Enbridge should reconsider Line 5 tunnel boring project, IEEFA report says

Enbridge Energy's plan to bore a tunnel between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to replace an underwater segment of Line 5 is costly and ill-advised, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The report shows that the aging pipeline is servicing a market that is likely to decline and is facing additional challenges that will make it costly to maintain operations.

The tunnel project’s purpose is to replace a set of two old pipeline segments that lay on the bottom of the lakebed, part of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline. IEEFA’s report shows that a tunnel pipeline will likely be more costly than project proponents have disclosed publicly to date.

“Enbridge should reconsider its current business strategy of pouring billions of dollars into redesigning troubled segments of the Line 5 pipeline,” said Suzanne Mattei, IEEFA energy policy analyst and co-author of the report. “An expeditious but well-planned approach for closing Line 5 would not only relieve Enbridge of debt burdens and significant litigation battles related to the projects, but also would allow the company to chart a more flexible energy transition course.”

IEEFA reviewed testimony and documentation in proceedings on the matter, evaluations produced by stock and bond analysts, and information from other pertinent sources to create their report. 

"Electrification and other technologies are increasingly competitive with Line 5’s products. Enbridge should consider the long-term wisdom of a non-pipeline solution to the Line 5 quandary," IEEFA concluded.

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