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Enbridge describes Magna LNG tank and storage limits as supply‑reliability backstop, not routine price hedge
Summary
At the PSC technical conference Enbridge said the Magna LNG tank is sized and reserved for supply reliability; company leaders said LNG would be used if purchased or on‑system supplies fail, and that using LNG to manage price spikes would require board/staff consultation.
Enbridge Gas told the Utah Public Service Commission that its Magna liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility is intended primarily as a supply‑reliability backstop rather than a routine tool for hedging peak‑day market prices. Presenters said the Magna LNG tank has a working capacity of about 13.2 million gallons and was approximately 88% full in July; liquefaction has begun and the company plans to finish fills in the fall for operational and market reasons. Kelly Manning Hall, counsel for Enbridge Gas (on the phone), and other presenters explained the tank can supply the system when other sources are unavailable. Steve Wall and other Enbridge staff described the company’s operational policy: the LNG facility is tapped when contracted or purchased gas does not arrive or when storage or pipeline withdrawals cannot meet demand. “It’s there for supply reliability,” an Enbridge presenter said. Staff emphasized that use of the facility would not be automatic in response to a high price day; instead, the decision would involve operations and senior staff and would weigh time of year, remaining inventory, and the risk of subsequent cold days. Company presenters reviewed a February example when the company withdrew roughly 70,000 decatherms from the LNG facility on one day to meet shortfalls. They said the facility can deliver a high daily withdrawal rate but is slow to refill: once used, replenishment takes many days, so using the tank for a short price event risks leaving the system without a backstop for subsequent reliability events. Enbridge staff and PSC participants discussed storage constraints as the primary limitation on system resilience. Presenters said off‑system aquifer storage and Clay Basin help but are subject to nomination and pipeline constraints; a physically located on‑system LNG facility mitigates those constraints by providing gas directly into the city distribution network. No formal change to policy or a written rule for when LNG would be called was adopted at the session; presenters said decisions would be made case‑by‑case, with operations and senior staff (Kelly, Steve and others) involved in high‑stakes calls.
