EIA Evaluates Greenhouse Gas Reduction Proposal:  On Thursday, January 11, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report prepared in response to a request by several U.S. Senators for an analysis of a proposal that would regulate emissions of greenhouse gases through a national allowance cap-and-trade system.  The report, titled “Energy Market and Economic Impacts of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Intensity with a Cap and Trade System,” found that the proposed phased auction program would reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 562 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e), or about 6 percent by 2020, and by 1,259 MMTCO2e, or about 13 percent, by 2030, as compared with the reference case in EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2006 (AEO2006).  As energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) accounts for 82 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the AEO2006 reference case, the program would have several impacts in the energy sector.  According to EIA, the cost of greenhouse gas allowances used for the cap-and-trade system would be passed through to consumers, raising the price of fossil fuels and providing an incentive to lower energy use and shift away from fossil fuels, particularly in the electric power sector.  In order to reduce CO2 emissions, the electric power sector is expected to shift away from its historical reliance on coal generation.  This drop in coal generation would mainly be replaced by an increase in nuclear and non-hydro renewable generation and to a lesser extent by natural gas.  Relative to the AEO2006 reference case, natural gas generation under the new program in 2030 would be 20 percent higher as new combined-cycle plants become more attractive relative to coal plants.  However, increased capital expenditures for new technologies and higher fossil-fuel prices would result in higher electricity prices.  In response to higher prices, EIA projects that consumers in all sectors would reduce energy consumption and shift away from fossil fuels where possible.  Total consumption for natural gas changes less than 1 percent by 2030 relative to the AEO2006 reference case, and the change mainly occurs in the electric power sector.  By 2020, electric power sector natural gas consumption is projected to be about 2 percent less than the AEO2006 reference case, but by 2030 electric power natural gas consumption is expected to be 8 percent higher than in the AEO2006 reference case. 

437 billion cubic feet of gas was purchased through natural gas distribution systems. This was 12% of all gas consumed in Texas (3,585 billion cubic feet). Gas sales through natural gas distribution systems totaled over $2.23 billion.