NEWS
NEEDED AND SHARED
Minutes
of May 3, 2006
L.A.M.P.P.A.C.
The
meeting was brought to order at 2 p.m. by Margarita
Lee, Chair. There were 14 members and guests present
for our meeting.
Following
an introduction by members, our guest speakers from
Merrimac Energy Group (located in Long Beach) were
introduced. Mary Hazelrigg, President, and Lori Anderson,
Vice President, talked to us about fuel pricing. Their
company provides gasoline and fuel to other cities,
counties, utilities, and corporate customers. They
supply customers from San Diego to San Jose. They
obtain their fuel and gasoline product from refineries
including Tosco, Conoco, Tosoro, Volero, Chevron,
Paramount Petroleum, and various others. They noted
that the key pricing gauge is 'OPIS' (Oil Price Information
Services), located in Maryland. They generally provide
this weekly average gasoline and fuel pricing on Thursday
of each week. The OPIS-based pricing is best suited
for 'as needed' ordering (SPOT pricing).
Mary
noted that gas/fuel contracts based on 'fixed cents
per gallon' (off OPIS) are generally not as cost effective
for a customer as are SPOT (as needed) ordering, in
which the market changes occurring can work better
for us.
The
significant volatility in the market has enabled them
to offer most customers 5¢ below (under) OPIS for
gasoline pricing, and 2 1/2¢ below (under) OPIS for
fuel pricing. The addition of fuel/gas surcharges
to customer invoices is becoming commonplace at this
time. In the event of a catastrophic emergency, providing
an ongoing supply of gas/fuel to public safety is
their first priority. They are capable of providing
split deliveries and typically deliver within 24-hours
after receiving a telephone, faxed, or e-mailed order.
Felice
Fromm,
City of Torrance, reminded members that they can easily
post their bid opportunities on the LAMPPAC website
for potential use by other members.
A.
Ralph Nunez,
City of So. El Monte, indicated he would appreciate
any suggestions from members regarding the use of
reliable surplus auctioneers.
Richard
Hogate,
City of El Segundo, provided us a possible source
we may want to consider using for emergency purchase
requirements: ·
