Natural Gas Insights

A delivered thermal energy economic report based on official U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) May 2026 price releases ($19.24/Mcf residential natural gas; 18.44¢/kWh residential electricity) establishes the August 2026 Heating Cost-per-MMBtu Benchmark. Delivering 1 MMBtu (1,000,000 BTU) of useful space warmth costs $54.04 with 100% electric resistance heating—a 179.6% premium over a 96% AFUE condensing gas furnace ($19.33/MMBtu). However, a high-efficiency electric air-source heat pump operating at an average seasonal COP of 3.0 delivers heat at $18.01 per MMBtu, undercutting a 96% gas furnace by 6.8% ($1.32/MMBtu) and an 80% mid-efficiency gas furnace ($23.19/MMBtu) by 22.3% nationally.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported the May 2026 national average delivered residential natural gas price at $19.83 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), equivalent to an estimated $1.9141 per therm based on the EIA average heat-content conversion of 1,036 Btu per cubic foot (10.36 therms per Mcf). During off-season summer months when space heating is dormant, typical household gas usage drops to 25–40 therms for water heating and cooking, modeling a total delivered baseline of $47.85 to $76.56 per month based on aggregate national EIA delivered rates.

EIA reported the U.S. residential natural gas price at $18.17 per thousand cubic feet in April 2026, up from $16.17 in April 2025. Using EIA heat-content factors, that equals about $1.75 per therm before local fixed charges, taxes, and utility-specific delivery rules.