It is so insane here its not funny. Yesterday was pay day....I get gas on payday...I COULD NOT get into any gas station along the 11 mile drive home....streets were backed up with people waiting to get to the pumps and I was almost on empty. SO many gas stations are now out of gas.
Fortunately the one next to my house had been replinished sometime over nite, so I got to pay 3.19 to fill my tank up. I got over by work and realized I needed to stop and get a Dr Pepper so I pulled into the BP station next to my office.....they were out of gas...the tanker truck was in the parking lot pumping...YAY the station would have gas...BUT people were in the fucking parking lot cussing out the tanker drivers cause it was taking so long....helloooo people, you can only pump that stuff so fast.
I grew up in a pipeline family, the two that run thru georgia over to texas are the ones that are down. I believe I heard this morning that one is up and running at 35% and they hope for 50% by the weekend....Im not sure which one though, my daddy worked for one, my grandfather the other one.
People...dont yell at the tanker drivers, and you stupid gas stations trying to charge so much (yes some stations here were charging over 5 dollars a gallon yesterday, but they were shut down) stop being so fucking greedy!!!!!!
Im scared at the rate drive offs are increasing...those people are going to cause some serious wrecks trying to get away.
I know that rant didnt make any sense...but geez Im just shocked at the behaviour of some people
edit* I found an article about this stuff here...which talks about both pipelines (my daddy worked for plantation, my grandaddy worked for Colonial)
Quote:
Perdue Works to Stem Price Gouging
Citing credible evidence of price gouging, Governor Sonny Perdue Wednesday afternoon signed an executive order authorizing state sanctions against gas retailers who gouge consumers.
Perdue said he does not believe there is an energy emergency and that the state will not tolerate citizens being fooled by exorbitant gas prices.
The 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 for the product.
Perdue gave no specific examples of gouging -- but said he's heard reports of gas being raised from $3 a gallon to $5 or $6 a gallon just this afternoon.
Perdue warned retailers that the state has the ability to check the prices they are paying and plans to prosecute gougers to the full extent of the law.
"Frankly, when you prey upon the fears, the paranoia of citizens, it is akin to looting in a different sort of way," Perdue said.
"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.
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.
Governor Urges Calm
Earlier in the day, Gov. Sonny Perdue asked Georgians to remain calm over the rising price of gasoline, saying the state's major distributor should be operational by the weekend.
"There's no reason to panic. There's plenty of gas on the way and the only way we'll have problems locally is if we rush out and hoard," the governor said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference. "Stay calm and conserve, don't just run out to top off your tank. Just continue with normal fueling habits."
Despite Perdue's advice, Metro Atlantans spilled out of gas stations and onto busy roadways as they waited for their turn to fuel up.
Some said the fear was sparked by messages being sent over e-mail that prices were on their way up.
“We got an e-mail and that e-mail was saying that gas prices were going to go up a dollar extra,” said Bunmi Jinadu.
An e-mail message Tomeka Lambert received said that pumps would run out of gas by the end of the day.
Hurricane Katrina knocked out power to two pipelines – the Colonial Pipeline and the Plantation Pipeline -- that bring gas and jet fuel into the region. Electric pumps along the route move the gas from Louisiana to New York and Washington D.C.
The gas ends up at a tank farm in Doraville, Ga., where tanker trucks fill up and take the product to gas stations around the metro area.
Katrina knocked out power to all the pumps in Mississippi, bringing the operations to a halt.
The lines have been down for over two days.
"That does affect our gas supply and it's led to an increase in gas prices," the governor said of the pipeline problem. "This is a temporary problem due to Hurricane Katrina and will be resolved soon. It is not a cause for alarm or panic. It is not a long-term situation."
Both pipelines have restarted their operations without the pumps in Mississippi. The gas is moving, but at a much reduced capacity.
Colonial is planning to add generators to its pumping stations through the weekend, which should boost supply.
Gas retailers typically do not keep a big inventory on hand, usually as little as three to five days worth, and that limited supply droved prices upward today, leading to the panic at the pump.
Additionally, since gas is a commodity, companies will pay a lot more to get it when supply is limited, which raises the wholesale price, and consequently, the price at the pump.
"To further ease the supply problem, we have temporarily waived the fuel additive requirements to expand the supply of gasoline," he said. The EPA approved the request to waive the additive, which allows for more types of fuel to come into the metro area.
In Forsyth County, 11Alive Reporter Jennifer Leslie witnessed the price of a gallon of gas shoot up to $3.50 a gallon before dropping back to $3.09 just an hour later.
11Alive.Com found one station in Stockbridge selling gasoline for a $3.56 a gallon and another in Tyrone selling gas for $3.52.
At a gas station on Pleasant Hill Boulevard in Duluth, regular unleaded gas reach $3.99 a gallon.
Instead of adding to the lines at the pumps, Perdue suggested, "Why don't just relax and spend the time with your children?...we're going to get through this just fine."
He acknowledged that while higher gas prices are an inconvenience, Georgians should keep in mind the massive humanitarian disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi where thousands of people may be dead.
The Clean Air Campaign is using the gas crisis to ask drivers to sign up for its Commuter Rewards program that offers cash for drivers who switch to a clean commute. Those who use mass transit, telework, carpool, walk, or bike can earn $3 per day.
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