North Dakota Public Service Commission chairman Julie Fedorchak says one solution to get natural gas to communities now without gas is to use liquefied natural gas.
Fedorchak says some North Dakota communities are looking at that option. She says one company – Dakota LNG – produces the liquefied natural gas in North Dakota.
"They have excess supply, and are looking for more customers," Fedorchak told the Legislature's interim Economic Impact Committee. "They can truck the liquefied natural gas to the communities, and it then can be vaporized."
Fedorchak says communities are looking to that option as a source, rather than extend the main gas line.
"Bring it in liquefied, then have the equipment in place to vaporize it, then build a local distribution system within the community," Fedorchak said.
The local distribution systems would likely be municipal-owned.
Fedorchak said she knows Rugby has been working with an engineering firm to make this happen.
Community developers say manufacturers will not come to a community that doesn’t have natural gas.