SEPTEMBER 11, 2026 · 9 SLIDES

Section 1200 Is Called Interruption

Enstar, the gas utility for almost half of Alaska's population, publishes a tariff section numbered 1200 and titled Interruption.

The deck

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01 / 09
01 / 09

The story

Cook Inlet storage read 7.65 of 13.0 Bcf on September 10th, or 58.8 percent of design. Enstar says any reductions would be phased by customer class under that tariff, with facilities serving human needs and occupancy ranked highest.

The public learns where a large commercial and industrial load sits only because Kenai Mayor Henry Knackstedt told his city council what Enstar described to Southcentral mayors on August 21st.

A 36 cell grid of the daily readings with the 2 unverified days left empty, and the tariff volume drawn end on with only its top step marked.

Should the order of cuts be public before the next large load is sited?

What we verified

45 CLAIMS, EACH RE-FETCHED FROM ITS SOURCE BEFORE THIS DECK SHIPPED

  1. The Cook Inlet Gas Watch measured Cook Inlet storage inventory at 7,648,351 Mcf on September 10th, 2026.

  2. The Cook Inlet Gas Watch page publishes that September 10th, 2026 reading as 7.65 of 13.0 Bcf.

  3. CINGSA's storage design capacity as recorded by the Cook Inlet Gas Watch is 13,000,000 Mcf, published as 13.0 Bcf.

  4. Cook Inlet storage stood at 58.8 percent of design volume on September 10th, 2026.

  5. The Cook Inlet Gas Watch demand model in force on September 10th, 2026 is version 2.0.

  6. The published demand model states that regional demand in MMcf per day equals 80.868 plus 3.439 times heating degree days on a base of 65 Fahrenheit.

  7. The highest modeled demand in the Cook Inlet Gas Watch forecast window as of September 10th, 2026 is 120 MMcf per day.

  8. The Cook Inlet Gas Watch holds 36 days on record as of September 10th, 2026.

  9. Of the 36 days on record, 2 carry no verified reading because a fetch failed or the source had stopped updating.

  10. The Cook Inlet Gas Watch publishes 63.7 days of cover at modeled peak and states in the same field that it is not a measure of adequacy.

  11. CINGSA's published operating withdrawal capacity on September 10th, 2026 was 150,000 Mcf per day against a design figure of 215,000 Mcf per day.

  12. CINGSA posted that it will perform a required semiannual shut in field balance and maintenance from September 14th to September 21st, 2026 and will accept no nominations during that time.

  13. The Cook Inlet Gas Watch derived non CINGSA supply of 138.3 MMcf per day for September 9th, 2026 from its mass balance.

  14. The Cook Inlet Gas Watch states it publishes no safety verdict.

  15. Enstar's petition for an advance determination of decisional prudence for the natural gas storage project is docket U-26-003 and Enstar publishes the filing itself on its own regulatory filings page.

  16. Enstar's approved tariff contains a section numbered 1200 titled Interruption, published on Enstar's own tariff information page.

  17. Enstar president John Sims told state lawmakers in August that Enstar was about 3 billion cubic feet short of its ideal storage level heading into the coming heating season.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  18. Kenai Mayor Henry Knackstedt told the Kenai City Council on September 2nd, 2026 that Enstar president John Sims recently put the storage deficit at the equivalent of about 18 days of winter demand if temperatures are normal or slightly colder.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  19. Enstar communications manager Harley Hedlund said the deficit figure does not mean the utility will be short that many days this winter.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  20. Harley Hedlund is Enstar's communications manager.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  21. Kenai Mayor Henry Knackstedt said Enstar described a plan that would first look to large commercial and industrial users for reductions before residential customers.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  22. Enstar said any reductions would be phased by customer class under the utility's tariff, with service to facilities serving human needs and occupancy given the highest priority.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  23. Enstar said modest thermostat adjustments down to 65 degrees, where safe and practical, could help reduce demand during periods of extreme cold.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  24. Enstar does not now anticipate receiving gas from BlueCrest Energy's Cosmopolitan Unit until the first quarter of 2027 at the earliest, after an expected early September delivery slipped.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  25. Kenai Mayor Henry Knackstedt said Enstar president John Sims indicated an LNG import project using the Nikiski area may not be ready until the fourth quarter of 2029.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  26. Kenai Mayor Henry Knackstedt met with Enstar president John Sims and other Southcentral mayors on August 21st, 2026.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  27. Enstar was in emergency arbitration with HEX Operating over access to additional gas beyond what the producer was already delivering under contract.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  28. Enstar communications manager Harley Hedlund said executed gas sharing agreements with Matanuska Electric Association and Chugach Electric Association would not be filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

    REPORTHomer News2026-09-10
  29. Alaskans use about 70 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Cook Inlet each year on average.

    REPORTAlaska Public Media2026-09-09
  30. Southcentral Alaska relies on natural gas for more than 70 percent of its electricity.

    REPORTAlaska Public Media2026-09-09
  31. Enstar sells gas to almost half of Alaska's population and gets nearly all of its supply from Hilcorp.

    REPORTAlaska Public Media2026-09-09
  32. Enstar is currently paying close to 11 dollars per mcf of natural gas.

    REPORTAlaska Public Media2026-09-09
  33. The Japan Korea spot market for LNG is trading at 24 dollars, more than double Enstar's current rate.

    REPORTAlaska Public Media2026-09-09
  34. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska issued its order denying Enstar's request for an advance determination of prudence on July 8th, 2026.

    REPORTPetroleum News2026-07-19
  35. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska wrote that an advance determination of prudence is an extraordinary request not explicitly contemplated in its governing statutes or regulations.

    REPORTPetroleum News2026-07-19
  36. Enstar filed a 31 page petition for reconsideration of the commission's denial.

  37. Enstar told the commission in its original filing that the proposed storage facility would cost 240 million dollars and add up to 12 dollars a month to the average customer bill.

    REPORTAnchorage Daily News2026-07-10
  38. The storage project is described as the largest single capital investment in Enstar's history.

  39. Enstar president John Sims said the reservoir is almost perfect for what Enstar views as short term and long term needs.

  40. Enstar president John Sims said there is a lot of planning going on for the upcoming winter about what happens if there is a gas supply issue, because the utility is worried.

  41. Golden Valley Electric Association's overall residential rate drops to 34.55 cents per kilowatt hour and is still the highest on the Railbelt.

  42. The reduction lowers Golden Valley Electric Association's fuel and purchased power rate by 2.6 cents per kilowatt hour to 18.049 cents.

  43. Golden Valley Electric Association residential rates will drop by 12.6 percent, or 15 dollars a month for the average household.

  44. The Alaska Gasline Development Corporation plans to seek 2.5 million dollars from state lawmakers for a program enabling Alaskans to invest directly in the Alaska LNG pipeline project.

  45. Broadband Breakfast reported that Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said the state is advancing a natural gas pipeline that could deliver power at about five cents per kilowatt hour for industrial users.

    REPORTBroadband Breakfast2026-04-24

Beats

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