Conference on Weights and Measures tables vote on temperature compensation

The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) has decided not to schedule an official vote on retail temperature compensation in 2008, according to news reports.

The next possible official vote will be in July 2009. The decision was made at the NCWM meeting Jan. 29 in Albuquerque, N.M. where industry groups gathered for an open hearing on automatic temperature compensation (ATC), according to news reports.

Steve Everly of The Kansas City Star reported that the NCWM tabled the matter “under industry pressure.”

In a Jan. 29 article published online by The Kansas City Star, Everly reported, “The vote followed a day of hearings in which oil-industry representatives pummeled the idea of adjusting retail fuel pumps to account for temperature fluctuations.”

NCWM will use 2008 as an "informational" year, seeking more testimony and research on ATC, according to a report by the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO). Representatives of NATSO attended the NCWM session on temperature compensation.
NATSO and other associations announced in March 2007 the formation of Partnership for Uniform Marketing Practices (P.U.M.P.). The organization said then that its focus is “to ensure fair competition, cost-effective distribution and equitable treatment of consumers in addressing the issue of temperature variation in the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel.”

In announcing the formation of P.U.M.P., Lisa Mullings, president and CEO of NATSO, said, “retailers have banded together to fight allegations that consumers are receiving less than they pay for as the result of retailers selling gasoline at temperatures higher than standard 60-degree reference temperature.”

The Kansas City Star put the spotlight on temperature compensation when it published articles in August 2006 reporting that “at recent prices U.S. consumers are spending about $2.3 billion more for gasoline and diesel this year than they otherwise would if fuel pumps were adjusted to account for expansion of hot fuel.”

Fuel is frequently sold at temperatures hotter than the government standard of 60 degrees, The Star reported in its series, noting that the standard was agreed to “nearly a century ago” by the industry and regulators.

The newspaper went on to explain that at the 60-degree standard, the 231-cubic-inch U.S. gallon, “puts out a certain amount of energy. But that same amount of gas expands to more than 235 cubic inches at 90 degrees, even though consumers still only get 231 cubic inches at the pump.” The newspaper noted, “Every degree over the 60-degree standard diminishes the energy a 231-cubic-inch gallon delivers."