Efficiency and Equity in the Transition to a New Natural Gas Market

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Article review
Summary
Gorak and Ray’s article discusses the changes that have occurred regarding laws governing natural gas. The variations in the law enabled local distributors to be in positions to purchase natural gas rather than when the purchase was mainly for interstate pipeline companies. The directive has led to reduced costs of natural gas. The laws have restructured the pipeline business to concentrate on transportation solely. Research has it that in the United States, natural gas constitutes a quarter of its energy use. Further, there is expected to be a rise in the consumption of natural gas in the US since it will have multiple uses such as power generation and acting as fuel for vehicles. Natural gas is an important resource in the US since it is produced locally, but its economic advantages have been shadowed by the rules and regulations put in place. Therefore, Gorak and Ray’s article aim at indicating the importance of law reforms with relation to natural gas in the United States.
The authors use graphs and tables to present their research findings thereby making their work stand out. Tables and graphs are easy to interpret hence making it easier for readers to tell what is happening. One impressive table is one that shows natural gas prices for six months starting from November to April. The table shows different gas prices for the six months spanning for five years. Further, the table shows the various prices for residential, commercial and industrial sectors in the United States.

Therefore, Gorak and Ray carried extensive research to establish variation in natural gas prices depending on the nature of the consumer. Such data is useful when formulating policy since regulations will be made while considering each consumer.
The article is impressive since Jay and Ray use line graphs to show price changes for two decades. The line graphs show how price changes in residential, industrial and commercial sectors hence making it easier for policy makers to identify the trends in price variations. Line graphs tend to be appealing and make it easier for the readers to tell the pattern. Jay and Ray use a key to show what each line represents hence making it easier for the users to tell the fluctuations in each sector.
Gorak and Ray’s article is not perfect since there is research is biased. The two authors limit their research in the United States despite having other natural gas producers in the world. The two should have carried out extensive research to cover the globe so as to ensure policies formulated do not favor the United States alone but rather represent the interest of all natural gas producers and consumers. The other weakness of this article is that it is mainly inclined on prices, therefore, making policies to be formulated with regards to price.
In conclusion, Gorak and Ray have done an impressive job researching the trends of natural gas in the United States. The tables and graphs simplify the work of policy makers since they come up with rules and regulations depending on the previous research. The authors would have improved the article by using colored graphs so as to make them visually appealing. Despite the negativity, Gorak and Ray have done a commendable job researching the price variations and policy changes with regards to natural gas in the United States.