The devastation left in the wake of Superstorm Sandy will be felt for a long time in communities along the East Coast, with the greatest damage in New Jersey and New York where Sandy made landfall just after being downgraded from a hurricane. There it collided with a cold front to create unprecedented storm conditions.

More than week after the storm, many communities were still without power, even as stretched crews worked to remedy the situation. And fuel shortages in the hardest hit areas added to the challenges as people and businesses tried to keep their generators running.

The problem wasn’t lack of fuel in the area, according to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in a press conference on the Saturday following the storm. Rather it’s a problem of …