New York rations gasoline; storm victims still in the dark

New York City began rationing gasoline today for the first time since the energy shortages of the 1970s, seeking to ease a fuel crisis brought on by Superstorm Sandy.

The former hurricane hammered the US East Coast on Oct. 29, killing at least 120 people and causing an estimated $50 billion in damage or economic losses.

It also disrupted the fuel supply chain, creating hours-long waits for gasoline that led officials first in New Jersey and now New York City and Long Island to impose rationing. Cars with odd- and even-numbered license plates will be able to buy gas and diesel fuel on alternate days.

"This is worse than the oil crises of the 1970s," said Ralph Bombardiere, executive director of the New York State Association of Service Stations and Repair Shops. "Back then there was just a perceived shortage of supply in New York, when there was plenty of gasoline around. Now we're having real distribution problems."

The long lines at the pump have added to the frustration of commuters, who must choose between driving and enduring seemingly interminable waits for buses and trains with parts of the transportation network still damaged.

In addition, some 434,000 homes and businesses in the Northeast lacked power as of Friday afternoon, creating more misery for the thousands forced to flee their storm-damaged homes or for those who have hunkered down in the dark with freezing overnight temperatures.

Protesters took to the streets in the Long Island town of Oceanside, chanting, "Where is LIPA? Where is LIPA?" referring to the Long Island Power Authority, a state-owned utility.

A snowstorm blasted the region on Wednesday, knocking out power to some homes just as they were getting back on the grid after Sandy. Warmer and sunny weather was forecast for the weekend, providing some relief to disaster victims.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at first resisted gas rationing, saying fuel supplies should return to normal once New York Harbor reopened after the storm and tankers started sailing again.

But many gasoline terminals - which transfer fuel from tankers at sea to trucks on land - sustained damage from the storm that created a record surge of seawater and flooded low-lying areas.

Because of long lines at terminals, gasoline trucks were only able to make two trips on Friday, when normally they would make six, Bombardiere said. The odd-even rationing "should help cut down on panic buying," he said.

But despite the new measure, long lines at gas pumps in New York City and Long Island continued on Friday. Some 28 percent of gas stations in the New York metropolitan area did not have fuel available for sale on Thursday, down from 38 percent on Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.