The $3.79 being charged at Murphy in North Augusta is still too high.
Drivers shouldn't breathe a sigh of relief over the lower gas prices.
Not just yet, said Michael Fields, the executive director of the South Carolina Marketers Association.
"Things are still bumpy," he said. "Gas retailers still have 25 to 50 percent less of their product, so we're not out of the woods."
With 12 oil refineries in the Houston area still without power, gas station owners in some parts of Augusta and surrounding areas are not selling any gas, have limited grades of gas or are limiting the amount customers can buy at one time, Mr. Fields said.
When prices jumped from about $3.50 per gallon to more than $5 per gallon in some areas last Friday, consumers felt the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, which left several oil refineries in Texas without power.
The limited availability had retailers paying as much as $5 per gallon to wholesalers, which meant even higher prices for those filling up at the pump, said Randy Bly, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South.
Two refineries have been restored in the Houston area in the past week, but it will take a week or more for the dozens of others to regain power, Mr. Bly said. Independent stations that have to buy from specific fuel wholesalers will still have the highest prices, he said.
Augusta's average gas price was $4.16 as of Friday, a major decline from the average of $4.39 Monday.
Though supply has slightly improved, some gas station owners still must impose some limitations considering fuel production is down 60 percent, said John Butler, the president of Koger-Walter Oil Co., which runs 21 gas stations in Georgia and South Carolina.
There are at least three gas stations on Wheeler Road that have been without gas all week, he said.
"It's devastating to the business owners who totally run out of gas, and we hate to limit them, but we're trying to avoid a very difficult situation," Mr. Butler said.
Debra Robinson, of Grovetown, has had to get gas three times this week because of the rationing at the BP gas station near her job at 15th and Jones streets. The station limits patrons to $25 per gas purchase.
"This whole thing has just limited what I did this week," she said. "I think we're in a deep situation. I'm not sure it'll get better."
Some gas station owners are forced to purchase gas in alternative areas until production goes back up, Mr. Bly said. Gas customers should feel relief within the next week.
"The prices are still high, but they are moving in the right direction," Mr. Bly said. "By the end of next week, things will be a lot more normal than they are today."
Reach Stephanie Toone at (706) 823-3215 or stephanie.toone@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
The $3.79 being charged at Murphy in North Augusta is still too high.
I have what I personally think is a great question because I have never see it asked or commented on before. Why is it that we've only been seeing the price of gasoline fluctuate so much during hurricaine season the past few years, when we've been having hurricaines forever?? You NEVER heard of gas prices going up 20 or even 10 years ago just because of even a THREAT of a hurricaine, have you?
No, JMO, gasoline prices did NOT go up years ago because of a threat of a hurricane. The Dems have made gasoline an issue so the media is focusing on it, which brings it to the minds of the gasoline station owners, who use it to make money off of the panic created in the media. We are being manipulated by the media and it's so sad that so many people don't realize they are being manipulated. If only people would stop being brainwashed by CNN and think for themselves for a change, then the entire country would improve. It's the brainwashing of the mortgage companies who said anyone could get a mortgage that has caused this major downturn in our economy. Not everyone SHOULD have a mortgage - only those who could afford it!
Due to demand vs. refining capacity, there isn't a buffer supply of refined product on hand like there used to be. In the past, terminals would be over 75% full whenever and interruption may have occurred. Now, they're lucky if they have 30%.
Bottom line. We need more refineries.
It seems odd that no one is looking into why this is only happening here. The Chronicle is reporting this as a normal event but should be looking at why only here. My family in Texas and Louisiana are not seeing this increase where one might expect some price increases. I believe we have some individuals who are taking advantage of the situation. They certainly do not have the community in their best interest. It seems odd that prices rise rapidly but decrease slowly. I have noted the stations that clearly took advantage and will not do business with them anymore and hope others in the community will also.
Bill, along those lines, I'd have to say that the Kroger in Evans and the Wal-Mart in Evans need to be included in a list of stations that did NOT dramatically and quicky rise their prices like some of the other stations did. I would say every single one of the gas stations on Wheeler Road raised their prices like a skyrocket, and that was before the hurricaine even hit Texas!
The other question-the national news this past week said less than 30 percent of our refining is done in Texas. So how is Augusta 100 per cent affected by the hurricane.......Somebody is milking this situation.
I just came back to Augusta after having spent a week in Missouri. The price in very rural Missouri and in Kansas City, was $3.49 per gallon with no differnce between regular and premium. Ethanol was $2.99. If the people of Augusta are STUPID enough to believe the tripe from this Marketers Assoc. spokesperson and the AAA then they deserve to continue to pay the higher than anywhere else on the planet prices. Just goes to prove one more time that the lemings can be lead anywhere and the people of the CSRA are idiots as a whole.
JMO, the Kangaroo station on Wheeler was well below the other stations on that road with their gas prices. They were at 3.99 when the other stations were quite a bit over $4 per gallon.
Thanks momma mia for the heads up. I guess I don't go down that far, so I didn't see them. As far as im2kraz goes, thanks for the tidbit on Missouri and your thoughts on the Augusta consipiracy by the marketers and the AAA...now, if you hate Augusta and all of us "stupid" "idiots" so much, why not just leave?? You sound like an intelligent guy, aren't you smart enough to leave a place you don't like? Anyway, the issue here is the gas prices.
why so I have to be limited to a $25 purchase?
either the station runs out of gas or it doesn't why do I have to be limited?
no purchase restrictions in Charleston
All I know $3.79 for Regular is a bargain price on Long Island. This is the cheapest it has been in months. There are refineries across the water in NJ - (NJ gas prices are approx. 50-75 cent cheaper per gallon) Just be thankful that your gas prices have not been over $4.50 per gallon for regular since late spring!!
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