About NGSA and Membership

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The Natural Gas Supply Association represents integrated and independent companies that produce and market domestic natural gas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NGSA helps members identify and analyze major natural gas policy issues, develop positions, and work toward their implementation. Activities center on encouraging expanded use of natural gas and a regulatory climate that fosters competitive markets.

NGSA Goals

NGSA supports:

A natural gas industry based on market principles as expressed, for instance, through the Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Order No. 636.
Federal and state policies that expand or enhance marketplace competition, that permit all fuels to compete without discrimination, and that recognize that all natural gas producers must cope with the high-risk nature of natural gas exploration and production.
An expanded natural gas marketplace through:
- Use of natural gas to improve environmental quality.
- Information standards that reduce the complexity of transactions within the natural gas marketplace.
- Integration of the North American pipeline grid.

NGSA Issues

NGSA's current focus includes:

Transmission issues that affect producers' ability to move gas to end users efficiently and at reasonable cost to meet and increase market demand. Specific ssues include the integration of the North American transmission grid; all aspects of pipeline rate design, including market-based and incentive rates; capacity expansion and efficient, competitive use; and the spin-down and spin-off of gathering facilities from transmission service.
Distribution issues that affect producers' and marketers' ability to compete with local distribution companies (LDCs) for end users and that affect the end-user cost of gas moved through an LDC's system. Specific issues include unbundling behind the citygate, rules of conduct governing transactions between LDCs and their affiliates, LDC rate design, and emergency service procedures.
Demand issues with the potential to increase or decrease the size of the U.S. natural gas marketplace. Specific issues include the use of natural gas as a fuel for power generation, the use of natural gas to meet the pollution-control strategies and requirements of potential end-users, and methods for expanding the natural gas vehicle (NGV) marketplace.
Supply issues that affect producers' ability to realize an adequate return on the capital investment in natural gas exploration and production. Specific issues include the structure of and regulations surrounding royalty payments to federal and state governments, access to federal and state lands, and the use of marketing tools and structures that have the pontential to change the competitiveness of the natural gas marketplace. (Note that NGSA does not handle environmental issues connected with exploration and production.)

Membership in NGSA

All companies that produce or market natural gas in the United States are eligible for NGSA membership. Please click here if you would like more information about membership.

This page was last updated August 31, 1997.