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October 26, 2012
Here's what you'll find in this edition:
CLASSIFIEDS!
NEWS AROUND THE STATE
TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE
MEET THE FOLKS AT LIBERTY GAS
MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE
ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATIONS FOR SERVICE STATIONS JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!
PRICE FIXING INVESTIGATION, Last Thursday The General Assembly passed Resolution 15 by a nearly unanimous vote. The Resolution calls on the New Jersey Attorney General to investigate the possibility that price fixing in the sale of gasoline is responsible for the dramatic increase in prices we have seen over the last 2 years. In September 2010 the average retail price of gas $2.71, in September 2012 the average was $3.85. I think we all know the negative role that the speculators have played in the price of gasoline over the last few years. I wanted to let you know that I plan on reaching out to the Attorney General’s Office about this issue. I have my suspicions that a case can be made that there is some price fixing in the marketplace, certainly for one supplier. As you’re probably aware, wholesale gas prices are in virtual freefall (and if you haven’t seen that reflected on your invoice, you’re getting screwed). In the two week period from October 9th-October 23rd, the average price per gallon of regular gas at the rack fell nearly 50 cents! These are the lowest prices at the rack since June, and if they continue to drop they will be the lowest since the end of last year. Why is this happening? The amount of crude oil supplies we have nationwide has grown steadily over the last 4 weeks. We have literally 40 million more barrels of oil inventory than we did at this point last year. This has allowed the price of oil to drop $15 a barrel over the last 5 weeks. So supply has gone up, what about demand? Over the last 4 weeks it has remained largely flat, even down a notch. And with no major international crises looming (for the moment) the speculators haven’t been panicking. In fact, because of the supply and demand situation the speculators on the mercantile exchange have been betting the price lower.
Overall we’re seeing a trend play out that we’ve seen in recent years. Prices shoot up in the beginning of the year, and by the end they’re back down to where they were at the end of the previous year. What has changed is how early the price spikes are. I remember in my day, once the holidays had passed, gas volume dropped off until the summer driving season started around May, and the price was down with it. But in 2011 a spike started in mid-February and in 2012 we saw a big spike begin to gain steam right at the New Year. I fully expect this trend to continue, so enjoy these falling prices now because I expect the same pattern will emerge after January. …….Oh….and this has nothing to do with the upcoming presidential election either.
The event has created a lot of debate about the question of what the President of the United States can do to affect the price of gas. Some say the President has a large role; others say he has very little influence. There’s no real doubt that Presidents can’t directly and immediately control the price of gas, otherwise they would force it to be always low in order to keep their popularity rating high. In the long term, however, their policies can shape what the nation’s supply looks like and have a big impact down the road. For example, here’s a video from 2002 of several Senators opposing the expansion of oil drilling in ANWR because the oil wouldn’t start to flow for ten years. Well, ten years later, wouldn’t it be nice if we could count on that reliable source of oil! (By the way, all of those Senators are still in the Senate today.) The hope is that the policies that the President puts in place today will have a positive effect in the future. There’s a bit of news coming out of Massachusetts about their Right to Repair initiative. You remember that the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition got the question put on the ballot to be voted on in two weeks thanks to the signatures of over 100,000 citizens. In July, the Coalition came to a compromise with the auto manufacturers, but it was too late to take the issue off the ballot. Part of the deal was that the R2R Coalition would tell people to not vote for the question, and instead to just skip it. However, in the ensuing weeks there has been a reversal. Several members of the coalition decided that the ballot initiative was a much better deal for the auto repair and aftermarket parts world than the legislative compromise. They have now decided to actively support the ballot initiative, which will almost certainly pass overwhelmingly. This is good news for us. The stronger the Right to Repair law that comes out of Massachusetts, the stronger our hand is here in New Jersey. I will have more to report to you on this issue at the start of the New Year. Expect to hear a whole lot about Right to Repair in 2013. Finally, I want to officially remind you of the state’s gouging laws. It’s still a bit early to tell for sure, but it is looking more and more likely that Hurricane Sandy will be hitting our area to some degree. I saw one model that even forecast it to make landfall at Cape May, as well as pictures of a few stores down the Shore who have already boarded up their windows. The storm is expected to hit sometime between Sunday and Wednesday, and if it’s bad the Governor will declare a State of Emergency not long before or afterward for either some counties or possibly the entire state. When a state of emergency is declared in an area it means the official gas gouging laws go into effect. Once the state of emergency goes into effect, it lasts until 30 days after the state of emergency is officially declared over. During this time, you cannot raise the price of your product by more than 10 percent of what you were selling it for immediately prior to the state of emergency, unless the wholesale cost goes up by more than that. Every single sale to a customer counts as a separate violation, for which you can be hit up to $10,000. Take this law seriously, it was less than a month ago I wrote in the Road Warrior about a station owner who violated the law during Hurricane Irene last year, he recently settled with Attorney General for $50,000. Pay close attention to the news reports as the storm gets closer, and to your email as I will strive to send out a Wildfire Alert should a State of Emergency be declared. You can read a previous Wildfire Alert, which included the full language of the Anti-Gouging statute by clicking here. Thanks for listening – See you next week.
Regards,
BUSINESSES FOR SALE!
CLASSIFIEDS: FOR SALE & HELP WANTED! After running an ad in the Road Warrior over the last month, NJGCA was able to assist a member in selling his equipment! If you'd like to list equipment for sale, or have an open position you'd like to make other industry professionals aware of, please contact NJGCA at 973-376-0066 and let us help you get the word out!
10/25/2012:
10/25/2012:
10/23/2012:
10/18/2012:
TRAINING CLASSES!!
INTERESTED IN TAKING A CLASS WITH NJGCA? 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 Greg Cannon 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 GREG CANNON at 973-376-0066 or email Greg at greg@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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