Retail Unbundling - West Virginia

Status: All residential customers in the state are allowed to choose natural gas suppliers, but almost everyone still purchases gas from a local distribution company.

Overview: Unbundled service has been available to all natural gas customers in West Virginia since 1986. Under Senate Bill 117, passed in 1983, intrastate pipeline companies and local distribution companies (LDCs) were required to be common carriers. The procedural laws were completed in 1986 and covered all customer classes. In order to receive unbundled service, customers must install metering equipment or pay standby charges. Based on the most recent Energy Information Administration data, only 10 of the state's 360,759 residential customers are receiving unbundled service. In 1996, the Public Utility Commission of West Virginia initiated a general investigation into ways to make customer choice easier by pooling customers, and filed proposed rules in June 1998. Currently, pooling arrangements are permitted only for interruptible customers (generally industrial or large-volume commercial users).

EIA State Data: In 2002, West Virginia had 360,759 residential customers who consumed 31 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas at an average price of $8.44 per thousand cubic feet. The commercial market was much smaller, at 25 Bcf and 34,678 consumers. The average price paid by commercial customers for natural gas purchased from LDCs was $7.38 per thousand cubic feet.

Eligibility/Participation in Retail Choice Programs:

Status as of December 2003: Estimated Number of Customers

Sources: Total 2002 and Participation: Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Annual 2002 (January 2004). Eligibility: Public Utility Commission of West Virginia.

File Last modified: 01/31/2004