TC Energy (TRP) plans to invest $1.5B to meet load growth on the Columbia Gas system, part of a trend of growing natural gas demand from data centers and power plants based in the Midwest.
TRP announced the expansion, the Appalachian Supply project, on May 1 in its 1Q26 earnings update. The 800 MMcf/d expansion is backed by a 20-year contract with an investor-grade utility and has an expected build multiple of 7.3x, the company said. The project will serve new power generation load.
Appalachian Supply has an anticipated in-service date in 2030, and can potentially be expanded up to 2 Bcf/d with additional compression. On the earnings call, executives said they expect demand on the Columbia Gas system will expand 4 Bcf/d by 2035.
Columbia Gas Transmission extends from Ohio through the mid-Atlantic region. The sprawling system spans nearly 12,000 miles and 10 states, connecting to Appalachian production and storage, as well as major interstate pipelines like ANR, Texas Eastern, Tennessee, and Panhandle Eastern.
East Daley has highlighted the outlook for growing gas demand in the Midwest, spurred by data center development and opportunities to convert older coal plants. TC Energy owns several key pipelines in the region, including ANR, Columbia Gas and Crossroads, and is well positioned to capitalize on this growth (see map from TRP investor relations).
The company recently completed two successful non-binding open seasons that confirm the market upside.
One, an open season to expand Columbia Gas to serve new load in the Columbus, OH area, closed on Jan. 9. That project had targeted 500 MMcf of new capacity, yet the open season received ~1.5 Bcf/d in total bids, TRP said. It is unclear if Appalachian Supply is designed to meet customer interest from that open season.
A second open season to expand the 300 MMcf/d Crossroads Pipeline by 1.5 Bcf/d closed in mid-March. That open season was 2.5 times oversubscribed. TRP is still working through the bids to determine the best approach to expand Crossroads, management said on the earnings call.
It is unclear if the two open seasons are related. Crossroads spans just over 200 miles from northwest Ohio to the Indiana/Illinois border, where several developers have proposed new data centers around Chicago. TC Energy could potentially build a lateral from Crossroads to connect to Columbia Gas Transmission, allowing Appalachian supply to flow into the Chicago market.
Another option is to use Panhandle Eastern or ANR as connectors between Columbia Gas and Crossroads. On the earnings call, executives said they intend to link assets with access to low-cost supply, like Columbia Gas, to systems like ANR that serve long-duration demand.
Taken together, the projects suggest TRP is positioning Columbia Gas and Crossroads to capture accelerating gas demand tied to data centers, electrification and new gas-fired generation across the Midwest and Northeast. – Alec Gravelle Tickers: TRP.
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East Daley Analytics will host our monthly Production Stream webinar on Wednesday, May 27. Midstream infrastructure is becoming the defining bottleneck in North American energy markets — and the value of infrastructure is poised to rise significantly in the years ahead:
- US natural gas pipelines are operating at high utilization rates, making firm transportation increasingly strategic and valuable.
- Emerging demand like data centers and LNG export facilities require reliable baseload supply.
- Combined, we expect these sectors to drive more than 20 Bcf/d of long-term natural gas demand by 2030.
- Crude pipeline systems are facing similar constraints as producers push utilization limits to move oil to the coast.
- Fractionation bottlenecks in the Permian continue to tighten NGL logistics, raising critical questions about how the industry will respond.
Our analysts will break down emerging infrastructure constraints, and their implications for the future of midstream energy and new investment opportunities. Join our Production Stream webinar on Wednesday, May 27.
Download Part II of East Daley’s Permian Basin White Paper Series
The Permian Basin’s next big buildout is already taking shape, but this time the driver isn’t crude oil. In The Permian Basin at a Crossroads: Why This Pipeline Boom is Different, East Daley Analytics’ latest white paper reveals how gas demand from AI data centers, utilities and LNG exports is rewriting the midstream playbook in the leading US basin. Over 10 Bcf/d of new capacity and $12 billion in investments are reshaping flows, turning the Permian into a gas powerhouse even as rigs decline. Read Part II: Why This Pipeline Boom is Different
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