Consumer Advocacy – Public Utilities (DCA)

An attractive alternative to using electric power to heat water, cook food, and dry laundry is gas energy. Clean, reliable, and efficient, gas provides both residential and business customers a viable way to perform these and other daily tasks. On the U.S. Mainland, an abundant supply of natural gas not only allows people to heat their water but their homes as well. Because Hawaii has no naturally occurring source of petroleum products or natural gas like those found on the mainland, The Gas Company produces Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) from petroleum by-products. The company also purchases Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), or Propane, mostly from local refineries and this along with SNG is used to meet the needs of their customers.

SNG consists of 77% methane, 11% Hydrogen, 6% butane and 6% carbon dioxide. Sold in British Thermal Units, or BTU’s, both SNG and propane gas are naturally colorless and odorless. To promote safety an odorant is added so its presence can be detected if it leaks or if an appliance is turned on when it is not in use. While SNG is created artificially from petroleum by-products manufactured in Hawaii, it is virtually identical to the types of natural gas found and used on the mainland and throughout the world.

The Public Utilities Commission (“PUC”) recently approved part of The Gas Company’s application to import LNG as a backup to its SNG operations.  For more on this decision, visit our page on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).