INTRODUCTION

GENERAL

The American Gas Association assumed its present status as a gas utility industry trade association in 1918, after a merger of two predecessor organizations. Today it renders assistance to the gas utility industry and provides an advocacy platform for local distribution companies, so that the industry may serve its customers more efficiently. The Association recognizes the need for factual information regarding the gas industry for the use, not only of industry organizations, but also interested outside publics. Its statistical efforts are a vital part of this function, and the publication of Gas Facts is one result of these efforts.

This publication contains detailed statistics for 2009 and summary statistics for prior years for the gas utility industry which by definition, consists of the companies engaged in natural gas distribution and transmission. The publication also contains relevant data on the gas producing segment of the industry. Gas volumes are expressed in millions of cubic feet (at 14.73 psi and 60°F unless otherwise noted) and in British thermal units (Btu) to permit direct comparison with other energy data. A conversion table is included as Appendix B. Throughout the publication numbers may not add up to total due to independent rounding.

The user should be aware that a large transportation market has developed, which directly impacts gas utility sales quantities, revenues and number of customers. Although total pipeline throughput may remain the same, as transportation volumes to end-users increase, gas utility sales quantities to end-users will decrease.

Data presented in Gas Facts, broken down by company type, are not necessarily comparable from year to year. Acquisitions, mergers and corporate reorganizations continue to cause the number of companies in any given category to vary from year to year. Some of these changes are significant and can cause a dramatic shift in the data reported for a specific category from prior years.

In addition, data and resulting estimates are attributed to utility industry segments in Gas Facts as distribution, transmission or integrated, based not only on company operating revenues (see glossary) but also on how the company submitted information in the Uniform Statistical Report (USR). For example, if a company submits data under one corporate name, such as qualifying revenue, for distribution and transmission activities combined, then it is placed in the integrated category. However, if a large company submits data for its distribution companies separate from transmission companies, no effort is made to recombine the data to produce an integrated result. Distribution data in this case is attributed to the distribution segment and transmission data to the transmission segment.