Well thanks to rumors of a gas shortage in Atlanta the lines are insane

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MissVelvetDress_75

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I can't believe what I am seeing. I went to the gas station to fuel up and all the stations are packed. Cars are over flowing into the streets and the gas stations are limiting the number of gallons a customer can buy. This is awful. I had to pre-pay after waiting 20 min for fucking gas.
And while I was waiting the gas shop owners changed the price of the gas 3 times. :down:

:scream:
4920970_200X150.jpg

http://www.wsbtv.com/money/4919369/detail.html

[q]Gas Shortage Fears Rise in Georgia
Hurricane Wrecked Fuel Infrastructure

POSTED: 11:01 am EDT August 31, 2005
UPDATED: 3:51 pm EDT August 31, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast could lead to skyrocketing prices and gas shortages in Georgia, officials said Wednesday.

The two pipelines that bring gasoline and jet fuel to the region were knocked out of commission when the storm roared through Louisiana and Mississippi, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The infrastructure has been inoperable for at least two days, and gas prices could soar to $3 a gallon and above, the reports suggest.

The shortage could severely hamper motorists and operations at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

In an effort to ease the growing gas shortage, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced Wednesday that the state will temporarily waive requirements for gasoline additives that are added to fuel in the Georgia.

"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it is important for the state to keep gas prices as low as possible for the people of Georgia and our economy," Perdue said in a statement.

The move, in effect until Sept. 15, means the additives designed to help fuel burn cleaner and reduce vehicle emissions and smog will not be required. Suppliers should be able to get gasoline into the state's fuel supplies easier and relieve a projected fuel crunch.

"While the state's requirement for cleaner burning gasoline is an important part of the plan to improve air quality in metropolitan Atlanta, this emergency has occurred late in the smog season and easing our requirements will help ensure an adequate supply of gasoline for Georgians," said Carol Couch, director of the state Environmental Protection Division.

Colonial Pipeline Co., a gas supply firm based in Alpharetta, said it has activated a plan that will boost the flow on its pipeline system.

The moves are designed to return its line to service by this weekend, the company said in a written statement.

Lines form at a metro Atlanta gas station.

"We will continue to work closely with the electrical utilities as they work to restore power to so many communities across Louisiana and Mississippi," David Lemmon, the firm's president and CEO said in a statement. "In the interim, Colonial will be able to restart our pipeline and provide some level of service along our entire system, from Houston to New York Harbor."

Motorists Feel Pain at the Pump

At one Gwinnett County gas station, motorists expressed alarm.

"I may have to go to the country and buy horses," said Brenda Keeler as she bought gas. "It's a downward spiral."

"It's just too much," said Peggy O'Brien. "You have to get around (so) you don't have a choice."

Gas Woes May Spread to Entire Nation

Gasoline prices leaped Wednesday as key refineries and pipelines remained out of service following Hurricane Katrina, crimping supplies and leading to caps on the amount of fuel delivered to retailers.

The U.S. government said it would loan oil to refiners facing shortfalls. Crude futures prices fell but remained close to $69 a barrel.

Some of the knottiest issues still to be resolved will be restoring electricity to Gulf Coast pipelines and refineries, which are also suffering from flooding that may have left some important equipment submerged. It will be days before a full assessment of the damage can be done, industry officials and analysts said.

A significant amount of oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remains shut and reports of banged-up platforms and rigs continued to trickle in as companies conducted aerial inspections of offshore facilities.

Onshore, wholesale gasoline suppliers have begun capping the amount of fuel they sell to retailers in certain markets to make sure retailers do not take delivery of more fuel than they actually need. Analysts said they do not anticipate widespread fuel shortages and cautioned motorists not to top off tanks out of fear.

With retail gasoline prices surging to record highs and motorists facing $3 a gallon at the pump in a growing number of markets, BP PLC said in an e-mail to clients that it is making "pricing decisions with prudence and restraint in the wake of this natural disaster."

Light sweet crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 84 cents to $68.97 a barrel, down from an overnight high of $70.65. On Tuesday, oil futures settled at $69.81, the highest closing price on Nymex since trading began in 1983, although still below the inflation-adjusted high of about $90 a barrel that was set in 1980.

But October gasoline futures surged 17.55 cents to $2.65 a gallon on the Nymex. That is 72 cents, or 35 percent higher, than they were on Friday.

"There's too much uncertainty," said analyst John Kilduff at Fimat USA in New York.

