Illinois winter stress record, Chicago suburbs served by Nicor Gas. October 2026

Chicago suburbs winter stress record: not rated; 33 cold-weather pipeline gas days in 2025-26

The Chicago suburbs are not rated, because Nicor Gas's documents give no reserve margin or supply total. Pipeline notices show 33 gas days of cold weather operating conditions in winter 2025-26, but do not say which pipeline reached Nicor Gas.

5.1 millionNicor Gas's design peak day (coldest planned day), whole northern Illinois system, MMBtu, September 2024 presentation
50%Share of that design peak day delivered from storage, 2.55 million of 5.1 million (our calculation)
33 daysANR Pipeline Company ("ANR") gas days under Phase 2 cold weather conditions, winter 2025-26
Not ratedNicor Gas's documents give no reserve margin or supply total

By Sam Strong, Vice President of Business Development, Discovery Energy. Technical review by Tara Dugger, Chief Operating Officer. Updated .

Metro used: the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area, as the federal government defines it (Bulletin No. 23-01, July 21, 2023).43 This page covers the suburbs served by Northern Illinois Gas Company ("Nicor Gas"), whose system extends across northern Illinois beyond the metro. Its figures cover that whole system, and the documents read do not split them by county.1 The City of Chicago and the north suburbs (Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas) are on a separate page.

Key takeaways

  • The presentations we read list a design peak day and storage delivery for the whole system, but no gate station limit (a cap on gas entering the local system).7
  • Nicor Gas's presentation says its eight storage reservoirs provide nearly 50% of system demand on the design peak day, and it is interconnected with eight interstate pipelines, none named.8
  • The supply analysis a long-term plan would hold is not among the documents read. The Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, vacated that plan on December 1, 2025.9
  • ANR posted five cold weather episodes and an Operational Flow Order (an order to balance gas flows) for its ML-7 market zone, January 22 to January 31, 2026.10
  • Northern Border Pipeline ("Northern Border") limited the Des Plaines delivery point (its hand-off to a utility) to primary only for gas day January 24, 2026, naming no utility.11
  • ANR winters before 2025-26 are not shown (export starts October 2025).12 The record doesn't show how Nicor Gas moves from balancing orders to interruption, or which pipelines reached it.

Why this part of the metro is not rated

The suburbs are not rated because no public source among the documents read gives a supply-versus-demand balance. We rate a metro only when a public source gives one. For Nicor Gas, the documents read are two presentations to stakeholders, dated September 26, 2024 and May 27, 2025, and neither gives a supply total or reserve margin.7 The Illinois Commerce Commission's order directing Nicor Gas to file a long-term gas infrastructure plan, which would have held a supply analysis, was vacated.9 If Nicor Gas provides a design day reserve margin in writing, or a filing gives one, the suburbs can be rated at the next update. The records searched were the Nicor Gas presentations, the Commission's order on reopening of April 9, 2026, and the notice exports of three pipelines or storage systems. The annual gas charge reconciliation testimony and the design day supply stack were not among the documents read.

Who serves the suburbs?

Nicor Gas serves 2.28 million customers across northern Illinois. Its slide map extends the system to Springfield, Peoria, Rockford and Joliet among others, and the documents do not name counties.13 The figures come from two Nicor Gas presentations, dated September 26, 2024 and May 27, 2025.7 Its design peak day is 5.1 million in the MMBtu column, made up of 55% residential, 33% commercial and 12% industrial.4 It has eight underground storage reservoirs in Illinois. Peak storage delivery is 2.55 million per day and 106,000 per hour, and no single reservoir's share is stated.14 It is interconnected with eight interstate pipelines, but the documents name none and give no volumes.15 Its storage, transmission and distribution projects over $5 million for 2026 to 2030 state no capacity addition.16

Which pipelines cross the Chicago suburbs?

