With shortage of gasoline an issue and the governor warning against gouging, the price of some gasoline in metro Atlanta is now wedged tightly up against $3 a gallon.
A smattering of stations in mid-morning were charging $2.99 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.
Among those flirting with three-buck gas: a Texaco in Snellville, an Exxon and a Shell in Lawrenceville, a BP in Alpharetta and a Citgo in Stone Mountain.
Ten days after a key pipeline started leaking, metro Atlanta drivers drove into today’s rush hour facing higher gas prices and worried about shortages.
Meanwhile, round-the-clock work continues both on repairing the damage to the line south of Birmingham while also adding a bypass that would take gasoline around the problem, according to Alpharetta-based Colonial Pipeline.
Colonial, which initially underestimated the extent of the spill, says the line should be repaired sometime this week. The company has not been more specific, but it has issued several online statements about the event.
Gasoline is still mostly available, although some stations have some or all their pumps shuttered. For an overview of where to look for gasoline, click here.
Meanwhile, prices are up.
According to GasBuddy, a handful of stations in late morning were still charging less than $2 a gallon for regular. Among them, a Pure in Covington, a RaceTrac in Kennesaw and a few of the buying clubs. However, by early afternoon, there were no stations listed below the two-buck threshold.
The average price of gasoline in early afternoon in the region was $2.49 a gallon. A week ago, it was $2.16, according to GasBuddy.
The pipeline – one of two operated by Colonial — carries fuel from refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast up into the Northeast, passing through Atlanta along the way. And the spill has had much greater impact here.
Nationally, the average price of gasoline has barely moved: $2.18 a gallon a week ago, $2.20 a gallon today, said GasBuddy.
Governors in several states, including Georgia, signed orders easing restrictions on long-haul truckers to keep shipments rolling to help relieve the fuel crunch. The company has also said it is pumping gasoline in another key pipeline to help relieve service disruptions.
It is currently estimated that 250,000 to 330,000 gallons of fuel – or possibly more – leaked from the pipeline. The company maintains that most of the fuel is contained in a small pond downhill from where the leak occurred.
