HARRISBURG, PA - Rhoads Energy recently unveiled what the company said is the first flexible-fuel pump in the state of Pennsylvania. The site is the Rhoads Energy Pacific Pride location at 2176 Paxton Street in Harrisburg.

The flex-fuel pump, commonly called a blender pump, offers three ethanol blends from a single pump, giving commercial fleets more options.

Unlike a traditional pump, a flex-fuel pump blends ethanol at a level selected by the user. The Paxton Street pump will offer E10 (the 10 percent ethanol blend for use in standard vehicles), E30 (a 30 percent ethanol blend for flex-fuel vehicles) or E85 (an 85 percent blend for flex-fuel vehicles.)

While many stations offer E85, the E30 blend is not widely available. E30 offers Pacific Pride customers a lower price-per-gallon than E10, but better mileage than E85.

In April, the federal government announced a goal of installing 10,000 similar pumps nationwide.

Michael DeBerdine, CEO of Rhoads Energy, said that the decision to install the commonwealth’s first flex-fuel pump was based on the emerging needs of commercial customers – many of which include flex-fuel vehicles in their fleets.

“The flex-fuel pump offers new fueling options designed to give commercial fleets more control over costs,” DeBerdine said. “With fueling costs on the rise, we hope that other stations in the state will follow our lead.”

By offering three ethanol blends from a single pump, Rhoads Energy offers flexibility when prices of fuel fluctuate. Area Pacific Pride customers, including FaulknerAutomotive, Sutliff Auto Group and the state of Pennsylvania, also benefit from lower emissions from ethanol and the speed and convenience of filling up at a station exclusively serving commercial fleets.

During installation of the flex-fuel pump, Rhoads Energy received a grant and technical assistance from Growth Energy, an ethanol industry group.

For more information, visit www.RhoadsEnergy.com.