INDIANAPOLIS (Network Indiana): Governor Holcomb says he is doing all that he can to minimize disruption to Indiana’s fuel supply. On Monday, he signed an executive order.
That order is in response to the electrical fire that happened last week at the BP refinery in Whiting. The fire forced BP to shut down the Lake County facility, which is about 15 miles southeast of Chicago along Lake Michigan’s shoreline. BP said Monday it expects to resume operations in the next few days and that it has “deployed all available resources” to bring things back to normal “as soon as safely possible.”
Essentially, the governor’s order temporarily dropped rules requiring gas stations to use ‘summer blend‘ gasoline while allowing truck drivers hauling gas, diesel, jet fuel, or other fuels to stay on the road longer. Summer gasoline is more expensive than winter gasoline.
The Environmental Protection Agency has also temporarily waived a federal rule that requires the use of summer blend gasoline in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Many industry experts do not expect the partial refinery shutdown in Whiting to affect prices that much. That refinery provides up to 25% of the gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel fuel used in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
