As gasoline began flowing again Friday through
pipelines from the Gulf Coast, petroleum and travel industry officials cautioned
that South Carolina drivers shouldn't expect much relief at the pump any time
soon.
They also continued to urge motorists to conserve fuel and avoid panic-buying
or hoarding, which only worsens supply problems.
"(Gasoline) supply is the No. 1 issue" facing the state, said Sims Floyd Jr.,
executive director of the South Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association.
"Normal (supply) is going to be hard to get for a long time."
Regular unleaded gasoline prices in South Carolina are expected to remain
around the $3-a-gallon mark during the next few weeks, said Tom Crosby,
spokesman for AAA Carolinas.
Prices should start dropping once supplies start getting back to normal
levels and the peak summer driving season ends, he said. Demand for fuel also
may taper as high prices compel some motorists to conserve gas.
High prices and uncertainty about fuel availability have caused about a
quarter of North and South Carolinians to cancel Labor Day travel plans, Crosby
said.
Gas prices were already high this year before Hurricane Katrina pummeled the
Gulf Coast, a major oil and gasoline hub. The disruption of supply, coupled with
high demand, sent retail gasoline prices soaring above $3 this week in South
Carolina and higher in other Southeastern states.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, the average price of regular unleaded gasoline in the
Charleston area was $2.84, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. Motorists in
the region reported seeing prices ranging from $3.09 to $3.39 throughout the
day.
The hurricane damaged several Gulf Coast refineries, damaged or displaced
many Gulf of Mexico oil platforms and drilling rigs and shut down two major
pipelines serving the East Coast. Those pipelines were operating again Friday,
but not at full volume. And many of the refineries that feed those pipelines are
still out of commission or running at reduced capacity.
Fuel stations in several Upstate cities shut down Thursday and Friday because
their supplies ran dry, and more closings are expected today, Floyd said.
The supply situation isn't as dire in the Lowcountry, he said, because
coastal areas get most of their fuel from nearby port terminals. That said,
supply is still tight on the coast because other parts of the state have been
looking here for gasoline.
"No one's getting full loads of fuel," Floyd said.
Fast-rising prices have led some drivers to accuse gasoline retailers of
price gouging, defined as selling products at "unconscionable" levels. Price
gouging is illegal in South Carolina only when the governor declares a state of
emergency.
Gov. Mark Sanford has said skyrocketing prices are a function of supply and
demand and likely will come down when the pipelines are fully running. He said
his office was monitoring prices to see whether price gouging was occurring.
State Attorney General Henry McMaster said Friday he has joined a multistate
inquiry into rapidly increasing gasoline prices that was launched by Alabama's
attorney general and subsequently joined by attorneys general from more than 35
other states. McMaster also said he would ask the General Assembly to change the
state's price-gouging laws to make it easier for authorities to investigate such
complaints.
Previously, McMaster said his office would prosecute anyone breaking the law,
but so far it hadn't found any evidence of price gouging related to the fuel
shortage.
Floyd said blame for the high prices shouldn't be directed to store owners.
Most gasoline stations and convenience stores are family-owned businesses, he
said. "They buy from the major oil suppliers. ... The cost is dictated to them
(the retailers)."
Motorists are partly to blame for rising gasoline prices, he said. Many
people have been buying more fuel than they need, which is further depleting
supplies.
In any case, South Carolina's situation is far better than that of the
devastated Gulf Coast region, he said. "What we're suffering is a minor
irritation compared to what those people are going through."
Drivers aren't necessarily heeding advice to keep their gasoline purchases to
a minimum. Several retailers report higher-than-normal sales of gasoline cans in
recent days. Area Wal-Marts had sold out of the cans as of Friday, district
manager David Anderson said.
On the other hand, some motorists have started to think more seriously about
ways to conserve fuel.
This week, AAA Carolinas' car-buying service handled three times its normal
number of requests for fuel-efficient hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius or
the Honda Civic Hybrid.
"Gas prices have pushed a lot of people off the fence on these hybrids," said
Allen Cook, who manages the car-buying program.
The Bush administration said Friday it will release 30 million barrels of oil
from the nation's strategic stockpile. Twenty-six countries in an international
energy consortium also will release more than 60 million barrels of crude oil
and gasoline in the coming month.
The markets applauded the news. Crude oil futures fell $1.90 to $67.57 a
barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline futures tumbled nearly 23
cents on the NYMEX to $2.18 a gallon.
PRICE CHECK
On a given day, gasoline prices can vary by as much as 10 cents to 20 cents
per gallon from one station to another. Web sites compare prices at selected
stations in an area, including:
-- www.aaacarolinas.com.
Click on the "Fuel Price Finder" link on the left side of the page. Then enter
your ZIP code and follow the instructions.
-- www.gasbuddy.com
-- www.gaspricewatch.com
For information on how retail gasoline prices are set, visit -- www.fueleconomy.gov.
Click on "Gasoline Prices" and then "Frequently Asked Questions."
UNFAIR PRICES?
To report suspected price gouging on gasoline, visit the U.S. Department of
Energy's "Gas Price Watch" Web site: www.gaswatch.energy.gov.
HURRICANE
KATRINA COVERAGE
Caroline Fossi covers retailing. Contact her at 937-5524 or cfossi@postandcourier.com. The
Associated Press contributed to this report.