Pipelines supplying the Chicago suburbs N ANR Pipeline ANR Pipeline Guardian Pipeline Guardian Pipeline Northern Border Pipeline Northern Border Pipeline ANR Pipeline ANR Pipeline ANR Pipeline ANR Pipeline Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Guardian Pipeline Guardian Pipeline Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Northern Border Pipeline Northern Border Pipeline Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America Sandwich Sandwich Aurora Aurora Naperville Naperville Joliet Joliet Elgin Elgin Cook Co. Cook Co. DeKalb Co. DeKalb Co. DuPage Co. DuPage Co. Grundy Co. Grundy Co. Kane Co. Kane Co. Kendall Co. Kendall Co. Lake County Lake County Will Co. Will Co. Rockford Rockford Peoria Peoria Kenosha Kenosha Racine Racine Schaumburg Schaumburg Hammond Hammond Gary Gary Janesville Janesville Oak Lawn Oak Lawn Bartlett Bartlett DeKalb DeKalb New Berlin New Berlin I-80 I-80 I-90 I-90 I-94 I-55 I-88 I-39 I-57 I-65 I-43 I-74 I-355 US-12 Iroquois County Iroquois County LaSalle County LaSalle County Livingston Co. Livingston Co. Pipelines supplying the Chicago suburbs Other gas pipelines Highways Chicago suburbs metro area (9 counties) County lines Cities and towns Compressor station named on this page
Figure 1. Major natural gas pipelines serving Chicago suburbs. Simplified, not to scale. Discovery Energy illustration from EIA and U.S. Census data; facility locations: HIFLD compressor stations (DHS). Counties, places, state outline and population: U.S. Census Bureau. Coastline, lakes and highways: Natural Earth (public domain).

The map shows which major pipelines cross or approach the nine Illinois counties of the metro, using the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) pipeline data. Each labeled pipeline is named in a source cited on this page. The map does not show which pipelines serve Nicor Gas, because its presentation does not name them.15

Nicor Gas's escalation ladder

The public record doesn't show how Nicor Gas moves from a balancing order to interruption (its escalation ladder). We did not read its tariff, which holds the order of interruption and curtailment, so this page does not describe that order. It is the first item on the list of missing records in the notes.

Winter by winter: distinct pipeline events found

The events below are pipeline events, not Nicor Gas events, because the notices name no Nicor Gas delivery point. The table separates routine balancing orders, cold weather operating conditions, capacity restrictions at a delivery point and emergency outages or repairs (force majeure). Each distinct event is counted once.42 The table covers only the winters for which a notice export was available, so the record doesn't show ANR winters before 2025-26 or Northern Border winters before 2023-24. A winter is 1 November to 31 March, and day counts are gas days from the dates stated in the notices.

Winter Pipeline and kind of event Distinct events Gas days Notice posted
2025-26 ANR, cold weather operating conditions with Extreme Condition (three fuel segments named in the notices) 5 33 December 3, 20256
2025-26 ANR, Operational Flow Order, ML-7 market zone (balancing, hourly and daily limits) 1 10 January 21, 202610
2025-26 ANR, supplemental Operational Flow Order north of Sandwich Compressor Station 1 3 January 24, 202617
2025-26 ANR, delivery location capacity reduced to zero for maintenance (Brandon Road Delivery, Michigan Leg South) 1 32 within winter (to April 13) February 27, 202618
2025-26 Northern Border, low inventory Operational Flow Order 1 8 January 20, 202619
2025-26 Northern Border, Des Plaines delivery point primary only 1 1 (end not stated) January 23, 202611
2025-26 Northern Border, force majeure at a North Dakota compressor station 1 2 November 25, 202520
2024-25 Northern Border, underperformance Operational Flow Order 1 2 February 19, 202521
2024-25 Northern Border, force majeure at a compressor station 1 3 March 5, 202522
2023-24 Northern Border, force majeure and Operational Flow Order on receipt locations 2 4 and 3 December 18, 2023, and January 14, 202423

Pipeline events by winter, with the gas days each covered.24

ANR said it implemented the order for the ML-7 market zone because weather conditions threatened its ability to maintain linepack (the gas held in the pipeline). It let the order expire as posted at the end of gas day January 31, 2026.25 ANR also called an underperformance on January 24, 2026 on two groups of Wisconsin delivery locations under that order.26 Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC ("Natural") is not in the table. Only the first of three pages of its critical notices list (urgent operating postings) could be read. The 75 notices on it are dated before the winter began. They include 10 labeled capacity constraint and 4 labeled force majeure, so none falls in the winter.27

Weather against normal

Winter 2025-26 was close to normal for heating demand at the one station used, Chicago O'Hare airport, for the whole suburban area. It ran at 97.4% of the normal heating degree days (a measure of how much heating the weather called for), against 83.1% and 94.2% in the two earlier winters.28 The figures are for November to March, compared with the 1991-2020 normal, and calculated from NOAA data.29

Winter weather and NOAA's outlook

NOAA's latest outlook, issued October 15, 2026, leans toward warmer than normal temperatures for the Chicago suburbs area.35 These are NOAA's probabilities for a three-month average, not a forecast of specific days, and a lean toward warmer weather does not rule out cold days.

