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Regulation and deregulation of natural gas in the US: 1938-1985

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5047975· OSTI ID:5047975
Public policy towards natural gas has swung first towards, and then away from regulation in this century. In 1906, the Congress specifically excluded natural gas from the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Three decades later, a New Deal Congress passed the Natural Gas Act of 1938 bringing pipelines under the control of the Federal Power Commission (FDC). Forty years thereafter, the Congress passed a phased decontrol bill, the Natural Gas Policy Act (NGPA) of 1978, as part of the Carter Administration's National Energy Plan. Recently, the Congress has backed off from New Deal legislation in other markets - notably aviation and trucking. In this study, the rise and fall of economic regulation in the natural gas industry are examined to understand: (1) why public policy has followed a pendulum's path, and (2) the economic consequences of regulation and deregulation. The main part of the analysis is directed toward the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978. Widely viewed as a deregulation measure, the author finds that the Act is more restrictive and burdensome than the pricing policies it superceded. The path toward deregulation in natural gas and perhaps other markets is not as direct or simple as might be expected.
Research Organization:
Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (USA). John Fitzgerald Kennedy School of Government
DOE Contract Number:
AM01-79PE70106
OSTI ID:
5047975
Report Number(s):
DOE/PE/70106-T3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030600* -- Natural Gas-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
293000 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Policy
Legislation
& Regulation
294003 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Natural Gas
DEREGULATION
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INCREMENTAL-COST PRICING
INDUSTRY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
POLITICAL ASPECTS
PRICES
WELLHEAD PRICES