TECO Peoples Gas, a Florida-based natural gas distribution utility, has announced it will install a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station and provide utility services to the City of Orlando, Fla., for the first time under a new rate.
In 2014, the Florida Public Service Commission created a new rate that allows Peoples Gas to design, construct, own and maintain CNG stations and deliver natural gas to the outlet of the dispensers for vehicle fueling. According to TECO, customers do not make any upfront investment but instead pay for the service through monthly utility billing.
The station will be located at the city's fleet maintenance facility and will be dedicated to fueling Orlando's fleet of CNG refuse trucks.
‘Through our Green Works initiative, Orlando has become one of the most sustainable cities in the country, and part of that achievement has come from having one of the greenest fleets,’ says Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who recently revealed five new CNG refuse trucks for the city's fleet. ‘I am proud to partner with TECO to provide the infrastructure for our new solid waste vehicles that operate on cleaner fuel and further our efforts to create a cleaner, greener Orlando.’
Keith Gruetzmacher, senior manager of alternative fuel vehicle programs for Peoples Gas, adds, “This is just another great example of how far we've come with building an infrastructure to serve a growing natural gas vehicle industry across Florida. We're one of the fastest-growing compressed natural gas markets in the U.S.”
The new CNG station is expected to be in operation by October.
Photo courtesy of the City of Orlando.
