A trial run has begun at using a pipeline service to set a floor under notoriously shaky Canadian natural gas prices on TC Energy Corp.’s supply collection grid in Alberta and British Columbia (BC), Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL).

Titled “transfers to storage,” the service counters market cycles. During gas demand lows, shippers direct NGTL to divert surpluses to sites operated by six regional storage firms. As consumption grows, NGTL accepts orders for flows out of storage.

In a report to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), NGTL predicted the storage service would be extended beyond its scheduled expiration at the end of March 2022. It could be made permanent after incorporating lessons learned in the current trial period, which was approved by CER in...