| Status: The State has no active residential
customer choice programs, but some municipalities have formed cooperative
arrangements with their local distribution companies (LDCs). |
| Overview: Although there are no unbundling
programs for residential and small-volume commercial customers, several
communities in Texas have acted to provide their residents with gas cost
advantages. Texas is somewhat unique in that the Railroad Commission of
Texas (RRC) has jurisdiction over intrastate transportation city gate
sales for resale and retail rates outside of city limits, but individual
communities and municipalities regulate retail natural gas service within
their boundaries. As a result, some communities are forming innovative
arrangements with their LDCs. In one case, the City of El Paso and
Southern Union Gas Company have made arrangements to minimize the
volatility of spot market gas prices during the heating season. Under the
arrangement, the city's natural gas prices are locked in as of
November 1, and effective throughout the heating season. In another
case, the City of Odessa arranges the purchase and delivery of the city's
gas supply to the city gate, at which point Energas Company distributes
the gas to the customers. In this case, the City of Odessa acts as a
cooperative for its residents by shopping for competitively-priced gas and
transportation service. Most of the State's industrial customers are
served through direct connections to intrastate pipelines and therefore
have long had the ability to purchase natural gas from nonutility
suppliers. |
| EIA State Data:In 2005, Texas had 3,978,755 residential and 322,647 commercial customers. They consumed 185 and 160 billion cubic feet of natural gas, respectively. The average prices paid for natural gas purchased from local distribution companies by residential and commercial customers were $12.49 and $10.48 per thousand cubic feet, respectively. |