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<br />0' <br /> <br />in NGPA amends authorities under the NGA regarding the regulation of <br />pipeline companies. The "just and reasonable" concept however, is no <br />longer appl icable to producers. <br />Table 2-2 summarizes the statutory pricing provisions for each category <br />of natural gas. Under NGPA, price controls will be lifted from new gas on <br />January 1, 1985. High cost gas was deregulated on November 1, 1979 <br />when FERC issued final regulations regarding incremental pricing require- <br />ments,62 and certain offshore gas will be price decontrolled January 1, <br />1987. All other gas will remain under price controls but the escalation of <br />maximum lawful price ceilings is expected to keep pace with the cost of <br />petroleum on an energy equivalent basis. <br />The President or Congress may extend price controls on deregulated <br />61 <br />gas for one 18-month period prior to June 30, 1987 to allow Congress to <br />assess the supply and demand situation in the gas industry and to enact <br />any new legislation it may deem appropriate. <br /> <br />2-21 <br /> <br /> <br />2.3.2.2 Incremental Pricing and Curtailment Provisions of NGPA. NGPA <br />contains provisions for protecting residential and small commercial users <br />from the impacts of rising gas prices in the near term. The statute re- <br />quires that pipeline companies pass along the incremental cost of higher <br />gas prices to their large industrial customers until the cost of gas to these <br />users equals the cost of using fuel oil within their region of the country. 63 <br />When such rates are realized, distributors may begin allocating increased <br />costs to the residential and commercial sectors. * Certain users such as <br />schools, hospitals, and agricultural users are exempt from incremental <br />pricing requirements. <br />Currently, FERC has the responsibility for developing national alloca- <br />tion plans to distribute natural gas supplies among users during shortages <br />or emergencies. 64 A system of priorities has been established requiring <br /> <br />*NGPA requires that the cost of Alaskan natural gas delivered to the <br />lower 48 states in the yet unconstructed pipeline be shared equally by all <br />of the distributor's customers, not priced incrementally. <br />