Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021:
The national average price of on-highway diesel reached $3.34 last week, up a cent-and-a-half from the week before, but is likely to face additional pricing pressure this week as the remnants of Hurricane Ida cut a path across the Southeast. The storm has already left more than a million people in Louisiana and Mississippi without power and likely taken about 13% of U.S. refining capacity offline, according to AAA. There were nine oil refineries in Ida’s path; at least four were believed to have shut down operations ahead of the storm.
“Until the power is restored, it’s too early to know the full impact of any damage Ida caused on the oil and gas industry, but motorists regionally can expect price fluctuations leading into Labor Day weekend,” said Jeanette McGee, AAA spokesperson. “Typically, a category 4 storm could mean three plus weeks before refineries are back to normal operations, while offshore production is more likely to resume this week.”
As a precautionary measure, Colonial Pipeline announced on Sunday that they shut down two main lines that run from Houston, Texas, to Greensboro, N.C.. The company added that following an infrastructure inspection after the storm, the pipeline would be back to full service. Gas prices nationally, especially in the southeast and east coast, will see minimal impact at the pump if the pipeline is down for a matter of hours versus days.
Penske Truck Leasing is working with with Stem, Inc., a developer of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage services, to pilot its Athena smart energy storage software and operate an advanced battery storage system. The project includes a 350 kilowatt (kW)/800 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery system powered by Stem's Athena at Penske's heavy-duty truck charging positions in Ontario, California.
Penske previously collaborated with Stem and other suppliers in designing and implementing the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, noted Penske Vice President of Facilities Sean Yentsch. "We then used Stem's Athena smart energy software to optimize the electricity requirements associated with charging commercial electric trucks," he said. "We've been pleased with the initial results, and we continue to evaluate expanding the use of this AI-driven energy storage system as new charging positions equipped with supplemental battery storage are established."
