Gas prices increased 5 cents overnight following a fatal explosion near Birmingham, Ala., that shut down a pipeline bringing gas to metro Atlanta.
Average gas prices in Atlanta that were $2.19 Tuesday were up to $2.24 for regular gas Wednesday, according to AAA.
The pipeline will be out of service the rest of this week, a Colonial Pipeline operator told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tuesday. But a second pipeline, also knocked out, that carries diesel and jet fuel restarted late Monday.
“Line 1, Colonial’s gasoline line, remains shut down,” the company said. “At this time, we anticipate Line 1 remaining down for the remainder of this week. Line 2, which transports diesel, jet fuel and other distillates, was restarted at approximately 11:00 PM CDT.”
Governor Nathan Deal cleared the way for trucks to bring a supply to metro areas, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Experts told the television station while they are worried because the explosion knocked out two pipelines, topping off gas tanks will only complicate efforts to keep gas flowing to local stations.
