The newly established CNG Company of T&T (CNGC) will adopt a sensible and effective strategy for implementation of Government's alternative fuel policy for the transport sector, acting president Curtis Mohammed has told the T&T Guardian.
Mohammed said CNGC, a subsidiary of state-owned National Gas Company of T&T (NGC), aims to convert consumer demands for automotive fuel, which is subsidised at a cost of $7 billion annually, to a cleaner and more cost effective option. It will cost tax-payers $2 billion for CNGC to execute the programme over five years, he said. The first year of the plan has already been completed and $500 million had already been approved for the first two years.
While it would be impossible to operate CNG filling stations nationwide, he said, the company will operate 30 fixed stations through a partnership with National Petroleum Marketing Company and Unipet. In addition, CNCG will establish five mobile stations to meet expected demand for the fuel. Tender have already been sent out for the five mobile stations."We intend to assist with funding and setting the standard for CNG in T&T," Mohammed said.
"We have already partnered with fuel station owners for distribution. We will market and promote CNG as a cheaper, safer and reliable fuel, and very important, we will monitor and control CNG at every station to ensure the same experience is had by each consumer. And we will participate in the conversion of certain market segments. We have already started with PTSC. We know 35 buses are coming to T&T in November. That's a very important part of what we have to do.
"The level of importance the Government has placed in the development of this market is evident by the incentives we see in place. Many government fleets and public transportation vehicles, of course, are been converted to CNG. Now, the NGC itself has already outfitted its fleet to CNG and Petrotrin has already advertised, so the government companies are on board."
The criteria for selecting fixed station partners will be based on the existence of NGC pipelines, Mohammed explained, and the expansion programme will be based on traffic and projections provided by NP and Unipet. Incentives are being explored for segments of the market which use a lot of diesel to convert to CNG.Mohammed said while CNG will not be for everyone, the company wants to offer the public an option.
Citing the vital role of the private sector in this national objective, he said CNGC officials met with members of the business community about converting vehicles to CNG."We have had meetings with the private sector, as well to explore what lines they can get from suppliers. We want to make this thing work well. The implementation of it is important. If we implement (it) right in the beginning, we could rapidly increase," he said.
"We are installing the equipment. We own that equipment that will be doing all the compression and dispensation at the different stations. Stations (will) take between nine and 18 months to install. Getting vehicles to convert is just a matter of months in some cases. One thing we don't want to do that has happened in the past is to create the demand faster than the supply. We will be managing the ramp up in tandem so people will not be frustrated."