Enbridge seeks approval to extend natural gas to South Rim; Division backs settlement

Enbridge Gas Utah asked the Utah Public Service Commission on Feb. 3, 2026, to approve a settlement stipulation authorizing the company to construct natural gas facilities to serve the unserved rural community of South Rim, and said construction could begin once the commission grants approval.

The request came during a formal hearing presided over by John Delaney. Jordan Parks, senior regulatory advisor for Enbridge Gas Utah, summarized the company’s application and the settlement terms, saying the project continues the company’s rural expansion program and would be paid through the company’s rural expansion rate adjustment tracker in tariff section 9.02. Parks said the bill impact for a typical residential customer using about 70 decatherms annually would be "about $1.54 or 0.24%," and that a related project would make a combined cumulative impact of "about $2.11 or 0.33%." He added that those increases would not affect customers until the project is complete and the company seeks rate recovery.

The stipulation includes a set of conditions the parties say protects ratepayers and provides Commission oversight. Parks outlined provisions that authorize construction (paragraph 6); require cost collection through the rural expansion tracker (paragraph 7); require the company to file permits, franchise agreements and similar documents once finalized (paragraph 8); require prior commission approval before placing cost overruns into the tracker, subject to statutory spending caps (paragraph 9); require coordination with Tooele County on appliance inspections before meters are set (paragraph 10); require the company to meet with the Division of Public Utilities before filing future rural expansion applications (paragraph 11); and require an annual report, beginning in 2027 and due March 1, that will provide five years of data on previously approved rural expansion projects (customer signups, meters set, cost per connection and cumulative costs) (paragraph 12).

Patricia E. Schmidt, assistant attorney general representing the Division of Public Utilities, presented the Division’s witness, Savanna Torman, a utility analyst. Torman said the Division reviewed Enbridge’s application (filed Sept. 19, 2025) and that although it initially recommended denial in testimony filed Dec. 2, 2025, settlement negotiations resolved the Division’s concerns. "The Division recommends that the commission approve the settlement stipulation as filed to allow the company to extend natural gas service to the area of South Rim, Utah, as it is just and reasonable in result and in the public interest," Torman said.

No party objected to admitting the companies’ and Division’s testimony and exhibits into the record. Counsel for Enbridge and Division reported no cross-examination of the witnesses. The presiding officer reminded parties of a statutory deadline of March 18, 2026, for the Commission to act and said an order will be issued in due course.

What happens next: the Commission must issue an order on the docket by March 18, 2026; the hearing established the evidentiary record and both the company and the Division urged approval contingent on the stipulation’s reporting and oversight provisions.