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Dear PEI Member:

The 2021 PEI Convention at the NACS Show concluded Oct. 8 at McCormick Place in Chicago. After months of uncertainty, the enthusiasm and energy during the four-day event confirmed the decision to proceed with this year’s big show.

Despite the COVID-19 Delta surge and international travel restrictions, 1,100 registered attendees came together safely to network, learn and experience the latest in technology. Some 170 exhibitors occupied 54,000 square feet in the Fuel Equipment & Services section of the NACS Show floor, with another 20 PEI exhibitors scattered throughout 6,100 square feet in other sections.

Here are the highlights from Chicago:

New PEI officers selected. Delegates at the annual membership meeting elected Ron Sledd Jr., co-president of Beneficial Systems Inc. in Jetersville, Virginia, the 72^nd PEI president, effective Jan. 1, 2022. Members also elected John Keller, senior vice president-southwest for JF Petroleum Group, San Antonio, Texas, as PEI vice president.

The PEI board of directors appointed Jim Ether, general manager of R.M. Dalrymple Co., Saratoga Springs, New York, PEI treasurer.

New directors installed. PEI President Steve Dixon installed seven directors elected by their peers in PEI's odd-numbered districts:

• District 1: Brent Ruga, Spark Contractors, Dorothy, New Jersey
• District 3: John Force, SPATCO Energy Solutions Charlotte, North Carolina
• District 5: Sara Hitchcock Beck, Meco Inc., Montgomery, Alabama
• District 7: Craig Hoyer, Kubat Equipment & Service, Denver, Colorado
• District 9: Christopher Fasse, B & T Service Station Contractors, Nipomo, California
• District 11: Tony White, Southern Tank and Manufacturing Inc., Owensboro, Kentucky
• District 13: Lisa Blassingame, NOV Fiber Glass Systems, Georgetown, Texas

2021 PEI Convention Highlights

PEI Seeks Committee Volunteers

PEI, NACS, Fuels Institute Release EV Charging Guides

Growth Energy Appeals E15 Decision

EV Tax Framework Proposed

From the States

Respond to this Newsletter

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

State of the Industry. Retiring PEI Executive Vice President Rick Long delivered his final State of the Industry address. A recording of the 24-minute presentation will be available soon on PEI's YouTube channel. Much of the data in the presentation came from a September survey of PEI distributor, contractor and manufacturer members. Key findings include:

• Retail still reigns. PEI distributors and contractors get 55% of their revenue from retail fueling, down slightly from last year’s 58%.
• Supply chain disrupts. Some 90.8% of members cited supply chain disruptions as a major issue this year — and only 5.4% said the problems are getting better. In 2020, the supply chain did not register as a major concern among PEI members.
• Cyberattacks soar. About 30% of PEI members reported losses from a cyberattack during the past 12 months. Exposure of confidential company data was the most common damage.
• Electric vehicle (EV) charging station work stalls. The 23.5% of PEI distributors and contractors that install and service EV charging systems is almost unchanged from 2020. The number of member companies planning to enter the EV market, however, rose to 30.6%, a 5% increase.
• EV charging sites broaden. Only 42% of members’ EV charging station installations this year were at convenience stores. Government facilities, office buildings, parking garages, shopping centers and other commercial locations accounted for 58% of the installations.
• EMV compliance improves. Survey participants have completed EMV forecourt upgrades at 65.2% of the 50,000 retail fueling sites they service. That’s up from 56.2% in April 2021, the forecourt EMV deadline.

Thanks to all who participated in this year's convention. Registered attendees soon will receive a short, online convention survey. Your feedback will help the PEI Education & Convention Committee plan an even better 2022 PEI Convention at the NACS Show, Oct. 1-4 in Las Vegas.

PEI SEEKS COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS
Ron Sledd, incoming 2022 PEI president, will make more than 200 PEI committee appointments during a November visit to PEI headquarters in Tulsa.

If you are interested in serving on a 2022 committee (see details on all committees), please email your name, area of interest and qualifications to Jason Blake at jblake@pei.org no later than Nov. 12.

PEI, NACS, FUELS INSTITUTE RELEASE EV CHARGING STATION GUIDES
PEI, NACS and the Fuels Institute jointly released two guidance documents on the key considerations when incorporating electric vehicle charging systems into liquid fueling facilities. Topics include property ownership, zoning, utility service, charger locations, relationship to liquid fueling infrastructure, the customer experience and more.

Future-Proofing Convenience Stores for Electric Vehicle Charging is for new liquid fueling sites.

Retrofitting Convenience Stores for Electric Vehicle Charging is for existing facilities.

GROWTH ENERGY APPEALS E15 RULING
Growth Energy asked the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate a July 2 D.C. Circuit Court decision that reversed a 2019 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule allowing year-round E15 sales. (See July 7 TulsaLetter.) The unanimous opinion said the Clean Air Act only authorizes the EPA to grant E10 a summertime fuel volatility waiver.

