Newport Beach : Gas Deal Will Benefit Both City and Hospital
A plan that could add about $65,000 a year to city coffers while giving a local hospital a chance to save money on its natural gas bill is expected to receive Coastal Commission approval today.
Robert Dixon, executive officer of Newport Beach’s Utilities Department, said the plan calls for the city to install a pipeline to carry natural gas generated by a city-run oil field near the intersection of Coast Highway and Superior Avenue to Hoag Memorial Hospital, Presbyterian, roughly two miles away.
Because the 16-well field produces too little gas to make it practical for oil companies to purchase it, the city has been burning off the approximately 50,000 cubic feet of natural gas generated each day, Dixon said.
However, under terms of a deal recently concluded with Hoag, Newport Beach will sell the gas to the hospital for about half the going rate.
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