Tallahassee, Fla. — With Hurricane Isaias currently a Category 1 storm and Florida’s east coast now under a Hurricane Watch, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is strongly encouraging Floridians to fuel up in advance of the storm.
Surges in consumer demand due to hurricanes can cause disruptions in Florida’s fuel distribution system. Early preparation by consumers will reduce the strain on fuel distribution, will ensure fuel is available as needed, and will reduce the cost of fuels which can increase due to sudden higher demand.
“With hurricane season well underway and with Hurricane Isaias tracking towards our east coast, Floridians should fuel up their vehicles and generators as far in advance as possible,” said Commissioner Fried. “Preventing a sudden rush at the gas pump is key to ensuring everyone can access reasonably-priced fuel when they need it – so don’t wait any longer.”
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), the state agency that regulates and inspects Florida’s gas stations and fuel pumps, recommends the following:
- Keep at least one vehicle filled with gasoline once the earliest predictions indicate a storm may threaten your area
- Pre-purchase fuels (LP gas and gasoline) for generators, ideally at the start of hurricane season – properly stored fuels will last at least six months, and can be transferred into a vehicle for use, should no emergency arise
- Agriculture producers should get their farm on their fuel supplier’s priority reactivation list
Report Outages/Quality: To report fuel outages or fuel quality issues before or after a hurricane, consumers should contact the department’s Division of Consumer Services at 1-800-HELP-FLA, 1-800-FL-AYUDA en Español, or FloridaConsumerHelp.com.
FDACS is Florida’s state consumer protection agency, responsible for handling consumer complaints, protecting against unfair and unsafe business practices, and more. FDACS handles over 400,000 consumer complaints and inquiries annually, oversees more than 500,000 regulated devices, entities, and products like gas pumps and grocery scales, performs over 61,000 lab analyses on products like gasoline and brake fluid, performs nearly 9,000 fair ride inspections, and returned over $2.8 million to consumers through mediations with businesses last year.