While the details were being worked out about how much oil would be loaned from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve -- and which refiners would receive it -- European nations began considering the release of their own government-controlled stockpiles of gasoline and heating oil, according to officials at the Paris-based International Energy Agency. The officials demanded anonymity because the consultations were confidential.

"We're the highest (wholesale) price market in the world right now," said Lawrence J. Goldstein, president of the New York-based nonprofit Petroleum Industry Research Foundation. "We're going to attract a lot of supply here. Price is a magnet for supply."

In another attempt to ease the crunch on motor fuel supplies, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would temporarily allow retailers nationwide to sell gasoline and diesel that does not meet stringent summer air-quality standards.

Gasoline supplies are tightening in some states because some major Gulf Coast energy companies, which were already struggling to meet rising demand before Katrina plowed through the region, have been plagued by floods and power outages that have made it impossible to produce and distribute fuel.

At least eight Gulf refineries remain out of service, and will be for days if not weeks, according to analysts, though most of their owners have not yet publicly announced the extent of any damage. Companies also worked Wednesday to touch base with their employees, some of whom remain unaccounted for. Exxon Mobil Corp., for example, set up a hotline for its workers to call.

Several pipelines that carry gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel to other markets have been stymied by disruptions to power grids and utility workers from around the country converged on the Gulf Coast to help restore electricity.

The shutdown of a pipeline that carries crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico to the Midwest has increased the need for Canadian imports, industry officials said. And the shutdown of pipelines that carry various fuels to markets on the East Coast means that more gasoline and diesel will have to be shipped by barge and by truck, according to John Eichberger, director of motor fuels at the National Association of Convenience Stores.

"The infrastructure was already strained before the hurricane," said oil analyst Fadel Gheit at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. "The hurricane has made a bad situation worse."

The U.S. Minerals Management Service said Tuesday that 95 percent of the Gulf of Mexico's oil output was out of service, with more than 4.6 million barrels of production lost since Friday. The agency said 88 percent of natural gas output was shut down, resulting in a loss of 25.4 billion cubic feet of lost production since Friday.

While the loss of oil is significant, Energyintel analyst Tom Wallin said Katrina would likely have a more serious impact on the nation's supply of natural gas.

"Crude oil production could be replaced by a release of barrels from the U.S. strategic reserve," he said. "There is no such safety valve for natural gas."

Natural gas futures fell 35.9 cents to $11.30 per 1,000 cubic feet on Nymex. That is almost double the price from a year ago.

wsbtv.com Staff Writer Alfred Charles and Channel 2 Action News reporter Ryan Young contributed to this report.

Copyright 2005 by WSBTV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.[/q]
 
A lot of this reminds me of the price gouging hysteria associated with 9/11.

That's why I made sure to fill up the night before Hurricane Katrina hit. :|

Melon
 
OMG :crack:
I just got to work and drove through the most hellish traffic to get here.
Lines for gas backed up down the road...
People driving like lunatics to get to the gas stations...
:scream:
 
What really struck me was the excessive amount of large vehicles in the picture accompanying the article.

And hey, America, guess what! You're finally starting to get close to what we pay for petrol here in Australia! Maybe soon you'll finally have valid grounds to complain about the price. Maybe.
 
When you go from paying $2.55 to $4.55 per gallon in the SAME DAY, I think that's a pretty vaild complaint.
 
Exactly and if I had an alternative way to get to my university campus from my house, which by the way is about 15 miles from my house and my job which is another 5 miles, I would be more than willing to trade my car in for an alternative mode of transportation.

And watching the gas attendents change the price as you sit in a line waiting for gas 3 separate times is not an enjoyable thing to see especially when the price jumps in excess of $4 a gallon when 1 hr before it was $2.76 a gallon. :down:
 
oops, i posted about this in the general gas prices bitching thread, didn't see this one. it's f'in insane, the lines are all over the place and the prices were crazy...good thing they froze the prices. luckily (if you could call it that) my dad filled up the night before katrina. they've decided to start charging me to be driven prices (i dont even have my permit yet and im paying for gas). :crack:
 
Prices at some stations today spiked to $6 a gallon. The Gov. has called this price-gouging and it will not be tolerated. My aunt and uncle had to drive to the N. GA mountains to find gas because all the stations near their house were sold out. She was driving on fumes.

This is just insane.

[q]Panic drives gasoline up; pipelines resume pumping

By MICHAEL E. KANELL , STACY SHELTON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/01/05

Soaring prices, long lines and outright shortages returned to Atlanta gas stations Wednesday for the first time since the 1970s.

