Under Construction

Source: Natural Gas - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

The country is flush with liquie natural gas (LNG)as a result of new and controversial drilling techniques (Fracking) that have enabled energy companies to tap vast supplies that were out of reach not so long ago.
As a consequence prices have been dropping.

More than half of U.S. households use natural gas for heat, and a quarter of the nation's electricity is made from it.

Good News:
It's cheaper to heat your home.
Gas which burns cleaner than coal is reducing pollution and greenhouse gases as coal fired electrical generating plants are replaced with gas.

Bad News:
Investments in renewable energy sources (solar, wind, ...) are being put off.
The current price levels make fracking (a more expensive) less profitable prompting energy companies to look at exporting LNG. Which has two bad consequences.
Domestic prices will rise as more is exported.
Fracking with many environmental dangers will continue.

The price for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Asia is $12 per per million British thermal units (MMBTU) compared to $3.60 per MMBTU (Henry Hub spot price) in the U.S.. As we start exporting LNG, domestic supplies will be reduced and the price may go up.
Note: The spot price amounts to a wholesale price. Retail (July 2013) is about $5.40 per MMBPU.
See: Fuel Fix | Asian nations eagerly eye cheap US natural gas


My gas bill:
Supply: 30 CCF x 1.042 = 31.26 therms  x $0.54/therm = $16.88 
   $0.54/therm = $5.40/MMBPU
Delvery: sliding scale based on therms = $18
($0.54/therm / 100,000 BTU/therm) X 1,000,000 = $5.40 / MMBTU
Glossary:
BTU - British thermal units
CCF - Hundred Cubic Feet (my meter reading)
Henry Hub - A distribution hub on the natural gas pipeline system in Erath, Louisiana, owned by Sabine Pipe Line LLC, a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation.
LNG - Liquefied Natural Gas
M - Thousand [Roman Numeral]
MM - Million
Mcf - Thousand cubic feet
MMBTU - Million British thermal units
Therm = 100,000 BPU 1.042 therms per CCF

Links:
What are Ccf, Mcf, Btu, ... - FAQs - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)


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last updated 1 July 2013