Sep. 7--OGDEN -- Melroy Vigoren loves paying less than $1 per gallon at the gas station.

He also loves the fact that his engine gives off almost no emissions, and that after thousands of miles, his motor oil still has a translucent amber hue.

But finding a pump that carries his fuel of choice is a challenge -- not to mention finding one that has enough pressure to fill his tank.

"The savings is great, but you can only get a few gallons if the pressure's down," the Washington Terrace resident said. "They're giving out tax incentives for people to buy these cars, but they're a little slow on getting the facilities built."

Vigoren is part of a growing segment of motorists who, fed up with high prices for gasoline and diesel fuel, have turned to vehicles that run on compressed natural gas.

There are 24 natural gas filling stations open to the public in Utah -- second only to California, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Much of Utah's relatively proactive approach stems from the fact that local prices are among the lowest in the nation.

The current per-gallon equivalent price at the natural gas pump is 87 cents, compared to about $2.50 in California.

Natural gas offers fuel economy comparable to that of regular gasoline.

Even though Utah is considered ahead of the curve, officials acknowledge that a recent surge in demand for natural gas as a motor fuel has made it difficult for the supporting infrastructure to keep up.

"It's definitely putting a strain on our compressor systems," Questar Gas spokesman Darren Shepherd said.

For motor fuel purposes, natural gas is compressed to more than 3,000 pounds per square inch. About 3,200 psi is required to fill a typical eight-gallon tank.

Maintaining that level of pressure was not a problem until recently, Shepherd said.

"When so many vehicles are pulling into these stations, the compressors don't always have a chance to refill," he said.

Summertime heat only exacerbates the problem, he added.

As a state-regulated utility, Questar has to get approval from the Utah Public Service Commission for every new filling station.

The company has installed 19 stations statewide, including new locations in Perry and Woods Cross this year, but currently has no plans in the works for more of the stations, which cost about $500,000 each.

Shepherd said that in the past 18 months, the company's sales at the pump have quadrupled, from about 100,000 gallons a month to 400,000 gallons.