4/11/2011

Ferrellgas Calls for Neutrality in Alternative Fuel Legislation

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite a challenge from President Barack Obama to the nation's largest fleet owners to help reduce U.S. oil imports by one third by 2025 using a number of viable alternative fuels, Congress is currently only reviewing legislation that would provide federal incentives for natural gas vehicles.

Sponsored by Reps. John Sullivan (R-OK), Dan Boren (D-OK), John Larson (D-CT), and Kevin Brady (R-TX), the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NATGAS) Act of 2011, fails to offer incentives to fleet owners who are interested in using other alternative fuels, including propane autogas.

In a recent meeting with representatives of several companies that operate some of the nation's largest fleets, President Obama announced a National Clean Fleets Partnership through which those companies will deploy more than 20,000 vehicles that use any number of alternative fuels. When discussing the partnership, the President specifically mentioned propane autogas, a domestically produced, environmentally friendly fuel source that is currently used by some of the nation's largest fleets, school districts, and municipalities.

Steve Wambold, President and CEO of Ferrellgas, which is one of the nation's largest propane companies, agrees with President Obama's fuel-neutral approach, and urges Congress to develop legislation that gives America's fleets the ability to choose the alternative fuel that makes the most sense to them.

Wambold says he's confident that propane autogas will fare quite well in that comparison.

"Propane autogas powers more than 15 million vehicles in 38 countries, and is the most widely used alternative fuel in the world," he says. "Propane also compares quite favorably to natural gas. Greenhouse gas emissions are essentially the same, as are fuel costs. Most importantly, a natural gas refueling station costs up to 10 times more than a propane autogas station, and vehicle conversion costs for natural gas vehicles are three times that of a propane autogas vehicle conversion. I urge Congress to take a close look at what seems to be biased legislation that compromises a fleet owner's ability to choose the alternative fuel that is best for his company."

Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. is a Fortune 1000 company and, through its operating partnership, Ferrellgas, L.P., serves approximately one million customers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Ferrellgas employees indirectly own more than 20 million common units of the partnership through an employee stock ownership plan. More information about the company can be found online at www.ferrellgas.com and www.ferrellautogas.com.

Contact: Scott Brockelmeyer, Media Relations, 913-661-1830

SOURCE Ferrellgas Partners, L.P.