Norwich — The new Norwich Public Utilities natural gas filling station looks like a normal gas station, with a white overhang bearing the bright red NPU logo, and those filling up will even get the same discounts as gasoline customers at adjacent Norwichtown Shell — such as a 99-cent coffee or free car wash.

More than 30 people gathered in the hot sun Tuesday to celebrate the opening of the city's second compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station at 168 W. Town St.

But before the speeches even began, the dignitaries had to clear the way when a CNG-powered Honda Civic with New York plates stopped in for a fill-up.

“Let's see if this thing works,” the driver said as he put his credit card in the machine, quickly filled up and left as anonymously as he arrived.

“He wasn't even part of the program,” NPU General Manager John Bilda said. “Just a customer.”

Bilda said the advantage of the new station is its proximity to Interstate 395, state Route 2 and the Stanley Israelite Norwich Business Park.

The first station, located on North Main Street near NPU headquarters, serves the city's CNG fleet and some commercial private fleets.

Speakers Tuesday stressed the federal, state, local and private corporate partnerships that came together to make the project a success and, they hope, signal a future trend in motor vehicle fuel.

“Right now CNG is an upcoming fuel,” said Swarangjit Singh Khalsa, owner of Norwichtown Shell. “Large companies are doing their transition to CNG. It's a cleaner fuel.”

He invited corporations with vehicle fleets to make the switch.

Khalsa already has added “CNG” to his sign on West Town Street.

He said there were no qualms about partnering with NPU on what could be seen as a fuel competitor.

Customers at the new NPU station enter through the Norwichtown Shell driveway at 168 W. Town St. to reach the new station and exit onto Wawecus Street.

The property housing both stations is owned by Hendel's Norwichtown LLC and had been an unused lot, company representative Terry Crowley said.

NPU received a nearly $1.4 million federal grant from the Federal Highway Administration's Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, and the city-owned utility funded the remaining $414,000 cost.

The grant included funding to purchase six additional CNG vehicles, NPU officials said.

While Norwich has one of the largest municipal CNG fleets — including Public Works, NPU and other vehicles — Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut soon will boast having the largest nonmunicipal fleet of CNG vehicles in eastern Connecticut, President and CEO Allen Gouse said.

Easterseals, with its headquarters in the Norwich Business Park, provides employment and community services to hundreds of clients with developmental disabilities.

Gouse said its vehicles travel 350,000 miles per year throughout the region.

When gasoline was nearly $4 a gallon, Gouse fretted over the ballooning fuel costs.

He worked with Clean Cities Coalition and NPU officials and quickly decided on CNG vehicles.

Gouse said Easterseals has three MV-1s, Indianapolis vehicles built as a collaboration between Ford and Hummer, and by mid-July will have a fleet of 16 vehicles.

One of the three vehicles, a black MV-1, drove up to the new station.

Chris Gilbert, 38, of Sprague sat in his wheelchair in the front passenger seat position, an upgrade stressed by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in his remarks during the ceremony.

Gilbert, the senator said, now will see the region with the same views most people take for granted.

c.bessette@theday.com