Although both major gas pipelines serving the area resumed limited pumping Wednesday evening, many consumers already had reacted to widespread uncertainty and panicked. Afraid there would be no gas over the holiday weekend, motorists got in line to pay historically high prices.

The threat of shortages came from hurricane-damaged refineries and pipelines without full power to pump. How much consumers compounded the problem wasn't clear.

"Atlanta's not out of gas," said Jim Tudor, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores. Some stations might be out, "but it wasn't because there wasn't gas available. It was because there was a run on these stores."

Still, the hurricane's impact hit at a bad moment — when gas inventories were already low. Shortages were threatened throughout the Southeast in the aftermath of Katrina and prices reflected that.

Late Wednesday, Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency and threatened to impose heavy fines on gasoline retailers who overcharge Georgia drivers. There is "credible evidence" of price-gouging, he said.

"When you prey upon the fears and the paranoia, it is akin to looting, and it is abominable," Perdue said at a hastily called news conference. "I'm frankly embarrassed for our state and some of our businesses that we have to do this."

From late morning to early afternoon, the highest area price for regular doubled briefly from about $2.70 a gallon to more than $5 a gallon. A BP station in McDonough hit $5.87, according to AtlantaGasPrices.com. Four dollars a gallon became common. There were numerous reports late Wednesday of stations closing or shutting down their pumps. Some stations capped purchases.

At a Midtown Chevron that announced a 10-gallon limit on purchases "due to the fuel shortage," Tim Gara pumped gas into his Toyota. "I knew it would be a problem with the hurricane. I didn't know it'd get to rationing."

Throughout the day, speculation zipped across airwaves and the Internet, via text messages and over phone lines. Rumors simmered around office water coolers, fueling the panic. One said state police were closing all gas stations at 4 p.m.; they didn't.

Wednesday afternoon, the governor and AAA told consumers not to panic. "Don't go out and top off your tank," Perdue said. At the same time, he also urged people to telecommute and discouraged unnecessary driving on the eve of one of the biggest travel weekends of the year.

The governor urged calm and expressed faith in market-regulated prices.

Four-and-a-half hours later, he declared a state of emergency.

Others, including the auto club, advised sticking with travel plans.

Barbara Washington of Atlanta struggled with the confusing advice. She had planned to drive to Jackson, Miss., to check on her elderly parents. "Do I risk it, or do I just stay put? What do I do?"

Now she plans to fly.

Even the experts didn't have answers. "I don't want to scare the public to death because I don't have a crystal ball," said Roger T. Lane, president of the Georgia Oilmen's Association, which represents distributors. "Gasoline is in tight supply."

So in a distant echo of the 1970s, consumers were unwilling to gamble on sufficent supplies.

Queues formed — and tempers flared.

Tammy Crowe of Dallas was waiting in line at a gas station in Lithia Springs when she saw another motorist pull a gun.

People had been waiting for a half-hour and were edgy when a man in a bronze car cut off a motorcyclist, Crowe said.

" 'Hey, wait a minute. I've been waiting here,' " the motorcyclist admonished the line-breaker, Crowe said. The two men began arguing.

Then the man in the car pulled a handgun out of his pocket, Crowe said. "It was big."

A gas station employee yelled, "You want to go to jail?" and pulled out a cellphone.

The man put the weapon away and said he wanted to get back in line.

"No," the employee said. "Leave." He did.

Crowe heard a woman who was waiting say, "It ain't worth my life to get gas. We just need to pray."

There were at least two pieces of good news.

In an unprecedented action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waived pollution-reduction rules for gas in all 50 states.

And by evening, both major gasoline pipelines to Atlanta were pumping again.

Alpharetta-based Colonial Pipeline Co. was pumping at 25 percent to 35 percent of capacity.

Plantation Pipe Line Co. also started pumping at 25 percent.

The pipelines had gone down when they lost electrical power at pumping stations hit by the hurricane.

Getting the flow back up to speed is critical, said Jonathan Cogan, spokesman for the Energy Information Administration. "This has affected everywhere along the chain, from the product to consumers. It doesn't look good."

The start-up by Colonial might seem modest, but it may help cushion the area from the worst effects, said James Williams, chief economist of WTRG, an energy consulting company.

"This will go a long way toward getting things back to normal," he said. "It's like one lane that gets started after an accident closed all four."

Of course, a working pipeline is pointless without a product to pump — and many of the Gulf's refineries still are not working. But as the storm clean-up continues, many should be able to pump out the product they had produced before the hurricane, Williams said.

"We don't anticipate running out," said Michael Barrett, a spokesman for California-based Chevron. "There is enough gasoline coming into the market" from storage tanks in the meantime.