Official incident reports, local constraints and local conditions

The documents read show no Nicor Gas system event and no local constraint tied to Nicor Gas. No official incident report for a Nicor Gas system event was among them, and no constraint at a named delivery point was tied to Nicor Gas. Large new loads, policy and market information for the metro are on the Chicago and north suburbs page. The Appellate Court decision above is the one policy item specific to Nicor Gas.9

New loads and data centers

We found no new gas load tied to Nicor Gas in the sources searched. The Illinois Commerce Commission's online docket could not be reviewed, so a special contract or large-load filing there may not be reflected. EIA's September 2026 generator inventory lists two planned natural gas engines at the ITT Cogen Facility in Cook County, Illinois, as under construction and more than 50 percent complete, and it does not name the gas utility that would serve them.37 Data centers: As of October 28, 2026, we found no data center load tied to Nicor Gas, and the ITT Cogen listing does not call the engines a data center load.36

What's new (as of October 28, 2026)

Two pipeline expansion filings cross the northern Illinois counties, and the notices do not say whether either connects to Nicor Gas. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) notice of September 29, 2026 says Guardian Pipeline's proposed Guardian 3 Expansion Project would provide about 536,903 dekatherms (dth, a unit of gas energy) per day of long-term firm capacity, with its environmental assessment scheduled for March 5, 2027.39 Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America's North Extension Project, filed August 12, 2026, would add compression in Lake and Will counties, Illinois and an 11.5-mile lateral to Kenosha County, Wisconsin.41

What should facilities served by Nicor Gas check now?

  • Tariffs and charges, through a utility audit. Confirm each account is on the right rate class and tariff, and that riders, demand charges and capacity-related charges are billed correctly. Over 70% of the clients Discovery Energy has audited were billed incorrectly. An audit verifies tariffs and charges and recovers overcharges before winter costs rise.
  • Which utility and rate. Confirm whether each site is served by Nicor Gas, and which rate class and interruption terms apply. The documents read do not show which suburbs Nicor Gas serves.
  • Backup plans and fuel. Check that alternate-fuel and curtailment plans are current and feasible. Check that fuel inventories and resupply arrangements are in place before December.
  • Upcoming records. Track Nicor Gas's annual gas charge reconciliation and any design day statement, which would allow a rating.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Chicago suburbs record not rated?

Nicor Gas's documents give a design peak day and storage delivery for the whole system, but no supply total or reserve margin, so no supply-versus-demand balance can be shown.7 See 'Why this part of the metro is not rated.'

Did Nicor Gas customers lose gas this winter?

The pipeline notices describe pipeline operating conditions and name no Nicor Gas delivery point, so the documents read show no Nicor Gas event.3 See 'Official incident reports, local constraints and local conditions.' This page makes no prediction about outages.

What would allow Nicor Gas's suburbs to be rated?

A design day reserve margin or supply table for Nicor Gas, given in a filing or in writing by the utility.

Related case studies

Discovery Energy publishes gas capacity case studies for other metros, using the same method and outlook scale.

