Central Weights & Measures Association Holds Interim Meeting

This past week, the Central Weights & Measures Association (CWMA) met in St. Charles, Missouri. The organization reviewed a number of current and new regulatory items including the status of the diesel gallon equivalent (DGE) proposal. The DGE proposal failed to gain passage this past summer at the National Conference of Weights and Measures Association (NCWM) meeting despite there being substantial support for the measure. The NCWM has four regional associations that advise the national conference and national committees on issues. At its meeting, the CWMA committees with jurisdiction of the DGE issue recommended that the NCWM Natural Gas Steering Committee continue to work on the DGE proposal in order to develop a proposal that garners more support. The committees also signaled their preference for using mass as the method of sale over providing an equivalency factor. That means that many of the states that make up the CWMA support requiring that all natural gas is sold in pounds or kilograms. It also would mean doing away with the gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) standard that has been in place for 20 years.

Of the associations around the country, the CWMA is probably the most opposed to the DGE approach and the most opposed to continued use of the GGE standard. Several CWMA state members do support the DGE approach, however. And many other states around the country now support this approach. Several states have adopted the DGE approach either legislatively or administratively and more states are considering moving ahead with the DGE approach. NGVAmerica’s Jeff Clarke attended the CWMA meeting to voice our continued support for selling natural gas in gallon equivalent units. NGVAmerica and several members also are represented on the NCWM NG Steering Committee that is working on this issue.

It is important that members and customers continue to voice their support for the DGE proposal since there is no recognized standard for LNG and the alternative approaches under consideration mean rolling back the GGE approach. We would urge anyone interested in this issue to reach out to their state weights and measures officials and let them know that you care about this issue and that you support NGVAmerica’s position. If you can, attend one of the regional meetings. Several NGVAmerica members will be in attendance at next week’s Western Weights & Measures Association Meeting. Next month, the Southern and Northern associations will be holding meetings as well.