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Oct 24, 2009

"HOT FUEL" Case * USA - Court certifies class in

A U.S. District Court judge has certified a class affecting residents of 26 states in the ongoing case concerning “hot fuel”

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -October 23, 2009: ... Plaintiffs in the consolidated case have accused fuel retailers of marketing and selling fuel without adjusting for the fuel’s temperature – and of profiting from selling more “gallons” when fuel is warmer than a wholesale standard of 60 degrees... Costco Wholesalers, one of dozens of companies named in the lawsuit, informed residents of 26 states by mail that the court had certified the class and had “approved a proposed class action settlement”... “If the settlement is approved, Costco will install automatic temperature correcting pumps in certain states under specified conditions,” Costco said... Plaintiffs are seeking damages for ill-gotten gains from fuel sold without temperature compensation between Jan. 1, 2001 and April 22, 2009 in the following states: AL, AZ, AR, CA, DE, FL, GA, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MS, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT and VA. Residents of Washington, DC, and Guam are also part of the class... Residents may choose to opt out of the class in writing by Feb. 23, 2010...

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Aug 11, 2008

HOT FUEL * USA - May leave you steamed

A rise in temperatures and fuel prices go hand-in-hand during the summer months...

Abilene,TX,USA -The Abilene Reporter-News, by Daniel Johnson -August 9, 2008: -- ... but the infamous Texas heat may have a larger effect on consumers' vehicles other than the urge to crank the air conditioning... Consumer watchdog groups, trucker associations and some consumers say that as temperatures rise, so does the temperature of fuel, causing motorists to get less energy value from a gallon of "hot fuel" pumped during summer... Simply put, they say, fuel that is hotter than the industry standard of 60 degrees equals consumers not getting what they're paying for... When liquid heats up it expands and increases in volume. Gasoline expands 1 percent for every 15-degree increase in the fuel's temperature. An increase in volume means a decrease in fuel efficiency. Retailers and distributors trade temperature-adjusted fuel at the 60-degree standard, a temperature agreed to almost a century ago by the industry... (Reporter-News Photos: · 1 · Billy Andrews pumps gas into his car Tuesday at Texas Express No. 6 at Sayles Boulevard and South 14th Street - Photo: ·2 · Abilene gasoline isn't always at the 60-degree temperature recommended by the industry)

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Jul 19, 2008

"HOT FUEL" - * USA - Golden State to study controversy

Sacramento,CAL,USA -Today's Trucking -18 July 2008: -- Preliminary results of a study done by the California Energy Commission on fuel temperatures shows average fuel temperatures in the state are higher than the industry standard, appearing to lend credibility to the complaint that vehicle owners are overpaying for gasoline and diesel thanks to hidden "hot fuel" costs... According to the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), the study found that gasoline was sold in California at an average year-round temperature of 72 degrees, which means that drivers are getting almost 1 percent less than they pay for... Gas and diesel expands as the temperature rises, approximately 1 percent for every 15 degrees Fahrenheit... The CEC found that the average year-round temperature of gasoline sold in California is 72 degrees. Nationwide, if prices hold in the $4 range for a year, drivers will give up over $3 billion to hot fuel sales, OOIDA says... (Motorist and owner-op advocates complain that fuel retailers are ripping them off at the pumps)

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May 23, 2008

'HOT FUEL' * USA - Costs consumers more when prices rise

Summer temperatures and a continuing surge in fuel prices will amount to a double whammy for consumers this year, advocates say

Washington, DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -May 22, 2008: -- ... The issue of “hot fuel” is of greater concern in times of rising prices, said Joan Claybrook, president of the consumer group Public Citizen, during a press conference.... Hot fuel is defined as retail diesel or gasoline sold to consumers when the fuel temperature is higher than 60 degrees. Retailers and refiners use a century-old 60-degree standard to buy and sell fuel at the wholesale level, but there is no requirement for temperature compensation at the retail pump.... The “extra gallons” created by expansion of fuel in summer heat could cost consumers more than $2.8 billion this year, which is $500 million more than the estimated cost to consumers in 2007, Claybrook and others said... Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, filed legislation in August 2007 to phase in temperature-compensation devices on fuel pumps. That bill is currently in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation... U.S. District Court Judge Kathryn Vratil is currently presiding over more than two dozen consolidated into a class action lawsuits filed by consumers seeking similar reforms. Those lawsuits also demand that the companies pay damages for what the plaintiffs say are ill-gotten gains from hot fuel...

