Natural Gas Is Hot on Pensacola Beach
Portofino Resort has seven pools and seven spas that needed to be heated to 84 and 101 degrees, respectively; electric heaters could not get the job done.
The Beach Club’s outdoor pool remained cold no matter how much its electric heat pump tried to warm it during cool-weather season.
The Grand Marlin was paying a small fortune to supply its kitchen with propane so that its chefs could produce the gourmet dishes its customers expected.
The solution for these and many other businesses on Pensacola Beach arrived in early 2012 when Gulf Breeze Natural Gas brought economical, efficient, clean natural gas to the island.
Since March of that year, when the Grand Marlin became the first customer to turn on the gas, thirty-three businesses have converted electric and/or propane equipment to natural gas. As the City of Gulf Breeze utility operation expanded its fuel delivery infrastructure in the core beach area, thirty-seven homes have also opted to connect to natural gas.
Looking over the growth figures for the first two years of beach operations, Director of Public Utilities Vernon Prather terms the success of the effort “phenomenal.”
“We’ve had some challenges to overcome,” Prather said, “and there are going to be more challenges going forward. But it’s all worth it and very satisfying to be able to help these businesses operate better and more efficiently and cut their overhead expenses.”
At Portofino, besides pool and spa heating, natural gas now powers the lifestyle kitchen and pizza kitchen and has made it possible to enhance the resort ambiance with top-of-the-line copper Tiki torches.
Margaritaville and Landshark Landing have converted their kitchens from propane to natural gas, and Landshark’s unique shark-fin shaped fire pit has been retrofitted to operate on natural gas. The entertainment complex is currently looking at other fire features that would add to its ambiance.
In the process of providing a much-needed and warmly welcomed service on Pensacola Beach, Gulf Breeze Natural Gas has achieved phenomenal growth. The amount of natural gas sold per month has increased from 1850 therms in March 2012 to more than 54,000 therms for this past March.
As utility staff work with two hotels and other restaurants which are expected to convert in the coming months, Prather says the forecast for natural gas on Pensacola Beach will continue sunny and hot for some time to come.
