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What is Competitive Natural Gas Service?

All Maine commercial and industrial natural gas customers may choose the company that supplies their natural gas – a service sometimes referred to as commodity gas service. Natural gas companies can compete to provide this service to commercial and industrial customers in Maine. A customer who does not wish to purchase commodity gas service from a competitive supplier, or who cannot find an attractive supply alternative, automatically receives their service from the local gas utility.

Natural gas service for commercial and industrial customers in Maine – regardless of who supplies it – is delivered by the local natural gas utility. This gas distribution service is sometimes known as transportation service.

Currently, those commercial and industrial customers who wish to purchase their commodity gas service from a competitive suppler must purchase a special meter that tracks their daily usage. For some customers, especially small customers, the cost of this “telemeter” offsets much of the potential savings from buying their commodity gas service from a competitive supplier. This requirement is being reviewed and may be modified for customers in some utility service areas, making purchases from competitive suppliers more attractive for smaller customers