Toolbox Topics - Environmental Gas deregulation offers consumers new alternatives Users can select suppliers, buy direct from producers Thanks to deregulation, users of natural gas have options today that previously did not exist. Natural gas usage in the United States has shown substantial gains during the past decade. As consumption has increased, the industry has gone through some dramatic market and regulatory restructuring. In a climate where deregulation is becoming more and more popular, natural gas distribution and service has joined the competitive ranks of other utilities, such as telephone companies and electricity suppliers.
Deregulation means the historical monopolies granted to a few large utilities are being eliminated.
Competition among natural gas marketers and service providers is becoming the norm. Price controls were gradually removed from domestically produced gas. Further restructuring came through two orders promulgated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency that regulates interstate gas pipelines and gas sales under the natural gas act. Those orders split the commodity purchase of natural gas from the transmission service through the pipelines. Historically, people contracted for the supply and delivery of natural gas from a company that had the exclusive franchise for the region in which they lived or their business was located.