Tweet
Forum staff note:
In the interest of keeping a topic from being monopolized by one poster, the following three rapid-fire posts were exacted and consolidated from a thread in the Utah Forum.
--------------------------
If you choose to get the C-plate, which I did not. Gasoline customers to go jail if they burn non-taxed fuel on the highway. Why should MY tax be optional?
They're adding 8.5 cents to the fuel? Fine. That's fair.
As for "local-source": Utah is not an independent country. And most of it comes from Wyoming anyway. What if Wyoming decides to charge Utah a bazillion dollars for it? Is that fair?
The national market is more volatile, but in the long run the stuff sells for what it's worth. It all averages out.
Questar would happily improve the infrastructure, PSC be damned, if there were PROFIT in it. There is not. CNG for vehicles is a political football that they'd really prefer not to play with at all.
The REAL price for CNG, including road taxes and a new, up-to-date fueling network would be a whole lot more than $1.40 per gge. It's just never going to happen until we're willing to pay for it.
CNG is also subsidized in California and the stuff is $2.50 a gallon or so. (Or was back in May, anyway.) They're not ripping anybody off. That's just what it costs. Most of the pumps are fancy and new, and take credit cards. Granted, the raw material is a bit cheaper here because it doesn't have to be shipped 800 miles by pipeline, but the "real" cost in Utah is probably still upward of $2 per gge with all the bells and whistles.
Realistically, comparing apples to apples, CNG is more expensive than the current price for gasoline. We're getting a sweetheart deal. I wouldn't rock the boat. Mess with Questar on this and they might just shut off the pumps.
Incidentally, complaining to the PSC is a waste of time. Federal law requires Questar to adopt the new pricing structure. You're talking about forcing Questar to subsidize CNG even more heavily than they're already doing, and that would inevitably result in higher prices for home heating fuel since they ARE a regulated monopoly in that market and they are guaranteed a certain profit margin. There is no free lunch.
Everybody is paying their own "full rate" based on the cost of delivery and the volume they buy. Big users who are relatively close to the production points get a cheaper rate, obviously. Rates vary for good reasons.
Think about it: I can build a new home and Questar is REQUIRED to come out with a crew and install a service line to my home, along with a meter. But I am under no obligation to actually use any of the stuff. I could heat my home with firewood if I choose. They might NEVER recoup their costs in my lifetime. That's a pretty good deal. But it also makes sense that my residential rate per therm is going to be higher than, say, Utah Power's Gadsby plant on North Temple. They buy vast amounts of gas, and they paid through the nose to help install the delivery infrastructure. Of COURSE they'll get a cheaper rate.
One think to consider, though it's too late for me to think it through (too tired): Questar the "gas company" and Questar the "gas exploration and drilling company" are two different animals. I'm sure that factors into the equation in a number of ways. The "gas company" is a regulated monopoly. The guys sucking the gas out of the ground are NOT.
In the interest of keeping a topic from being monopolized by one poster, the following three rapid-fire posts were exacted and consolidated from a thread in the Utah Forum.
--------------------------
Originally posted by John Mitton
They're adding 8.5 cents to the fuel? Fine. That's fair.
As for "local-source": Utah is not an independent country. And most of it comes from Wyoming anyway. What if Wyoming decides to charge Utah a bazillion dollars for it? Is that fair?
The national market is more volatile, but in the long run the stuff sells for what it's worth. It all averages out.
Originally posted by John Mitton
The REAL price for CNG, including road taxes and a new, up-to-date fueling network would be a whole lot more than $1.40 per gge. It's just never going to happen until we're willing to pay for it.
CNG is also subsidized in California and the stuff is $2.50 a gallon or so. (Or was back in May, anyway.) They're not ripping anybody off. That's just what it costs. Most of the pumps are fancy and new, and take credit cards. Granted, the raw material is a bit cheaper here because it doesn't have to be shipped 800 miles by pipeline, but the "real" cost in Utah is probably still upward of $2 per gge with all the bells and whistles.
Realistically, comparing apples to apples, CNG is more expensive than the current price for gasoline. We're getting a sweetheart deal. I wouldn't rock the boat. Mess with Questar on this and they might just shut off the pumps.
Incidentally, complaining to the PSC is a waste of time. Federal law requires Questar to adopt the new pricing structure. You're talking about forcing Questar to subsidize CNG even more heavily than they're already doing, and that would inevitably result in higher prices for home heating fuel since they ARE a regulated monopoly in that market and they are guaranteed a certain profit margin. There is no free lunch.
Originally posted by chad.nuesmeyer
Think about it: I can build a new home and Questar is REQUIRED to come out with a crew and install a service line to my home, along with a meter. But I am under no obligation to actually use any of the stuff. I could heat my home with firewood if I choose. They might NEVER recoup their costs in my lifetime. That's a pretty good deal. But it also makes sense that my residential rate per therm is going to be higher than, say, Utah Power's Gadsby plant on North Temple. They buy vast amounts of gas, and they paid through the nose to help install the delivery infrastructure. Of COURSE they'll get a cheaper rate.
One think to consider, though it's too late for me to think it through (too tired): Questar the "gas company" and Questar the "gas exploration and drilling company" are two different animals. I'm sure that factors into the equation in a number of ways. The "gas company" is a regulated monopoly. The guys sucking the gas out of the ground are NOT.
Comment