Metro Atlantans found small ways to cope.

MARTA ridership was up, officials said. Georgia State Patrol troopers were asked to cut their driving by 25 percent. And consumers hit a gas price Web site so hard that AtlantaGasPrices.com was often too clogged to access.

To Atlantans fretting about a weekend trip, the AAA offered reassurance.

"As long as you are on the interstate system, we don't think you will have any problems getting gasoline," said Gregg Laskoski, AAA spokesman. "We are not aware of any reason for people to cancel their travel plans."

Staff writers Bill Torpy,

Craig Schneider and Rhonda Cook

contributed to this story.[/q]

[q]Man reportedly pulls gun at gas station

By CRAIG SCHNEIDER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/31/05

One woman reported seeing a man pull a gun during an argument at a gas station in Lithia Springs Wednesday.

Tammy Crowe said she was waiting for gas when one man cut off another at the pump. People had been waiting in line for about 30 minutes and were edgy when a man in a bronze car cut off a motorcyclist next in line, Crowe said.
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" 'Hey, wait a minute. I've been waiting here,' " she said the motorcyclist told the man, and the two men began arguing.

Then the man in the bronze car reached in his pants pocket and pulled out a black handgun. "It was big," Crowe said.

An employee at the Thornton Road gas station stormed at the guy, yelling, "You want to go to jail?" The employee pulled out a cellphone.

The guy with the gun calmed down, put the weapon away, and said he wanted to get back in line.

"No," the employee said. "Leave."

Crowe, 44, of Dallas, recalls a women waiting next said, "It ain't worth my life to get gas. We just need to pray."

As for Crowe, she said, "People are just going crazy. ... That's a little much for a Wednesday afternoon."[/q]
 
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There's a nice article in the Athens Banner Herald about the insanity today:

Rumors fuel run on gas
Panic at pumps causes shortages
By Lee Shearer


Athens motorists jammed local filling stations Wednesday afternoon as gas prices surged to more than $3 a gallon.

The lines mirrored similar panic buying across Georgia as word of possible shortages and even rationing spread, but the situation was exacerbated in Athens by a widespread rumor that local retailers would stop selling gas by 3 p.m. Thursday.

"My cousin called me on the phone and told me they were going to stop pumping gas after 3 o'clock," said Latressia Jones of Athens. "I'm just making sure."

Similar stories were repeated over and over by motorists waiting in line at area gasoline retailers.

Three o'clock came and went, but the lines only got longer. But the sheer volume was enough to shut down the pumps at a number of stores. By 5 p.m., the Golden Pantry at the corner of Prince Avenue and Barber Street was completely out of gasoline, one of several around town that ran out during the rush.

Motorists saw steep price increases at gas stations all over town as area wholesalers reacted to steep hikes on the gasoline commodity market, sometimes while drivers waited in line.

Regular unleaded was just le $3 a gallon when University of Georgia student Lindsey Phillips got in line at the Quick Stop on Lexington Road and Winterville Road. Half an hour later, as she began pumping gas at about 3:15 p.m., the station raised the price to $3.39 a gallon. The price Wednesday morning had been $2.71.

The rumor that local retailers would stop selling at 3 p.m. may have created an area gasoline shortage, said wholesalers like Bobby Tweedell of Tweedell & Van Buren Oil Co.

Before Wednesday's panic, the supplier had about a five-day supply of gasoline on hand, but Wednesday afternoon's stampede meant the supply could run out late Friday or early Saturday, Tweedell said.

Overreaction by Athens area drivers to the unfounded rumor has exacerbated pressure on an already thin distribution system, said Harriet Lay of Lay Brothers Oil in Athens, where the telephones rang all day with callers concerned about gas stations closing.

"This panic is not doing anything but making things worse," Lay said. "We have no idea where the rumor (about gas stations closing at a certain time) got started, but I sure would like to get my hands on the idiot that started it."

Me, too, Ms. Lay, me, too.
:tsk:
 
I posted this in another thread but thought you would like it as well. I believe this is from GA and is NOT Photoshopped.

gas2.jpg
 
It's also going to be the start of all hell breaking loose. People will not and should not stand for these prices. Everyone needs to contact their rep or senator to get something done about this.
 
People are offended when businesses take advantage of disasters by charging more for generators or water by price gouging. Lawmakers consider it to be a crime in many places yet oil companies are doing exactly this and justifying it based on the interruption in the supply of oil. Remarkably, within a couple of days, they have jumped the prices. Whatever happened to the argument that it takes a few months for the cheap oil ( back when oil used to be $20 a barrel) to work its' way through the system to get to the pumps? I mean how much will gas cost by Christmas, it is only going to get worse as the winter approaches?
 
