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Natural Gas Prices Remain Steady as Gasoline Prices Soar

9 April 1999

NGV Coalition: Natural Gas Prices Remain Steady as Gasoline Prices Soar

    DOWNEY, Calif., April 8 -- The nation has seen a dramatic
increase in retail gasoline prices over the last several weeks, while the
price that vehicle owners have been paying for natural gas has remained
steady.  In a presentation made to the Medium- and Heavy-duty Natural Gas
Vehicle (NGV) Expo held here today, Richard Kolodziej, president of the NGV
Coalition, highlighted the disparity in fuel prices between natural gas and
gasoline.  He also pointed out that the U.S. yet again is being held hostage
to decisions made in foreign countries that affect the price Americans pay for
gasoline at the pump.
    According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information
Administration, the average retail price for gasoline nationwide has soared an
average of 23 percent from March 8, 1999 to April 5, 1999.  During that time,
the average national retail price for all grades of reformulated gasoline
(RFG) rose from $1.033 to $1.270, and the average national retail price for
regular grade RFG rose from $0.986 to $1.224.  According to Greg Vlasek,
executive director of the California NGV Coalition, the West Coast has
experienced an even more dramatic jump in the retail cost of gasoline.  From
March 8, 1999 to April 5, 1999 the average retail price for regular grade
California RFG rose from $1.162 to $1.586, and, for premium grade, the average
retail price rose from $1.371 to $1.793.
    The retail price of natural gas, however, has remained relatively constant
over the same period of time.  An industry survey, completed by the CNGVC,
shows the price of natural gas ranging from $0.88 to $1.07 per equivalent
gallon.
    Vlasek and Kolodziej noted that in addition to economics, there are
several reasons for the interest in using natural gas as a transportation
fuel.

    * The California Air Resources Board has identified particulate emissions
from diesel-fueled engines as a toxic air contaminant.  Natural gas vehicles
produce virtually no particulates.
    * Diesel exhaust has long been considered to be a probable carcinogen by
the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
    * A Congressional report released this month concludes that air toxic
levels in Los Angeles are 462 times greater than what the Clean Air Act
Amendment allows for acceptable levels.  Natural gas vehicles produce none or
very low levels of these air toxics.
    * A recent report prepared by the Natural Resources Defense Council,
titled "Exhausted by Diesel: How America's Dependence on Diesel Engines
Threatens our Health", includes information that air toxic levels are
essentially unchanged by use of "clean diesel."
    * California Air Resources Board data reveal that 79 percent of NOx
emissions in smoggy Southern California are produced from mobile sources.
    * All major manufacturers in the automotive, trucking and transit
industries offer NGV products that are available today and have years of
proven reliability.

    Another important factor explaining policy-makers' interest in NGVs is
energy dependence.  In 1972, the U.S. was importing approximately 30 percent
of its oil from foreign sources.  Today, that number is nearly 60 percent. In
1998, expenditures for imported crude oil and petroleum products contributed
$45 billion to our foreign debt.  According to the U.S. Energy Information
Agency, if significant action is not taken, America could be dependent on
imports for nearly 70 percent of its petroleum within the next 10-15 years.
    Increased use of NGVs helps reduce neighborhood air pollution,
vehicle-generated greenhouse gases and our dependence on foreign oil.  At the
same time, it helps improve our balance of trade, promotes more jobs in the
U.S. and reduces the likelihood of an international petroleum crisis.
    The NGVC is a national organization dedicated to the development of a
growing, sustainable and profitable natural gas vehicle market.  The NGVC
represents more than 180 natural gas companies, equipment manufacturers and
service providers, as well as environmental groups and government
organizations interested in the promotion and use of natural gas as a
transportation fuel.
    For more information about the NGVC, please visit the coalition's Web site
at http://www.ngvc.org.