All gas capacity ratings by U.S. metro

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Notes

  1. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024, slides 7, 9 and 10) and near-final plan presentation (May 27, 2025, slide 10). Utility presentations to stakeholders, not regulatory filings. The design peak day total is in the slide's MMBtu column; its MWh column reads 1.48 million.
  2. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024, slides 7, 9 and 10) and near-final plan presentation (May 27, 2025, slide 10). Utility presentations to stakeholders, not regulatory filings. The design peak day total is in the slide's MMBtu column; its MWh column reads 1.48 million.
  3. ANR Pipeline Company, Weather Alert Notice 25967909, December 3, 2025, and Operational Flow Order Notice 25974432, January 21, 2026; Northern Border Pipeline Company, Operational Flow Order Notice 25974426, January 20, 2026. Pipeline notices from TC eConnects; the notices name no utility. ↩
  4. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024), slide 7, System overview (PDF page 7): design peak day total 5.1 million in the MMBtu column (1.48 million in the MWh column), split 55% residential, 33% commercial, 12% industrial. Utility presentation to stakeholders, not a regulatory filing. Figures are for the whole northern Illinois system, not allocated by county. The design peak day of 5.1 million in the MMBtu column is 1.48 million in the slide's MWh column. ↩
  5. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024), slide 7 (PDF page 7, peak storage delivery 2.55 million per day) and slide 10 (PDF page 10, storage provides nearly 50% of system demand on the design peak day). The 50% share is calculated by Discovery Energy as 2.55 million of 5.1 million. Whole northern Illinois system.
  6. ANR Pipeline Company, Weather Alert Notice 25967909, December 3, 2025 (episode 1, effective gas day 11/28/2025 through end of gas day 12/4/2025); Notice 25967925 (episode 2, effective gas day 12/12/2025 through end of gas day 12/16/2025); Notice 25972118 (episode 3, effective gas day 12/30/2025 through end of gas day 1/3/2026); Notice 25973609 (episode 4, effective gas day 1/17/2026 through end of gas day 1/22/2026); Notice 25984810 (episode 5, effective gas day 3/16/2026 through end of gas day 3/17/2026). Fuel segments ML2, ML3 and ML7. Five Phase 2 cold weather episodes in winter 2025-26 (1 November to 31 March) covering 33 distinct gas days, computed from the notices' stated dates. ↩
  7. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024, slides 7, 9 and 10) and near-final plan presentation (May 27, 2025, slide 10). Utility presentations to stakeholders, not regulatory filings. The design peak day total is in the slide's MMBtu column; its MWh column reads 1.48 million. ↩
  8. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024), slide 10 (PDF page 10): eight underground storage reservoirs, with peak deliverability of 2.5 Bcf/day, provide nearly 50% of Nicor Gas's system demand on the design peak day; slide 9 (PDF page 9): interconnected with eight interstate gas pipelines, not named, no contract volumes. Whole northern Illinois system. ↩
  9. Illinois Commerce Commission, Order on Reopening, Dockets 23-0068/23-0069 (April 9, 2026), procedural history (PDF page 2), which quotes the Illinois Appellate Court, Third District, decision of December 1, 2025 on Nicor Gas's appeal, vacating the Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan directed for Nicor Gas on the ground that the Commission exceeded its authority. ↩
  10. ANR Pipeline Company, Operational Flow Order Notice 25974432, January 21, 2026: Operational Flow Order for the ML-7 market zone effective gas day 1/22/26 and continuing through gas day 1/31/26. ↩
  11. Northern Border Pipeline Company, Capacity Constraint Notice 25975135, January 23, 2026: Des Plaines (DESPLN) delivery point reduced to primary only for gas day January 24, 2026; the notice gives no end date and names no utility. ↩
  12. ANR Pipeline Company, critical notices on TC eConnects posted October 1, 2025 to October 27, 2026 (a 451-notice export): manual browser download, October 27, 2026. The export holds no ANR notice before October 1, 2025, so only winter 2025-26 can be counted for ANR. ↩
  13. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024), slide 7 (PDF page 7): 2.28 million total customers across northern Illinois, a system that extends beyond the Chicago metropolitan area (the slide 7 map names Springfield, Peoria, Quad Cities, Rockford, Joliet and Bloomington). Not allocated by county. ↩
  14. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024), slide 7 (PDF page 7): peak storage delivery of 106,000 per hour and 2.55 million per day in the MMBtu column; slide 10 (PDF page 10): Nicor Gas operates eight underground gas storage reservoirs in Illinois, with no single reservoir share stated. Whole northern Illinois system. ↩
  15. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan overview presentation (September 26, 2024), slide 9 (PDF page 9): Nicor Gas is interconnected with eight interstate gas pipelines; the presentation does not name them or give contract volumes. ↩
