When will Georgia’s gas shortage end? Expert predicts how long ‘headaches’ will last
It could be up to another two weeks before Georgia drivers see an end to the gas shortage crippling much of the South, one fuel expert predicts.
Most fuel lines are “up and running” again after a cybersecurity attack shut down the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel. However, an analyst for fuel reporting website GasBuddy.com said Thursday he anticipates “7-14 days of headaches” for Georgia drivers after the anticipated shortage sent people scrambling to the pumps.
“The situation will definitely take time and slowly improve due to a high number of outages and higher number of stations to refuel,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, wrote on Twitter.
As of Thursday morning, GasBuddy reported that nearly 50% of stations in Georgia were without gas. Fuel prices averaged between $2.83-$3 per gallon for the few places that did have gas.
Colonial Pipeline provided an update on the shutdown Thursday, saying “product delivery has commenced in a majority of the markets we service.” The Georgia-based company said it restarted operations just after 5 p.m. Wednesday but cautioned it could take several days before gas supply returns to normal.
“By mid-day today, we project that each market we service will be receiving product from our system,” company officials said Thursday. “This would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication of the many Colonial team members across the pipeline who worked safely and tirelessly through the night to get our lines up and running.”
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Monday through May 15 in response to the gas shortage and urged residents not to “panic buy.” The state’s price gouging laws were also activated as fuel prices surged across metro-Atlanta and other parts of the state.
“Please do not go out and fill up every 5-gallon can that you have,” Kemp said at a news conference Wednesday. “Doing so will only mean the shortage will last longer and more Georgians will be unable to make it to work, take their kids to school or get to their medical appointment.”
State officials also urged residents to report suspected price gouging to the Department of Law’s Consumer Protection Division by calling 404-651-8600 or visiting the department’s website at consumer.ga.gov.
This story was originally published May 13, 2021 at 12:21 PM.