New York City Begins Fuel Rationing

New York City and Long Island began rationing diesel and gasoline Friday in the region still coping to recover from last week’s battering by Hurricane Sandy, news services reported.

Police were at filling stations Friday morning to enforce the new system in as drivers lined up for fuel before dawn, the New York Post reported.

The rationing allows drivers with odd/even license plate numbers to get fuel on corresponding days. Plates ending in letters are considered odd numbers.

The system follows a similar one set by New Jersey last week, as that state coped with widespread flooding and fuel shortages, some due to power outages at filling stations.

In New York City only about 25% of about 800 gas stations were open Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said shortages could last for “another couple weeks,” the paper said on its website.

The U.S. Department of Energy said seven fuel terminals in northern New Jersey and New York City remain closed as of Thursday afternoon, the Journal reported, while an eighth terminal, operated by Motiva in Sewaren, N.J., began loading gasoline and diesel from fuel racks on Thursday.