Washington's Energy Indicators

23.  Energy Price Trends — Average Natural Gas Prices by Sector

NATURAL GAS PRICES INCREASED RAPIDLY FOR ALL SECTORS BETWEEN 1974 AND 1982 AND DECLINED JUST AS RAPIDLY FROM 1982 TO 1991. INDUSTRIAL SECTOR GAS PRICES HAVE DECLINED SINCE 1993, WHILE RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL RATES HAVE SEEN MODEST INCREASES.

Price trends for natural gas have been much more uniform across sectors than for electricity. For all sectors, real prices were stable in the early 1970s, increased rapidly between 1974 and 1982, and declined just as rapidly between 1982 and 1991. As with electricity, the price increases during the 1970s were of similar magnitude in all sectors on a per unit basis, but were much larger in percentage terms for the industrial sector. Real natural gas prices increased by approximately 50¢ per therm for all sectors between 1973 and 1982.

Price trends have diverged since 1993. Residential and commercial customers have seen price increases of 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively, between 1993 and 1995. Average industrial sector natural gas prices declined by 18 percent over the same time period. Many large industrial customers have begun to make bulk purchases of commodity gas from suppliers other than their local utilities.

Contents | 1999 Biennial Energy Report | WEPG Home Page | Next Indicator