ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the history, the adjustments made by the markets and regulatory bodies to Congressional legislation and Court decisions, and the possible future course of gas markets. The natural gas market traces its roots back to 1821 where the first natural gas well was put on production in Fredonia, New York. The basic market and system of regulations that would eventually evolve to include natural gas were already being developed for manufactured gas. The principal stimulus for the building of these lines was the industrial user, large markets that could immediately switch from coal and start paying for the pipelines. From 1954 until 1978, the interstate natural gas market labored under the influence of the Phillips decision. The 1979 Iranian revolution sent oil prices soaring and destroyed the logic that went into the gas price ceilings that were designed to allow for a smooth convergence of oil and gas prices.
