The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) has greenlit the construction and operation of Canadian Utilities’ Yellowhead Mainline natural gas project amid growing demand from Western Canada. The 146-mile, 36-inch diameter natural gas transmission system would run from the Peers area in west-central Alberta to the Fort Saskatchewan industrial region northeast of Edmonton. [Follow Canadian gas from AECO to Dawn: Track border prices and flows at Sumas, Emerson, PNGTS and more with NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index — data is updated every business day.] Atco executives emphasized that the pipeline is fully contracted, highlighting strong regional demand to support expanding petrochemical manufacturing, power generation and natural gas processing in Alberta’s industrial heartland. Natural gas prices at the AECO hub in Western Canada have picked up in the last few years as LNG exports started out of British Columbia, but still remain at a steep discount to US benchmark Henry Hub.