LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Rick Snyder issued an executive order Tuesday, declaring a State of Energy Emergency in Michigan because of tightened gas supplies in the state.
The governor cites the shutdown of a pipeline in Wisconsin and an unplanned outage at the Marathon refinery in Detroit before the Memorial Day weekend. The declaration means that truckers who deliver gasoline can spend more hours on the road to ensure that fuel is available around the state.
“We want to make sure the fuel Michiganders need for their travels to work, school or a long weekend trip is available,” Snyder said in a statement on the state's website. “This executive order will help ensure there are no artificial shortages of fuel impacting the state’s residents or visitors.”
The executive order suspends state and federal regulations related to hours-of-service for motor carriers and drivers transporting all transportation fuels within Michigan, enabling these individuals to exceed the number of hours and consecutive days in which they can operate a commercial motor vehicle. It does not waive any environmental rules or alter commercial arrangements.
Patrick DeHaan of GasBuddy.com announced likely price increases at the pumps ahead of the holiday weekend. DeHaan tweeted shortly after the order that he doesn't see prices rising further.
