Three major natural gas trade groups called on the drafters of Senate energy and climate change legislation to recognize that using natural gas to generate electricity represents the “greatest opportunity” to cost effectively reduce heat-trapping greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

“Unfortunately the legislation we have seen thus far would result in natural gas being ‘squeezed’ out of the role that it otherwise would play if markets alone selected the most cost-effective methods for reducing GHG emissions. It would be ironic, and counter-productive, if new legislation penalizes natural gas,” wrote the heads of the Interstate Natural Gas Association (INGAA), Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) and Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) in a letter Wednesday to Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT).

The Senate trio has been writing energy and climate change legislation for months and may unveil the measure at the start of Earth Week (April 19).

“Natural gas should be one of the pillars upon which the solution to America’s energy and environmental challenges is built. To that end, we support legislation that will encourage increasing the use of natural gas-fired electricity generation,” they said. Energy consultant IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates has said the new shale gas finds “could allow the electric power industry to almost double its use of natural gas…Yet these game-changing [shale] finds, and their implications for America’s energy portfolio, have yet to be recognized and incorporated into the energy and climate bills being considered by the Congress.”

If the energy/climate legislation includes a clean energy standard or other similar mandate, “it should be crafted so that power generators have the option to comply by using…natural gas to reduce their emissions. [And] we encourage balanced treatment for natural gas with coal in funding for carbon capture and sequestration research, development and deployment,” said INGAA, NGSA and IPAA.

“A new report by the Brattle Group, titled ‘Prospects for Natural Gas under Climate Policy Legislation,’ highlights our concerns about natural gas getting left behind. The report states that if Congress adopts a climate change bill, there is ‘the possibility that the U.S. may experience a perverse outcome’ in which clean natural gas use would decline. According to the report, if natural gas use declines under such a climate law, U.S. consumers may pay more to achieve [carbon dioxide] emission reductions than if more natural gas had been used,” the groups said.

“It has been reported that your legislation will include greater access to oil and natural gas resources on the federal offshore region. While access to such resources would be a positive development, it would not address the place where natural gas can make its most immediate and significant contributions to achieving the nation’s energy and environmental policy priorities. In sum, it is imperative that your legislation in some way recognize the benefits of natural gas for power generation.”

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