LNG, CNG Sales More than Double Texas Projections

Sales of natural gas for motor vehicles are surging far ahead of Texas projections. According to the Texas Railroad Commission, tax revenues from sales of LNG and CNG exceeded $2.2 million through the end of July. The Texas comptroller’s office had only projected revenue of $992,000 for the 2014 fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31.
“Natural gas vehicles are becoming mainstream faster than expected,” Railroad Commissioner David Porter said. “And there’s plenty of room for growth. These excellent sales figures represent only a fraction of potential sales.” It was unclear how much LNG and CNG sales have actually increased in Texas. Up until this fiscal year the state collected taxes on natural gas through a decal system in which users paid in advance based on their estimated use. And in fiscal 2013 Texas collected $2.2 million in tax revenues. But that number included an approximate 12 percent bump from propane sales. And when the legislature voted to switch to a new system based on actual natural gas sales, propane sales were excluded and the comptroller’s office had to try to calculate how the old estimates figured into actual sales.