DOE Suspends Fuel Statistics Operations, Will Not Release Diesel-Price Survey
The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration suspended its operations Oct. 11 and the agency will not release its weekly fuel-price survey scheduled for Oct. 15, it said.
EIA had enough money to continue its operations after the federal government largely shut down Oct. 1, but it could not fund its operations beyond Oct. 11, and closed that afternoon, the agency said in a statement on its website. EIA is an independent statistical arm of DOE.
EIA usually reports the national average pump price of diesel fuel and gasoline Monday afternoons, based on a survey of hundreds of fueling stations. The report on Oct. 14’s price was scheduled for Oct. 15 because of the Columbus Day federal holiday.
Many trucking companies depend on EIA’s survey — which provides national, regional and subregional prices — to determine their fuel surcharges.
In addition to its weekly pump-price survey, EIA also releases other regular reports, including This Week in Petroleum, weekly fuel inventory and refinery data, and a monthly short-term energy outlook. All of those reports will be suspended until Congress passes funding legislation.
