Natural gas prices are the highest in the residential sector. In 2024, U.S. households paid 14.59 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic feet, down from an all-time high of over 15.2 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic feet. Overall, U.S. residential natural gas prices have increased nearly tenfold since 1975. Commercial natural gas costs were second-highest, while prices in the electric power sector were the lowest, at around three U.S. dollars on average. Prices for the industrial and electric power customers tend to be close to the wholesale electricity price. The growing natural gas market U.S. natural gas consumption has increased more than any other fuel after the U.S. oil boom of the 2010s. Petroleum consumption has been more variable, and use of coal has significantly decreased. Today, natural gas is used extensively for electric power generation, with it having overtaken coal as the primary electricity generating source. This is despite coal prices being a lot less volatile and generally lower than natural gas. Future of natural gas on the global stage Natural gas is also an important energy source worldwide. It has been the second-largest source of electricity generation since the 2000s and has slowly narrowed the gap to coal, the world's main power source. In 2024, natural gas-powered turbines the world over generated 6,890 terawatt-hours of electricity.

In 2024, the price of natural gas in Europe reached 11 constant U.S. dollars per million British thermal units, compared with 2.2 U.S. dollars in the U.S. This was a notable decrease compared to the previous year, which had seen a steep increase in prices due to an energy supply shortage exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. Since 1980, natural gas prices have typically been higher in Europe than in the United States and are expected to remain so for the coming two years. This is due to the U.S. being a significantly larger natural gas producer than Europe. What is natural gas and why is it gaining ground in the energy market? Natural gas is commonly burned in power plants with combustion turbines that generate electricity or used as a heating fuel. Given the fact that the world’s energy demand continues to grow, natural gas was seen by some industry leaders as an acceptable "bridge-fuel" to overcome the use of more emission-intensive energy sources such as coal. Subsequently, natural gas has become the main fuel for electricity generation in the U.S., while the global gas power generation share has reached over 22 percent. How domestic production shapes U.S. natural gas prices The combination of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling can be regarded as one of the oil and gas industry’s biggest breakthroughs in decades, with the U.S. being the largest beneficiary. This technology has helped the industry release unprecedented quantities of gas from deposits, mainly shale and tar sands that were previously thought either inaccessible or uneconomic. It is forecast that U.S. shale gas production could reach 36 trillion cubic feet in 2050, up from 1.77 trillion cubic feet in 2000.

The amount of fuel used to generate electricity depends on the efficiency of the power plant and the heat content of the fuel. Heat rate measures the efficiency of a generator or power plant and is based on the amount of energy used to generate one kilowatt of electricity. Heat rates (power plant efficiencies) depend on generator type, power plant emission controls, and some other factors. One metric ton of coal can generate 1,927 kilowatt hours of electricity, in comparison to 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas which can generate 99 kilowatt hours.

U.S. power plants The largest power plant in the United States is the hydroelectric power plant, Grand Coulee, located in Washington. It has a summer capacity of 7.08 gigawatts. Power plant costs can also depend on the type of technology being used as well as the location. The amount of energy generated by renewable technologies can also vary greatly, depending on size, technology, and location potential. For example, the measured efficiency of solar cells can vary greatly depending on the material used. In the United States, about 17.7 percent of electricity generated is derived from renewable sources.