NATSO, representing truck stops and travel plazas, and SIGMA: America's Leading Fuel Marketers, commended the Biden Administration for permitting summertime sales of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol (E15) to ensure optimal fuel availability for consumers during the busy summer driving season.
Allowing E15 to be sold during the peak driving season will help to ensure the nation does not experience disruptions in the fuel supply or higher costs for consumers should unforeseen circumstances tighten supplies. E15 helps lower fuel prices for consumers while enhancing the industry's fuel options and improving the carbon intensity of those fuels.
"E15 enables fuel retailers to improve gasoline's emissions characteristics while lowering fuel prices at the pump," said David Fialkov, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at NATSO and SIGMA. "Allowing the summer sale of E15 will help to ensure consistent, reasonably priced gasoline supply across the nation."
NATSO and SIGMA, which represent 80 percent of motor fuel sales in the United States, have long supported a legislative fix to permanently allow year-round E15. Increasing the availability of higher blends of renewable fuels can save consumers money while reducing carbon emissions from ground transportation.
As NATSO and SIGMA said in their letter to EPA urging the agency to take this action, geopolitical factors that necessitated action from EPA during the 2022 and 2023 summer driving seasons have persisted in 2024. The war in Ukraine coupled with recent unrest in the Middle East risk injecting volatility into the supply chain during months when supplies can shift quickly due to higher seasonal demand or unexpected market disruptions, such as hurricanes or refinery outages.
