MCCLOUD LATERAL OPEN SEASON

on EL PASO NATURAL GAS COMPANY, L.L.C. (“Transporter”)

Bid Deadline: March 30, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time (“MT”)

Portable Document Format (.pdf) file of Open Season: https://pipeline2.kindermorgan.com/PortalWeb/PortalDocs.aspx?code=EPNG&parent=1600

In response to market interest, El Paso Natural Gas Company, L.L.C. (“Transporter”) is conducting this binding McCloud Lateral Open Season (this “Open Season”) for firm natural gas transportation service on a new lateral pipeline off Transporter's pipeline system as further described below (the “McCloud Lateral”). Transporter proposes to provide the lateral capacity described below (the “Project Capacity”) by constructing additional facilities, including an approximate 5-mile, 16” (outside diameter) pipeline lateral upstream of the El Paso Compressor Station, ending at a new delivery meter station to be included with this Open Season (the “Expansion Project Facilities”).

The purpose of this Open Season is to solicit binding commitments for the Project Capacity from bidders that are willing to commit to such firm transportation service under terms and conditions described below and in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and the terms of Transporter's FERC Gas Tariff, Third Revised Volume No. 1A (the “Tariff”).

Project Information:

General Open Season Requirements:

To bid, complete the attached binding bid sheet and e-mail it to KMWestBids@KinderMorgan.com on or before the Open Season End Date.

Open Season Start Date: March 16, 2026, at 2:00 PM MT

Open Season End Date: March 30, 2026, at 2:00 PM MT

Award Notification Deadline: April 7, 2026, at 4:00 PM MT

Transporter will rely upon the time an e-mailed bid is received to determine whether a bid is timely. Bids that are received after the Open Season End Date (as determined by the time stamp on Transporter's e-mail inbox) will be considered invalid bids and will not be eligible for an award of capacity in this Open Season. Transporter recommends that bids be submitted well in advance of the Open Season End Date to minimize the risk that any e-mail delay could cause a bid to be excluded from consideration.

Bid sheets must include the bidder's name, the name of this Open Season (i.e., “McCloud Lateral Open Season”), the quantity of Project Capacity, the term, and the rate.

By submitting a bid sheet, a bidder certifies that: (a) all information contained in its bid sheet is complete, true, and accurate in all respects; (b) it satisfies, or will be able to satisfy, all the requirements of the Tariff and the requirements of this Open Season; and (c) the person submitting the bid sheet has full authority to bind the bidder.

A bidder may have only one bid sheet pending for evaluation at a time in this Open Season. A submitted bid sheet for this Open Season, however, may be withdrawn by providing written notice of withdrawal to Transporter prior to the Open Season End Date and using the same process as submitting bid sheets as described above. Transporter will use the time and date stamp on Transporter's e-mail box to determine a timely withdrawal. Once a submitted bid sheet is withdrawn, another subsequent bid sheet may be submitted by the same bidder if and only if the subsequent bid is at a higher present value (“PV”). Any subsequent bid with a PV equal to or lower than the withdrawn bid will be considered invalid.

Bids submitted in this Open Season on or before the Open Season End Date that have not been properly withdrawn or considered invalid will constitute a binding irrevocable offer by the bidder to contract for capacity. The award of capacity in this Open Season will be an acceptance of the offer and the parties shall be contractually bound at that time.

In addition to the bid rate(s), each bidder shall be subject to the applicable maximum usage rate and maximum usage surcharges, all other maximum rates, charges and surcharges, including, but not limited to, ACA, Fuel and Lost and Unaccounted-for gas (“L&U”), Electric Power Costs, and any other authorized surcharges assessed under the applicable Rate Schedule of the Tariff as may change from time to time.

Transporter reserves the right to reject bids that are incomplete, contain offers of varying rates within the term, contain additional or modified terms, or are inconsistent with the provisions of the Tariff or this Open Season. Transporter will not consider bids that reflect varying quantities during the same month year over year for the duration of the term. Finally, the term must begin on the In-Service Date, or if not the In-Service Date, another date requested and explained by bidder, and end on the last day of the applicable month.

