Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) has recently grown its natural gas business, with a focus on pushing the fuel to outside automotive drivers. They say the thriving business is creating revenue for them, while keeping savings in drivers' pockets.
MLGW's sales of natural gas as a vehicle fuel have been on the rise for the past three years, with a significant increase seen last year. In 2014, MLGW generated over $7.7 million in liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales, more than quadrupling LNG revenue over the previous year (which in itself saw a jump of close to a half-million dollars, rising from $1.5M in 2012 to $1.6M in 2013).
According to Michael Taylor, Head of LNG and CNG Business Development at MLGW, "Every $1 million increase in LNG sales annually is equivalent to adding 1,600 new residential customers."
But why are people interested in buying natural gas to power their vehicles? It turns out that natural gas is cheaper; and while money always talks, the environment benefits as well.
Natural gas burns cleaner than the gasoline or diesel that would otherwise go into vehicles. Another more recent consideration is that new diesel engines require diesel exhaust fluid to meet more stringent emissions standards. These fluids and associated systems create a maintenance hassle that vehicles running on natural gas easily avoid.
According to Allison Fouche, Strategic Marketing Coordinator for Energy Resources at MLGW, MLGW has 90 CNG vehicles in their fleet, which they fuel through their own network. And this network is also open to other customers.
Inland Waste is one such outside customer. The company came to Memphis and purchased 24 new trash trucks that ran on CNG rather than diesel. Bart Begley, CEO of Inland Waste, said with his 24 CNG trucks, he enjoyed a cost savings to his bottom line of 30 percent. He added that emissions were reduced by 90 percent per truck. MLGW has since partnered with Inland Waste to deliver natural gas to their own fueling stations.
For Taylor, this is a business that will keep growing. He says when shopping for auto fuel, MLGW's prices are the lowest in the area. He himself runs his Honda Civic on natural gas, a car with a seven-gallon tank that he can often fill up for less than $10. The price, he believes, will encourage consumers to spend the money required to make the switch to natural gas vehicles--meaning MLGW will continue to increase sales for years to come.
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