Affordability

Natural gas provides a reliable and cost-effective energy source for American families and businesses due to its domestic abundance and the efficiency of directly using natural gas in homes and businesses. Consequently, APGA advocates for policies that strive to keep energy costs low, such as the funding of programs like LIHEAP and ensuring accountability of established pipeline rates at FERC.

LIHEAP

APGA supports the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP is a federal block grant program, administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that provides funding to states, tribes, and territories to help to low-income households meet home energy costs. Assistance primarily supports heating and cooling bills, with some funding available for energy crisis intervention, limited weatherization, and minor energy related home repairs.

To learn more about LIHEAP, visit the National Energy & Utility Affordability Coalition’s website. 

NEUAC Website

Pipeline Rate Accountability (Section 5)

To ensure fairness for natural gas consumers, APGA supports commonsense reforms to Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) that would grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) refund authority in instances of natural gas transmission rate overcharging. Granting FERC refund authority in natural gas cases — just as it has for electric rate cases — would provide relief to not-for-profit, community-owned utilities and ultimately help maintain low energy costs for the customers they serve.

Commodity Markets

A primary goal of public gas utilities is to provide stable and affordable gas prices for their customers. As not-for-profit entities, these utilities do not engage in speculative trading but instead use derivatives as a risk management tool to protect consumers from volatile energy prices and to hedge against unpredictable fluctuations in the natural gas market. APGA supports the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) mission and authority to regulate the derivatives landscape.

FERC

Public gas utilities are often impacted by the decisions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on issues pertaining to interstate transmission rate setting and subsequent rate cases, capacity constraints and the need for additional natural gas infrastructure, as well as the importance of FERC’s role in mitigating excessive pipeline rates and needed reform of Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act by Congress.  

APGA supports empowering FERC with refund authority in instances of natural gas transmission rate overcharging and calls on FERC to implement equitable ratemaking policies that are fair to ratepayers. APGA encourages FERC to continue supporting policies and market rules that promote transparency, certainty, and consistency in the preservation of firm transportation rights, particularly as new sources of generation and large industrial loads seek access to pipeline capacity.

Permitting Reform

To ensure the continued delivery of reliable, affordable energy to homes and businesses as we strive to meet carbon reduction goals, APGA supports the expansion of our nation’s resilient natural gas infrastructure . This includes modernizing our nation’s permitting system to ensure new infrastructure can deliver on increased natural gas demand.

APGA supports efforts to create more predictable, efficient, and transparent permitting processes, and urge policymakers to advance commonsense reforms that ensure projects can be developed efficiently while maintaining appropriate environmental and safety standards. 

NEPA Reform

APGA supports the goals of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to inform both federal decision-making and the public’s understanding of the potential environmental impacts of federal actions. However, APGA NEPA process has become overly complex and burdensome without yielding corresponding benefits for the federal decision-making process. APGA supports reforming NEPA to streamline the permitting process and provide clarity on the scope of NEPA.

Advocacy Resources

As the representative for publicly owned natural gas utilities at the federal level, APGA often corresponds with members of Congress and federal agencies on a variety of issues.

Congressional Correspondence

APGA engages with Congress through letters and testimony detailing our members’ perspectives on important policy issues. 

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Regulatory Submissions

APGA submits comments to federal agencies voicing our members' unique perspectives on important rulemakings and policy decisions.

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Get Involved

APGA has many ways members can get involved in our association from networking to volunteer opportunities.

Committees

APGA members, through their involvement with APGA’s committees, deepen their knowledge in specific topic areas and network with similarly interested peers across the nation.

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Conferences and Webinars

APGA holds four in-person events a year including our annual Operations Conference and our annual Legislative Summit, an event on Capitol Hill where they engage with policymakers, as well as other meetings with their legislators. APGA also holds roundtables and webinars on a variety of topics from subject matter experts throughout the year.

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