COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The EPA will allow convenience stores in Georgia to start selling winter-blend gas two weeks early to help ease any fuel shortages due to Hurricane Harvey.
Channel 2's Jim Strickland was the only reporter to speak to Gov. Nathan Deal about the fuel supply in Georgia.
Deal said he doesn't expect drivers to endure the kind of gas lines that hit Atlanta after Hurricane Ike. He said the EPA waiver will help to maintain the supply.
"Refineries had already started tampering down on the summer blend since it was about to end anyway, so this will allow us not to have a break in terms of supply fuel," Deal said.
Colonial Pipeline announced its gas pipeline wasn't shutting down as first thought, but that volumes would be spotty. The company also predicted its main station in Houston would be running by Sunday.
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Although there isn't a shortage, there is still a price shock at the pump. According to Gas Buddy, Atlanta's average price has eclipsed the national average for the first time in nearly a year.
"They know that we need gas to get back and forth where we need to go, so this is their opportunity to hike up the prices," driver Angela McCrary said.
The price at the RaceTrac where McCrary filled up had jumped 50 cents in a week.
"I think it's more how the retailers and the market sets prices, as opposed to availability," energy analyst Chris Edmonds said.
Channel 2 consumer adviser Clark Howard said the rush to the pump is an expected reaction from drivers.
"People are going to rush out and top it off, it's just the way it is. The good news is, the amount that's in storage means that hopefully we won't have spot shortages of gasoline and stations closing," he said.
Wholesale gas futures for September were up 14 percent.
Mansfield Oil of Gainesville, the nation's largest fuel wholesaler told Strickland they've put the entire southeast on condition red, meaning they expect some spot shortages, but they're also expected to be short lived.
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