The companies filed a joint application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on August 12 for the North Extension Project, a $438.5 million expansion, according to a Federal Register notice published August 24. The project would provide 185,000 dekatherms per day of incremental firm transportation service to meet growing Wisconsin Electric Power Company demand in southern Wisconsin. The filing is one of several large pipeline and utility capital projects currently moving through state and federal regulatory review.
The proposed expansion would include approximately 11.5 miles of new pipeline extending from Lake County, Illinois, to Kenosha County, Wisconsin, along with a new meter station. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America is also proposing several compression additions: a new 11,107-horsepower compressor station in Lake County, Illinois; a new 31,900-horsepower compression unit and re-wheeling of existing compressor Unit 1 at CS 312 in Livingston County, Illinois; and a new 11,107-horsepower compressor unit at an existing station in Will County, Illinois. Natural is seeking authorization to lease capacity created by the project on Horizon's interstate pipeline system, while Horizon is requesting the corresponding federal authorization for that arrangement, and Natural has proposed an incremental recourse rate for firm transportation service using the new facilities, a filing structure similar to other utility transmission expansions now advancing through regulatory review nationally. FERC's review of the application follows the same general process the commission applies across its pipeline docket, including in disputes over how the commission values and prices pipeline capacity.
The project will require Clean Water Act Section 401 water-quality certifications from both the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Under FERC procedures, commission staff expects within 90 days of the notice either to complete its environmental review and place it in the public record or issue a schedule for the environmental review. FERC has set September 9, 2026, at 5 p.m. Eastern as the deadline for motions to intervene. Interested parties may also submit comments or protests. Kinder Morgan expects the project to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2028, subject to timely receipt of required permits and approvals. The proceeding is FERC Docket No. CP26-564-000.
