What is natural gas?

Natural gas is a colorless, odorless gas made up primarily of methane (which is one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms). Because you can't see or smell it, an odorant is added to natural gas for safety reasons.

Natural gas is lighter than air. This is an important safety advantage because natural gas leaks tend to dissipate rather than pool or concentrate. Natural gas is usually found deep underground, trapped under a rocky cap that prevents the gas from escaping.

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Where does your natural gas supply come from?

The natural gas you use comes from three main supply areas: Texas and Oklahoma; the province of Alberta, Canada; and operating rigs offshore from Louisiana. Natural gas is taken from wells, cleaned of liquid byproducts and contaminants, and compressed up to 1,000 pounds per square inch.

As gas travels through the pipeline system, a compressor station every 50 to 100 miles helps keep the gas flowing. It's delivered to WPS' territory by ANR Pipeline and Guardian Pipeline in pipes measuring up to 42 inches in diameter.

The interconnection point between ANR Pipeline and the WPS distribution system is called a city gate station. At the city gate station, WPS:

• measures the gas by temperature, pressure and BTU content (a measure of heat energy) to determine how much energy has been delivered
• filters the gas to remove dust and particulates that collected in the gas during transportation
• reduces the pressure, which cools the gas, so it can be safely distributed to your location
• reheats the gas, if necessary, so the gas handling equipment doesn't freeze up
• adds odorant so you can easily detect any leakage

From the city gate station, distribution mains carry the gas to businesses and homes. At your business, a shut-off valve is provided for safety purposes. A gas regulator reduces pressure to meet your equipment needs, and a meter measures how much gas you use.

Because demand for natural gas varies during the year, some of the gas WPS purchases is kept in storage fields in Michigan. This gas is drawn out of storage during periods of high demand, especially during the winter.

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How is natural gas measured?

Natural gas is billed by an energy unit called a "therm." A therm is defined as 100,000 BTUs of energy and is approximately 100 cubic feet (one CCF) of natural gas.

Your gas meter measures the volume of gas used in hundreds of cubic feet or CCF. Each month that volume is converted into therms (energy) by a CCF Per Therm factor. This factor accounts for the daily variation in the BTU content of a CCF of natural gas.

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What are your buying options?

A few years ago, WPS bought all of its natural gas from ANR Pipeline. ANR shipped gas to WPS on its pipeline, and the utility, in turn, sold the gas to you. At that time, neither WPS nor you had a choice of where to buy natural gas.

Today, the natural gas market is substantially deregulated. Now, both WPS and its customers can buy gas from any supplier who can deliver to ANR Pipeline. Customers have three options for buying natural gas today:

• Firm System Sales Service: The utility provides uninterrupted gas distribution service, except in emergencies.
• Interruptible System Sales Service: Customers agree to have their service interrupted when demand for gas is high. Interruptible rates are lower than firm system rates.
• Transportation Service: The customer, or the customer's broker, delivers gas commodity to the WPS distribution system. WPS then delivers this gas commodity to the customer's meter.

If you transport natural gas yourself, you may receive three bills:

• one from the supplier for the gas you bought
• one from the pipeline company for transporting the gas, and
• one from WPS for distributing the gas

If you use a broker or marketer, you may receive two bills:

• one from the broker for the gas you bought and for transportation across the pipeline system, and
• one from WPS for distributing the gas

If you are a customer of WPS and wish to appoint a marketer or broker to work with us as your agent, please complete an Agent Verification Agreement and send it to us. Our records will also reflect the type of information your agent is authorized to receive.

If you are looking for a marketer or broker, our List of Energy Marketers and Brokers may help.

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How can you get more information?

The GasLine site contains several educational fact sheets and supporting information that covers issues important to you as a user of natural gas.

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