  16. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan: Review of Near Final Plan presentation (May 27, 2025), slide 10, Major projects (PDF page 10): major projects over $5 million for 2026 to 2030 include storage and generation projects, transmission pipeline replacement and distribution replacement; the slide text read gives no capacity addition or supply figure. ↩
  17. ANR Pipeline Company, Operational Flow Order Notice 25975911, January 24, 2026: supplemental Operational Flow Order to all parties north of ANR's Sandwich Compressor Station in the ML-7 market zone, effective gas day Monday, January 26, 2026 through gas day Wednesday, January 28, 2026. ↩
  18. ANR Pipeline Company, Maintenance Notice 25981411, February 27, 2026: unplanned maintenance at Brandon Road Delivery (Michigan Leg South), capacity reduced to zero for 2/28 to 3/16 (later extended); Notice 25990124 lifted the capacity reduction on April 13, 2026; Notice 26306042 places the Michigan Leg South area in Will County, Illinois. ↩
  19. Northern Border Pipeline Company, Operational Flow Order Notice 25974426, January 20, 2026: low inventory Operational Flow Order, effective immediately and until further notice; Notice 25977009 lifted it effective January 28, 2026. ↩
  20. Northern Border Pipeline Company, Force Majeure Notice 25966618, November 25, 2025: force majeure at the Zeeland compressor station 8 (restricts flow past Glen Ullin), from 2025-11-26; Notice 25967108 lifted it, to 2025-11-28. A North Dakota receipt-side event, upstream of the Chicago area. ↩
  21. Northern Border Pipeline Company, Operational Flow Order Notice 25927834, February 19, 2025: underperformance Operational Flow Order, from 2025-02-19; Notice 25929310 lifted it, to 2025-02-21. ↩
  22. Northern Border Pipeline Company, Force Majeure Notice 25929231, March 5, 2025: force majeure at Garvin compressor station 12, from 2025-03-05; Notice 25929252 lifted it, to 2025-03-08. ↩
  23. Northern Border Pipeline Company, Force Majeure Notice 25889614, December 18, 2023 (Trimont compressor station, restricts flow past Glen Ullin, from 2023-12-19), and Operational Flow Order Notice 25891308, January 14, 2024 (receipt locations plus force majeure for cold weather, from 2024-01-14); Notice 25891324 lifted the Operational Flow Order and force majeure, to 2024-01-17. ↩
  24. ANR Pipeline Company critical notices export (a 451-notice export, posted 2025-10-01 to 2026-10-27) and Northern Border Pipeline Company critical notices export (a 335-notice export, posted 2023-08-18 to 2026-10-13) and non-critical notices export (a 487-notice export, posted 2022-01-19 to 2026-10-27), TC eConnects; manual browser downloads, October 27, 2026. Northern Border's critical export begins 2023-08-18 and its non-critical export begins 2022-01-19. ↩
  25. ANR Pipeline Company, Operational Flow Order Notice 25978016, February 6, 2026 (OFO report): the ML-7 order was implemented due to weather conditions that threatened ANR's ability to maintain line pack, and ANR allowed it to expire as originally posted at the end of gas day 1/31/2026. ↩
  26. ANR Pipeline Company, Operational Flow Order Notice 25975909, January 24, 2026: an underperformance is being called on two groups of Wisconsin delivery locations (named WISC GAS GRP 1 and WISC EPC GRP 1 in the notice) under the ML-7 Operational Flow Order. ↩
  27. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC, critical notices page (Kinder Morgan informational postings), first of three pages, saved October 26 and 27, 2026 and accessed October 27, 2026: 75 notices posted September 15, 2026 to October 26, 2026, of which 14 are typed OFO, curtailment, capacity constraint, force majeure or emergency (10 capacity constraint and 4 force majeure). Counts cover the newest 75 notices only, not the whole 90-day list. Context only. ↩
  28. NOAA Applied Climate Information System, monthly heating degree days base 65F and 1991-2020 normals for the Chicago O'Hare airport station; computed. Winter 2023-24: 4022 against a normal of 4839 (83.1%); 2024-25: 4556 against 4839 (94.2%); 2025-26: 4713 against 4839 (97.4%). ↩
  29. NOAA Applied Climate Information System, monthly heating degree days base 65F and 1991-2020 normals for the Chicago O'Hare airport station; computed. Winter 2023-24: 4022 against a normal of 4839 (83.1%); 2024-25: 4556 against 4839 (94.2%); 2025-26: 4713 against 4839 (97.4%). ↩
  30. ANR Pipeline Company critical notices were downloaded manually in a browser on October 27, 2026. The notices do not expand the fuel segment names ML2, ML3 and ML7 or the location group names, and name no utility. Pipeline notices.
  31. Northern Border Pipeline Company critical notices (posted August 18, 2023 to October 13, 2026) and non-critical notices (from January 19, 2022) were downloaded manually in a browser on October 27, 2026. Northern Border's receipt-side events in North Dakota are upstream of the Chicago area and are listed for completeness; the notices do not tie them to Nicor Gas.
  32. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC counts cover the 75 newest postings only.
