WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |Short supply, panic buying to blame for shortage

Short supply, panic buying to blame for shortage

Gas was scarce across the Mid-State over the weekend, creating long lines and flaring tempers at several area stations.

AAA estimated 50% to 60% of gas stations in Middle Tennessee were without fuel on Saturday.

At a Shell station just east of downtown Nashville, employees directed a long line of cars that snaked down the street.

The station also limited customers to just $20 worth of fuel.

The Exxon near LP Field and the Tiger Mart on Broadway also had fuel Saturday and also had long lines of frustrated drivers.

At a Texaco station on Murfreesboro Road, Hanna Koeppen told News 2 she waited in line for nearly three hours.

"I had to drive back to Kentucky, so I came in, saw the line and have been waiting since 11 a.m.," she said.

Most of the fuel in Middle Tennessee comes from a pipeline that starts in Houston.

Mike Williams, executive director of the Tennessee Petroleum Council, said until refineries damaged in Hurricane Ike are up and running, drivers will continue to see problems at the pump.

"We're in a very unusual circumstance right now where the refineries aren't operating at full capacity," he told News 2 earlier this week.  "Tennessee depends mostly on a pipeline that comes from Houston to New Orleans to Atlanta to Chattanooga to Nashville and Knoxville.  That's where most of our gasoline comes from."

The pipeline is called the "Colonial Pipeline" and it distributes 95 million gallons of fuel every single day across the United States.

"The pipeline has been running slowly because there's no fuel to put in the other end of it," said Williams.  "You can't get some out of this end if you don't put some in the other end."

State officials also blame the shortage on "panic buying."

Emily LeRoy, associate director of the Tennessee Oil Marketers Association, said some Nashville stations reported double their usual fuel sales volume for a week since Hurricane Ike came ashore in Texas.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Jeremy Heidt called the situation in Nashville a "temporary pinch point."

He said while Knoxville had similar problems earlier in the week, the city was receiving adequate delivery and prices had dropped.

Memphis and Chattanooga also reported no problems obtaining fuel, Heidt said.

The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Nashville Saturday was $4.09, up one cent from Friday.

The nation average Saturday was $3.78 a gallon.

Consumers can report suspected price gouging at www.tn.gov/consumer or by calling 615-741-4737 or 1-800-342-8385.  Consumers need to provide the name of the gas station, address, the price and grade of gas.