Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has completed a public-access compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station for the City of Monterey Park, Calif., the energy provider announced.

The facility, located at 751 S. Alhambra Ave., will support the operation of the city's clean Spirit bus fleet and other natural gas vehicles (NGVs). The facility is designed to meet the needs of the Spirit bus operations as well passenger NGVs, parking shuttles, taxis, fleet vehicles, and other area CNG needs, providing fuel to the public during the day when city vehicles are not scheduled to be fueled, according to SoCalGas.

"This project makes good business sense for the City of Monterey Park and we are delighted with the outcome and with the service of SoCalGas. Our new facility will help reduce our CNG fuel costs by about 50 percent, saving our city money and conserving scarce resources," said Ron Bow, director of Public Works and assistant City Manager of Monterey Park. "By also helping cut smog-forming pollutants and reducing our carbon footprint, this project is good for taxpayers, our neighbors and our environment."

The station is the first project SoCalGas has developed under its Compression Services Tariff, a non-residential, optional tariff service for customers that allows SoCalGas to plan, design, procure, construct, own, operate, and maintain compression equipment on customer premises, according to the company.

The project was partially funded by grants from the California Energy Commission and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.