Gas shortage sends many

hurrying to fill up their tanks
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

Reported gasoline shortages are creating another run on gas stations similar to those that occurred two weeks ago in response to Hurricane Ike.

A number of Boone-area stations were completely out of gasoline Wednesday and others had limited supply, and there was still uncertainty among a number of oil distributors.

Pump prices have not made the dramatic leaps they did when Hurricane Ike was threatening refineries and wells in Texas, but many local pumps are sporting plastic bags that have become the standard sign for depleted reserves.

Phil Halbedel, owner of Phil's Citgo in Boone, said his distributor was unable to deliver gasoline and gave no indication when the station would be able to refill its storage tanks.

Only two of six pumps were operating Wednesday, and he estimated he only had about 3,000 gallons of regular left.

“My supplier won’t be able to get me any more and they didn't tell me why,” Halbedel said. “What I've got is all I'll have.”

However, experts say the best advice is for consumers to refrain from buying more gasoline than is needed or filling up when it is unnecessary as such practices will simply drive up prices and deplete supply.

One station owner in Blowing Rock said he had limited each customer to $20 purchases to help level the playing field.

Though some media outlets were reporting fist fights and long lines across western North Carolina, most Boone gas stations were calm Wednesday.

Halbedel was selling regular for $3.79 a gallon, while other stations offered the lowest grade priced around $3.85 a gallon.

Statewide, gas had dipped as low as $3.56 a gallon Wednesday, but had jumped to $4.29 a gallon in much of Asheville. The statewide average was $3.91 a gallon, while the national average was $3.71 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.

The price disparity should continue for about a week, according to AAA Carolinas, which said spot shortages were affecting the mountains more than other regions.

“The availability of gasoline is tied to supply and supply is really limited right now,” said Carol Gifford, spokesperson for AAA Carolinas, “Refineries and wells in the Gulf of Mexico aren't operating in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Only a handful are getting back to full operation. That means we have very limited gasoline going through the pipelines.”

Gasoline is being distributed and rationed among retailers based on their contracts with distributors. Stations are receiving regular shipments but they are receiving much smaller loads than they were receiving previously.

The public also had a role in creating the shortage, Gifford said, because people began hoarding gasoline based on media reports of shortages.

“Motorists started topping off tanks and putting an extra run on already-limited supplies,” Gifford said. “The situation will be getting better with each passing day, but right now we're in a tough situation, with limited supply available.

“There are selected outages throughout the Carolinas but the North Carolina mountains are being hit really hard right now,” she said, both because of limited distribution and a number of smaller, independent retailers who are being “squeezed even harder, because there is no extra gas available on the spot market.”

Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., issued a statement Friday about the shortage, saying: “According to the oil companies, this is a temporary event, and there should be relief by Friday morning. Companies are diverting supplies to try to help western North Carolina.”

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a fuel waiver of the federal summertime gasoline requirements for North Carolina, which should help get as much gasoline supply as possible into North Carolina, Dole said.

Last year at this time, regular gasoline was $2.81 a gallon.

Jason Reagan contributed to this report.