Understanding nGenue end users

nGenue is a comprehensive natural gas software solution used by multiple stakeholders in the natural gas industry. These stakeholders, or end users, play different roles in the natural gas value chain from production to consumption. Each type of end user interacts with the nGenue platform in specific ways to fulfill their business and operational responsibilities.

The following are the various end users of nGenue involved in the trade, transportation, and distribution of natural gas.

Natural gas marketers

Natural gas marketers are individuals or companies that buy and sell natural gas. Marketers do not own infrastructure, they trade gas and manage supply/demand balance. They are primarily responsible to buy gas from producers or pipelines and sell gas to LDC, industrial users, or retailers, often act as intermediaries between them. They also manage pricing, delivery, and contractual obligations.

Using nGenue, they enter and manage supply and sales contracts, forecast demand and schedule nominations. Additionally, they track deliveries, generate invoices, reports and monitor regulatory compliance.

Example

A marketer contracts to supply 50,000 dekatherms (dth) of gas per month to a factory in Ohio. They use nGenue to track the agreement, forecast delivery volumes, nominate supplies through pipelines, and invoice the customer monthly.

Natural gas producers

These are upstream companies that extract natural gas from underground reserves through drilling and related processes. Producers create the gas, they don’t distribute it directly to homes or businesses. They are responsible to produce, process raw natural gas and sell gas to marketers or pipelines. They also manage output forecasts and nominations.

Using nGenue, they track wellhead production, coordinate delivery schedules, monitor storage and pricing trends.

Example

A producer in Texas delivers gas to three buyers. Using nGenue, they forecast output from wells, input daily production figures, match volumes with contracts, and notify pipelines of nominated quantities.

Natural gas distributors

Distributors are responsible for transporting natural gas from pipelines or city gates to residential, commercial, or industrial end users. Distributors focus on local infrastructure & customer service, sometimes a subset of LDC functions. They are responsible to maintain regional distribution infrastructure, and manage metering, billing, and emergency services. They ensure steady, safe delivery of gas.

Using nGenue, they monitor customer usage and meter data, generate bills, track payments, schedule maintenance and address outages.

Example

A distributor handles 80,000 residential connections. In winter, gas usage spikes. They use nGenue to pull meter data, calculate bills, and adjust supply nominations accordingly.

Local Distribution Company (LDC)

LDC are regulated entities that receive natural gas from pipelines at city gates and deliver it to homes and businesses. LDC are the bridge between pipelines and actual customers (regulated, city-based). They are responsible to manage storage, distribution, and billing. They predict demand and nominate gas volumes accordingly. Serve residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

Using nGenue, they nominate, balance gas deliveries, monitor pipeline capacity and city gate usage. They invoice customers based on actual consumption.

Example

An LDC in Illinois anticipates cold weather demand. Using nGenue, they schedule gas withdrawals from storage, send nominations to pipeline operators, and reconcile volumes with metered usage.

Utilities

Utilities are companies (public or private) that deliver essential services such as electricity, water, and gas. In many cases, gas utilities also function as LDC. Utilities are broader as they may handle multiple services, while LDCs focus only on gas. They ensure affordable, continuous gas supply to consumers while compliant with local, state and federal regulations. They maintain pricing transparency and infrastructure.

Using nGenue, they manage tariffs, rates, and customer accounts. Furthermore, they forecast demand, track delivery performance and generate compliance and regulatory reports.

Example

A municipal utility serving 40,000 households uses nGenue to forecast monthly demand, generate customer bills from meter reads, and submit performance metrics to regulatory agencies.

Pipeline operator

Pipeline operators manage high-pressure pipelines that move gas from production areas to city gates or large end-users across long distances. Pipelines move the gas but don’t usually sell it to end consumers. They are responsible to operate and maintain interstate/intrastate pipelines. They schedule and track gas movements. They ensure system safety, integrity, and capacity balancing.

Using nGenue, they accept nominations from shippers and monitor flow rates and pressure points. In addition, they reconcile actual and nominated volumes. Notices Issue imbalance and perform cash-outs if required.

Example

A pipeline operator receives nominations from multiple LDC. Using nGenue, they allocate capacity, validate nominations, monitor delivery points, and notify marketers of imbalances.

Summary of interconnection between nGenue end users

End user	Role and responsibilities	How they interact with others
Producers	Extract natural gas from underground reserves. Manage production forecasts and delivery commitments.	Sell gas to marketers or directly to pipelines. Coordinate delivery schedules with pipeline operators.
Marketers	Buy and sell natural gas. Manage supply contracts, demand forecasts, and customer billing.	Buy from producers, sell to LDC, industrial users, or utilities. Submit nominations to pipelines for transportation.
Pipelines	Transport natural gas across long distances via interstate or intrastate pipelines. Manage flow and capacity.	Receive nominations from marketers and LDC. Transport gas from producers to LDC and utilities. Monitor and report imbalances.
LDC	Deliver gas from the city gate to homes, businesses, and industrial users. Manage storage, billing, and demand forecasts.	Receive gas from pipelines. Purchase from marketers or producers. Bill end users based on actual usage.
Distributors	Operate local pipeline infrastructure. Handle metering, service delivery, and outage response.	Work closely with LDC to ensure timely and safe gas delivery. Maintain customer and meter data for billing and operations.
Utilities	Provide essential services like gas, electricity, or water. Maintain infrastructure and regulatory compliance.	Sometimes function as LDC. Use pipeline services and purchase gas via marketers. Coordinate with regulators and customers.

Each end user leverages nGenue for specific modules and workflows, such as contract management, billing, scheduling, forecasting, trading, and regulatory reporting.

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