Railroad Commission Alternative Fuels Sets Licensing Record in FY 2019

Issues More than 7,300 Licenses

AUSTIN – The Railroad Commission’s Alternative Fuels Licensing section set a record in Fiscal Year 2019 (Sept. 1, 2018 – Aug. 31, 2019) by issuing more than 7,300 licenses. Additionally, the Commission also set a record by registering almost 5,600 trucks to distribute liquefied petroleum gas (propane), compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquified natural gas (LNG) in FY 19.

RRC’s Alternative Fuels section protects public safety by overseeing operators’ compliance with Commission rules on propane, CNG and LNG. Companies installing, transporting, dispensing and selling alternative fuels must be licensed with the Commission. Individuals performing activities with alternative fuels must be certified by the Commission and all alternative fuel installations must be installed in accordance with the Commission rules.

“I’m extremely proud of our staff’s hard work,” said April Richardson, director of the Commission’s Alternative Fuels Safety Department. “Not only did we set records for ensuring operators are properly trained and licensed to protect public safety, but we did it with a shortage of personnel when two experienced licensing specialists retired. Fortunately, two new licensing specialists were quickly hired, trained and completed their tasks well ahead of schedule.”

Other highlights in FY 19 include:

Inspections:

• Performed a record-breaking number of inspections—almost 19,000—exceeding the Texas Legislature’s performance measure of 17,000 inspections for FY 19.

Training:

• Administered a higher number of exams than ever—almost 6,640 and renewed a record-breaking number of renewals for all certificate holders—more than 16,000.
• Provided nearly 3,000 hours of training for LP-gas (propane) certifications.
• Developed a pilot LP-gas online training class at the end of FY 19 and will be implementing LP-gas online classes statewide during FY 20.