The Gas Research Institute was founded in 1976 by and ad hoc committee made up of members form the American Gas Association and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. Encouragement for the gas industry to increase R&D came from the Federal Power Commission in that year. GRI incorporated as an independent non-profit in Illinois on July 8, 1976.Gas Research Institute First Five-Year R&D Plan and 1977 R&D Program. Third Printing. May 1978. P. 2. The Institute sponsored research with funding derived from a surcharge on shipments of natural gas sold by the interstate pipelines, thus passing along R&D costs to gas consumers. In 2000, the funding mechanism that supported the Gas Research Institute was phased out. Gas Technology Institute, History , accessed 12 Sept. 2013. That year, the Institute of Gas Technology and the Gas Research Institute combined to form the Gas Technology Institute.Staff report (June 1, 2000). Institute of Gas Technology, Gas Research Institute merge. LP/Gas
