Drivers in North Carolina and Georgia are reporting the highest prices and the most issues with supply in the wake of a pipeline leak in Alabama.
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But so far, Florida has been spared.
Compared to last week, state averages are up 16 cents in Georgia and 10 cents in Tennessee. Nationally, the average price of gas increased by 2.7 cents per gallon over the past week to $2.20, according to GasBuddy.
“We certainly expect the gas prices to increase, certainly while this line is under fix and not at full capacity”, AAA spokesman Garrett Townsend said Monday.
However, while some stations have run out of fuel supply, these shortages are not widespread. If a station is charging $2.15 or $2.25, they are overcharging for fuel.
The national average for gasoline is $2.21 per gallon, up 3 cents from last week.
“There have been recent reports that wholesale and retail gas prices have substantially increased in some markets”, he said.
Colonial Pipeline announced Saturday it is beginning construction of a temporary pipeline that will bypass a leaking section of its main gasoline pipeline in Shelby County, Alabama, according to AL.com (http://bit.ly/2cvk9ZU).
The company had two lines running from Houston, Texas to New Jersey. The governors of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee approved emergency plans that allow fuel truck drivers to drive longer hours.
“We expect the gas to go up on the holidays, to shoot up on holidays occasionally but on a normal day like today, that was unbelievable”, said Norfolk driver Kelvin Waye.
AAA said that if gas prices do go up, the increases would be short-lived and would likely stabilize in a week or more.
Retail gasoline prices in Georgia, one of the hardest hit states, jumped almost 6 cents overnight to Monday, or more than 20 cents higher than a week ago, to $2.316 a gallon on average, according to motorists’ advocacy group AAA.
Despite some gas station employees saying they’ve run out, the Georgia governor’s office has said they have not received any complaints of gas shortages within the state after a pipeline spill in central Alabama.
According to AAA, gas prices in the Southeast and possibly the Mid-Atlantic region will see upward pressure until the supply is restored.
Shippers are also increasing waterborne shipments of fuel in order to make up for lost batches on Colonial and delays, sources said. Meanwhile, Colonial is shipping “significant volumes” of gas on its distillate line to cushion the temporary impact on supply. At a Shell station on Carmel Road they had no gas on Sunday.
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In addition to causing fuel prices to skyrocket, this pipe closure actually caused a shortage at some fuel stations.
