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April 20, 2012 NEWS AROUND THE STATE ATTEND THE 2012 ACT EXPO! TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC MARGIN GAINS, MEDIA ASSAULTS ON YOUR BUSINESS, MORE EVIDENCE OF GROWING EV USE, CNG WORKSHOP JULY 12, ACT CONFERENCE/EXPO I want to talk about the market. Rack prices have dropped 5- 10 cents this week, and each day as I’ve driven around the state I’ve noticed prices on the street have stayed the same. This tells me that by and large you are allowing your margins to increase a little, and I encourage you to continue to do so. Last week I almost wrote, but held off instead, that in recent weeks I’ve had several conversations with a handful of dealers who were saying that they had implemented new pricing strategies that were focused less on volume and more on profits. I found that encouraging since each of the conversations were independent of each other and unsolicited. Although I know there are some of you that still have stupid competitors that continue to beat your brains in by working on razor thin margins; I am hoping, especially if racks continue to drop, that healthier margins will be realized for everyone in the next few months. There was an assault in Washington DC this week by the credit card industry, who are charging (no pun intended) that retailers are not passing on any savings in debit card fees that were a result of the cap that went into effect in October. This attack hasn’t yet seeped into the mainstream media, and as a result I have held my fire and not publicly responded as I would prefer to keep this issue out of the news. However, if I find it necessary, my response to the big banks making these charges will simply be: YOU GUYS ARE NUTS! Banks are making more on credit and debit fees today than they ever have. There is no meaningful savings to pass along and credit/debit fees are killing retailers. Temperature Adjusted Compensation was another issue that reared a hideous head this week that I am not responding to publicly yet (again, to keep it out of the public debate). NBC did a report that there have been some settlements in lawsuits against BP, Shell, and ConocoPhilips which alleged fraud over the issue. Now, there may be some valid consumer issues in very hot portions of the country that are hot for long periods of time. However, I will maintain that New Jersey not only doesn’t have a problem, but there may even be evidence that consumers make out better because the temperature in NJ evens out between the winter and summer months. My position is that the objective data will prove me to be right. These pumps are expensive, and the money the consumer will lose when the cost of the pumps gets passed to them, and they will be getting less gas in the winter than they do now. You should be able to respond to your customers with the same premise should any of them mention to you this report. This report and the credit card company accusations are charging gas retailers, small businesses; with making billions of dollars taking advantage of the consumer (I bet you’d like to see your cut of those billions…) Last week I talked about, and laid out evidence, that electric vehicles aren’t going away; in fact you should expect them to expand in marketplace. If facts from last week weren’t enough, last Sunday over 30 electric vehicles were gathered in Montclair for what was billed as the state’s largest ever Electric Vehicle Meet Up. There were people from all over New Jersey who came out to view the various models of electric vehicles on display and talk to the people who own them and drive them every day. There were Chevy Volts, Mitsubishi MiEV, Toyota Prius, Tesla Roadsters, and Nissan Leafs. One man was showing off a Ford Ranger pickup truck he had converted to an electric car himself. The car with the most representation though was the BMW ActiveE, which was out in force with over 15 different vehicles there. The event was hosted by Tom Moloughney, owner of Nauna’s Bella Casa Ristorante. He was the first person in New Jersey to receive one of the BMW ActiveEs when they were released, and has a charging station installed at his restaurant. What’s important about Moloughney is that he isn’t an environmental nut like electric car enthusiasts of the past; he just wants energy independence. Here are a few pictures from the event.
I want to reiterate my chief concern with these electric vehicles. Other businesses are beginning to install EV charging stations, such as this pizzeria. In fact in Montclair alone there are 8 other public charging stations. Keep in mind that this enterprising pizza owner offers the electricity free for his customers, and to promote his business and American energy independence. I don’t expect that to be the norm, but I do expect they will pop up and store owners will charge a fee that motorists will pay with a credit card. Another possible business model that was brought to my attention is that the owner of the charging station will provide the electricity free but defray the cost by selling advertising on the sides of the charging station. These people are your customers that will now belong to someone else. In the past your competitors were just the other gas stations, with electric cars you are going to up against pharmacies, supermarkets, shopping malls, restaurants, and every other business out there. Ill repeat myself again, I expect natural gas to have a faster emergence in the marketplace and a longer lasting effect, mostly because vehicles will be able to travel between 200-300 miles per fill up. I believe natural gas fueling stations will be popping up all over, especially with so much being drilled next door in Pennsylvania. There is literally so much natural gas in this country right now that they have run out of places to store it all. I’ve mention several times now about a natural gas workshop that NJGCA is putting together. I previously mentioned a possible date of May 3rd. Well scratch that, this week I confirmed the program will be held on July 12th at the Holiday Inn National Conference Center right off Exit 8 on the Turnpike in East Windsor. I will be sending more details in upcoming weeks, but I encourage you to put time aside now to attend. On another note, I have been invited to be a speaker/moderator at the 2012 Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Long Beach, California. You are welcome to attend also, here’s the link to see what it’s about and register. I hope this to be a prelude to a similar conference I have been working on for NJGCA to cosponsor either later this year or early next year.
Finally, for this week’s Policy Patrol I want to spotlight A-1077/S-957 from Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union), Asw Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen), and Senator Diane Allen (R-Burlington). This bill would require the state toll road authorities, when looking to fill contracts for service stations on the highways, to give special preference to bidders who promise to sell alternative forms of fuel, including E85, natural gas, and hydrogen. This is just more proof of what the direction people are moving in is. More and more we will be seeing people, starting with state and local governments, going out of their way to encourage the development of alternative energy fuels. As for the Manure Pile, we have S-1214. This ‘vital’ piece of legislation is, like many of the stupidest bills around, supposedly about helping the poor little children. This bill would ban the sale of ‘quick release wheels’ on bicycles, which are wheels that can be removed without the use of a tool, unless it is a specialty adult bicycle. And if someone were to sell one of these wheels anyway? A $10,000 fine for the first offense and $20,000 for the second. Don’t people have parents anymore to make these kinds of decisions? If they are especially dangerous, what kind of company would sell a product that would cause it to lose all its customers? In case anyone in Trenton forgot, my property taxes are still way too high! Thanks for listening – See you next week. Regards,
NEWS AROUND THE STATE 4/19/2012: 4/19/2012: 4/18/2012: 4/17/2012: With gasoline prices nearing (and in some cases, exceeding) $4 a gallon, U.S. fuel consumption has hit its lowest level in nearly a decade. With gasoline prices climbing for ten consecutive weeks, many motorists have made the conscious decision to dive less, purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles, or both. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) in Washington reported last week that volume is off 4 percent from this time last year. Some business leaders and consumer groups have stated that a change in buying (and driving) habits may signal a new “mind-set” for many motorists. Click on the link to read the full story.
Click on the banner above or visit THIS LINK to open a PDF with instructions on how to get your Complimentary passes for the 2012 ACT Expo!
TRAINING CLASSES!! PLEASE NOTE: FUTURE DATES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 973-376-0066 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!
MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE TMP Energy Solutions We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it’s difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an “accurate” analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member’s usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate. Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group. Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision. If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require12 months of your most recent utility bills. There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #’s, meter #’s service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem. The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate. If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Phil Apruzzi at the NJGCA. Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket. We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs. Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. Contact Phil Apruzzi at 973-376-0066 or email Phil at phil@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members. We defeated BELOW COST SELLING We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law! We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes ...and MUCH MORE!! In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature! If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies. PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO: I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past. We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. THE MEMBER TOOL BOX |
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