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Jul 24, 2007

Fuel Pumps Temperature * USA - ExxonMobil to place disclaimers on

CAL,USA -Oil Express/Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -July 20, 2007: -- Oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. is planning to place decals on some of its pumps in California and Arizona to tell consumers that the fuel is not adjusted for temperature at the retail level... The decals on retail pumps, according to the weekly oil industry newsletter Oil Express, will declare: “This device dispenses motor fuel by volume measured in gallons. It does not adjust the volume for variations in the temperature of the fuel. The temperature of motor fuel affects the energy content of each gallon dispensed”...

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Jun 20, 2007

“Hot Fuel” Problem * USA - Amendment would require temperature-compensating fuel pumps

Fuel retailers should be required to eliminate the “hot fuel” problem by installing temperature-compensation equipment on all fuel pumps

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine -June 19, 2007: -- Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, submitted a Senate amendment to a large-scale House bill called the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 – HR6... McCaskill’s amendment would require fuel retailers to install temperature compensation equipment on all pumps so consumers get a consistent amount of fuel energy every time they fill up... Provisions of the McCaskill amendment, known as the Future Accountability in Retail Fuel Act – or FAIR Fuel Act – state:
* New fuel pumps and replacement pumps would have to be equipped with temperature compensation equipment to dispense fuel adhering to a 60-degree standard;
* Retailers would have a maximum of five years after enactment of a final rule to equip all existing pumps with the temperature-compensating equipment;
* State inspectors would check for compliance and notify the secretary of commerce of violations. After 180 days of non-compliance, the retailers would be subject to $5,000 fines per pump, per violation;
* Federal grants of $1,000 per pump or $10,000 per retailer would be available to small retailers. No grants would available for integrated large oil companies; and
* The rulemaking process would be required to begin 90 days after the date of enactment, with a final rule no later than one year after enactment.

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Mar 10, 2007

"Hot Fuel" * USA - California watchdog group cries foul on big oil

CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine -March 7, 2007: -- The Foundation of Taxpayer and Consumer Rights is calling for an investigation into whether pressure from oil companies contributed to a fuel pump manufacturer withdrawing certified equipment from the market – equipment that some people say would have solved a number of issues relating to “hot fuel.”... Hot fuel refers to fuel sold above a standard temperature of 60 degrees – the temperature where a gallon is truly a gallon by volume and by the amount of energy it contains... As oil company profits soar, and retailers continue to sell fuel without compensating for expansion due to higher temperatures, pump manufacturer Gilbarco Veeder-Root is withdrawing its bid to bring temperature-compensation devices for fuel pumps to market, according to the consumer rights group...

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Feb 28, 2007

"Hot Fuel" * USA - Pump technology could solve troubles altogether

The warmer liquid gets, the more it expands, right?

Valley Grain,MO,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -Feb 26, 2007: -- To put it simply – if the fuel that flows from the nozzle of a gas/diesel pump is too warm, you don’t get as much Btu bang for your buck... For years, consumers have been ripped off by fuel sold at temperatures warmer than the national standard of 60 degrees, according to plaintiff groups involved in five lawsuits filed in December 2006 in federal courts... The consumer plaintiffs want to change that because, according to an investigative series in The Kansas City Star, hot fuel costs consumers between $1.7 billion and $2.3 billion per year... The devil is in the details, and while a little piece of pump equipment known as a temperature-compensation device does not change the temperature of the fuel, it does “compensate” for warm, expanded fuel. So why don’t fuel pumps in the U.S. all have one?... Plaintiff groups in the five U.S. District Court lawsuits in California, New Jersey, Missouri and Kansas want to see temperature compensation become mandatory at the federal level... The groups of plaintiffs, all seeking class-action status, include owner-operators and OOIDA members... OOIDA Foundation Project Leader John Siebert is contributing research to the legal teams... "Temperature compensation is available, it is the correct way to do it, it is the equitable way to do it, and it is going to happen,” Siebert says with confidence. “They will try to slow down the train as much as possible, but they won’t stop it.”...

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