaction. In our gas distribution businesses, we added approximately 50,000 customers and brought a major expansion into service.
Another area of focus was to secure funding for our capital program and to ensure a strong balance sheet. We raised approximately $14 billion of capital across the Enbridge group of companies and sold $2.6 billion of non-core assets. We took steps in 2017 to simplify our corporate structure and in May 2018, announced a proposed restructuring through the roll-up of our sponsored vehicles. This transaction, if completed, would bring all of our core liquids and gas pipeline assets under the umbrella of one single listed entity, Enbridge Inc. The transaction is subject to review by independent committees and shareholder approval of each sponsored vehicle. Corporate simplification will be a continued focus in 2018.
With the combined strength and earnings power of our core businesses, contributions from new projects and cost synergy capture, distributable cash flow per share was $3.68, which was within the 2017 financial guidance range communicated to investors, despite only getting a partial year contribution from Spectra assets due to the timing of the merger close. We increased our dividend by 15 percent in 2017, our 23rd consecutive year of dividend hikes. Strong financial results for the first quarter of 2018, including an increase in both distributable cash flow per share and adjusted earnings per share of 40%, respectively. This demonstrate the quality of the assets, predictability of cash flows and the accretive nature of the Spectra Energy merger.
Despite our teams’ best efforts, there were some disappointments including shareholder returns that underperformed the expectations of management and our shareholders. We strongly believe that as our team continues to deliver on the benefits of the Spectra merger, our capital expansion projects and financial targets, our shareholders will enjoy strong total shareholder returns.
As described in “Management Approach”, we have set a course for the next three years that will increase our competitiveness and grow our business. We’re confident the successful execution of this plan will generate approximately 10 percent compound annual distributable cash flow per share growth through 2020, which supports our ability to grow our dividend by 10 percent per year over the same period.
We’re proud to deliver economic benefits in the U.S. states and the Canadian provinces where we do business. To learn more about the ongoing tax revenue, local and regional economic stimulation, community investments, and workforce salary provided by Enbridge in your area, search by state or province on Enbridge.com
Union Gas has served customers in Ontario for over 100 years, providing a significant ongoing boost to local economies. In 2014, as the province completed the phase-out of coal-fired electric generation plants, we played a significant role in providing clean and affordable natural gas that enabled a seamless phase-out.
Overall, clean and affordable natural gas is delivering approximately $5 billion in annual savings to Ontario families, businesses and industry—savings that are being reinvested into the economy. Ontario residential natural gas customers have, on average, $400 more in discretionary spending today than they did in 2007 due to the shrinking commodity costs brought on by new, vast supplies of North American natural gas.
Union Gas’s Dawn Hub, near the municipality of Chatham-Kent in southwestern Ontario, is the largest integrated natural gas storage facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America. It offers customers—such as power generators, distribution and pipeline companies, and energy marketers—an important link in the movement of natural gas from key supply basins to markets in Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern U.S.
Union Gas is partnering with Chatham-Kent, as well as other municipalities, to promote industrial growth opportunities. Union Gas works with economic development officials to attract businesses requiring large quantities of natural gas, such as for combined heat and power or as a feedstock for processes like nitrogen-based fertilizer production.
We also seek to build constructive, long-lasting and mutually beneficial partnerships with our local and diverse suppliers, including Aboriginal businesses—working together to create economic development opportunities for these communities.