Officials Say Volusia Is Well Supplied With Fuel

Daytona Beach, FL - Some have worried that the area could face a fuel shortage because of an attack on a major gas pipeline, but Volusia County officials say there’s nothing to fear as the county is well stocked. According to an email from Volusia County Fleet Management Director Robert Gilmore, the county hasn’t had any issue with getting fuel at the county’s terminals. Additionally, fuel prices at the terminal have remained stable, despite a small 1-cent per-gallon increase. "We look back and it’s only gone up a penny since the 8th," said Gilmore to News Daytona Beach. "Currently, everything looks good and stable as far as fuel pricing for us goes." As for consumer pricing in the county, some stations have seen increases close to an extra 7-cents per-gallon. But even as some prices climb, the average price of gas in Volusia has only gone up by 2-cents. When it comes to keeping fuel in storage, the county uses a method known as the "keep full" strategy. With this method, fleet management tries to maintain fuel inventory above 50 percent at all times. According to Gilmore, the county is currently sitting around 67 percent capacity. That alone gives the county 15 days of unleaded fuel and 19 days of diesel, and there’s more on the way. With situations such as this, fleet management adopts a more aggressive strategy that aims to bring fuel inventory as close to 100 percent as possible. "I think we’re in really good condition for the short term," added Gilmore. "My understanding is it looks like the pipeline is going to be back up in the next few days anyway." In the worst-case scenario—if the pipeline does not begin operations anytime soon—some Florida-bound fuel from the Gulf of Mexico could be siphoned off to send up north, which will affect the state’s supply. However, there is no indication that the pipeline will be out long enough for that to happen yet.