Metropolitan Utilities District, a water and gas company serving more than 400,000 people in Omaha, Nebraska, has been using cleaner burning compressed natural gas in their vehicle fleet for 20 years. Metropolitan began using CNG when gas prices spiked in the early 1990s. Today, thanks to a partnership with Clean Cities neighbors in Kansas City and the Department of Energy,  their CNG fleet consists of 30 new, converted Ford E-250 vans, and 11 Honda Civic GX’s. By this time next year—50 percent of the company’s fleet will run on readily available compressed natural gas. 

DOUG CLARK: With all the gas that is being found in this country and the extraction processes that are being used—natural gas is a bargain.   

JOHN DAVIS: Metropolitan has also built a new public access CNG station near their fleet facility. The utilities company anticipates a fuel cost savings of nearly $100,000 dollars in 2011 making this low- cost alternative fuel an eco-friendly option for Omahans. 

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