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Founded in 1918, the American Gas Association, commonly known as AGA, represents 200 local energy companies that deliver clean natural gas throughout the United States. There are more than 70 million residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers in the U.S., of which almost 91 percent — more than 64 million customers — receive their gas from AGA members. And, importantly, the natural gas industry supports nearly three million American jobs. Today, natural gas meets almost one-fourth of the United States' energy needs. The association comprises an operations and engineering group and a public affairs group that work in tandem with finance, corporate affairs, communications and membership departments to deliver timely and relevant information to its members, as well as to lawmakers, regulatory bodies, environmental and consumers affairs organizations and the public at large about the natural gas utility industry in the United States.

AGA and natural gas utilities want what customers want: safe, reliable, abundant quantities of natural gas at affordable prices. Local natural gas utilities are part of a complex energy supply chain that enables natural gas to be transported safely and efficiently directly into customers’ homes and offices, ensuring their daily energy needs are met.

Natural gas keeps Americans warm, dries their clothes, cooks family meals, provides a clean transportation alternative and is essential to the success of businesses and industries, both large and small. And natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel available on the market today. Homeowners that use natural gas can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 29 percent when compared to oil homes and 36 percent compared to all-electric homes based on the average U.S. electricity mix. For more than nine decades, AGA has worked to tell the story of natural gas and how it fits into a clean energy future in the United States, and the association is ready and equipped to keep spreading the good news well into the future.

History

"In June 1918, the American Gas Institute and the National Commerical Gas Association voted to combine their organizations and assets to form the American Gas Association. These forerunners to AGA served the interests of companies in manufactured gas, as opposed to the natural gas business. The manufactured gas is made primarily from coal was the dominate fuel in the U.S. gas early days. During the progression of the 19th century manufactured gas would be supplanted by natural gas. In January 1919 AGA launched the American Gas Association Monthly Magazine (today's American Gas)which gives natural gas industry professionals information on trends, activites and stratagies how to improve the quality of their gas comapanies. In 1925,the association formed AGA laboratories in Cleveland, and five years later opened a brance of labs in Los Angeles. The labs created by AGA had contributed to technological advances that improved the energy efficiency and operation of gas appliances and equipment; the labs also tested the designs of gas appliances and accessories to help ensure their comformity with national standards for safety, durability, and performance. The American Gas Association would eventually cease these activites in 1997, which lead to AGA's labs and activities to CSA International which continues to run a U.S. certification-type program from the original Cleveland laboratory. In 1927, AGA had merged with the National Gas Association in order to help AGA's member companies make a smooth transition from dependance on manufactured gas to reliance on natural gas. In 1935, Congress had passed the Public Utility Act to break-up the huge interlocking holding company that dominated much of the country's utility industry; the law passed by Congress was eventually repealed in 2005. During the 1930's AGA had launched the National Advertising Committee, which oversaw a nationwide advertising program promoting gas for cooking, water heating, refrigeration, and house heating. The United States Federal Government became more involved in the affairs of AGA. In 1952, following the merger with National Gas Association AGA had opened the Natural Gas Department in Dallas,Texas which eventually dissolved when natural gas became the association's focus."

Collective Action

"The American Gas Association has worked with the (FERC) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to improve market transparency reporting. In 2004, the FERC issued a policy statement on price reporting and price index publishing. The following year,the Energy Policy Act included the market behavior and provisions and penalties, and FERC issued a rule prohibiting market manipulation. On December 26, 2007 the FERC issued Order No. 704 improving market transparency and increasing consumer confidence in how natural gas prices are determined. Order No. 704 required any buyer or seller of wholesale, physical natural gas in the United States in transactions of more than 2.2 thermal units to report aggregate volumes of relevant transations in a new format."

Memebership

According to Jay Copan AGA's Senior Vice President of Coporate Affairs, AGA brings to the table a membership that delivers natural gas to 52 million homes, businesses and industrial industrial facilities as well as the unique profile of the millions of individuals who own stock in energy utilities. "According to Copan AGA's research shows that individuals rather than institutions own more than 50 percent of utility shares. For another 70 percent of utility stockholders are the age of 65 and older, according to data provided by Edward Jones a leading brokerage firm, and by AGA member companies."

Issues

The American Gas Association has faced financial issues regarding the taxation of dividends. In 2002, The American Gas Association main priority was to eliminate double taxation on dividends. AGA analysist Charlie Fritts argued how "double taxation is both a bad tax and economic policy because it encourages gas companies to borrow money when they are in need of capital rather than raise it through equity investment. The United States tax code had taxed dividends twice which disfavored companies that pay out a share of their earnings as dividends versus companies that retain all of their earnings and focus on growth." Fritts had viewed double taxation as problematic because the gas utility industry was expected to raise more than $100 billion in capitial in the following 20 years to build additional natural gas infrastructure to meet the expected increased demand for natural gas. Fritts had also stated that "natural gas demand was expected to grow 50 percent between 2003 until 2020; utlities must raise substantial capital to build 255,000 miles of natural gas distribution pipe to meet that demand.