Bus operators want Energy Dept to revive natural gas program

Bus operators on Tuesday said they have asked Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras to review and revitalize the Natural Gas Vehicle Program for Public Transport or NGVPPT. “The NGVPPT is a viable program that could answer a lot of problems not only in power generation but also in transportation, as it also spurs related and supplemental programs that will encourage private sector investment and participation," the bus operators said in a letter to Almendras. In 2004, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Executive Order 290 creating the NGVPPT to boost energy supply security for the transport sector by using alternative fuel – in this case, indigenous natural gas. “We reiterate our uncertainties on the viability of the NGVPPT. But given our investments on the said project and the benefits not only to bus operators but ultimately the commuters, we have come up with suggestion for the completion and expansion of the NGVPPT," the operators said. Led by Roberto Torres of RRCG Transport System Co., the operators asked Almendras to look for alternative mother-daughter facilities for compressed natural gas outside those operated by Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. Technical problems plagued PIlipinas Shell's facilities, the operators said. The deparment should initiate the construction and installation of alternative natural gas facilities by "allowing and supporting a consortium of accredited downstream operators to build and operate" fueling stations, they said. —VS, GMANews.TV