Utah Settlement Mandates Methane Reporting to Protect Ratepayers

The Utah Public Service Commission approved a settlement on Tuesday requiring Enbridge Gas and Wexpro to report methane emissions and leak detection data from their Colorado natural gas operations.

Utah Clean Energy and the Environmental Defense Fund intervened in the utility docket after an expedited request for a large-scale gas supply acquisition known as Piceance III, according to a joint report by Logan Mitchell, climate scientist and regulatory manager at Utah Clean Energy, and Veronica Ung-Kono, attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund.

Natural gas consists primarily of methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential up to 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year span. Methane leaks during production and distribution also waste energy resources and contribute to regional air pollution.

Under the terms of the new agreement, settlement parties and utility regulators will receive regular reports on methane emissions, leak detection and repair activities, and well-level leakage intensity measurements from Wexpro’s production operations. Wexpro must also conduct an economic analysis examining methane reductions, avoided gas losses, preserved revenues, mitigation costs, and financial payback on investments made since 2011.

Enbridge agreed to work with stakeholders to evaluate gas demand forecasting, long-term system planning, and ways to reduce customer costs. The process will also examine potential improvements to the ThermWise gas efficiency and conservation programs.

“While no single settlement can address every challenge facing Utah’s energy system and climate emissions, this agreement is an important first step in improving transparency around large-scale gas utility investments,” Utah Clean Energy reported.

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