Local Gas Utilities Serve Every Major Sector
Natural gas is used across all major U.S. sectors, including residential, commercial, industrial, vehicle fuel, and electric power. Natural gas is the largest energy source in the residential, commercial, industrial, and electric power sectors. Gas utility local distribution companies (LDCs) operate networks that deliver gas to these consumers and, for households and small commercial businesses, typically serve as the sole final distributor. For the industrial and electric power sectors, larger natural gas transmission pipelines deliver a significant share of natural gas. LDCs build and maintain natural gas distribution systems and plan for reliable service throughout the year. LDCs are different from high-pressure transmission pipeline companies because the additional services LDCs provide cannot be scaled down for smaller end users by larger, high-pressure interstate and intrastate pipelines.
Key Insights
- In 2023, local natural gas utilities or LDCs supplied nearly 100% of natural gas consumed in the residential and commercial sectors, which amounts to about 41% and 52% of total delivered energy to those end users. For LDCs, the delivery of natural gas to residential and commercial end users accounted for 52% of total LDC volumes in 2023.
- For industrials and the electric power sector only, the share of total natural gas sourced from LDCs was 47% and 24%.
- Overall, approximately 51% of natural gas consumed in 2023 was ultimately delivered by a natural gas utility. LDCs accounted for 15,068 Bcf of natural gas delivered in 2023 compared to 14,514 Bcf from transmission pipeline companies.
- In many states, particularly where power plants and large industrials have a smaller share of gas demand than residential and commercial use, LDCs deliver more than two-thirds of total natural gas volumes. Notably, New York and California source between 83% and 85% of total natural gas volumes from LDCs.
- States with heavy power-generation or industrial gas use (e.g., Gulf Coast) tend to see more direct transmission pipeline deliveries to those facilities and less reliance on LDCs outside residential or commercial end uses.
Source: Energy Information Administration EIA-176 Survey
AGA Contact: Brendan O’Brien, 202-824-7220.
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