ROCHESTER — U.S. Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., applauded Eastern Propane's efforts to expand the use of propane-fueled vehicles, which dovetailed nicely into his proposal for a comprehensive national energy policy.

Sununu on Wednesday afternoon met with company officials, toured Eastern Propane & Oil's facilities at 28 Industrial Way and saw a truck that can run on gasoline and propane.

Sununu, of Waterville Valley, will compete against Tom Alciere of Hudson during the Republican primary on Tuesday. The winner will take on the Democratic candidate — former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen of Madbury — during the Nov. 4 elections.

His plan focuses on conservation, investing in renewable, alternative energy sources, reducing dependance on foreign oil and increasing domestic and offshore oil production in an environmentally safe way. He also wants to improve the regulation of energy markets and to double the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for New Hampshire.

Sununu said he's in favor of eliminating tax subsidies for oil companies and using those funds for heating assistance and winterizing programs.

He said he is an outspoken supporter of providing federal heating assistance to residents of New Hampshire and the Northeast who are in need. He added that he has encouraged Gov. John Lynch to have New Hampshire provide assistance this year as well.

Sununu said national energy programs must be balanced and take advantage of existing technologies — such as propane.

"It's important to put in place policies today," Sununu said, adding this will keep prices down while encouraging the development of alternative energy sources.

Eastern Propane has taken advantage of new improvements in bi-fuel technology.

The 2007 GMC -ton truck was converted to run on two types of fuels — gasoline and propane — in October, according to Jeffrey Taylor, chief operating officer and executive vice president at Eastern.

Taylor said the truck has a 48-gallon tank to store liquid propane, which yields about 300 miles of driving distance. He added the truck gets about 7 miles per gallon, which is the same as gasoline.

Along with saving 100 gallons of fuel, the company also receives tax breaks and credits for the use of the technology, Taylor said.

Nick Gnazzo, marketing manager for Eastern, said the propane is no different from gasoline — both start as liquids and become vapors as part of the combustion process.

Gnazzo said the biggest problem with the technology is there is no infrastructure to refuel vehicles with propane, unlike compressed natural gas or gasoline.

"It works for us because we have the ability to do this," Gnazzo said.

Dean Nicholson, a service technician for Eastern, said there is no visible difference in driving the truck, which runs on both fuels that are kept in separate tanks.

Nicholson said the truck starts running on normal gasoline and the engine automatically switches to propane when the radiator temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. He added it takes longer for the engine to warm up in the winter, but runs fine in the cold.