Yes it is insane and complete bullshit and I am happy our Gov. is doing something about this:

[q]Gas Pump Prices Spur Gouging Fears
Perdue Asks State Not to Panic

POSTED: 5:14 am EDT September 1, 2005
UPDATED: 5:19 am EDT September 1, 2005

ATLANTA -- With some retailers advertising gasoline prices as high as $6 per gallon, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order Wednesday authorizing state sanctions against gas stations that gouge consumers.

"I do not believe there is an energy emergency in this state but we will not tolerate our citizens perceiving the fact there is by exorbitant price-gouging prices," he said.

Perdue's order allows the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs to seek civil sanctions against retailers who can't justify their prices based on the price they paid at the terminal for the product, adjusted for their normal markup.

"Frankly, when you prey upon the fears, the paranoia of citizens, it is akin to looting in a different sort of way," Perdue said.

As he spoke, long queues formed in Georgia's suburbs and cities, rural towns and backwaters, as drivers scrambled to fill their tanks with gas priced well over $3 a gallon at some stations.

Police in Sandersville had to direct traffic during a mid-morning rush on the pumps after two small stations ran out of gas, Police Chief John Harden said. In Washington, long lines for gas stretched into the town's main street, disrupting traffic.

"People are beginning to panic over the gasoline already," said Wilkes County Commissioner Donna Hardy. "People don't know what to expect at this point."

John Harper, an east Cobb County resident, pulled up to a gas station in Stockbridge Wednesday evening when he saw an enticing empty parking lot. He promptly turned around once he the manager told him the gas prices -- $5.87 for a gallon of unleaded fuel.

"It's highway robbery," Harper said.

He was one of a half-dozen people who left after pulling up to the station. Soon after, the gas station manager decided to lower the gas prices by $2 a gallon.

The governor gave no specific examples of price gouging but said prices at some stations rose from $3 per gallon to $5 and $6 per gallon by Wednesday afternoon.

"We should not even have to be doing this," he said. "I'm frankly embarrassed for our state and some of our businesses that we have to do this."

He acknowledged consumers may not always know if they are being gouged as gas prices change. "You just have to report this and our Office of Consumer Affairs will investigate," he said.

Hours before announcing his executive order, Perdue called on Georgians to remain calm over rising gas prices and fears of short supplies, saying, "This is a temporary problem due to Hurricane Katrina and will be resolved soon."

He asked the state's drivers to alter any discretionary driving plans they might have for the Labor Day weekend and stay home with their families instead.

"There's no reason to panic. There's plenty of gas on the way, and the only reason we would have problems locally is if we rush out to hoard and try to accumulate gasoline that we won't need for a long time," he said during a news conference with Red Cross officials.

Perdue said gas distributors assured him they were working around the clock to restore service to two major gas pipelines that serve the state but he added that another major source of supply through the Georgia ports hasn't been hampered.

"Fresh fuel is continuing to reach our ports and Atlanta and other markets throughout Georgia," he said.

Meanwhile, Rep. John Lewis called on President Bush to encourage restraint among oil companies -- urging them to keep prices as low as they can during the crisis.

"It is my firm belief that oil companies should not be profiting from the misery and despair of American citizens," said Lewis, an Atlanta Democrat.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed[/q]
 
And for those of us who live in GA, make sure to keep this information handy:

Complaints of price gouging can be sent to the state Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin at tirvin@agr.state.ga.us or visit the department's Web site at www.agr.state.ga.us .

Customers can also complain by calling (404) 651-8600 inside Atlanta or (1 800) 869-1123 outside Atlanta.
 
We're running out of gas in Alabama. We have a law against price-gouging and the politicians claim it's going to be enforced. I have to get filled up this afternoon. I'm sure I'll have a wonderful time at the gas station.
 
That's definitely not photoshopped. There were some pumps going at 5.99/6.99/7.99! A few guys got caught and fined I think.

Anyway, the rumored shortage has caused a real shortage (temporarily of course). Every gas station I've seen today's been closed!
 
trevster2k said:
People are offended when businesses take advantage of disasters by charging more for generators or water by price gouging. Lawmakers consider it to be a crime in many places yet oil companies are doing exactly this and justifying it based on the interruption in the supply of oil.

No kidding!

There is outrage when hotels hike up their rates during a hurricane but it's acceptable for speculators to artificially increase the price of gas.

It's criminal and akin to war profiteering.
 
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