PMAA believes that as the Congress considers establishing a new energy strategy, how to ensure that markets have multiple competitors must be the guiding principle. Congress must work to have competitors in the various energy fields, in oil at every level, in natural gas at every level, and in electricity at every level. Further, attempting to encourage one of these sectors to be dominant will necessarily be harmful. We are dismayed by many proposals now circulating which could encourage consumption of natural gas or electricity. We believe consumer choice will lead to people selecting the best fuel for their use, and the best fuel for the future, tilting the playing field will always decrease competition, and thus should be avoided.
Flexibility comes from competition, as competitors adapt to changed circumstance.
And as you know each winter is different, each year competition is more intense. As the heating oil industry demonstrated this year, many wholesalers searched worldwide for product. Brokers distributed the product between markets. Refiners worked round the clock to increase production. Finally the ability of oil to be stored at every level, from homeowner to refiner allowed the industry to distribute the product efficiently.