Fla. legislators consider requiring generators for gas stations, nursing homes.

Fla. legislators consider requiring generators for gas stations, nursing homes.

TALLAHASSEE -- Remembering his frustration when he couldn't find a gasoline station open after Hurricane Wilma, Jeff Kasten of Boca Raton wants legislators to require fuel stations to have backup power generators before the next hurricane strikes.Kasten, 41, the owner of a small software business, isn't alone in demanding the state fix problems that surfaced after eight major hurricanes hammered Florida in 2004 and 2005.">


Bills and budget proposals dealing with backup power generators -- and how to pay for them -- for nursing homes, gasoline stations and grocery stores are among top hurricane tasks facing the Legislature this year.But with opposition already surfacing from some gasoline retailers and their lobbyists, most of the proposals will be a tough sell in Tallahassee. Still, power generator legislation of some sort seems certain to pass. Proposals headed for debate during the regular legislative session that starts March 7 include:A bill by South Florida Democratic senators allowing some nursing homes to be reimbursed for upgrading their generator capacity, providing they take in evacuees from other adult-care centers.A $30 million budget request by Gov. Jeb Bush to permanently install generators in all "special needs" emergency shelters that care for frail, sick and elderly during a storm.Measures requiring newly built or substantially remodeled gasoline stations to be equipped with backup power systems or alternative pumping systems that can work in the event of a power outage. Some legislators are also thinking of offering tax credits to help the stations cover those costs, which industry officials say range from $25,000 to $75,000 for each gas station, given installation expenses.A proposal from environmental regulators that the state organize a program in which gas stations would share generators. Instead of providing any money to purchase the generators, the state would set a goal of registering up to 10 percent of the state's 9,000-plus gas stations to participate by June.At least two separate sales tax exemption proposals that would allow Floridians to buy power generators and other hurricane-preparedness items without having to pay any sales tax.Several South Florida municipalities are also passing ordinances requiring grocery stores have the backup power equipment on hand to open quickly after a natural disaster. Some lawmakers said they are considering similar state legislation.Legislative leaders won't say what power generator legislation, if any, is likely to become law. "There will be two or three dozen hurricane related bills," said House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City. "Let's gather them all up and look at them, and maybe just pick the best."Many residents like Kasten, whose business had to shut down for days because workers didn't have the fuel to get around, aren't satisfied with vague promises. Kasten says backup power generator legislation should be a high priority in the 2006 legislative session."Whatever it costs the state to mandate that a specific percentage of gas stations have generators the state should pay for it," said Kasten. "The cost of not having these stations pumping gas is so much costlier."In South Florida after Wilma, thousands of residences and businesses went weeks without electricity.Mike Huey, general counsel for the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, says the issue isn't simplistic, and generators shouldn't be mandated."What we're trying to make people understand that this issue goes way beyond putting a generator at a gas station," he said. Most gas stations wouldn't have any more than a day's worth of fuel supply anyhow, said Huey. "Is it worth someone spending $60,000 or $70,000 on installing generators to sell a day's worth of fuel?" he asks.There are additional challenges, he noted, such as the need for diesel fuel and storage tank space to run generators powerful enough to pump gas. And because diesel fuel typically cannot be stored for long periods, Huey insists it may be impossible to get sufficient amounts of diesel fuel for the generators to enough stations after a storm.What would be more useful, Huey claims, is ensuring that power be restored quickly to terminals and ports where gasoline tanker trucks receive their fuel shipments."