Growth Energy argues the decision would stymie congressional intent to boost renewable fuels and would suppress the development of higher-blend ethanol fuels. 

ATRI PROPOSES EV TAX FRAMEWORK
A 2.1 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) electric usage tax would ensure that EV owners contribute their fair share to the federal Highway Trust Fund, according to a Sept. 29 American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) study.

ATRI estimates EV drivers would pay about $1 per 100 miles under its proposal. (Drivers of gasoline and diesel vehicles pay $2 per 100 miles in taxes, on average.) The report says electric utilities are well positioned to efficiently measure and collect such a tax.

FROM THE STATES
California. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a mandate that all light-duty autonomous vehicles in California be emission-free by 2030. A 2020 executive order issued by the governor bans the sale of new internal combustion vehicles in the state by 2035.

Multistate coalition. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of state attorney generals, municipalities and counties urged the EPA to tighten light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission requirements. Coalition participants are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, Los Angeles, New York City, Oakland, San Jose, the city and county of Denver, and the city and county of San Francisco.

Illinois. The Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, signed Sept. 15 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, authorizes and funds a $4,000 rebate on each new EV purchase in Illinois. The incentive supports a goal of 1 million EVs in the state by 2030.

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin. Governors of these five states are forming the Regional Electric Vehicle Midwest Coalition to speed deployment of public EV charging stations. The initiative will install charging facilities on interstate highways and “regionally significant commercial corridors,” according to the governors.

BRIEFLY NOTED
“Total payment card chargebacks for U.S. fuel merchants have soared 400% from January through September, primarily due to the shift to chip payment card acceptance at the pump, CMSPI, a global consultancy specializing in payment card transactions, has told OPIS.” — Oil Express, Oct. 4

“[Convenience] retailers are … optimistic about fuel sales: 67% say they will be higher in 2021 than in 2020, while 16% estimate that they will drop, compared with 2020 sales. Opinions are more divided around 2021 fuels sales compared with those in 2019: 36% say that sales will surpass totals from 2019, while 39% say they will decrease.” — NACS, Oct. 4

“Research by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office estimates the cost of an electric vehicle lithium-ion battery pack declined 87% between 2008 and 2021 (using 2021 constant dollars). … The decline in cost is a combination of improvements in battery technologies and chemistries, and an increase in manufacturing volume.” — DOE Vehicle Technologies Office, Oct. 4

“ABB has launched the world's fastest electric car charger, the Swiss engineering company said on Thursday, to plug into the booming demand for electric cars made by Tesla, Hyundai and other automakers. … The device can charge up to four vehicles at once, and can fully charge any electric car within 15 minutes, ABB said, making it attractive to customers worried about charging times which can run to several hours.” — Reuters, Sept. 30

PEI MEMBER NEWS
Oil Equipment Co., a Trussville, Alabama-based construction and fuel equipment provider, opened a branch office in Huntsville, Alabama. Jason Buxton will be the lead service technician at the Huntsville location.

OPW named Warren Day vice president and general manager for its OPW Vehicle Wash Solutions business, which offers a suite of car wash, payment and software solutions. Day most recently was general manager at ICS, an OPW acquisition. He also brings extensive management experience from roles at Honda and Danaher.

R.W. Mercer Co. acquired the assets of West Michigan Electrical Systems Inc., a full-service electrical contractor in Cedar Springs, Michigan. Founded by Brad Kober, West Michigan Electrical Systems has served petroleum, industrial and commercial customers for more than 20 years.

Shannon and Associates is representing Nationwide Tanks in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Nationwide Tanks manufactures UL1316 listed fiberglass underground fuel storage tanks in Marion, South Carolina.

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
Nevada credit card processor. Aplus Business Solutions, 1040 Silveranch Drive, Gardnerville, NV 89460, applied for affiliate division membership. Liz Concannon owns the firm, which was established in 2007. Aplus Business Solutions provides all major credit card, fleet card and other card processing products for the petroleum and c-store industries. Sponsored for PEI membership by Ryan Rethmeier, Western Pump Inc., San Diego, California. 

Illinois reseller. One Source Industries LLC, 102 Overland Drive, North Aurora, IL 60542, applied for affiliate division membership. Gregg Pospisil is strategic accounts manager for the company, which was established in 1986. One Source Industries LLC designs outdoor product merchandising systems for fuel centers. Sponsored for PEI membership by Dave Fenton, Romac Services Inc., South Salt Lake, Utah.

Texas software company. Bevers and Co., 21814 Sheffield Gray Trail, Cypress, TX 77433, applied for affiliate division membership. Gary Bevers is president of the firm, which was established in 1993. Bevers and Co. provides fuel transportation logistics and technology solutions for the downstream fuels industry. Sponsored for PEI membership by Chris Santy, Patriot Capital Corp., Atlanta, Georgia. www.beversco.com

ADMITTED TO PEI

• Petropro, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (manufacturer)
• Repgas Costa Rica, Mora San Jose, Costa Rica (distributor)
• JL Industrial Coatings LLC, Gotha, Florida (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.