Issued on: November 9, 2012
Energy Department Provides Additional Emergency Fuel Loan to Department of Defense as Part of Hurricane Sandy and Nor'easter Recovery
WASHINGTON, D.C. - As part of the government-wide response and recovery effort for Hurricane Sandy and the Nor'easter, the Energy Department is providing the Department of Defense 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 be loaning diesel fuel to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), who in turn will provide emergency loans to fuel distributors in Connecticut to address fuel shortages in the state. This is a continuation of the agreement announced a week ago when President Obama declared that Hurricane Sandy has created a severe energy supply interruption and directed the Energy Department to loan the Department of Defense ultra-low sulfur diesel from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
"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," said Secretary 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."
The State of Connecticut requested this additional release to address fuel shortages that resulted primarily from curtailed supplies from New York Harbor. The Energy Department is currently planning 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 and will be repaid in the next 30 days by the distributors directly.
The Energy Department and DLA stand ready to make available additional fuel as needed.
The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve was created in July 2000 as a component of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to respond to emergencies and supply disruptions in the home heating oil market. The reserve holds 42 million gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel, located at terminals in Groton, Conn. and Revere, Mass.
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