New ENSTAR gas hookups on an existing main would cost $49 to $136 more in 2027

Customers connecting where a main already exists get no allowance and face only increases: $46 more for the service line plus $3 to $90 for the meter. ENSTAR Natural Gas Company has filed an annual construction cost update with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska that would raise most connection charges starting January 1, 2027, if approved.

ENSTAR projects about 1,600 new customers under the new schedule. The filing, Tariff Advice Letter 360-4, was submitted July 31.

The installed cost of two-inch plastic main would rise from $29.25 to $30.72 a foot, up 5.0 percent, based on $19,044,631 of actual work across 619,914 feet built between 2021 and 2025. The basic service line fee would rise from $1,091 to $1,137, and meter installation charges would rise for five sizes, from $3 for G1 to $90 for G4 Low. Two would fall: G3 High from $3,452 to $3,226, and G4 High from $5,411 to $4,439.

Offsetting this, standard load allowances, which determine how much main ENSTAR builds free, would rise for G1, G2 and G3 and fall for G4. The classes track average annual use, from about 140 thousand cubic feet a year for G1 to 7,380 for G4. The tariff sheet puts the G1 allowance at $811 rising to $927, G3 at $5,983 rising to $6,380, and G4 falling $553.

Netting allowances against fees leaves most classes ahead, from about $35 for G2 to about $577 for G3 High, while G4 Low would end up roughly $689 behind. ENSTAR did not present this calculation, and no party has confirmed it.

ENSTAR also asks to permanently move its filing deadline from May 1 to August 1, cutting the gap between filing and the January 1 effective date from about eight months to five. Customers, builders, developers and other interested parties "will continue to have adequate notice," the filing says.

The charges are not on ENSTAR's public fees page, which refers readers to "Contact the Marketing Department for construction charges." Comments closed August 18. The Commission accepted validated tariff sheets by letter order on September 3, though that was not approval. ENSTAR asked for approval at the end of the standard 45-day review period, running to about September 14, 2026; the filing was still pending on September 4.