Gasoline shortage makes minimal impact locally
By From staff reports
Published in News on September 20, 2016 9:57 AM
In Wayne County, some gas stations have run out of gas, placed restrictions on certain grades of gasoline and limited the amount that customers are able to purchase, but for the most part, the gas shortage due to a gas line leak in Alabama has had little effect locally.
Emergency personnel are not having any problems with the shortage.
"We have not had any problems at this time getting fuel for our patrol cars," Sheriff Larry Pierce said. "You might go by a station and it be out of fuel, but if you go back by later it will have fuel. We have had no problems.
"We have an emergency contingency plan signed with the fuel contractor. We will have priority for emergency vehicle fuel. From what I am getting, I do not think it will be a major problem. It might be sporadic."
Wayne County Schools spokesman Ken Derksen said the local school system is seeing no effects of the pipeline leak locally.
"The fuel shortage does not have any effect on the district at this time," Derksen said.
"It appears that the pipeline issue are having any impact on diesel fuel, and the entire school bus fleet is diesel. There are some vehicles that do operate on gasoline, but the transportation department says there is plenty of gasoline on site, and they are expecting a scheduled delivery later this week, but they are keeping a close eye on the fuel shortage and at this time there appears to be no effect locally on the school district."
The company that own the leaking line, Colonial Pipeline Inc., have operators working to repair the line, and gasoline, diesel and jet fuel are expected to be pumping from Texas and Louisiana refineries to the southeastern states by the end of the week, according to a press release from the American Automobile Association.
According to a press release from Gov. Pat McCrory's office, state officials have been working closely with Colonial Pipeline to "monitor and quickly replenish fuel supplies."
The Colonial Pipeline disruption could contribute to the availability of supply, and North Carolina and South Carolina may see higher prices until normal shipments resume.
The AAA Carolinas reports that there are slightly higher prices across the state, with prices averaging in the county around $2.07 per gallon.
"We want to remind motorists that this issue is temporary and to continue normal habits at the pump," said AAA Carolinas Public Relations Manager Tiffany Wright. "AAA Carolinas continues to give members peace of mind during this time, and our roadside service will not be affected by this supply issue."
North Carolina's average price of gasoline is currently $2.16, up slightly from last week's average of $2.05. South Carolina motorists are seeing an average price of $2.04, up from last week's average of $1.91. Despite the recent increases, both of the Carolinas are still seeing gas prices under the national average of $2.20.
On Friday, McCrory issued an executive order that waives additional trucking restrictions and protects consumers from price gouging at the fuel pumps.
McCrory also issued an executive order temporarily waiving hours of service restrictions for fuel vehicles traveling within and through North Carolina to prevent disruptions at major fuel distribution hubs.
"Based on our ongoing updates from Colonial, the construction of a bypass pipeline is moving forward which will soon allow fuel supply operations to return to normal," said McCrory in a release.
"In the meantime, my executive orders remain in effect to protect motorists from excessive gas prices and minimize any interruptions in the supply of fuel."