SHORTAGES: Oil Easier, Gas Tighter

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At long last, some of the nation's energy problems showed some improvement—but others were getting worse. Although lines of motorists at service stations in parts of the U.S. provided highly visible evidence of a deepening shortage of gasoline last week, the more serious scarcity of home-heating fuel appeared to be ended, at least for the time being. An unusually warm winter, combined with dedicated conservation by Americans, has cut demand for heating fuel by about 11% below previous forecasts. Heating-fuel storage tanks are brimming over, even in the Northeast, which has been the most severely afflicted region. Best of all, the first signs appeared that the Arab oil embargo on the U.S. might be lifted.

Ripple Effect. Since the Arabs decided last month to sell France, Britain and Belgium all the oil they need, supplies in Europe have increased and prices for heating oil have declined sharply. In a ripple effect, U.S. heating-oil prices by mid-February may go down a penny or more per gallon.

The improved outlook prodded the Senate to scuttle temporarily the Emergency Energy Act, which would have given President Nixon authority to ration gasoline. An odd political alliance—Democratic liberals, Republican conservatives and ardent environmentalists—voted decisively to send the bill back to a House-Senate conference committee. This week the conference committee will consider several possible revisions to the bill, including the substitution of a plan to roll back some domestic oil prices for its controversial provision to curb windfall profits.

That provision was opposed not only by oil-state Senators like Louisiana's Russell Long but also by many liberals who considered the plan unworkable. The environmentalists, led by Wisconsin Democrat Gay lord Nelson, were aghast at another provision that would have delayed until 1979 the imposition of "clean air" standards for factories and power plants that are shifting from oil to coal. All sides felt freer to drop or at least delay the bill because of the easing of oil supplies. Said Nelson: "We are not in an emergency situation right now."

This could lead some Americans to believe that the energy crisis is over, which it most assuredly is not. One symptom: layoffs resulting from the crisis are spreading. In January the nation's unemployment rate rose from 4.8% to 5.2%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics attributed a "substantial" proportion of new joblessness to shortages of fuel and power. More ominously, Federal Energy Chief William Simon warned last week that the home-heating-oil situation is still "critical," although stocks stand at 185 million bbl., v. 137 million bbl. at the same time last year, when stocks were abnormally low. The big danger: a sudden cold snap could quickly deplete inventories.