Back-Up Power for Gas Stations in NY

Governor Cuomo proposed new legislation according to which all gas stations within a half-mile of highway exits and hurricane evacuation routes will be required to have a transfer switch installed by March 1, 2014 and  deploy a generator within 24 hours of a blackout. This requirement would apply to about one-third of all NYS gas stations.

In addition, the chains with 10 or more stations will be required to install a transfer switch for an additional 50% of their stations by March 1, 2016, and must activate a generator within 48 hours of losing power during an emergency. This requirement applies to an additional 15% of NY gas stations.

Finally, as of March 1, 2014, all newly constructed gas stations or the stations that have major renovations will be required to have a transfer switch or back-up generator installed.

Cuomo said “New York State must learn the lessons from Superstorm Sandy so that we are better prepared for the future”. Really? I wonder if governor followed the news during Sandy. The main problem was lack of gasoline rather than loss of power by gas stations. How would the stations located out of town and not connected to natural gas system fuel their generators when they had neither gasoline or diesel? Of course they could use propane generators, but again, the stations located far away from cities and towns will have hard time refilling their propane tanks during a major disaster. If the proposed bill will pass, we will pay more at the pump because the stations will pass down onto us the cost of implementing the new regulation. As usual, our governor is trying to gain cheap popularity.