America’s Natural Gas Utilities Are A Strong Investment ─ Now And Into The Future
Washington, D.C. – American Gas Association (AGA) Chair Suzanne Sitherwood, appeared at the CFA Society of New York yesterday to inform investors about the strong past, present and future of natural gas utilities. Sitherwood is President and CEO of Spire Inc. in St. Louis, MO, which safely and reliably delivers affordable natural gas to more than 1.7 million homes and businesses in Missouri, Alabama and Mississippi. She highlighted the importance of natural gas to the residential and commercial markets.
“America’s natural gas utilities are a strong investment – now and into the future,” Sitherwood said. “We have a proven track record of providing safe, reliable and affordable energy to our customers and communities. Through a pandemic at home and energy market disruption abroad, our industry has continued to deliver essential energy to millions of Americans while reducing emissions and putting our nation on a path to a cleaner future. Our industry will continue to lead our nation toward our energy and environmental goals while innovating for the future.”
AGA has participated in this event with the CFA Society of New York continuously for more than 40 years. AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert and Sitherwood had a robust discussion before the group of financial analysts.
Harbert said, “Some folks in Washington are dipping their toes in choppy water by suggesting that we can get rid of natural gas altogether. They are ignoring 187 million Americans that use natural gas today, half a million that sign up each year, federal government data showing annual savings for natural gas customers, and low and stable prices into the future. Wall Street understands that this is not the way to go about addressing our nation’s climate challenge and they’ve put their confidence in AGA member companies for decades.”
In July, AGA released a report with the Canadian Gas Association which said that the value of natural gas local distribution companies to investors is based on the consistency of their return on investment and return on equity. The study found that investors are confident that natural gas utilities have their place in energy transition.
Many American Gas Association members have paid dividends to their shareholders continuously for more than 60 years.
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AGA Media Contact:
Adam Kay
202-824-7263
About the American Gas Association
The American Gas Association, founded in 1918, represents more than 200 local energy companies that deliver clean natural gas throughout the United States. There are more than 77 million residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers in the U.S., of which 96 percent — more than 74 million customers — receive their gas from AGA members. Today, natural gas meets nearly one-third of the United States’ energy needs.