OCEAN CITY, Md. – Yesterday, the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) kicked off its “Fuel Up Maryland” Service Station Energy Resiliency Grant Program at an Exxon Gas Station owned by Steve Ladd and Ocean Petroleum.

The $1.7 million dollar program will provide funding for service stations to pre-wire for back-up power generation in the event of a major power outage. In an electrical emergency caused by a natural disaster or terrorist activity, the ability of fuel service stations to provide gasoline, diesel, propane, or kerosene to Maryland citizens will be critical.

Grants will be awarded in the amount of up to $15,000 for portable back-up power generators, the installation of permanent or fixed back-up generation and/or batteries. Stations located along evacuation routes will be eligible to receive grants for the pre-writing work Stations located along evacuation routes will be eligible to receive grants for the pre-writing work through the WMDA Service Station Association.

In order to ensure that fuels are available for emergency evacuation or for home energy use, the MEA grant program will lessen the financial burden on service stations to become more energy resilient for the benefit of all Marylanders.

New Jersey is considering requiring stations to have back-up generators, although retailers oppose such a move. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants a third of all state retail fuels locations to have the proper wiring for backup power.

A backgrounder on how Hurricane Sandy affected the fuels market and a look at possible solutions to avoid future problems (hint: not generators) was published as part of the 2013 NACS Retail Fuels Report. It notes, "(T)o mandate generators at stores would not have helped with Sandy, given the widespread upstream problems. If power is out at the store, it is likely that the nearby upstream operations are also without power. No amount of power at the retail station would expedite the delivery of fuel if these systems are not operable."