GasBuddy has activated a fuel availability tracker for several Southern states, including Georgia, after the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack.
Besides Georgia, the tracker is available for Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Maryland, and can be found here or by downloading the GasBuddy app.
GasBuddy is a travel and navigation app that covers more than 150,000 gas stations in North America.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, is urging motorists not to panic during this latest gasoline shortage.
“Panic buying or hoarding of gasoline will prolong outages and price spikes, making them much worse,” said De Haan. “It is true that if the pipeline remains out of service into the early part of next week, roughly Tuesday or so, that some gas stations may run low on gasoline. Tank farms that take the gasoline from the pipeline are likely starting to see supply run low, so it is vital that motorists do not overwhelm the system by filling their tanks.”
De Haan and his company are urging motorists to only buy what gasoline they immediately need for their cars and avoid filling their tanks until Colonial Pipeline resumes full operation.
“The longer the problem continues, the more it will likely affect motorists in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama, and to a lesser extent, Northern Florida,” De Haan said. “These are all markets served by the Colonial Pipeline, one of the nation’s most critical pipelines for refined oil products.
“Once the pipeline restarts, it will take days for normal conditions to occur,” he said. “If motorists hoard gasoline, the problem may stretch for several weeks with continued outages and further pricing impacts. It’s very difficult to pin the exact amount prices may rise, but for now, it appears to be a few cents per gallon, possibly growing more significant if the pipeline remains shut down for more than two to three more days.”
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