Transporter reserves the right to seek clarification of any bid (including, without limitation, the rate, quantity, term, or receipt or delivery point(s)) but shall not be required to do so. To be considered, any responding clarification by bidders must be provided in writing and within the time requested by Transporter. Such clarifications shall be incorporated as part of the binding bid submitted by the bidder and, in the case of conflict with the earlier submitted binding bid, the timely submitted written clarification shall control.

Bids must provide that, subject at all times to FERC's approval of the particular costs, cost recovery mechanism(s) and manner of recovery in question, Transporter shall be entitled to recovery of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Costs incurred by Transporter attributable to natural gas transported for bidder. As used herein “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Costs” means (a) the cost of any carbon emissions tax or other greenhouse gas assessment that is imposed on Transporter, and/or (b) the cost of any greenhouse gas mitigation efforts, including the costs of credits and offsets that Transporter incurs to comply with any greenhouse gas laws, rules or regulations. If (x) Transporter is unsuccessful in having the FERC-approved Greenhouse Gas Emissions Costs incurred by it recovered through a FERC-approved surcharge applicable to all shippers, and (y) such amounts are recoverable only through Transporter's FERC-approved recourse rates, then bidder will agree to modify the negotiated reservation rate by the amount of Transporter's maximum reservation rate under Rate Schedule FT-1 that is attributable to such Greenhouse Gas Emissions costs.

Creditworthiness Requirements:

Successful bidder(s) must demonstrate, and maintain throughout the term of the applicable FTSA, satisfaction of creditworthiness in the manner set forth below:

(a)        If a bidder is rated by Standard & Poor's Corporation (“S&P”) and/or Moody's Investor Service (“Moody's”) (hereinafter referred to as a “Rated Bidder”), then the Rated Bidder shall be deemed creditworthy by Transporter if: (i) the Rated Bidder's senior unsecured debt securities are rated at least BBB- by S&P or Baa3 by Moody's (in the event the Rated Bidder is rated differently by multiple agencies, the lowest rating shall be used in making such determination); and (ii) the Rated Bidder is not under review for possible downgrade by S&P and/or Moody's to a level below that set forth in subpart (i) of this paragraph (a).

(b)        If at any time prior to or during the term of any FTSA executed in connection with this Open Season, a Rated Bidder's S&P or Moody's rating falls below the levels described above, or a Rated Bidder becomes unrated or otherwise fails to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (a) above, then for the time period that the Rated Bidder's ratings are below that level or a Rated Bidder is unrated or is otherwise unable to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (a) above, Rated Bidder shall satisfy its creditworthiness obligation by providing one of the forms of credit support described in paragraph (c) below. If a Rated Bidder subsequently becomes able to satisfy the S&P or and Moody's rating levels described in paragraph (a) above, the Rated Bidder may immediately satisfy its creditworthiness obligations in the manner provided in paragraph (a) above.

(c)        If at any time and from time to time bidder is unable to satisfy its creditworthiness obligations in the manner set forth in paragraph (a) above, then bidder shall satisfy its creditworthiness obligations by providing and maintaining, at its option: (i) an irrevocable, unconditional guarantee of its obligations in connection with this Open Season, and any related FTSA executed in connection with this Open Season, reasonably acceptable to Transporter, and issued by another person or entity which satisfies the creditworthiness standards set forth in paragraph (a); or (ii) an irrevocable letter of credit from a bank reasonably acceptable to Transporter, and equal to the lesser of 36 months, or the period of time remaining in the term, of the anticipated charges in connection with this Open Season, and any related FTSA executed in connection with this Open Season; or (iii) such other credit arrangements which are mutually agreed to by Transporter and bidder, and which are accepted by Transporter on a nondiscriminatory basis.

