some cities/states have government mandated rules requiring gas to every home. normally some dinosaur provision before the advent of electrical appliances, to insure new-builds had heat and stuff for winter (landlords have always been cheap SOB's). and sometimes that comes with a state-mandated gas monopoly (rarely a properly public-funded venture...normally some scummy price gouging company)

some even have some bullshit where you have to pay the gas-company anyway for your electrical appliances, through some equivalency-meter type shit (i assume that stuff was just lobbied bribed for by the gas companies)