TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- If a hurricane strikes Florida this year, drivers should find two positive things in the aftermath: More gas stations with working pumps, and shorter lines to fill up, according to a report in the Palm Beach Post.
Gasoline industry officials said Wednesday that by the end of the legislative session, lawmakers should have passed a bill that would require certain gas stations to be prepped and ready to run generators in case of a hurricane or other disaster. Exactly how it's going to get done yet, there's still some discussion [image-nocss] in the House and Senate, Dave Mica, director of the Florida Petroleum Council, told the newspaper. But there is movement on the thing; it seems to be going forward.
One bill (HB 603) passed the House Agriculture Committee, its first of four stops, Wednesday. A Senate bill (SB 528) that passed the Domestic Security Committee got hung up Tuesday in its second committee but is likely to pass when it comes up next week.
It ought to breeze through, and the questions will be addressed, said Jim Smith, president of the Florida Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association. We want something to pass. We're not opposed to anything; we want to be a part of the solution.
After Hurricane Wilma ripped through South Florida on Oct. 24, leaving nearly 6 million people without power, motorists waited in line for gasoline for hours. The problem, in most cases, was not that the gas stations had no fuel; it was that they had no electric power to pump it.
Although lawmakers have been pushing electric utilities to take steps to reduce outages and restore power more quickly, many also have said gas stations should be able to operate whether or not they have electricity.
The bills are still being worked out in both chambers, but the consensus of both is that new gas stations in operation after July 1 must be pre-wired for generators. Existing stations with 16 or more pumps, or that had sold a minimum of 125,000 gallons during a six-month period in 2005, must be ready to run a generator by the end of the year.
Meanwhile in Miami-Dade County, Fla., commissioners approved an ordinance Thursday requiring emergency power at all gas stations. The ordinance requires gas stations in the county on the Southeast tip of the state to install generators powerful enough to operate pumps, lights and cash registers within 24 hours of a storm's passing.
The county may offer loans for small station owners who can't afford to purchase generators. The ordinance requires all gas stations to have generators installed by Aug. 1.
Smith told CSP Daily News he is hopeful the ordinance will be vetoed in favor of a statewide bill to provide even footing for retailers throughout Florida.
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