WASHINGTON, D.C – Today, Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor released the following statement applauding the introduction of the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2022 in the House of Representatives by Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.). The bill would allow for year-round sales of E15:
“E15 lowered fuel prices for American drivers by up to a dollar a gallon this past summer. Today, we applaud Reps. Craig and Smith for introducing this legislation that would make lower-cost, lower-carbon fuels like E15 available all year long. Not only would a nationwide transition to E15 save consumers over $20 billion a year in annual fuel costs; it would support an additional 188,000 jobs, put an additional $36.3 billion in income back into the pockets of American households, and generate $66.3 billion for the U.S. GDP. We hope all of Congress acts quickly to advance this legislation and deliver a gift to American drivers ahead of the busy holiday travel season.”
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Background
The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2022 has bipartisan support and has now been introduced in both chambers of Congress. The Senate version (S. 5145) was introduced in November 2022 by Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 13 other senators. The bill would apply the same fuel volatility limit to all conventional gasoline blends containing 10 percent ethanol or more, thereby making it possible for retailers nationwide to offer lower-cost, lower-carbon fuels like E15 to consumers all year round.
In April 2022, President Biden issued an emergency waiver to allow the sale of E15 for the 2022 summer driving season. As a result, drivers found savings of up to nearly a dollar per gallon at the pump by filling up with E15—gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol.
In October 2022, Growth Energy worked with ABF Economics to examine the consumer savings and economic implications of expanding E15 use to a year-round nationwide basis consistent with the President’s original announcement on sale of E15 and EPA’s subsequent series of emergency vapor pressure waivers. The report leveraged June 2021 economic impact research using updated summer retail sales data from OPIS across 29 states (May-August 2022). According to OPIS data, the average price of E15 over the May through August (post EPA Waiver) period was 16 cents per gallon below that of regular unleaded (E10) gasoline. These savings were then applied to EIA annualized gasoline consumption data below to calculate savings to consumers and associated economic impact. The full ABF report is available here.
E15 is currently sold at over 2,700 stations across 31 states, and Americans have collectively traveled more than 35 billion miles using E15. This ethanol-blended fuel is approved for cars 2001 and newer — more than 96 percent of cars on the road today.
More information on E15 is available here.