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Early bird registration opened Tuesday for the 2020 PEI Convention at the NACS Show, Oct. 11-14 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). Early bird rates are $295 (members) and $495 (nonmembers). After June 24, rates increase to $445 (members) and $645 (nonmembers). Companies registering five or more attendees receive additional discounts.

To help you face these challenging times, the 2020 PEI Convention is all about innovation, starting with kick-off keynote speaker Josh Linkner, who will explain how to use creative problem-solving to overcome adversity and seize new possibilities.

The founder of five tech companies and author of four books, including the New York Times bestsellers Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention, Linkner currently is chair of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He twice was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Champion of Change Award.

In addition to the always strong PEI educational program, PEI is partnering with the Fuels Institute and NACS this year to present two mega-sessions. The first — a panel discussion on electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure — will feature installers, manufacturers, regulators and c-store owners who are successfully integrating EV charging into their business models. The second joint session — on forecourt modernization — will go beyond EMV to explore how forecourt digitization will create new opportunities for the industry.

PEI recognizes this is a challenging time to make travel decisions. Rest assured we are working alongside NACS, local, state and federal health officials and our venue partners to protect the safety of attendees and exhibitors. We also are providing more flexibility to help your decision-making:

PEI Convention Registration Opens

$100M Biofuels Infrastructure Grants

Amex, Discover Delay EMV Forecourt Liability Shift

API Revises Color Coding System

Employee Privacy Webinar and Resources

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by e-mail to the editor, Rick Long at rlong@pei.org

• The early bird attendee registration deadline has been extended through June 24.
• A more generous cancelation policy will allow registered attendees to cancel for any reason as late as 20 days before the event.
• If the event is canceled pursuant to a governmental decree, registered attendees will receive a penalty-free refund regardless of when the cancelation occurs.
• Many hotels in the PEI room block have lowered their rates and resort fees.

Speaking of hotels, convention housing is now open. The 2020 PEI headquarters hotel is the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, which is conveniently attached to the LVCC via a walkway. Westgate guests in the PEI block may choose from premium, signature and luxe rooms. Other hotels with PEI room blocks are the Elara, a Hilton Grand Vacations Hotel; the Mirage; the Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa; and the Wynn Las Vegas | Encore.

Join the experts, the influencers and your peers at the 2020 PEI Convention at the NACS Show. Let’s move forward together to fuel the future.

USDA ANNOUNCES $100M FOR BIOFUELS FUELING INFRASTRUCTURE
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced up to $100 million in grants to upgrade fueling equipment and related infrastructure for ethanol blends above E10 and biodiesel blends above B5.

The Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) grants will cover up to half of fueling system upgrade costs at convenience stores, hypermarkets, fleet fueling facilities, terminals and other distribution facilities. Of the $100 million pool, $86 million is allocated for ethanol upgrades and $14 million for biodiesel.

To explain the program’s details, the USDA has scheduled two one-hour webinars. A May 19 session will focus on retail and fleet fueling facilities. A May 26 session will emphasize fuel distribution facilities. Each webinar begins at 2 p.m. Eastern. Registration is required.

AMEX, DISCOVER JOIN VISA IN EMV FORECOURT DELAY
American Express announced May 5 it will delay the EMV forecourt liability shift for fraudulent Amex transactions until April 16, 2021. On May 13, Discover announced it will delay the fraud liability shift deadline until April 16, 2021. The announcements followed Visa’s decision to defer its liability shift to April 17, 2021. At press time Mastercard had not announced any changes to its Oct. 20, 2020 deadline.

API REVISES COLOR-CODING SYSTEM
The American Petroleum Institute (API) released the fourth edition of API Recommended Practice 1637, Using the API Color-Symbol System to Identify Equipment, Vehicles, and Transfer Points for Petroleum Fuels and Related Products at Dispensing and Storage Facilities and Distribution Terminals. The latest edition:

• Expands and modifies the product listings;
• Provides labeling practices and identification colors for the new products;
• Changes identification colors for the three E10 grades;
• Updates definitions throughout the document.

