Energy Department Loans Fuel to DOD for Connecticut Distribution

Energy Department Loans Fuel to DOD for Connecticut Distribution

From a Department of Energy News Release

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2012 - As part of the federal government's response and recovery effort for Hurricane Sandy and a subsequent storm that struck the Northeast, the Energy Department is providing the Defense Department with additional ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve in response to a request from the state of Connecticut.

The Energy Department will loan diesel fuel to the Defense Logistics Agency, which in turn will provide emergency loans to fuel distributors in Connecticut to address fuel shortages. Last week, President Barack Obama directed the Energy Department to loan DOD reserve fuel as necessary in declaring that Hurricane Sandy has created a severe energy supply interruption.

"This latest announcement is part of the broader federal effort to respond to those impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the more recent Nor'easter storm," Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "This loan from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve will help ensure communities in the impacted area have access to the diesel fuel they need for their transportation systems."

Connecticut requested this additional release to address fuel shortages that resulted primarily from curtailed supplies from New York Harbor. The Energy Department plans to release 4.2 million gallons from the heating oil reserve terminal in Groton, Conn., beginning as early as this weekend. The fuel, which represents roughly five days' worth of fuel consumption in Connecticut, will then be provided to fuel distributors in the state, who will repay it directly in the next 30 days.

The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, created in July 2000 as a component of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, holds 42 million gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel at terminals in Groton and in Revere, Mass.