Lawmakers: Gas deregulation 'unstable'

ATLANTA - Georgia&#39;s deregulated natural gas market is destined to become a perennial work-in-progress for lawmakers because the system is ``inherently unstable.&#39;&#39; That&#39;s according to the head of Atlanta Gas Light&#39;s parent company. <br> <br> Paula G. Rosput is chairman and chief executive of AGL Resources Incorporated, AGL&#39;s corporate parent. <br> <br> She says in yesterday&#39;s edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the 1997 deregulation law is ``a stupid framework,&#39;&#39; and that legislators will be forced to revise it year after year. <br> <br> The deregulated market has been roundly criticized by consumers, regulators and legislators because of high prices, widespread billing errors and poor customer service. <br> <br> In the last Legislature, lawmakers instructed the Public Service Commission to select a regulated marketer to serve as provider for poor and credit-impaired consumers. <br> <br> AGL was unsuccessful persuading legislators and Governor Roy Barnes to allow it to return as a regulated utility or to be designated as a regulated gas marketer. <br> <br> After the 1997 law, 19 gas marketers opened for business in Georgia, but five years later there are only eight. Four of those control 94 percent of the market.