Some California residents saw their natural gas bill increase 146% in recent months. Today, we look at the state’s reliance on natural gas and if there’s relief in sight during a cold winter.
Californians’ issues with gas prices aren’t just at the pump. Californians use natural gas to heat their homes, cook food, charge electric vehicles at night and make electricity. The cold spells this winter brought up demand for natural gas heating, which 70% of California homes require.
Capacity limitations in a pipeline flowing from Texas to the west put additional constraints on supply because the state imports about 90%-95% of its natural gas. Southern California’s supply comes from as far away as Texas and Louisiana. Gas can flow through the pipeline at about 20-30 mph.
Related: Here’s why your gas bills are so much higher right now
How much gas do we use?
California invests in renewable energy. The state produces the third-most (in 2022) megawatt hours of renewable energy behind Texas and Washington. But it is a glutton for the gas line as well. In 2021, U.S. total consumption of natural gas was about 30.66 trillion cubic feet.
The five states that consumed the most natural gas in 2021 by amount and percentage share of total U.S. natural gas consumption were:
1. Texas: 4.67 tcf — 15.2%
2. California: 2.09 tcf — 6.8%
3. Pennsylvania: 1.81 tcf — 5.9%
4. Louisiana: 1.75 tcf — 5.7%
5. Florida: 1.54 tcf — 5.0%
Production decline
California produced about 500,000 cubic feet of natural gas in the 1980s. It has steadily been declining in production. It dropped to less than 200,000 cubic feet in 2018 and was 133,136 cubic feet in 2021, which was about 7% of the state’s consumption needs.
The state’s Geologic Energy Management Division, known as CalGEM, rejected 109 fracking permits in 2021 after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2024 climate change deadline to end fracking in the state. Most of the permits were from Bakersfield-based Aera Energy.
Storage…
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