June 7, 2012

Inside Westport: Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs

At Westport our focus is not just developing leading technologies for allowing engines to run on natural gas; we work with industry partners to help develop the market for natural gas vehicles. For instance, our Manager of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Tahra J. devotes her time to, in her words, “breaking down barriers for the deployment of natural gas vehicles (NGVs).”

Tahra’s role at Westport is integral to the increased adoption of natural gas vehicles. She works with internal and external stakeholders to provide information and to pursue current and upcoming grants and incentives applicable to Westport products and research. Not only does she seek incentives that might help businesses shift their fleets to natural gas, she also advocates on behalf of Westport and works to affect legislation and policy for the increased use of natural gas in transportation. In jurisdictions where incentives don’t yet exist, she works with industry peers and local governments to examine how natural gas can help satisfy air quality requirements and ease the finances of local fleets through the adoption of cleaner lower cost fuels. How does she decide where to focus on developing incentives? She gives priority to areas where there are many Westport customers for whom funding would be helpful.

On any given day, Tahra is doing government relations and regulatory work for primarily our heavy-duty business. This includes assessing legislation and regulations that affect the deployment of natural gas vehicles or technologies and ensuring that Westport is well informed about what is happening within the natural gas industry and the external political environment.

In addition, Tahra also works to ensure Westport is represented in key meetings and conferences to provide input to advance the discussion on transitioning away from diesel fuel and to provide leadership and expertise to fleets, policy makers and the public on the advantages of natural gas for transportation .

No comments:

Post a Comment