Lindsey Paluka, 28, stopped at a Shell gas station in the East Atlanta neighborhood only to find a gas pump handle covered by a black garbage bag. The U.S. Department of Transportation ordered the company responsible, Alpharetta-based Colonial Pipeline, to take corrective action before the fuel starts flowing again.
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Monday’s average, according to GasPrices.AAA.com, is $2.03, just four cents below the price recorded four weeks ago. Bentley says, even though he himself has seen a sharp increase in gas prices in Alabama, he doesn’t think price gouging is an issue in the state.
The governors of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia have all declared a state of emergency over the gas situation.
Alpharetta, Georgia-based Colonial has acknowledged that between 252,000 gallons (954,000 liters) and 336,000 gallons (1,272,000 liters) of gasoline leaked from a pipeline near Helena, Alabama, since the spill was first detected September 9.
While some motorists across the Southeast woke up to no gas at the pump and price jumps due to the Colonial Pipeline leak, here in Dothan, prices at the pump have remained steady. Its unclear when the spill actually began. “There was a $9.99 a gallon posted and we were told by the station that they never charged that price but posted it when they ran out of gas and later took it down”. So far, a number of states in the south have experienced dry pumps and price spikes of between 10 and 20 cents.
“We are out in our locations”, Bucky Miller, who purchases gas for four local stations, said Monday. “This includes trucking and barging fuel from other markets and refineries”, the company said.
While prices across the nation are averaging a few cents higher than last week, a gallon of gas in North Carolina costs about a dime more than it did last week.
“I just filled up her vehicle, now I’m filling up mine”, said Atlanta resident Jerry Gardner.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the leak and have shutoff the pipeline during cleanup.
“The reason prices went up is because people panicked – supply and demand, that’s simple economics”, said Posey. While some select grades are running low at some stations, overall most stations seem to have gas or one sort or another.
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“This Executive Order will enable Virginia to prevent any potential disruption to gasoline supplies as a result of the temporary shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline”, Gov. McAuliffe said Saturday in a prepared statement. Kroger reports nine of its fueling centers are impacted by a gas shortage.
