Natural Gas: An Uncertain Future?

The natural gas industry faces an uncertain future as it adjusts to the recent federal deregulation of its industry, participants in a Kennedy School of Government seminar said yesterday.

The seminar held at the K-school's Energy and Environmental Policy Center yesterday presented the findings of a year-long study of the future of natural gas policy, led by two Harvard professors.

One of the study's main conclusions is that the natural gas industry and local policy makers will have to form new relationships as the burden of regulation shifts to the state and city level in the wake of the federal deregulation of the industry.

In addition, seminar participants said the deregulation of gas prices will force local distribution companies to become more competitive with the oil fuel industry.

Joseph, P. Kalt, associate professor of economics, and Frank C. Schuller, associate director of the center participated in the study and are editing the book version, "Harvard Study on Natural Gas Policy," which will be released in the spring.

The goal of the study was to bring together industry representatives and policy makers to provide both groups with a better understanding of the industry, Schuller said.