NW Natural will soon be able to offer High Pressure Natural Gas Service to its business customers, primarily those with fleets of trucks. However, the option will not be available for residential customers at this time.
The Commission decision clears the way for NW Natural to offer the new service by entering into contracts to build company-owned compression equipment located on customers’ property.
In its filing with the Commission, NW Natural indicated it will focus on non-residential customers with fleets of 40 or more vehicles that return to the same location at night. NW Natural will design, plan, engineer, permit, construct, install, inspect, test and maintain the facilities. In addition, NW Natural stated that compressed natural gas offers environmental, economic and safety benefits compared to gasoline or diesel fuel.
“Oregon is a leader in electric vehicles but we lag far behind other states in the use of natural gas vehicles,” Commission Chair Susan Ackerman said. “This proposal is a step forward toward changing that situation. Plus, this is structured in a way that protects ratepayers against financial impacts of this venture.”
To obtain the service, customers must enter into a minimum ten-year agreement.
Clean Energy, a firm owned by T. Boone Pickens that owns and operates natural gas fueling stations from British Columbia to the Mexican border, opposed NW Natural’s proposal.
They argued that approval would create an uneven playing field that will harm the future development of the refueling infrastructure market in Oregon.
The Citizens’ Utility Board, Northwest Industrial Gas Users, Commission staff the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) support the proposal. ODOE contends that rather than hinder competition, NW Natural’s participation in the market is likely to attract more competitors as demand for compressed natural gas increases.
The Commission agreed to review the tariff again in two years to assess how competitive CNG offerings may have been affected by the NW Natural tariff. Any contracts entered into during the two-year period will be grandfathered and permitted to remain in place for their term regardless of the Commission’s later review.
