Guidance needed on use of natural gas price escalator clauses

Technical Report · Fri Jul 25 04:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6714845· OSTI ID:6714845

Staats, E. B.

Congressional intent has been unclear concerning the use of price escalator clauses in existing natural gas contracts to obtain Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 prices. In December 1978, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued interim regulations disallowing the use of such clauses. Subsequently, the Commission issued several orders, one of which reversed the original decision concerning these clauses. After the reversal, affected parties petitioned the courts to review the legality of these actions. The Commission should establish a system to monitor the results of its price escalator clause decisions. In future situations involving energy issues of national importance, it should seek clarification of congressional intent when appropriate and analyze economic impacts before making decisions. The Congress should consider amending the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 to provide guidance on the price escalator clause issue.

• Research Organization: General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6714845
• Report Number(s): EMD-80-53
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
030600* -- Natural Gas-- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294003 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Natural Gas
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
LAWS
NATIONAL ENERGY ACT
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT
PRICING REGULATIONS
REGULATIONS
US DOE
US FERC
US ORGANIZATIONS