To the extent evidence of bidder's creditworthiness is not publicly available, upon reasonable request by Transporter, bidder shall promptly provide evidence to Transporter of bidder's creditworthiness, which Transporter may share with its lenders or creditors or any nationally recognized rating agency that is then maintaining a rating of Transporter's debt securities.

If any change in ratings or conditions requires bidder to change the manner in which it demonstrates its satisfaction of its creditworthiness requirements, bidder shall make that demonstration (including, if necessary, the provision of any irrevocable unconditional guarantee or irrevocable letter of credit) within 15 business days of the change in ratings or conditions requiring the new demonstration of creditworthiness.

Bidders that fail to satisfy the creditworthiness requirements of this section within a reasonable time will have their capacity award withdrawn. Transporter reserves the right to seek any and all permitted remedies as a result of the breach of the bid. Transporter will treat any financial statements provided by bidders as confidential.

Execution of FTSA:

Each successful bidder and Transporter shall enter into and execute a Firm Transportation Service Agreement (a “FTSA”) reflecting the terms of its bid as awarded by Transporter. All successful bidders shall execute and return a FTSA within the earlier of the day before the first day of the term of firm transportation service in the bid as awarded by Transporter or 20 business days following the day Transporter tenders it to the bidder (“Execution Date”). If a successful bidder fails to fully execute and return the FTSA on or before the Execution Date, then Transporter reserves the right to cancel the successful bidder's binding bid without prejudice as to Transporter's right to seek any and all permitted remedies as a result of the successful bidder's failure to execute the FTSA. The FTSA will be in the form contained in the Tariff, with certain additional non-conforming provisions consistent with the requirements and conditions set forth in this Open Season related to creditworthiness and the construction of incremental facilities required to provide transportation service. A contractual right of first refusal (“ROFR”) is offered with the Project Capacity and will be included in the FTSA. Transporter and any successful bidder may mutually agree to enter into and execute more than one FTSA that together reflect all the terms of the successful bid as awarded by Transporter.

Evaluation Criteria:

If Transporter receives acceptable bids for capacity in excess of the actual amount of available capacity, then Transporter will award the capacity in a manner that yields the highest total PV as calculated below. In the event two or more bidders have the same highest total PV, allocations of capacity on a pro rata basis will not be considered for this Open Season; rather, Transporter may consider any necessary modifications to the scope of the Expansion Project Facilities. 

The PV for each month will be calculated as follows: PV = (R x Q)/((1+i) to the power of n)

Where: R = the monthly reservation bid rate

Q = the monthly bid volume

i = the monthly discount rate of 0.0060% (which is the annual discount rate of 7.20% divided by 12)

n = with respect to a month during the bid term during which revenue will be received, the number of months from January 1, 2027 (such date being the earliest date the Project Capacity is expected to be available in this Open Season) (for example, n = 1 for January 2027, n = 2 for February 2027, and so on)

Additional Reservations and Conditions:

In connection with this Open Season, successful bidders may submit a future request for the reformation and/or combination of bidder's Transportation Service Agreement(s) in accordance with Transporter's Tariff.  Transporter may consider such requests provided they are at least revenue neutral to Transporter and acceptable in all other respects at the sole discretion of Transporter.  Following this process, if no existing firm Transportation Service Agreements include Enchanted Rock as a primary Receipt Point, Transporter may retire the Enchanted Rock Receipt Point.

Bids for some or all of the Project Capacity at rates stated in the Tariff, including maximum recourse rate bids, may not provide sufficient economic justification for Transporter's capital investment in the Expansion Project Facilities. Accordingly, Transporter reserves the right to reject all bids received in connection with this Open Season and cancel the proposed Expansion Project Facilities if it does not receive adequate bids for quantities and terms that are necessary to economically justify capital investment in the Expansion Project Facilities.  Furthermore, Transporter reserves the right to modify the scope of the Expansion Project Facilities to meet awarded capacity or potential requests from multiple bidders. 

