The California Energy Commission is providing fleet-eligible $1,000 incentives for the purchase of Honda's Civic Natural Gas sedan as part of a larger initiative to expand the use of alternative fuels in the state.

The commission awarded Honda incentives for up to 1,600 Civic Natural Gas sedans that will be offered through dealers on a first-come-first-serve basis to fleets and retail buyers, said Annabel Cook, a Honda alternative fuel vehicle consultant.

Honda dealers began offering the incentives April 22. The one-year program expires April 22, 2015. The incentives, which are part of the state's Natural Gas Vehicle Buydown program, should be plentiful partly because Honda produces about 2,000 per model year, Cook said.

"The likihood that we'll be out of them any time soon is slim to none," Cook said.

So far, several government fleets have taken advantage of the incentives, including the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), Santa Monica Big Blue Bus transit agency, and Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA).

The AQMD is seeking to acquire 20 Civic Natural Gas sedans that would be used as inspector vehicles, public affairs vehicles and pool cars. LAWA has acquired three sedans for use at Los Angeles International Airport as administrative pool cars. The Santa Monica transit agency plans to use its three cars for driver release vehicles.

Several corporate fleets have also placed large orders for the Civic Natural Gas sedan, including AT&T. The telecommunications giant ordered 225 sedans in 2013 for its California operations.

By Paul Clinton