Innovation: Saving Customers Money
America’s natural gas utilities are an innovative industry that is deploying creativity and technical know-how to benefit customers. You can see it in day-to-day purchasing decisions, in field technology and in the programs that help families use less energy to get the same comfort.
Start with efficiency. Utilities invest in programs that help customers tighten homes, upgrade equipment and adopt smarter controls. Across North America, natural gas utilities spent about $1.57 billion on energy efficiency in 2020, roughly $4.3 million every day. Those investments translate into real savings at the meter. Utilities achieved 336 million therms of savings in 2022, avoiding about 1.7 million metric tons of carbon while trimming bills for participating customers.
That consistent focus on efficiency is one reason households that use natural gas for heating, cooking, and clothes drying save an average of $1,132 per year compared with all-electric homes. Over the past decade, the affordability of natural gas has saved American families a cumulative $125 billion, money that can be redirected to groceries, medicine or school supplies.
Innovation is also apparent in how utilities buy and manage supply. Local distribution companies engineer diversified portfolios that blend firm pipeline capacity, long-term contracts, spot purchases, underground storage and peaking services to meet demand reliably at the lowest reasonable cost. Utilities plan for design-day needs and balance risk and cost across seasons. AGA’s recent analysis underscores that storage improves year-round reliability and can help stabilize prices for consumers during extreme events by giving utilities flexible options when markets tighten.
Field technology is another opportunity for utilities to save money through increased efficiency. Advanced leak detection tools now detect emissions at parts-per-billion levels, finding and fixing small issues faster, improving safety and reducing lost gas. Utilities are piloting and deploying drones to survey large areas quickly and accurately, cutting inspection time and expense while enhancing data quality. These are practical innovations that protect customers’ wallets as much as the environment.
Companies are also modernizing the customer experience itself. Smart scheduling, data-driven maintenance and predictive analytics help crews complete more work per day and reduce repeat visits, which lowers operating costs that customers ultimately pay. The industry’s broader innovation agenda includes integrating renewable natural gas and exploring hydrogen blending where appropriate, efforts that leverage existing infrastructure to deliver future savings and optionality without sacrificing reliability.
Finally, utilities are investing in people. AGA members emphasize training, certifications and new career pathways so employees can deploy modern tools safely and efficiently. A well-trained workforce closes tickets faster, manages emergencies more effectively and implements complex upgrades on schedule, all of which improves service quality and keeps costs in check.
From efficiency programs that cut consumption, smart purchasing that smooths seasonal pressures and technology that lowers operating costs to a skilled workforce that gets more done with the same resources, customers see the benefits in the cost and quality of the service they receive. America’s natural gas utilities are proving that their culture of innovation is a disciplined, practical approach to delivering safe, reliable energy at an affordable price today and for years to come.