Why Oklahoma Drivers Will Pay 50 Cents More for CNG on Jan. 1

• Logan Layden
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  Logan Layden is a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma. He is a native of McAlester, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009. Logan spent three years as a state capitol reporter and local host of All Things Considered for NPR member station KGOU in Norman and six years as a reporter with StateImpact from 2011 to 2017. Most recently, he was news director for McAlester Radio before returning to public radio in 2020.

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People who drive natural gas powered vehicles aren’t used to pain at the pump, but a federal tax credit that expires at the end of 2013 will add at least 50 cents to the price of a gallon of compressed natural gas.

That’s a big deal for Oklahoma, which has more CNG fueling stations per capita than any other state, and a governor who vigorously promotes the use of Oklahoma natural gas in vehicles.

The Oklahoman‘s Jay F. Marks reports the tax credit was put in place as part of the 2012 ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations, and Oklahoma fueling stations dropped the price of CNG as a result.

Now, those same retailers will reluctantly adjust the price upward:

“I wish it’d stay on,” said OnCue Express CEO Jim Griffith, who added he has not heard anything about a potential extension of the tax credit. … CNG prices in the metro area ranged from  88 cents to $1.69 a gallon on Friday, according to CNGnow.com, while AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report showed the average price of gasoline in Oklahoma City was $3.037 a gallon.

“As long as it maintains the spread, it’ll do OK,” Griffith said. “When you get to two bucks, it’s a whole different game.”

Griffith told the paper he still plans to add more CNG filling stations in Oklahoma.