  33. Missing records: Nicor Gas's tariff (interruption order); Nicor Gas's design day reserve margin or supply stack; the names of Nicor Gas's eight pipelines; ANR notices before October 2025; Natural, Panhandle, Trunkline, Guardian, Vector and Alliance notices.
  34. The NOAA heating degree day figures are computed.
  35. NOAA Climate Prediction Center, seasonal temperature outlook issued October 15, 2026, shapefiles lead1 (November to January) and lead2 (December to February) from ftp.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/GIS/us_tempprcpfcst/seastemp_202610.zip, read at each metro's coordinates. The map gives the favored category and the lower edge of its probability band; NOAA's own explanation (Link) keeps near-normal at 33.3% and gives the opposite category the rest, so the above-normal figure is a floor and the below-normal figure a ceiling. For November 2026 to January 2027 the outlook gives the Chicago suburbs area at least a 40% chance of above-normal temperatures, about 33% near-normal and no more than 27% below-normal. For December 2026 to February 2027 it gives at least a 50% chance of above-normal temperatures, about 33% near-normal and no more than 17% below-normal. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center issued these three-month outlooks on October 15, 2026. ↩
  36. Searches of October 28, 2026: EIA-860M September 2026 filtered to the Illinois metro counties; Federal Register FERC notices since July 30, 2026 for the pipelines that cross northern Illinois and for Nicor Gas. Not reviewed: Illinois Commerce Commission e-docket, FERC eLibrary, PJM queue, Illinois EPA permit notices, pipeline informational postings. ↩
  37. U.S. Energy Information Administration, EIA-860M September 2026, Planned generators, dated 2026-09, saved 2026-10-28; Planned sheet, ITT Cogen Facility rows GEN3 and GEN4, Cook County, IL. ↩
  38. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Federal Register), Guardian Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Scoping Period Requesting Comments on Environmental Issues for the Proposed Guardian 3 Expansion Project, CP26-548-000, dated 2026-08-03, saved 2026-10-28; Notice, first paragraph. FERC's notices say the project would build facilities in Kendall, DeKalb, McHenry and Will counties, Illinois, and two Wisconsin counties.
  39. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Federal Register), Guardian Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Schedule for the Preparation of an Environmental Assessment for the Guardian 3 Expansion Project, CP26-548-000, dated 2026-09-29, saved 2026-10-28; Notice, first paragraph. ↩
  40. DT Midstream (Guardian Pipeline), Guardian Pipeline G3 Expansion Project fact sheet, CP26-548-000, dated 2026-08-12, saved 2026-10-28; PDF page 1. The fact sheet says five gas distribution companies support the project, without naming them.
  41. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Federal Register), Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC; Horizon Pipeline Company, L.L.C.; Notice of Application and Establishing Intervention Deadline, CP26-564-000, dated 2026-08-24, saved 2026-10-28; Notice of application, project description. ↩
  42. Method for the winter table: Discovery Energy counted each distinct event once from the ANR and Northern Border notice exports downloaded manually on October 27, 2026 (sources in the notes above). Gas days are counted from the dates stated in the notices. A winter is 1 November to 31 March. The table covers only the winters for which an export was available. ↩
  43. The metro area is defined by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB Bulletin No. 23-01, Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, July 21, 2023. The Illinois counties of the metro are Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will.

Sources

  1. Nicor Gas, Long-Term Gas Infrastructure Plan presentations, September 26, 2024 and May 27, 2025. Link
  2. Illinois Commerce Commission, Dockets 23-0068/23-0069 (cons.), Order on Reopening, April 9, 2026. Link
  3. ANR Pipeline Company and Northern Border Pipeline Company, critical and non-critical notices, TC eConnects, saved October 27, 2026.
  4. Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America LLC, Critical Notices (Kinder Morgan informational postings), saved October 26 and 27, 2026. Link
  5. NOAA Applied Climate Information System, monthly heating degree days. Link
  6. Office of Management and Budget, OMB Bulletin No. 23-01, Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, July 21, 2023.

Sources: Discovery Energy compilation from public FERC-required pipeline operational notices, capacity reports, and Indexes of Customers postings as published by the interstate pipelines serving this metro, and from public gas-utility documents. Discovery Energy is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any pipeline, utility, or regulator named on this page. All trademarks and names remain the property of their respective owners. Counts, summaries, tables, and charts are original Discovery Energy compilations; readers should verify against the cited notices. Data current as of October 27, 2026. For information only and not a guarantee of future pipeline operations, capacity, or pricing.