NCWM Adopts DGE Standard for Natural Gas Motor Fuel Sales

Earlier this week, the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) at its annual meeting voted to approve the DGE standard as a legally authorized method of sale for natural gas that is sold as motor fuel. The DGE standard allows for the ready comparison of natural gas with diesel fuel, the dominant fuel used in today’s trucks applications.

The DGE standard compliments the GGE standard previously adopted by NCWM that has been in place for CNG since 1994 and that has aided consumers and retailers alike. Importantly, the adoption of this standard fills a void for LNG, which although sold by most retailers in DGE units, previously lacked a uniformly recognized standard.

The adoption of the DGE standard is the culmination of a more than a three-year process of industry working with the NCWM to adopt a sensible approach for selling LNG. The NCWM’s action also means that the DGE unit will also be available for CNG retailers who want to use the unit for their retail sales to truck fleets. NGVAmerica led a broad coalition of national trade associations, fuel providers and retailers, natural gas utilities, trucking fleets and retailers to make the case for adoption of the standard.

“NGVAmerica thanks the NCWM leadership for its thoughtful consideration of this issue and for working with the natural gas vehicle industry to get this done,” said NGVAmerica President Matthew Godlewski. “This successful vote was the culmination of years of hard work by NGVAmerica staff, our members, industry allies and public officials with the shared goal of transparency for the customer.”

In addition to providing a common-sense unit of sale for fuel retailers and consumers, the DGE standard provides the benchmark for consistency with taxation methods and creates efficiencies associated with accounting and record keeping requirements. Twenty-eight states currently use the DGE for taxing LNG, and ten states have enacted legislation or approved regulations recognizing the DGE as a standard for dispensing natural gas.