New Ad: E15 Push Puts Consumers at Risk

Mark Green
Posted September 7, 2018

With the Trump administration considering a move that would push more E15 fuel into the nation's gasoline supply, API has a new ad warning that consumers could bear the risks of additional volumes of the higher-ethanol blend. Check it out:

The ad touches on points we’ve made in the past about the infusion of E15 (see here, here and here), spurred by the flawed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). The administration is thinking about facilitating the sale of E15 year-round. Currently, the Clean Air Act requires that E15 meet gasoline volatility requirements in the summertime. Key points in the ad:

• E15 can damage the engines and fuel systems of vehicles that weren’t designed to use it.
• Automobile manufacturers have said using E15 could void car warranties.
• Nearly three out of four vehicles on the road today weren’t made to use E15 (chart).

During a conference call with reporters last month, API Downstream Group Director Frank Macchiarola warned against the potential negative impacts of forcing more E15 into the fuel supply – a fuel that contains up to 50 percent more ethanol content than E10 gasoline that’s standard in the U.S. At issue is RFS mandates requiring refiners to blend more ethanol into fuel than can be safely used as E10. Macchiarola:

“Automakers have warned that these increased blends of ethanol could harm engines and fuel systems and potentially impose costly repairs on consumers that are not covered by warranties. … One original purpose of the RFS – developing a commercially viable supply of cellulosic biofuel – has not come to fruition. At the same time, the program’s aim of reducing U.S. reliance on imported crude oil is being accomplished not by the ethanol mandate, but rather, by surging domestic oil and natural gas production, thus transforming the U.S. from a nation of energy dependence and scarcity to one of energy security and abundance. API continues to advocate for a comprehensive legislative fix to this flawed and outdated mandate …”

The RFS is broken and requires addressing to protect consumers – not another step in the wrong direction that results in pumping additional volumes of E15 into the fuel supply, where consumers could bear significant consequences.