In 2013, Klobuchar introduced legislation requiring refineries to report maintenance schedules to the Department of Energy to help prevent simultaneous closures and avert shortages after multiple refinery closures led to a surge in gas prices 

Similar to Klobuchar’s legislation, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has now begun releasing new information about planned oil refinery outages to avoid overlapping closures that could lead to price spikes

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced today that the Administration has acted on one of her recommendations to help prevent spikes in gas prices in Minnesota and across the country. In 2013, Klobuchar introduced legislation requiring refineries to report maintenance schedules to the Department of Energy to help prevent simultaneous closures and avert shortages after multiple refinery closures led to a surge in gas prices. Similar to Klobuchar’s legislation , the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has now begun releasing new information about planned oil refinery outages to avoid overlapping closure that could lead to price spikes.

“The last thing families and businesses in Minnesota can afford is another sharp spike in gas prices like the one we saw last spring,” Klobuchar said. “That’s why I introduced legislation to help better coordinate refinery maintenance schedules to avoid supply disruptions that can send prices through the roof. This is good news that the EIA is now acting on this commonsense idea, and I will keep pushing to help prevent simultaneous closures that can lead to price spikes.”

On February 27th, the EIA began releasing information about refinery outages and their potential impact on available refinery capacity and the petroleum product markets. The report estimates available refinery capacity using data on planned refinery unit outages and information on historical unplanned outages. The EIA is also planning to expand the analysis and details included in future reports that could better identify the potential for localized shortages from refinery outages that would hurt consumers.

The Gas Price and Refinery Capacity Relief Act of 2013, introduced by Klobuchar and Senator Al Franken, would require refineries to report to the Department of Energy their schedule for maintenance that would bring any refineries off line. The bill would also require refineries to immediately tell the Department when they are experiencing unplanned outages. Finally, the bill asks the Secretary of Energy to look at the potential for additional fuel storage in the region to address the low storage capacity that makes the region especially vulnerable to shortages.

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