Natural Gas Below $2 for First Time in a Decade The price of natural gas has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, a remarkable decline for a commodity that not long ago was believed to be in short supply. The country's supply of natural gas is growing so fast that analysts worry the country's underground storage facilities could be full by fall and lead to further price declines. On Wednesday, the futures price of natural gas fell to $1.984 per 1,000 cubic feet, its lowest level since January 28, 2002, when the price hit $1.91. If the price slides to $1.75, it would be the lowest since March 23, 1999. Natural gas production has boomed across the country as energy companies employ new drilling techniques to tap previously untouched reserves. The process has raised concerns about water safety, and has been temporarily banned in New York and New Jersey. But where it has been allowed, it has led to increases in drilling, job growth and production. The falling price of natural gas has been a boon to homes and businesses that use the fuel for heat and appliances, and for manufacturers that use it to power their factories and make chemicals, plastics and other materials. Another benefit: Electricity costs are lower because natural gas is used to generate about a quarter of the nation's electric power. FILE - This Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011 photo shows a natural gas well operated by Northeast Natural Energy in Morgantown, W.Va. The well is the subject of a dispute over a drilling ban recently enacted by the city of Morgantown, which is directly across the Monongahela River from the well. On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, the price of natural gas has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade, a remarkable decline for a commodity that not long ago was believed to be in short supply. Natural gas production has boomed across the country as energy companies employ a new drilling technique to tap previously untouched reserves. (AP Photo/David Smith) Close From October to March, households spent $868 on average on natural gas, a decline of 17 percent from last winter. Those savings have helped to relieve the burden of rising gasoline prices. Households spent $1,940 on gasoline from October to March, a 7 percent increase from the same period a year ago. There is so much natural gas being produced - and still in the ground - that drillers, policymakers, economists and natural gas customers are trying to figure out what to do with it. The low prices are hurting the companies responsible for bringing gas to market. Drilling in many fields is no longer profitable, and the stock prices of natural gas drillers are falling in anticipation of declining profits and scaled-back growth plans. Here's more about what natural gas is, what it is used for, who makes it, and where it comes from: Natural gas seeps baffled early civilizations, and likely inspired the Ancient Greeks to build the shrine known as the Oracle of Delphi. In the U.S., the natural gas industry was launched in 1859 when Edwin Drake struck oil and gas in Titusville, Pa. Natural gas prices were regulated for most of the last century. It wasn't until 1993 that the last of the federal price controls were lifted. When natural gas is pulled from the ground, it is 70 percent to 90 percent methane, a simple molecule of carbon and hydrogen that is the most abundant organic molecule on earth. Methane is what gets delivered to homeowners. But the natural gas that comes out of the earth also contains some ethane, propane, butane and other hydrocarbons. These other hydrocarbons are separated from the methane and sold to chemical companies and other industrial users.