Regulators deny Enstar’s Kenai storage expansion request
Southcentral Alaska’s largest natural gas utility said Tuesday it may not have enough supply to get through this winter, after state regulators last week denied a request that would have expanded storage capacity on the Kenai Peninsula.
Enstar president John Sims said the outlook for the utility’s more than 150,000 customers heading into the cold months is “not looking good.”
“Just to be very blunt, we need additional production in order to make it through this winter,” Sims said. “We are kind of turning over every stone possible and trying to find more gas resources.”
Enstar had sought what is known as an “advanced determination” from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska that developing and operating a depleted reservoir called the Kenai Loop Pool — currently leased and operated by AIX Energy LLC — for gas storage would be a prudent investment, according to the commission’s order. Such a determination would have allowed the project to unlock financing for development.
The commission denied the request, writing that it was “unsure about the timing of the need for additional natural gas storage capacity, including insertion and withdrawal capacity.”