Full Title: Energy Primer: A Primer of Energy Market Basics
Author(s): U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Publisher(s): U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Publication Date: November 1, 2015
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Natural gas, electricity, and oil are forms of energy that are of particular interest to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pursuant to its authority under the Natural Gas Act, the Federal Power Act, and the Interstate Commerce Act. This primer explores the workings of the wholesale markets for these forms of energy, as well as energy-related financial markets.
Natural gas is the second largest primary source of energy consumed in the United States, exceeded only by petroleum. A primary energy source is an energy source that can be consumed directly or converted into something else, like electricity. Roughly a third of the natural gas consumed in the United States goes into power plants for the production of electricity. Electricity, a secondary energy source, results from the conversion of primary fuels such as fossil fuels, uranium, wind, or solar into a flow of electrons used to power modern life. Crude oil and petroleum products are of interest to the Commission because it regulates the transport of oil by pipelines in interstate commerce.