This month’s guest post on the topic of diversifying our nation’s transportation fuel comes from stakeholder Alliance AutoGas, originally published on their blog, Autogas Fleet.

This week our thoughts are with the millions of Americans and families impacted by Hurricane Sandy. In the wake of such extensive damage, we are reminded of the fragility of our nation’s energy infrastructure and of the very real risks associated with dependence on foreign oil and monopolized transportation fuels.

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, the agility of state and local emergency responders is more critical than ever. But events like this week’s storm can threaten the dependability of our fuel supply. That’s just one reason many law enforcement agencies have seen significant success with propane autogas.

Autogas is American-made and costs significantly less than gasoline, but it is also a highly portable fuel that can be readily relied upon in times of critical need. Autogas proved the best answer for Sheriff Stan Evans of Jackson County, who wanted a supplementary fuel supply for his deputies. After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, Sheriff Evans came face-to-face with the threat fuel scarcity could pose, particularly for emergency responders in states directly impacted by such a catastrophic event.

Evans appreciated the reliability of propane autogas supply and the flexibility afforded by autogas vehicle technology. The Jackson County sheriff vehicles use the bi-fuel Prins system from Alliance AutoGas so deputies can switch readily between autogas and gasoline as needed. And with fuel cost savings of $1.50 per gallon with autogas, as well as a 30 percent reduction in harmful emissions, it’s no wonder the Sheriff’s office has transitioned well over half of its vehicle fleet to run on autogas.

This week has presented a solemn reminder of our vulnerabilities; but we are optimistic that as our nation’s energy portfolio diversifies to include more of clean and domestically produced transportation fuels like propane autogas, we will be better equipped for the road ahead.