Power outages hamper gasoline distribution despite ample supplies

無電力的結果是無電油, 無水無糧食補給 !

www.marketwatch.com

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Long lines for gasoline at the few stations still open remained a common sight in the New York City region on Friday as power outages hampered distribution despite plentiful supplies. 

Average retail gasoline prices in New York City edged a penny higher to $3.99 a gallon Friday but remained about half a penny below week-ago levels, Denton Cinquegrana of the Oil Price Information Service said. 

“The problem is the logistics of getting it to market,” he wrote in an email to MarketWatch. “Without power, stations cannot operate, nor can pipelines, racks and terminals, etc.” 

“Racks” refers to overhead fuel lines used to load the tanker trucks that supply neighborhood gas stations. 

With motorists facing lengthy lines, politicians moved to increase supplies.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is waiving requirements for registration and taxes to speed ship and barge deliveries in New York Harbor, a major fuel distribution hub in the Northeast. 

“Millions of gallons of gasoline are now in the harbor and going through the network,” Cuomo said in a message on Twitter. Other Twitter members forwarded his message along with addresses of gas stations still open. 

The Department of Homeland Security said it will waive a Jones Act rule until Nov. 13 to allow foreign-flagged tankers to move from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northeast. 

“This waiver will remove a potential obstacle to bringing additional fuel to the storm-damaged region,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, said in a statement.

Much of New Jersey and New York City remained without power Friday, hampering efforts to reopen service stations and lengthening lines at pumps with power. CBS-TV reported waits of six hours at a Hess Station in Manhattan. 

Sal Risalvato, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association, said his office had been closed all week, along with offices of many members of the trade group. 

“The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and the wreck she left behind is nothing short of disastrous,” Risalvato said Friday in his weekly newsletter. “Though some parts of the state were hit much harder than others, the end-result is a calamity that will take weeks, if not months, to fully recover from.” 

While gasoline remains hard to get, demand is down due to the drop in economic activity tied to the storm, leaving room for prices to fall on a national level. See: Gas hard to get in Northeast but price still right.