Pipeline damage leaves some fuel stations without gasoline as suppliers scramble to supply the Southeast with fuel.
Fuel prices in the Southeast have spiked as a result of a leak in a pipeline that has resulted in the pipeline’s closure.
According to a report from CNNMoney, on Sept. 9, 2016 a section of the Colonial Pipeline was closed after it leaked approximately 250,000 gallons in Shelby County, Ala. This closure has led to dramatic price increases in the Southeastern U.S. The pipeline, which carries gas from New York to Houston, supplies approximately 50 million people daily in much of the Southeast and East Coast.
In addition to causing fuel prices to skyrocket, this pipe closure actually caused a shortage at some fuel stations. CNNMoney reported that some gas stations in Atlanta and north Georgia ran out of gasoline on Sunday, Sept. 18. The stations that still had fuel supply had lines at their pumps.
This gasoline shortage has caused gas prices to rise an average of 21 cents in Georgia and 13 cents in Tennessee, CNNMoney reported, which has Georgia drivers paying an average of $2.32 in Georgia and $2.13 in Tennessee, but prices as high as $2.99 per gallon of regular grade gasoline have been reported in Georgia.
In an effort to prevent more stations from running out of fuel, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia have declared states of emergency, thereby relaxing limits on fuel transportation, according to CNNMoney.
However, while some stations have run out of fuel supply, these shortages are not widespread. CNNMoney reported that the pipeline is working to get back online, and the company is building a bypass to get fuel moving again. The cause of the leak has yet to be identified.