As the energy landscape continues to evolve, utilities must effectively communicate the benefits of natural gas to residential and commercial customers. By sharing educational information and understanding customer needs, utilities have the opportunity to spread awareness about natural gas and build stronger customer relationships.    

According to the U.S. Energy Information Association, the United States used about 89.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas last year, the highest amount ever recorded. In fact, 60% of U.S. homes use natural gas for cooking, water and space heating as well as drying clothes. As these statistics demonstrate, natural gas remains a viable and prevalent energy source.

“Access to the direct use of natural gas is beneficial in homes and businesses, large and small,” says Audrey Casey, Communications & Marketing Director at the American Public Gas Association (APGA). “Public gas utilities, owned by the communities they serve, are committed to educating their customers on the safe use of natural gas and the overall affordability of natural gas for homes and businesses.”

Spreading natural gas awareness

Many consumers are unaware of the benefits of natural gas compared to other energy options. To create better awareness, utilities have an opportunity to emphasize the affordability, reliability and efficiency of natural gas and underscore its ability to meet the needs of different lifestyles, Casey notes. For Atmos Energy, communicating the benefits of natural gas to both residential and commercial customers is a utility-wide effort. The Dallas, Texas-based utility provides natural gas to more than 3 million customers across eight states.

“Marketing campaigns that spread awareness about natural gas are primarily centered around reliability, efficiency and affordability,” says Bridget Wallace, Director of Marketing Services at Atmos Energy. “From the end-use customer perspective, natural gas is more affordable. It’s also very reliable, even during severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes, because the system is completely underground.”

Atmos Energy’s current Why Choose Natural Gas campaign features outdoor and digital placements, including social media, streaming radio and website banner ads, to spread awareness about natural gas. The eye-catching ads capture attention with engaging copy that communicates key benefits. Additionally, the ads encourage consumers to talk to their builder to see if natural gas is an option for their homes.

“We have begun a broader outreach effort to communicate the benefits of natural gas through outdoor advertising this year,” Wallace explains. “We’re targeting our customers and the general public, particularly in locations where there is new construction growth.”

At Peoples Natural Gas, core messages of affordability and reliability are consistent across customer segments. The utility provides natural gas service to more than 700,000 customers in western Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

As part of the People Behind the Pipes campaign, utility employees in the field share natural gas benefits for customers. The campaign also highlights how natural gas helps to create family-sustaining jobs in the community.

“Natural gas is the best-value option among energy sources,” says Nick Paradise, Communications Manager at Peoples Natural Gas. “It is safe, reliable and critical to reducing emissions while still being cost-effective. This is especially relevant for us in Western Pennsylvania, America’s second-largest energy producer sitting atop the world’s second-largest natural gas reserve.” 

Consumers have a choice

Energy choice is also a key message, ensuring consumers understand they have the right to choose natural gas for their homes and businesses. 

Currently, 26 states have fuel choice legislation to preserve access to natural gas in homes and businesses. This provides energy choices to more than 157 million U.S. consumers and 58 million households. According to the American Gas Association, consumer energy choice legislation “preserves access to safe, clean, affordable energy resources.”

“Consumers deserve accurate information and resources about natural gas so that they are empowered to choose the best energy source to meet their needs,” Casey notes.

Most of the states within Atmos Energy’s service territory have passed fuel choice legislation. The utility’s consumer messaging highlights natural gas as the smart energy choice for home heating, water heating and cooking. 

“With our general consumer advertising, we focus on helping customers realize the benefits of the product they are receiving since energy is something we often take for granted,” Wallace says. “We want our customers – and consumers in general – to understand the benefits of natural gas and realize they have the right to make a choice.”

Piedmont Natural Gas, which serves more than 1.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, provides customers with relevant information, ensuring they make the best choice for their homes and businesses. Recently, the utility began using a data science model to help identify and prioritize potential customers to target for conversion to natural gas appliances.

“It’s our responsibility to make customers and potential customers aware of not only the immediate benefits of natural gas – warmer heat, more precise cooking, etc. – but also the long-term overall savings that come with using natural gas as an energy source,” says Jason Wheatley, Lead Communications Manager at Piedmont Natural Gas.

Highlighting environmental efforts

Customers are increasingly concerned about their carbon footprint and how their energy usage is impacting the environment. Natural gas can support a diverse energy mix due to its domestic abundance, efficiency, reliability and cost-effective nature. According to the APGA, emissions from the natural gas distribution system have declined 70% since 1990, and CO2 emissions from residential natural gas use are about 18% lower than those attributable to all-electric homes.

“Natural gas is a critical energy source that plays an important role in meeting local and federal environmental goals,” Casey says. “The direct use of natural gas in homes and businesses reduces the demand for other, more carbon intensive forms of energy, resulting in net carbon emission reductions.”

Peoples Gas educates consumers about the utility’s extensive capital projects to install new pipelines. In addition to enhancing safety and reliability, these projects reduce emissions. The new pipelines are made of long-lasting materials with less risk of leaks or corrosion.

The utility has also begun to highlight efforts to support newer alternative fuels, such as renewable natural gas (RNG) and hydrogen. “We support an ‘all of the above’ approach to meet our current and future energy needs,” Paradise says. “So even as we tout natural gas as a best-in-class energy option, we try to focus on the positives rather than taking an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ approach in our broad-based advertising.”

Through the GreenEdge program, Piedmont Natural Gas allows residential and small commercial customers to subscribe to monthly “blocks” that represent a combination of RNG environmental attributes and carbon offsets. Each $3 block is equivalent to 12.5 therms of natural gas usage, or 20% to 25% of the average household’s natural gas use. Customers can choose their own subscription amount to fit their budget and usage.

“The program has achieved some extraordinary results since its debut in 2022,” Wheatley says. “Program participants have contributed to the purchase of 3,729 tons worth of carbon offsets and 668 tons of RNG attributes. These customers have helped support four projects dedicated to reducing and offsetting customer carbon emissions.”

To showcase the efficiency of natural gas, Atmos Energy partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build zero net energy (ZNE) homes in eight states. Each home meets green building standards and certifications, including high efficiency natural gas heating, rooftop solar technology, top-rated insulation and more. In fact, a ZNE home produces as much energy as it consumes within a year. Since 2021, the utility has completed construction of 12 ZNE homes.

“These are homes with a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score less than zero,” says Greg Anderson, Marketing Manager at Atmos Energy. “We want to showcase that we’re part of the solution – you can still be energy efficient and help the environment while experiencing the comfort of natural gas.”

Going forward, natural gas utilities must remain agile and proactive in their communication strategies. With the right messaging and education, utilities can build trust, improve customer understanding and continue to play a vital role in a sustainable energy future.