ABSTRACT
Natural gas is one of the most plentiful fuels that is found in the contiguous United States. Natural gas interstate regulation is the responsibility of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. As a rule, interstate entities wholesale the majority of their natural gas to for-profit investor-owned companies, municipalities, and cooperatives who in turn are regulated by their respective regulatory agencies. At the federal level, natural gas is more deregulated than at the state level. However, outside of these same Texas municipalities is an entity called the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the natural gas utilities. Generally, when municipalities undertake the duties of the LDC, they are purchasing the natural gas on a wholesale basis and then retailing the natural gas to their residential, commercial, and industrial customers. As in the case with all LDC regulatory agencies, due process must occur before changes can be made with respect to rates and conditions under which natural gas is provided.
