Corix seeks PSC certificate to run district heating and cooling utility for Utah City (Vineyard) development

Corix Utah City Heating and Cooling asked the Utah Public Service Commission (PSC) for a certificate of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) to operate a regulated district heating and cooling utility serving the Utah City (Vineyard) redevelopment, company presenters said during a technical conference.

The application covers a district energy system to serve the redevelopment on land formerly occupied by the Geneva Steel mill in Vineyard, Utah, and is intended to deliver centralized heating, cooling and domestic hot water to multi‑use and multifamily buildings. Corix representatives told the commission the first building is scheduled to connect in April 2026 and that a phase‑1 deployment is expected between 2026 and 2028; the company said full buildout of the development could extend to 2044.

The request matters because the project would replace individual building heating and cooling equipment with a centralized ‘‘district energy’’ network—equipment in buried pipes and energy centers that supply many buildings—shifting capital and operating responsibility from dozens of rooftop or in‑unit units to a single utility. Corix and the developer told the PSC that the approach is intended to reduce aggregate peak electric demand, reduce lifecycle maintenance and free leasable rooftop and mechanical‑room space.

Jason Owen, vice president for project development at Corix, walked commissioners and staff through the proposed system design and schedule. He described an initial interim energy center sized to serve phase 1 (approximately 1.5 million square feet across eight buildings) with 5.3 megawatts (MW) of heating capacity and 7 MW of cooling; Corix said phase 1 capital is about $42,000,000. For the full development the company presented an estimated 18,000,000 square feet across 64 buildings, with peak forecasts of 58 MW heating and 81 MW cooling and an estimated phased capital program of about $318,000,000.

Corix explained the system uses a closed‑loop, four‑pipe distribution network and energy transfer stations (heat exchangers) at each building. Owen said the platform is ‘‘technology agnostic’’—able to use electricity, gas, waste heat or other sources—and that Corix expects to add heat‑recovery chillers over time. Corix estimated roughly 20 percent of the development’s heating demand could be supplied by recovered waste heat from cooling operations, with the remainder provided by natural gas boilers under current forecasts.

Douglas Chong, Corix senior manager for regulatory affairs, described the regulatory model used in British Columbia—where Corix operates regulated thermal utilities under a certificate process—and said he expects a similar rate‑of‑return, rate‑base style of regulation to be applicable if the PSC grants a CPCN. Corix told the PSC that customers under the proposed model are building owners (the developer is the initial counterparty) and that building owners ‘‘opt in’’ by contract; Corix said the developer has committed to use Corix services for buildings inside the project area.

Corix answered several technical questions from commissioners and intervenors in the meeting. The company said it expects to file a rate application in late November (subject to internal timing and the CPCN outcome). Corix also provided gas‑use forecasts for the system: an initial gas consumption estimate of about 14,000 decatherms when the first customer connects, rising to about 60,000 decatherms at later build stages (the transcript’s date for that later level was unclear). Owen told the commission, ‘‘the first building to connect to Corix’s system [is] in April 2026.’’

Representatives from the developer (identified in Corix’s filing as Flagborough) provided a support letter; Corix also filed letters of support from the Huntsman Cancer Institute and a state representative, the company said. Rocky Mountain Power and Enbridge participated in the conference and asked technical and interconnection questions; Corix said it expects to participate in demand‑response programs with Rocky Mountain Power.

No formal PSC vote or final regulatory decision was taken at the technical conference. Corix’s presenters said the CPCN application remains pending and the company intends to file a separate rate case seeking Commission approval of its proposed rates. The PSC did not set a final schedule during the conference; next procedural steps will depend on the commission’s handling of the CPCN filing and any subsequent filings or discovery.

Details and clarifications from the conference include the following: Corix described the utility as serving building owners (not individual tenants), said energy transfer stations displace building‑scale boilers and chillers but leave in‑building distribution equipment (pumps, fan coils, hydronic piping), and noted the interim energy centers are intended to be redeployed or replaced as the system expands. Corix and staff repeatedly said phased deployment is intended to align capital expenditures to actual building occupancy and market demand rather than installing full system capacity up front.

The PSC technical conference concluded with Corix thanking commission staff and stakeholders for questions. Corix’s application is docketed as Number 25266601; the company and intervenors will return to the PSC for further procedural steps required for the CPCN and any rate‑setting process.