Natural Gas Prices By Sector

The price of natural gas has changed significantly over the last forty years reflecting its volatility or instability. The average annual prices for the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors mimicked each other's movements and kept a steady price spread. From 2021 to 2022, the price of natural gas in the residential sector increased $3.04 or 34.6 percent, the industrial sector price increased $2.48 or 50.6 percent, while the commercial sector price increased $3.38 or 55.2 percent. From 2021 to 2022, the electric power sector price decreased $4.57 or 37.3 percent.

After spiking in 2021 due to a cold snap pushing natural gas prices high, the electric power sector's price dropped down to $7.68 in 2022, although this was still historically high. In 2022, the residential sector paid the highest price out of all the sectors at $11.82 per billion cubic feet. The commercial sector's price was the next highest at $9.50 per billion cubic feet. The industrial sector's price was $7.39 per billion cubic feet.

The prices are in nominal dollars to provide a better comparison.