diff --git a/joint_teapot/utils/joj3.py b/joint_teapot/utils/joj3.py
index c5014e8..d61ac8a 100644
--- a/joint_teapot/utils/joj3.py
+++ b/joint_teapot/utils/joj3.py
@@ -291,6 +291,8 @@ def get_title_prefix(
 def parse_penalty_config(penalty_config: str) -> List[Tuple[float, float]]:
     res = []
     for penalty in penalty_config.split(","):
+        if not penalty.strip():
+            continue
         hour, factor = map(float, penalty.split("="))
         res.append((hour, factor))
     res.sort(key=lambda x: x[0])