McCaskill sponsors bill to account for 'hot fuel'

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sen. Claire McCaskill has introduced a bill that would require gas stations to adjust prices when fuel expands in hot weather and provides less energy per gallon.

The Missouri Democrat's legislation would require installation of automatic equipment to account for temperature changes at all retail gas pumps within six years of enactment.

McCaskill said the bill was inspired by a series of stories in The Kansas City Star, which found that consumers are overpaying by about $2.3 billion per year due to the effect of temperature on fuel.

"We have the technology to change that and there's no good reason not to utilize it," McCaskill said.

Her bill would give the Federal Trade Commission and the National Institute of Technology authority to implement the new standards. State inspectors would verify that the new equipment is installed correctly. A trust fund would be established to help pay up to $1,000 for pump improvements at stations that are not owned by the major oil companies.

The legislation is backed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and the U.S. Public Interest Research Groups.

The oil industry uses a century-old practice of pricing gasoline on a standard of 60 degrees. As temperatures rise during warmer months, the gasoline expands, meaning customers get less energy per gallon.

Because few gas pumps adjust the dispensing of fuel according to temperature, gas is an average of about 5 degrees warmer than the federal standard, according to a study analyzed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The industry adjusts volume for temperature change at other points in the delivery chain, but retail pumps in the United States make no adjustment for those changes. In Canada, by contrast, where cooler temperatures would mean lower profits for fuel retailers, the industry has adopted the practice of selling temperature-adjusted fuel to consumers.

But oil industry executives have opposed making similar changes at gas stations in the United States.

At congressional hearings last month, executives from Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell Oil Products US said they would study the issue, but denied that drivers are overpaying for gasoline because fuel expands in hot weather.