A City of Philadelphia economic committee is investigating a proposal to replace aging city vehicles with vehicles that run on compressed natural gas or other alternative fuels.

The City Council's Committee on Global Opportunities & Creative/Innovative Economy held a public hearing earlier this week as the first step toward converting the fleet, reports NBC Philadelphia.

"A lot of the vehicles we have are older and are essentially gas guzzlers," said Councilman David Oh. "Part of what this hearing will do, is to hear from some of the experts in this field on some of the updated technology and systems are, and on what some of the cost benefits are of converting to natural gas."

The city plans to work with a local energy provider such as PECO Energy to build CNG fueling stations and would use grants to offset the cost of CNG vehicles, the media outlet reported.