Summary

The total amount of gasohol used by the federal government remains unknown because agencies do not keep information on purchases by individual drivers, which account for about 54 percent of all motor fuel use. The remaining motor fuel is bought in bulk, and the percentage represented by gasohol has not increased significantly since 1981. GAO found that gasohol consumption by the federal fleet was 269 million gallons in fiscal year 1993. This amount would represent the upper limit of potential gasohol consumption if all vehicles used by federal agencies were refueled with gasohol during that year. If, instead, federal agencies bought gasohol at the same rate as the general public--7.1 percent of gasoline consumption--they would potentially use about 19 million gallons. Although federal agencies have tried to encourage the use of gasohol since 1991, several barriers still exist that limit purchases. The main impediment is that the price of gasohol is not competitive with the price of gasoline. Gasohol is also sometimes unavailable because of the small number of ethanol and gasohol suppliers in some locations. In addition, environmental regulations mandating the use of clean-burning fuels to reduce emissions may limit the use of gasohol in some areas or affect its supply and price in others.

GAO found that: (1) the extent of the federal government's use of gasohol is unknown because federal agencies do not track individual drivers' motor fuel purchases; (2) the percentage of the government's bulk gasohol purchases has not increased significantly since 1991; (3) if the federal government had purchased gasohol at the same rate as the general public, it would have used 19.1 million gallons of gasohol in 1993; (4) federal agencies have issued policies requiring the use of gasohol, depending on its availability and price, and eliminated or tightened agencies' exemptions to the use of gasohol; (5) federal agencies do not know the effect their actions have had on individual purchases of gasohol because of the lack of data; (6) several factors limit the federal government's use of gasohol including its high and uncompetitive price, limited availability, and difficulties in meeting certain environmental and emissions regulations that require the use of clean-burning fuels; and (7) although the use of ethanol in reformulated gasoline and other oxygenated fuels might decrease the availability of ethanol and increase its cost, such use could result in greater ethanol consumption.