Motor Fuel Set-Aside Program

Green Alert's Motor-fuel Set-aside program is designed to be used by a state energy office. The Motor Fuel Set-Aside Program guidelines (contained in the state energy plan) provides a working description of all aspects of the program, including staff operations and procedures for approvals, appeals, audits, and reports to the governor and legislature.

Description                                               

There are four elements in the fuels set-aside program: basic set-aside; community hardship; assignment of prime supplier and adjustment of supply volume; and certification for emergency services. To achieve maximum flexibility in the set-aside program, the individual elements within the program are implemented only as directed by the Fuel Contingency manager (FCM) or a Motor-Fuel Advisory Group; they will not automatically become effective when the set-aside program is implemented. In addition, some parts of the program will be implemented only if the federal government institutes price and allocation controls.

Basic Set-Aside Element

The Basic Set-Aside Element redistributes fuel supplies to bulk consumers who are considered priority users and who are experiencing difficulty obtaining sufficient fuel supplies at any price.

Community Hardship Element

The Community Hardship Element allows for distribution of fuels to qualified fuel-short areas. A community may request fuel supplies from the state set-aside when it is experiencing an emergency or hardship caused by a shortage of fuel, or is receiving less than 80 percent of the allocation fraction. A community is defined as either a city or county, or a geographic area of five square miles but containing ten service stations, or a military base exchange. Community hardship is the only element of the program whereby retail service stations may be eligible for a set-aside allocation.

Assignment & Adjustment Element

The Assignment and Adjustment Element is primarily intended for use only after the federal government institutes a price and allocation control program. Those bulk purchasing end users who have not established a record of fuel deliveries for the base period may request that they be assigned a prime supplier. Those end users who have substantially increased their fuel use since the time of the base period may apply for an adjustment of supply volume to increase the amount of their supplies. The fuels allocation officer may extend assignments and adjustments on a month-to-month basis, or for a maximum of a 90-day period. This assignment automatically expires at the end of the designated period, at which time the applicant may request an extension.

Certification Element

The Certification Element of the program allows priority end users who provide emergency, health, safety, or essential services to apply for certification of need to receive their needed supplies. They must provide justification for a request that exceeds their base period volume.

Set-Aside Priority System

When certain critical services and industries are unable to obtain adequate supplies of fuel through the existing market, these bulk purchasers can apply to the Fuel Allocation Advisory Group/committee (FAC) for additional fuel through a priority distribution system. Each application will be reviewed and evaluated by the FAC as to the justification for the request.

Minimum Fuel Purchase

This measure would be implemented should the retail service stations be unable to curtail the gasoline lines through their own activities and procedures.

The FCM will issue the mandate stating gasoline stations are to sell, as a minimum, the market price of specific gallons worth, rounded to the nearest dollar. Motorists may be required to pay the minimum amount mandated, whether or not that minimum amount was purchased. Exceptions: Police, fire, ambulance and other emergency vehicles, Commercial trucks, Common carriers of both passengers and freight, Farm machinery and agricultural vehicles, Construction machinery, Motorcycles and mopeds, th3 filling of portable containers, and additional exceptions as determined by the FCM.