MLGW will host a grand opening ceremony at the first compressed natural gas (CNG) public fueling station in Shelby County at 1130 Tupelo St. on Wednesday, July 10 at 10:30 a.m.

The station will provide drivers of natural gas vehicles with the ability to purchase fuel. With more than 120,000 natural gas vehicles in the U.S. and more than 15.2 million worldwide, the use of CNG is on the rise. In the U.S., natural gas vehicles offset the use of nearly 360 million gallons of gasoline in 2011.

The price of CNG is driving the market with extreme fuel cost savings and improved air quality. Compressed natural gas is currently $1.50-$2.00 less per Gasoline Gallon Equivalent (GGE).  

“It is our role to enable the public in a multifaceted approach,” said MLGW President and CEO Jerry R. Collins Jr. “Natural gas vehicles are good for our economy, our environment and the customer’s bottom line so we wanted to make sure we have CNG available to customers in Shelby County.”

In gasoline vehicles, evaporative and fueling emissions account for a significant portion of the emissions associated with operation. Natural gas vehicles, on the other hand, produce little or no evaporative emissions during fueling and use.

MLGW has 52 natural gas vehicles and plans to expand its fleet and build four additional public CNG fueling stations around Shelby County.

For more information on natural gas vehicles, visit www.mlgw.com/ngv.

MLGW is the largest three-service public power utility in the nation, serving more than 420,000 customers in Memphis and Shelby County.