Natural gas: the controls are on you
The economic and political aspects of natural gas deregulation have to be examined in their historical context in order to make sense. Regulation of natural gas dates from the 1930s when Congress responded to concerns about the interstate sale of gas by passing the Natural Gas Act. The 1954 Phillips v. Wisconsin court decision established the two-tiered market and presented the Federal Power Commission with a system that defied logical regulations. Price controls led to the supply shortages of the 1970s, which were only relieved by the decontrolled intrastate market that created a surplus of natural gas. Congress began facing the fact that only decontrol of the interstate market would solve long-term supply problems when it passed the Emergency Natural Gas Act of 1977 and eventually the Natural Gas Policy Act in 1978, but political pressures to control prices have continued despite the lesson that the market approach works best. (DCK)
- Research Organization:
- Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC
- OSTI ID:
- 6729359
- Journal Information:
- Inquiry Mag.; (United States), Journal Name: Inquiry Mag.; (United States) Vol. 5:12; ISSN IMAGD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
031000 -- Natural Gas-- Legislation & Regulations
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294003* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Natural Gas
ECONOMIC IMPACT
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
MARKET
NATURAL GAS
POLITICAL ASPECTS
REGULATIONS