Despite the fact that your eyes are probably squinting from all of the syllables in the title, understanding how deregulation affects your natural gas service is not as complicated as it may seem.
The structure of the natural gas industry has changed dramatically since the 50's. Extremely low selling prices in the early 50's meant a lot of demand from customers, and a severe lack of supply from gas companies. Fast forward to the late 70's.
The Natural Gas Policy Act in 1978 began the landslide that would change the industry forever. For the first time natural gas prices at the source—what is called the wellhead— were gradually shedding their caps or ceiling. The prices were originally regulated to protect you and other consumers from price gouging, but only hurt in the long run by contributing to the supply shortage.
Jan. 1, 1993 marked the beginning of the end for price regulations at the wellhead, and allowed gas to be sold to end users—a.k.a the customers—free of federal price regulations. So what exactly does this mean? Now marketers such as the natural gas companies at GasGeorgia.com are able to offer you choice and savings—something that didn't exist prior to policy changes. Before the move to deregulation, the natural gas companies were unable to offer the kind of unique pricing and products that they can now in fully deregulated states.
How does this impact Georgia natural gas customers? "What is Natural Gas Deregulation - Part Two: What this means for Georgians" will further shed light on your options as a natural gas consumer.
