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Gas Panic
Posted by Will Collier · 31 August 2005
There is officially a gas panic underway in Georgia. Word arrived this morning that the major pipeline serving metro Atlanta was down because of Katrina (the pumps are in Louisiana, and have no power to run), and the radio has been buzzing all day with rumors that the city will be gas-less by the weekend.
Yesterday, unleaded at my neighborhood station was $2.48. At lunchtime today, it was up to $2.68. Four hours later--ten minutes ago--it was $2.98. A station a half-mile away was all the way up to $3.29. There are three stations on my route home from work. They all had long lines, the first actual gas lines I've seen since the 1970's. I hear from a friend in Columbus that every station there cut off gas service at 4PM Eastern.
Is it a real shortage? Is it price-gouging? You got me. But I'm glad I topped off my tank during my lunch break.
UPDATE: Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue says,
"There's no reason to panic. There's plenty of gas on the way and the only way we'll have problems locally is if we rush out and hoard," the governor said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference. "Stay calm and conserve, don't just run out to top off your tank. Just continue with normal fueling habits."
Hurricane Katrina knocked out power to two pipelines that bring gas and jet fuel into the region. The lines have been down for two days while the Metro typically holds onto a 10-day supply of gasoline.
"That does affect our gas supply and it's led to an increase in gas prices," the governor said of the pipeline problem. "This is a temporary problem due to Hurricane Katrina and will be resolved soon. It is not a cause for alarm or panic. It is not a long-term situation."
Governor Perdue said he contacted the state's gas distributors Wednesday morning and has been assured that they are working to address the supply problem. He said that a significant amount of the state's gas supplies are not affected because they arrive at the port, not by pipeline.
If he's right, this is just a case of the station owners cashing in on a rampant rumor mill. If he's wrong, it's going to be a not-fun week in the ATL.
I hope he's right--and if he is, you can bet the bank people are going to remember which stations raised prices the most, and the fastest.
I'm talking about a case where the $4 price reflects impulsive price hikes to take advantage of a rumor, of course. If the real "market" price is $4, then there isn't a damn thing anyone can do about it.
BTW if you notice any price gauging going on you can report the gas station to the department of energy.
Gas Price Watch Reporting Form