Construction of the Expansion Project Facilities is subject to Transporter's receipt of the appropriate management committee and/or board of directors of Transporter and/or its parent companies' consents.  Further, the Project Capacity in this Open Season is subject to all necessary approvals, licenses, right-of-ways, permits, and other authorizations required for the construction, maintenance and operation of the Expansion Project Facilities, including any required interconnect agreements, in a form and substance satisfactory to Transporter, in its sole discretion.

Although this is a binding Open Season, Transporter reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to consider requests received after the Open Season End Date, including requests to modify a bidder's validly submitted bid, but will be under no obligation to do so. Requests for capacity received after the Open Season End Date will be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Open Season.

Transporter reserves the right to, upon notice at any time and in its sole discretion, terminate this Open Season, extend any date or time specified in this Open Season, amend or supplement the terms of this Open Season, or otherwise modify this Open Season. In addition, Transporter reserves the right to reject any bid which fails to comport with the provisions of this Open Season in any respect.

Capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Tariff.

Contact Information:

Questions concerning this Open Season should be directed to:

Tim Dorpinghaus          (719) 520-4245

Ken Ulrich                   (719) 520-3712

Beth Gerber                 (719) 520-4856

Seth Wright                  (281) 229-3956

Open Season Binding Bid Sheet Follows

OPEN SEASON BINDING BID SHEET

**McCloud Lateral Open Season**

E-mail Bid To: KMWestBids@KinderMorgan.com

A.         Bidder Information:

Legal Name of Bidder:                                                                         

Name of Requesting Party:                                                                                                                               

Title of Requesting Party:                                                                                                                                             

DUNS Number:                                                                                   

Phone:                                                                                                             

B.         Requested Service Term:

Requested Term Start Date:                                            Expansion Project Facilities in-service date is anticipated to be January 1, 2027 (the “In-Service Date”).  If bidder seeks a start date after the In-Service Date, please provide the requested date and the reason therefor.  If bidder seeks to begin service on the In-Service Date, then bidder may simply provide “In-Service Date” in the blank above. 

Note: A Requested Term Start Date shall not be earlier than January 1, 2027, as the In-Service Date is anticipated for January 1, 2027. For bids with a term starting on the In-Service Date, the present value calculation will assume a start date of January 1, 2027.

Requested Term End Date:                                             (minimum term of 4 years after the Requested Term Start Date as provided above     (with the contract ending on the last day of the applicable month))

C.         Transportation Contract Demand (Rate Schedule FT-1):

*Available Project Capacity is up to 167,000 Dth/day

D.        Reservation Rate:

        Negotiated Rate: $ _____ per Dth per month or $ _____ per Dth per day. A Negotiated Rate will be fixed and not subject to the applicable maximum or minimum rates stated in Transporter's FERC Gas Tariff, Third Revised Volume No. 1A (“Tariff”), as such rates may change from time to time.  A daily Negotiated Rate will be converted to a monthly rate by multiplying the daily rate times 365 and dividing the result by 12, rounded to the fourth decimal place.

         Other: _________(i.e., the applicable maximum rate stated in the Tariff as that rate may change from time to time).  Maximum recourse rate bids may not provide sufficient economic justification for Transporter's capital investment in the Expansion Project Facilities.

E.         Applicability of Usage and Other Charges:

In addition to the bid rate(s), successful bidders will be subject to the applicable maximum usage rate and maximum usage surcharges, all other maximum rates, charges and surcharges, including, but not limited to, ACA, Fuel and L&U, Electric Power Costs, and any other authorized surcharges assessed under the applicable Rate Schedule of the Tariff as may change from time to time.

* By submitting this binding bid to Transporter, the bidder certifies that (a) all information contained in the request is complete, true, and accurate, (b) it satisfies, or will be able to satisfy, all the requirements of the Tariff and the requirements set forth in the McCloud Lateral Open Season notice, and (c) the person submitting the bid has full authority to bind the bidder.