API 1637 is available for purchase through the API Publications Store at www.apiwebstore.org.

EMPLOYEE PRIVACY WEBINAR AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE
On May 7, PEI Executive Vice President and General Counsel Rick Long interviewed Arnold & Porter attorneys Josh Alloy and Nancy Perkins for a PEI webinar, “COVID-19: Protecting Employee Privacy (& Your Business).”

You can watch the recording of that webinar on PEI’s Business & Leadership YouTube channel. For a deeper dive, download the related Arnold & Porter white papers: “Employee Privacy With Respect to COVID-19” and “Returning Employees to Work: What Should US Employers Think About?”

PEI MEMBER NEWS
Lucas Ford Associates Inc. hired Shannon Barth as inside quotations and sales expert. Barth has more than six years of industry experience with a leading equipment manufacturer.
Mike Long & Associates Inc. named Randy Lewis territory manager for the south central region. He will be headquartered in Marietta, Georgia. Lewis has more than 30 years of petroleum equipment sales experience, most recently with Xerxes Corp. a Shawcor company.
Petro Supply opened a new facility in Richmond, Virginia. The multipurpose building houses the company’s Richmond distribution business, a product showcase area, and a training center for service technician classes and regional manufacturer product meetings. 

BRIEFLY NOTED
“The U.S. economy lost 20,500,000 workers in April, the largest monthly decline in employment in the history of the series, as the nation struggles with the abrupt halt in business activity amid the COVID-19 outbreak.” — Monday Economic Report, May 11, 2020
“Did You Know? OSHA’s ‘Ten Steps All Workplaces Can Take to Reduce Risk of Exposure to Coronavirus’ poster is now available in 13 languages.” — OSHA Newsletter, May 11, 2020
“Some marketers gripe that this should not be happening: Crooks are installing skimmers on new dispensers that meet the Europay Mastercard Visa technology standards for chip payment cards. But that’s just what is pictured in a video and a photo that Chevron recently emailed to its branded wholesalers … . Chevron has asked marketers to use the images to educate dealers and to be sure to emphasize that EMV is not a ‘step change’ in security.” — Oil Express Alert, May 11, 2020
“Record-high fuel margins in March led to retailers nearly tripling profits from selling gasoline before demand started to plummet due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), exclusive OPIS data shows. ... During the first 17 weeks of 2020, U.S. retailers saw a total average gross profit per station on gasoline sales of $116,210, compared to $67,249 during the same period in 2019. Weekly gasoline profits are now starting to come back into line with 2019 levels.” — Oil Express Alert, May 11, 2020

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Texas distributor. Double M Pump LLC, P.O. Box 10097, Midland, TX 79702, applied for distributor division membership. Brandt Cox is operations manager for the company, which was established in 2010. Double M Pump LLC provides fueling equipment sales, service and maintenance for fuel sites. Sponsored for PEI membership by Thomas Brown, National Petroleum Equipment, Attalla, Alabama.
www.doublempump.net

Canadian manufacturer. Pultrusion Technique Inc., 1830 Rue Marie-Victorin, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Canada J3V 6B9, applied for affiliate division membership. Xavier Dufresne is plant superintendent for the company, which was established in 1954. Pultrusion Technique Inc. manufactures FRP hold-down straps for underground storage tanks. Sponsored for PEI membership by Scott Grothoff, NOV Fiber Glass Systems, San Antonio, Texas.
www.pultrusiontech.com

ADMITTED TO PEI

• CountryMark Energy Equipment, Westfield, Indiana (distributor)
• Indigenous Energy, Chicago, Illinois (service and construction)
• Lannon Tank Co., Lannon, Wisconsin (manufacturer)
• ECT of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee (service and construction)
• Cat Builders USA Inc., Palatine, Illinois (service and construction)

The TulsaLetter is published two or three times each month by the Petroleum Equipment Institute. Richard C. Long, Editor. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the Editor.