Pacific Northwest Gas Proposal Highlights FERC Balancing Act

The Gas Transmission Northwest Xpress project seemed noncontroversial to TC Energy when the Canadian energy company first proposed it to regulators in October 2021.

The project consisted of upgrades to three gas compressor stations to flow more gas along an existing pipeline system that had been in operation since 1962 in the Pacific Northwest. It would provide more fuel to customers in California, where gas prices spiked during the last winter heating season.

But environmental groups, US senators, and three states’ attorneys general saw it locking in fossil fuels for 30 years as the region pursues ...