Updating your Income stocks: Emera Inc., Great-West Lifeco Inc. and Telus Corp.

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EMERA INC. (www.emera.com) $59 is a buy. The company owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, as well as power plants and gas pipelines in the U.S. and the Caribbean. To spur its future growth for investors, Emera now plans to spend $6.9 billion on new projects and upgrades between 2020 and 2022. The additional cash flow from those investments should let Emera raise your annual dividend rate between 4% and 5% each year through 2022. The current rate of $2.45 a share yields a high 4.2%. GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. (www.greatwestlifeco.com) $35 is still a hold. The company has now merged its three Canadian insurance subsidiaries (Great-West Life Assurance Company, London Life Insurance Company and The Canada Life Assurance Company) into a single firm. It now sells all its insurance products under the Canada Life brand, which will cut its administrative and marketing costs. However, lower interest rates at least in the near term could cut the company’s income from its investment portfolio. That would hurt…