Maryland Launches Grant Program for Backup Power at Fuel Stations

In an effort to help Maryland consumers avoid widespread fuel outages in the event of an energy emergency, the state has made available $1.7 million to help service stations install backup power generation.

Kicking off just as the hurricane season enters its typically most active period, the Maryland Service Station Energy Resiliency Grant Program will conclude on June 30, 2014, or until the total funds have been spent, whichever is earlier.

The initiative is the product of a state task force on resiliency measures that convened after 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley (D) included the funds in his capital budget this year.

“We looked at the long lines of customers that formed at service stations in New Jersey and New York and decided we could make a huge difference by being proactive about backup power generation,” MEA director Abigail Hopper told OPIS.

Severe weather events are becoming more commonplace, she said, and helping strategically located service stations to operate during emergencies provides transportation fuel for those who leave as well as fuel for backup power for those who stay.

Unlike New York’s $17 million Fuel NY program, Fuel Up Maryland is not mandatory for stations in areas that have been targeted.

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) anticipates dispersing up to $15,000 per grant to a Maryland station, which can be used to offset the cost to purchase or pre-wire portable generators, fixed generators or in-place batteries. According to a survey of stations conducted by an electrical contractor for MEA, $15,000 is about half of the total cost of the planning, design, wiring and installation of back-up power generation at the majority of fuel retail locations in the state.

Stations eligible for the grants should have fuel storage of at least 10,000 gallons, fuel sales of 75,000 gallons or more per year and be located within a half mile of an on- or off-ramp to a federal or state highway serving as an evacuation route.

MEA puts the total number of eligible stations at about 600.

Applicants can submit separate applications for multiple stations, but grant awards will be limited to five applications for individual stations per owner/operator. Award for multiple station applications by a single owner is dependent on the geographic distribution of the stations.

Information on how to apply for the Maryland grants can be found at:
http://energy.maryland.gov/Business/fuelupmd/index.html#requirements

Generator Programs in Other States

Downstate New York stations that are located within a half mile of highway exits or evacuation routes, and that pump 75,000 gal/month or more, have until April 1, 2014 to be wired to accept a generator. Thirty percent of all retail outlets that are part of a chain further than a half mile from downstate New York highway exits and evacuation routes will be required to install a transfer switch by Aug. 1, 2015.

Grants of up to $10,000 per station are available for rewiring if owners opt to use portable generators; awards of up to $13,000 per station are offered for operators who install permanent back-up generators.

New Jersey is still considering legislation proposing a pilot program under which operators of strategically located stations could get interest-free loans of up to $10,000 to wire their facilities for generators. That equipment, with the addition of a portable generator, would power fuel pumps, safety systems and payment acceptance equipment.

In Florida, service stations near interstate highways or evacuation routes, terminals and wholesalers must have transfer switches and appropriate wiring to transfer the electrical load from a utility to an alternate generated power source in the event of power failure. Corporations or entities with at least 10 service stations in a county must have access to at least one portable generator.

Louisiana requires new or completely rebuilt service stations in the southern part of the state to be wired with a transfer switch and capable of switching to an alternate generated power source in the event of a power outage.