FTC Approves Modification of Final Order Related to NEXUS Gas Transmission, LLC, a Natural Gas Joint Venture

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a petition by DTE Energy Company to reopen and modify the FTC’s 2019 final order. The order remedied the agency’s competition concerns arising from the acquisition of Generation Pipeline LLC by NEXUS Gas Transmission, LLC, a natural gas joint venture formerly between DTE Energy Company and Enbridge Inc. It required the parties to remove a non-compete clause from the sales agreement prior to closing and prohibited Nexus, DTE, and Enbridge from participating in any agreement that restricts competition with another provider of natural gas pipeline transportation in parts of the Ohio counties of Lucas, Ottawa, and Wood.

DTE has since spun off its non-utility natural gas pipeline, storage, and gathering business, including its interest in Nexus, to a separate corporate entity, DT Midstream, Inc. As a result, DTE no longer has any natural gas pipeline transportation assets or business in the three-county area addressed by the order. Through the spin-off, DT Midstream has become a successor to DTE with respect to the order.

Further, DT Midstream has certified its agreement to become a party to the order, and to comply with its obligations. Since DTE no longer has any natural gas pipeline assets in the three-county area, it no longer needs to be bound by the order. And, since DT Midstream, which now owns DTE’s assets, has agreed to be bound by the order, the FTC’s order in this matter remains in full effect. Accordingly, the Commission voted 4-0 to approve DTE’s petition to reopen and modify the order to remove it from the order.