The Kansas Corporation Commission has granted a temporary hours of service waiver for drivers hauling fuel to alleviate “a bottleneck” causing shortages in the state.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a state of disaster emergency proclamation allowing the HOS waiver on April 30th. The Kansas Corporation Commission has since granted the waiver, which will last for 14 days.
According to officials in the energy industry, the fuel shortage in Kansas is being caused by “a bottleneck” in the distribution process, not an overall shortage of fuel. Pipeline repairs and the switch to a summer fuel blend are contributing factors to the current bottleneck, which is causing long lines at fuel terminals. As of May 1st at about 5:30 p.m., only diesel had been affected by the supply chain issues, but officials say gasoline could be affected as well.
“I am issuing this declaration to help alleviate the delay in getting the fuel to the end user,” Governor Kelly said in a statement. “This is not just a Kansas issue; our neighboring states are experiencing the same delays.”
“Some of them are even getting it as far away as Texas and into Colorado and places like that to find fuel so they can come back and keep their customers supplied. So right now, it’s just creating a hardship for the distributors primarily,” Brian Poster, the executive director for Fuel True Independent Energy & Convenience, said to …
“Hopefully, we can have the pipeline up at full capacity. Hopefully, all the refineries will be completely at their peak and we’ll be able to, you know, go back to our normal fuel supply here in the next two weeks,” Poster said.
“There is a bottleneck in the supply chain, not an overall shortage of fuel,” Wichita County Emergency Management wrote in a Facebook post. “The extension of hours is to mitigate potential consequence of bottleneck and allow drivers to deliver fuel in a timely and efficient manner.”
“The Kansas Highway Patrol acknowledges the Governor’s proclamation and will ensure enforcement efforts concerning commercial motor vehicles are consistent with these developments,” said Colonel Erik Smith, Superintendent of the Kansas Highway Patrol.